The high school futsal teams headed to Pohang for their last tournament of the SKAC (South Korean Activities Committee) season. The air filled with buzz as the annual futsal tournament unfolded. Both the boys and girls fought hard, but the road to victory proved challenging, as the boys exited after the quarterfinals and the girls fell short in the semis.

The day started on a dramatic note because Ethan, a 10th-grade defender, woke up late and missed the bus to Pohang. Ethan explained, “I was late because I overslept. The bus was supposed to leave at 7:45 a.m., but I woke up at 7:47 a.m. As soon as I got up, I checked the time and then I started having a mental breakdown. I almost cried while explaining to my mom that I have to be at the game. While I was going to the tournament, I was anxious, and I was mentally drained of energy. I paid 100,000 won for the taxi to the tournament.”

In the boys’ quarterfinals, the squad faced FPS (Fayston Preparatory of Suji), which kept spectators on the edge of their seats. Despite the impressive teamwork and skill shown throughout the day, the boys left the field with anger and disappointment after their loss in their final round. Jayden said, “Honestly, I feel kind of disappointed because we lost all of our games; however, we really improved because we scored some goals, unlike the KISAC (Korean International Schools Activities Conference) tournament.”

Meanwhile, the girls competed on an equally arduous journey in their quarterfinal matchup against FPS. Their clash was evenly matched, which necessitated an overtime penalty shootout after the intense second half ended.

The shootout tested the players’ nerves as they meticulously aimed their kicks. However, the referees seemed extremely strict about the two-step rule, which restricted the amount of strength that powered the kick. Even a microscopic foot lift eventually got called out and could not count, which led to three whole rounds of an intense tie-breaker. 

Minori said, “So the penalty shot we did – I feel like the refs were unfair and it was kinda stupid. Even if they [the players] raised their foot a tiny bit, the refs counted as ‘not in.’ We did it for two rounds.” In the final round of the shootouts, the regulations changed and the teams were allowed to take as many steps as they wanted. Finally, the DIS girls finished on top and got their well-deserved victory in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, the girls’ squad faced a formidable opponent, widely regarded as one of the tournament’s strongest schools: BFS (Busan Foreign School). Our players fought hard and employed a combination of precise passes and strong defense. However, the Sharks proved to be a tough nut to crack. Annie said, “We actually faced them in the first round that day, and we lost 4-2, so I was kind of expecting a loss. Personally, I thought that they were not as good as I thought they were. Afterward, we talked as a team and we kind of thought we should’ve worked a bit harder because they were beatable.”  

While the high school futsal championship may have ended in a heartbreak for both the boys and girls, their performances throughout the competition left a memorable mark. The boys displayed determination and resilience and overcame numerous challenges to reach the quarterfinals. Similarly, the girls demonstrated remarkable teamwork and pushed themselves to the limit, narrowly missing out on a place in the finals. 

Gallery • 13 Photos

The boys gather together, cheering on their perfect tiki-taka goal. Photo by Juan Cortez.