AISG Dominates APAC Soccer this Year in Beijing!

AISG attended the Asia Pacific Activities Conference (APAC) Soccer tournament, held with schools from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou was hosted in Beijing at the International School of Beijing (ISB) and at the Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) from April 13th to 15th this year. The girls’ soccer teams were playing at ISB while the boys’ soccer teams were playing at WAB. 

 Shanghai was represented by three schools; Shanghai American School Pudong (SASPD), Shanghai American School Puxi (SASPX), and Concordia International School Shanghai (CISS). Beijing was represented by both host schools, WAB and ISB. Finally, Guangzhou was represented by AISG. 

 This year’s APAC, the first in 3 years, is a very special APAC as four different sports; girls’ and boys’ soccer, track and field, softball, and badminton were all held in the same city. 

 The girls’ soccer, track and field, and softball were held at the ISB campus and at WAB the boys’ soccer and badminton were held. 

 Many students, from various schools, enjoyed APAC and the experience they gained from it.  

 One student said, “APAC was very fun, my favourite parts were meeting new friends and traveling and rooming with people from my team. Overall, it was physically exhausting but rewarding, but honestly, the first game against ISB did not go so well due to bad air quality. In general, the games were fun because I got to play against teams with different strategies which helped me improve and chat with different strikers.” Anna L., a junior at SASPD and a player on their varsity girls’ soccer team. 

 Anna said, “The highlight was 100% our penalty kicks with SASPX, we had 10 rounds of PKs and I was the last one to kick in my team and it was the first and only time that I scored on PK. After that goal, our goalie saved SASPX’s goal and our whole team sprinted to her and cheered.” 

 Another student enjoyed APAC, “APAC was a great experience for me because I was able to bond with my teammates and enjoy myself personally. During most games, I was focused and slightly anxious, but also excited at the possibility of winning a championship.” Rainier W., a senior at WAB and the goalkeeper for the varsity boys’ soccer team. 

 Rainier said, “Some of my top highlights in APAC involved making clutch saves for my team and helping younger members become more involved, helped them contribute to their maximum potential.” 

 SASPD vs SASPX placed in 5th and 6th then ISB vs CISS for 3rd and 4th. The championship game was AISG vs WAB, with the champions for girls’ soccer being AISG with a win of 2-0, both goals by Euna J., a sophomore and part of the all-star APAC team. 

 SASPD vs AISG for 5th and 6th and ISB vs CISS for 3rd and 4th. The championship game was WAB vs SASPX, the champions for boys’ soccer were WAB with a win of 2-0. 

 Throughout the tournament each school could gain 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss, the two teams with the highest points could go to the championship game, while the next two highest would compete for the 3rd and 4th placing game and the two schools with the least amount of points would compete in the 5th and 6th placing game.