The Jensen Story: A Weekend to Remember

This past weekend Jordan had a tournament in San Diego and we decided to take advantage and make a family weekend getaway out of it. What a weekend it was! After a long work week we headed out early Friday morning to enjoy the great weather and get in some much needed R&R. We checked into to a cute golf resort and started the long holiday weekend off right! We were in our swim suits faster than you could say swim suit and headed out to the pool. I layed out and enjoyed the sweet sounds of Adam and the kids splashing around in the pool.

The next morning we all slept in and then headed to the field. I forgot to mention that this isn't just any tournament. It is by invitation only and only involves teams from around/surrounding California that have won previous tournaments. Top Gun is known as the best of the best. An article published on the Santa Monica AYSO website best explained the exciting soccer that took place in the following days:

The GU10 All-Star team soared to victory at the prestigous Top Gun tournament, held over Memorial Day weekend in Mira Mesa, CA. Under the command of dedicated coaches Adam "Wolfman" Jensen and Stephen "Cougar" Cooper, the best of the best proved to be no match for the well-oiled Santa Monica squad who finished their season with a record of 35 wins, 6 losses, and 2 ties. Over the course of the 3-day tournament, the earned 5 shutout victories, allowed just 4 goals, and saw goals scored by all 6 of the players in regular rotation at midfield and forward--a testament to the value of teamwork.

The opened with 2 wins on Saturday against the Bandits from Phoenix, AZ and the Anglez Gone Bad from Murrieta/Temecula, earning 10 points in each game with 3-0 wins over both teams. Goalie Scottie "Ice Man" Meek was as unflappable as ever, assisted in the backfield as usual by the power of Jordan "Goose" Jensen and the speed of McKenna "Jester" Meek. Up front, shots by Maya "Maverick" Cooper, Giulia "Chipper" Trevellin, Maisey "Slider" McRae, and Alison "Hollwood" Brown all landed in the opposing net. On Sunday, they faced the Maroon Madness first, a home-town team from Kearny Mesa, and it was Alexis "Merlin" Moran's turn to work a little of her magic--she scored two goals in the 1st quarter, and propelled the team to a decisive 8-0 victory.

By Sunday afternoon, the team sat atop the leader board with a perfect 30 points, but the Chino Hills All-Stars were just a point behind, having also bested the other three teams in the group while giving up just one goal. They took advantage of a suprisingly sluggish Santa Monica team in game 4, winning 4-0, to leap-frog into first place in the bracket, but both teams advanched to the medal round.

In the semi-finals on Monday, Santa Monica was paired with the first-place team in the opposing bracket while Chino Hills played the second-place team. Lucia "Stinger" Saignac-Perez scored first for Santa Monica, in what was to be a 2-0 win over the Chaos from Lakewood/Bellflower. Yet another shut-out by Chino Hills over the North Torrance Storm, meant the Santa Monica would have a chance to avenge their earlier loss--the third time in tournament play that they would face a team from their own bracket in the championship game.

Santa Monica took off early and shocked the confident Chino Hills team with three unanswered goals in the first quarter. Abbie "Viper" Grossman was once again instrumental in the team's success, shadowing key players and effectively disrupting the opponent's game plan. After a fourth goal in the second half, Santa Monica earned their "Wings of gold" and were crowned champions.

After the tournament we decided to surprise Jasper for his 6th birthday and spend the night in Anaheim and wake up and go to Disneyland. Plus what do champions do after they win a big game? On our way to the hotel we stopped at Slater's 50/50 Burgers and tried their well known half bacon half beef burger.