St. Patrick’s Tourney Nears Conclusion

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St. Patrick’s Tourney Nears Conclusion
The Ocean City Recreation and Parks Department’s 30th annual St. Patrick’s Soccer Tournament wraps up this weekend after being held every weekend for nearly the last month. Pictured above, the Top Hat Bar and Grill team won the adult co-rec division championship earlier this month. Submitted photo

OCEAN CITY- The Ocean City Recreation and Parks Department’s 30th annual St. Patrick’s Soccer Tournament concluded this weekend after roughly 150 teams and hundreds of players from all over the region have participated in the event over the last three weekends.

From modest beginnings 30 years ago, the annual St. Patrick’s Soccer Tournament has grown by leaps and bounds over the years and is now one of the largest events of its kind in the region. Every weekend since late February, roughly 150 teams in 12 divisions have competed in the tournament at Northside Park.

Each weekend, games were played practically around the clock, culminating with championship games in each division. The tournament has featured boys’ and girls’ divisions in various age brackets along with and adult co-rec division. The format is pool play followed by a single elimination tournament to determine the winners in each division.

The boys’ and girls’ under-18 divisions along with the adult co-rec division were played on the first weekend of the tournament on February 23-25. The Top Hat team won the adult co-rec division championship, the Gucci Gang won the boys’ under-18 division and the SUSC Gold won the girls’ under-18 division that weekend.

The boys’ and girls’ under 12 and under-16 divisions were played on the weekend of March 2-4. For the record, the Riverward team won the boys’ under-16 division, while the SUSC Gold won the girls’ under-16 division. The 32 Seconds team won the boys’ under-12 division and the SUSC Queens of the Court won the girls’ under-12 division.

The 30th annual St. Patrick’s Tournament concludes this weekend with the adult men’s and women’s divisions taking center stage at Northside Park. Games in both divisions will begin on Friday and continue throughout the weekend with championships decided on Sunday.

A total of 29 teams will compete in the men’s division including Bull on the Beach, Kirby’s Pub, the original Greene Turtle and Sunsations from Ocean City. A total of 13 teams will compete in the women’s division this weekend.

About The Author: Shawn Soper

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Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.