TCS hosted the annual Copa Columbus, where Colegio Montessori, TCS Tigers and Columbus took the first three places on the podium in the boys soccer tournament, on March 6 and 7.   

TCS boys fútbol had two groups. Group A called Columbus, which consisted of Grade 9 students. Group B was called TCS Tigers in which students from Grade 10, 11 and 12 played.

“Well, the participation in the football cup of the Columbus School teams was very good, since the two teams went to the semifinals, and we are going to be very prepared for what awaits us in the binational games.” Urbano Mesa, Columbus Futbol Coach, said.

In the final, Montessori beat the TCS Tigers on penalties 4-2 after the game ended 0-0 in regular time. 

“We don’t have any other tournament against them, so we were very confident during this last game, even though we may have not won the final,”  Tomas Arrubla, Grade 10 TCS captain, said. 

The tournament was divided in two groups with 3 teams in Group A and 4 teams in Group B. The winners of both groups faced each other in 2 separate semi-finals. In the first, the TCS Tigers defeated Columbus 1-0 with Martin Vasquez scoring the winner. In the second semi Montessori defeated San Ignacio on penalties after the regular time ended in tied 1-1.

“It should be noted that they are very young because they are groups of Grade 9 and 10, and the other schools do not have as good a process as the one we have, so that is another advantage.” Coach Mesa said.

In the Semi-Finals, both of the Columbus School Boys’ Soccer teams played against each other, and the TCS Tigers won 1-0, scoring in minute 39. In their group games, Columbus tied San Ignacio 0-0, and defeated Colegio Canadiense 2-1. 

“In the game, I felt prepared, and I believe that we had very good chances against the other teams. We had already played with them in the past year, which is why we weren’t as scared as normal as you normally would be,” Pedro Navarro, grade 10 TCS player,  said. 

The consolation match for third place was ended on penalties with Columbus defeating  San Ignacio on penalties 7-6 after the game ended scoreless. 

“I felt really well in the game since I think we played well. As a team, I think I was very prepared for the game since we have been practicing a lot and since our opponent’s tactics are very good, so it was a difficult game, but we managed to win it,” Emilio Mesa, Grade 10 TCS player, said. 

In Group A, Columbus played 4 games in total, which ended with 2 victories, 1 tie, and 1 loss. On the other hand, in Group B, TCS Tigers played 5 games in total, which ended with 2 ties, 2 victories, and 1 loss. 

“We gave our everything but I felt our team needed more practice and preparation, especially in penalties because that was the reason we lost.” Arrubla said.