The Lunenburg United Futbol Club (LUFC) U8 soccer team capped off a strong run that extends back to last fall by finishing second in the Lake Country Soccer Splash Tournament over the weekend at the Clarksville YMCA.

“It’s unbelievable,” Coach Chappell Hawthorne said. “We’re so proud of this team.”

He described the Lake Country Soccer Splash event as like the all-star tournaments for baseball.

“Each county takes the best players from each team and competes against the other county teams in a two-day tournament,” he said.

The U8 division featured teams from Mecklenburg County, Halifax County and Danville, in addition to Hawthorne’s team.

“The thing about it is, we had an option to select all-stars from both Lunenburg teams, but all of our team is all-stars,” he said. “That’s why we decided to just stay with the team and just keep on moving, and the kids just make you so proud.”

The tournament began with round robin play, during which each team played each other once. The two teams with the best records advanced to the championship round. After round robin play, the Lunenburg squad was 2-1. It advanced to face Mecklenburg County in the championship and lost narrowly, 3-2.

Hawthorne did not cite any standouts because all players had to shine to keep up with the competition in the tourney.

“It was definitely a team effort because we were playing the best of the best in each team,” he said.

LUFC U8 went 8-0 in the fall and 10-0 in the spring. Including this most recent tourney, the team finished with a remarkable record of 20-2.

“Now we can rest up over the summer,” Hawthorne said. “Fall soccer is right around the corner.”

He expects most of his players back in the fall.