Update: The SoCal Legacy BFC team has set up a GoFundMe page to raise travel funds for the upcoming 2015 Major Beach Soccer (MBS) National Championships [Link]
Oceanside CA— Oceanside-based beach soccer team SoCal Legacy BFC defeated Encinitas Express at the Silver Strand State Beach on Coronado Island by a score of 9 – 1, in the boys under 14 tournament final on May 31st and, in doing so, qualified to compete in the 2015 Major Beach Soccer (MBS) National Championships.
SoCal Legacy more recently won the Huntington Beach Copa Cabana beach soccer tournament on June 14th, by a score of 5 to 1. “Although we qualified for Nationals in Coronado last month, we were not sure if we could attend”, said Steve Citron, SoCal Legacy’s head coach, “but after our performance in HB we have decided to at least try to raise the funding needed for the players to go. They would represent our home city of Oceanside, San Diego County, and the State of California.”

The MBS National Championship Tournament is set for its fifth year of competition on December 12-13 in Clearwater, FL. This is an invitational tournament of champions for both girls and boys U12, U14, U16, U18, and Open divisions. Each competing team must qualify by winning a championship at one of many qualifying beach soccer tournaments around the country. In the past, teams have come from Seattle, The Great Lakes area, North and South Carolina, Philadelphia, and New York. Some of the qualifying tournament locations in 2015 include Seaside (Oregon), Rochester and Long Island (New York), Grand Haven (Michigan), Headlands Beach (Ohio), Michigan City (Indiana), Chicago (Illinois), Erie (Pennsylvania), and Detroit (Michigan) as well as several locations in Florida.

SoCal Legacy BFC is a hybrid team that has been together since 2013, consisting of seven players from the Soccer Club of Oceanside combined with three others from the Vista Storm Soccer Club.
They have competed in 12 tournaments up and down the Southern California coast. From as far north as El Segundo, all the way down to Coronado Island, the team has won six of their twelve tournaments and was a finalist, or tied for finalist, in 4 others. Since inception, they have won 38 out of 48 matches, lost 7, tied 3, and have scored nearly 300 goals along the way. They are on a 9-game winning streak coming out of the Coronado and Huntington Beach tournaments.

“The team has been practicing since April at our home base at the Harbor Beach in Oceanside and these young men really deserve a chance to represent our city and state at the national championships”, said Citron, “They have worked very hard over the past 3 years and these efforts have really paid off in their recent performances. Florida is a long haul and we will need about $12K to pay for air fare, lodging, ground transportation and other expenses for the players.” Most of the players’ parents cannot attend, but any that do will be paying their own way. “We are seeking financial support from our community to help the players,” Citron stated.
The team is actively seeking corporate sponsorship and individual donations. If you are interested in helping, please send a check or money order, written to “SoCal Legacy BFC”, to PO Box 4186, Oceanside, CA. 92052-4186. Local and national businesses seeking to sponsor this team are encouraged to contact the coach directly by e-mail at socallegacybfc@gmail.com, by phone at 760.805.8837, or at the PO Box listed above.