Here are some photos from the 2013 Virginia Cup Labor Day Soccer Tournament in Richmond last weekend. I tried to post them on Facebook, but Facebook’s album loader is not working today, so I’m putting them on my blog before the next games roll around and I lose momentum.
The Virginia Cup provided Nick’s first matches as a member of the Richmond Kickers U16 Elite team. He practiced with the team for the last year and guested for them in several tournaments, and made the team in tryouts this spring.
He’s been wearing #8 for years, both on his earlier Richmond Kickers teams and when he was a young soccer player on the Lake Gaston Soccer Association tournament team, the Crushers. This time, a new team means a new number, so you’ll see him as #2 playing left defense in the photos.
(Above) Nick defending a shot on goal in game 4.
Click on the shots in the mosaic below to see full size photos and read captions.

The team won two games decisively, tied one, and lost to the tournament winners Virginia Rush in the final game, finishing in third place in the U16 Premier division.