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ROWING BLAZERS FC: An unofficial club of AFC Wimbledon
Rowing Blazers FC, unofficial NYC-based AFC Wimbledon satellite club, fought valiantly in this year's edition of the OnlyNY & Friends Invitational this past weekend. We wore the collaborative AFC Wimbledon x Warm & Wonderful kit which launched earlier this year. In a tournament full of squads sponsored by brands from NYC and around the globe, we fell to eventual champions Scenes NY in the semi-final 2-1.
With a squad comprised of creatives, bankers, consultants, and a former NCAA Champion, among others, we topped our group, beating Ringleaders FC of Montreal, Monte's Fine Foods of NYC, and scrapping out a tough 0-0 draw with Colossal Media sponsored "Bowery FC Legends."
Standout performances in the group stage include a late goal from Enrique Montana to take down Ringleaders, and some exceptional hold-up play from forwards Jefferson Da Silva and Cam Harr.
"A group of players from all different walks of life came together to represent a club with one of the most compelling stories in sports and we couldn't be more honored to have left it all out there for the badge." said Defender Connor Shearer.
The squad started off the knockout stage strong, handily taking down South Korea based Nivelcrack 2-0 in the quarterfinal, powered by some exceptional play off the bench from winger Jess Belsito.
In the semis we faced off with Scenes NY, whom we fell to in 2023 in the final on penalties. An unfortunate lapse of concentration in the first half allowed for an unmarked run to the back post for an easy tap-in, putting us down 1-0. A similar scenario put us down 2-0 early into the second half, setting the scene for a serious uphill battle. We fought back to pull the score back to 2-1, but with only a minute left in the match it was too little too late.
Team MVP was awarded to mascot, Bernie the sheep, who provided exceptional moral support throughout the course of the day, and at the pub after as well.
Every single player on the squad this weekend fought exceptionally hard to prove themselves worthy of the Wimbledon badge and we couldn't be prouder to represent the greatest club in the world. COYD.
Sincerely,
RBFC Captain, Goalkeeper, Gaffer, Tommy Cissel
RBFC Captain, Goalkeeper, Gaffer, Tommy Cissel