The Columbus School Boys MS Futbol team won 3-2 against Theodoro Hertzl during the final of Copa Columbus on Friday, March 11.

TCS was led by 8th Grader Emilio Aristizabal’s hat-trick. It has been 2 years since the team’s last tournament due to the global pandemic but players and coaches were very satisfied with the performance of the team.

“I think that during the first game we were just starting to gather and focus, however after a few games we started playing really well,” Emilio Aristizabal, MS Boys Football Captain, said.

While Aristizabal scored a hat-trick in the final, the team scored 10 goals while only conceding 2 in 4 games.

“Our teams’ performance was very good. It’s our first tournament in a while and we didn’t lose a single match. We are really proud of our players and their dedication,” Juan Pablo Calle, MS Boys Futbol Coach, said.

Coach Calle’s goal during the tournament was to let the players enjoy the games to their maximum potential. The training of their technical and tactical work allowed them to excel during the match.

“Our tactic was mainly to let the boys have fun during the game since during our training sessions we had already focused on more technical work and tactics for future games,” Calle said.

Despite the absence of some players during the match, TCS still managed to show collaborative excellence during all of their matches allowing them to successfully win their trophy.

“We played amazingly together, despite the fact that some of us couldn’t make it. In general, I think everyone played great and had a lot of fun,’’ Aristizabal said.

Copa Columbus served as a great way for students to show their potential as athletes as well as the school spirit. It provided an experience that hadn’t been seen since before the pandemic, one which people were really delighted with.

“It’s in moments like this match where you can see integration, support for one another, respect, compromise, union, as well as other values which are fundamental for football,” Calle said.