The annual fall Unidad Soccer tournament kicked off Friday, Oct. 28 in the Norristown gym. The event was hosted by the Unidad Latino Leadership Club along with its advisors Jennifer Shahin and Lorena Torres. Like previous years, the money raised from this event will be going to the Unidad scholarship, a scholarship to help fund students going to college.

Despite being unable to attend the spring tournament, Ms.Shahin was glad to come back. “It was just really nice to see the community come together,” the world language teacher said.

The tournament consisted of 16 teams made up of players from Norristown and neighboring schools. The bleachers were filled with family and friends, fellow players and lovers of the sport, and others in support of the school. The first two teams “Hog Riders F.C” and “Los Huevos” started the event.

Ms.Torres felt there was a lot of good sportsmanship throughout the night. “Everyone’s keeping it nice and friendly. Everybody’s having fun and the teams are very competitive, they are doing a great job. We’re very excited to be here.”

She expressed her appreciation of the event’s longevity and the impact it has had on its participants.“I think my favorite part is seeing my former students come back and my current students kinda see that tradition. There are former students now in their 30s and coming with their kids. It’s fun to see how long this has been going on and to see people still want to come back. ”

In the lobby outside of the gym, there were various activities entering those who wanted a break from the matches. UNIDAD themselves were running a snack table with juices, water bottles, all sorts of different chips, and candy. Members of the National Arts Honors Society were in attendance painting faces. El Primo restaurant came in support, cooking a variety of different Mexican cuisine including tacos and burritos.

Felix Sarome, a former student who graduated in 2020 and now a proud employee at El Primo, loves coming back for the annual soccer tournament. “I’m excited, mostly because I went to this school before. I was a student here back in 2020. Being in the business I always wanted to be in makes me proud, y’know? Seeing some buddies playing.”

Before the Finals, Sabor Latino, Norristown’s Latin dance club, performed for the audience. The dancers wore Halloween-themed clothes and makeup to show their Halloween Spirit, and the club danced to popular Latin music with their own choreography.

The final matchups were very close. The final three teams tried their hardest but the night came to an end when “Chase FC” finished the championship in first place taking home the winning trophy, leaving “Sweaty Tacos FC” and “620 ROMA” in second and third places respectively. Members of the winning team were Uziel Alejandro Ortiz, Jose Israel Gonzalez, Robert Sanchez, Jimmy Brayden Moreno, Marco Villegas-Valdivia, Isreal Vazquez & Karmen Colon. “Chase FC” celebrated as they posed cheerfully in front of the camera with their medals and trophy. This image perfectly symbolizes the spirit of the UNIDAD soccer tournament.