Wow! What a weekend it was for the Demize PASL team. Demize played in an incredibly challenging weekend of soccer in the 2018 PASL National Tournament. This tournament features the best teams in the largest semi-pro indoor league in the country, a development level league for the Major Arena Soccer League. With a wealth of high-quality talent from around the country, Demize performed at it’s very best for their second appearance in the National Tournament. The entire tournament is conducted within a swift 26 hour period that nine of the best teams in the nation are vying to power through for the National Title. Teams come from areas all over the country including: Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Indiana, and Washington. The tournament was held in Owasso, Oklahoma at the Indoor Soccer and Sports complex, home of the Tulsa Tornadoes beginning at 6pm on Friday, March 23rd, and ending with the Final at 7pm the following day. Each game for the Demize PASL was a different type of challenge that was met with unwavering desire and motivation.

The Demize PASL team were unphased by a tough group match-up with the Wichita Selection and the Houston Fury. Wichita, as is known, won the Midwest Division with ease, finishing with eight points above the second place Tulsa Tornadoes. They are a class team who can break any opponent down with their technique and tactics. Houston FC is a new program to the PASL world, but stormed through the South Central Division for its first appearance in the PASL National Tournament. The first matchup of the weekend for Demize was against the inexperienced Houston FC. Winning 5-2 in a very dominant performance from the Demize, they showed a passion and class reminiscent of the beginning of this years campaign. Four different players found the scoresheet in this game, which boasts the dispensement of quality throughout the entire Demize squad. The next game for the Demize was an early morning game against division rivals, the Wichita Selection who had not dropped points against Demize PASL in three games for the regular season. Wichita, coming into the tournament as favorites to win it all, found the reinvigorated Demize defense difficult to deal with throughout the match, while the new-found confidence of the Demize team pushed them to a hard-fought 3-3 draw. The draw saw Demize hold their top of the group status via goal-differential, and put them in a strong position for the next game.

Moving on to the quarter-final round, a confidence and a mentality of hard-work beamed throughout the entire Demize squad. The first knock-out round opposition was FC Indiana who won the Great Lakes division with the youngest average age of any team in the National Tournament. Demize PASL scored goals, early and often. Within the first minute of the game, Demize was on the board with the first of two goals by Kyler Moore, assisted by Jordan Houseman. Demize swept passed the youthful FC Indiana team with a hat-trick from Aboubakr Diallo and a sealing goal from Desmond Williams. The Final Four game was the next stage of the National Tournament for the Demize. The Tulsa Tornadoes were the next team on queue. Tulsa were the hosts of this years National Tournament. They finished second in the Midwest Division, but had cruised through the group stages at the top of their group and defeated the Houston Fury 6-1 in their quarter-final matchup. Demize PASL frustrated the hosts for a majority of the game. After trading goals, the teams finished the first half 2-2. Both teams had a quality game plan for the second half, with possession and fitness paying huge tolls for both teams. With each on their fourth game in less than 24 hours, legs were tired for both sides. Unfortunately enough, the Tulsa Tornadoes were able to outlast the whole-hearted Demize team. The game ended 5-2 to the revamped Tornadoes in a hard-fought game. Demize can hang all heads high because Tulsa continued on to win the National Championship.

The Demize PASL team finished the tournament 2-1-1 to round out a great tournament campaign. Demize reached the Final Four of the 2018 PASL National Tournament placing Demize as one of the top teams in the nation. The keys to the PASL teams success in this tournament was founded in dedicated, hard-work and passion for the team. Each player was committed to playing for team success by defending superiorly, attacking efficiently, and encouraging consistently. Each player and fan should be proud of the feat that this team has achieved; however, the team is not satisfied with the Final Four. Continue to follow this team into the next season as the team works even harder to surpass this historic finish for the Demize PASL program! For more pictures and content, follow the Demize PASL Facebook page!

Demize PASL Roster:

Joel Barroso

Josiah Dinwiddie

Andy Hyres

Jaxn Rogers

Brady Fox

Jackson Patillo

Jordan Houseman

Kyler Moore

Desmond Williams

Benjamin Johnson

Caleb Rodriguez

Guilherme Barbosa

Aboubakr Diallo