March 12, 2007

MILWAUKEE -

U8/U9, U10/U11 Schedule
U12, U13/U14 Schedule

The Marquette men's soccer program is hosting a futsal tournament for area youth at the Marquette Gym and Helfaer Recreation Center. The tournament will take place on Saturday, March 17 and Sunday, March 18.

Play in the U8/U9 and U10/U11 groups begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning and runs through 1 p.m. Playoffs for the groups start at 2 p.m. The championship of the U8/U9 group will be held at 5 p.m. at the Helfaer Recreation Center. The U10/U11 Championship game will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the Marquette Gym.

On Sunday, the U12 and U13/U14 groups get their chance at the action. Play in the early stages begins at 9 a.m. The U12 title game is schedule for 6 p.m. at the Marquette Gym. The U13/U14 Championship game is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Marquette Gym.

In all, 29 teams from Wisconsin and Illinois are participating in this event.

"It is going to be very exciting to see players from U8 up to U14 show of their skills as they are here to compete and have fun," tournament director and assistant Marquette coach Khaled El-Ahmad said. "I know of several clubs that play Futsal during the winter but there is no real tournament around. So we at MU are happy to bring this exciting game to the Milwaukee community. I am looking forward to this event that I hope will grow in the future."

Futsal is an indoor version of soccer. Unlike some other forms of indoor soccer, the field is delimited by lines, and not nets or boards that players can use to redirect the ball. Futsal is a 4v4 plus a goalkeepr game played on a field the size of the basketball court with a heavier ball. It demands good technical ability, creativity, and speed of thought.

Tournament winners will receive a t-shirt and have their picture placed on gomarquette.com.

The Marquette Gym and Helfaer Recreation Center are located at 15th and Clyborn near downtown Milwaukee. Parking on the Marquette campus is limited. The best parking location is Structure 1 on 16th Street, just north of Wisconsin Ave.