Published: June 14, 2009 02:26 pm      

JSA Tomato Fest 4-on-4 tourney a smashing success

By Jay Neal

sports@jacksonvilleprogress.com

Thirty-six teams, eight more than participated in last year’s tournament, made the historic Tomato Bowl their home for a day Saturday during the Jacksonville Soccer Association’s Tomato Fest 4-on-4 Tournament.

The abbreviated squads, playing on specially designed fields running horizontally across the lush playing surface of the Tomato Bowl, competed in several different divisions, accommodating players from U-6 up to U-12.

According to JSA past-president Todd Travis, the organization was pleased with the turnout despite having competing tourneys in Dallas and Shreveport, La.

“We’ve had a lot of interest (in the tournament) this year, but there is a lot of things going on this weekend that conflict somewhat with our tournament,” he said. “Things are running well and we have a lot of people here.”

Travis said the event drew units from Corsicana, Kilgore, Dallas, Henderson, Nacogdoches, Palestine, Tyler and Jasper.

With players, no doubt, eager to visit the various attractions and sample the activities found just outside the stadium, it was nevertheless all business when the teams stepped onto the field however.

The U-8 JSA Hurricanes, symbolically clad in their tomato-red uniforms, rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to tie the Hotshots, 1-1, as Alexia Moieira drilled a free kick in late in the game for the Hurricanes’ goal. Moieira attends Eastside Elementary in Jacksonville.