Especially considering that this was the first season of NESS, a merger of the New England Aztecs (a club soccer team) with Everton FC of England's Barclay Premier League, the Aztecs and NESS squads achieved immense success across the board this spring.
Amongst their rosters, seven Cape Ann residents were key contributors on both the Aztec U-18 boys team and the Aztec U-14 boys team which recently wrapped up their respective seasons.
Rockport's Bryan Lee and former Gloucester High stars Nick LoCoco and Shane O'Neill were part of the U-18 team that lost in the State Cup finals to eventual back-to-back champion Juventus on June 15.
That team finished 3-2-2 overall in the Massachusetts Premier League (Maple) Division 1. In addition, it was the first Aztec squad to reach a state championship match. At the beginning of the season, the U-18 boys had won the New Hampshire Sportsplex tournament in March.
Rockport residents Andrew Burnham, Chandler Burnham, Ryan McManus and Cameron Tibert were all members of the Aztec U-14 boys team. Their team finished as semifinalists after they fell to the Expos (who went on to win their second consecutive title) on June 14. It was the first time that age group had qualified for the semifinals.
The U-14 boys were 5-2-0, a mark which earned them second-place in Maple's Division 1 during the regular season. Another memorable moment was when the squad came home with its first tournament title from the Delta FC memorial day weekend tournament.
All told, the combined spring regular season record for the 21 U-13 through U-18 (boys and girls) NESS and Aztec teams in the New England Aztec soccer association was 91-37-16. The teams captured six division titles, five March spring tournament titles and five Memorial Day weekend tournament championships. Six of the squads competed in the State Cup, where three made the semifinals, two were state finalists and one (the U-17 Aztec girls) captured the Aztecs' first state crown.
