New England finish 2nd place in 2025 edition of U.S. Amputee Soccer Cup

WEYMOUTH, MA – The U.S. Amputee Soccer Cup returned to Boston, Massachusetts for the second consecutive season this past weekend as six teams competed for the coveted prize

Following a successful 2023 edition in Columbus, Ohio & a successful 2024 edition in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the United States Amputee Soccer Association chose to return back to Massachusetts (this time in Weymouth) to host the 2025 edition of the tournament.

In this 2025 edition, the competition expanded to six teams that hailed from New England (2023 Champion), Miami (2024 Champion), Chicago, Colorado-Columbus, Arena FC (DE), & Metro New York.

Also, for the first time, women’s amputee soccer teams took part, following Team USA’s historic second-place finish at the maiden Women’s Amputee World Cup last November.

The first match of the Amputee Cup took place on Friday afternoon between New England & Chicago.

The match kicked off shortly after 6:3opm and was met with early fireworks as New England took an early 1-0 lead just 2 minutes into the contest when Nico Calabria unleashed a shot that snuck into the bottom corner. Less than 3 minutes later, New England added to their lead once more when Calabria connected with Musa Nzirimwo for the tap-in finish to extend New England’s lead to two in just the 5th minute. New England weren’t finished there when they pulled a 3rd goal just five minutes later when Musa Nzirimwo laid the ball off perfectly to find Vinny Fischer at the back-post to make it 3-0 in 10 minutes. Gavin Johnson then got onto the score sheet just five minutes later to make it 4-0 to New England just 15 minutes into the match. Chicago managed to pull one back in the 36th minute when Trejo cut the lead to three. New England then looked to add on to their lead when Kamal Kimo took a shot that was initially saved but followed up on his own rebound to score to make it 5-1 to New England in the 42nd minute. The match would end in a 5-1 victory for the hosts.

The Saturday matches swiftly approached as Arena FC (Delaware) vs. Miami kicked off the following day at 8:00am. Arena FC struck first in the match in the 8th minute when a scissor kick goal gave them the early lead. Just 3 minutes later, Miami leveled the scoreline when Princip Redondo combined with Saviola Charles for a give-and-go finish to level it 1-1. Just two minutes later, Princip Redondo got on the board again when he attempted to a bicycle kick that was deflected into the net to give Miami the lead 2-1. Saviola Charles later added to Miami’s lead in the 15th minute when his long-distant strike snuck into the bottom corner to give Miami the 3-1 advantage. Just two minutes later, Miami added to their lead again when Stanley Gustav had a poacher’s goal that made it 4-1. Gustav would add again to Miami’s lead when he drove into the area and buried a shot into the bottom corner to make it 5-1 to Miami. It wouldn’t be the end for Stanley Gustav as he would score the final goal of the game making it 6-1 to Miami.

The second match of the day kicked off at 9:30am when Chicago took on Colorado-Columbus. CC managed to gain an early advantage just two minutes into the match when Sohitra buried a bar-down penalty to push Colorado-Columbus ahead. They would add to their lead just five minutes later when Musa Kamara drove down the left flank and lofted it over the goalkeeper to make it 2-0 to CC. Jordan Obernesser would have the final goal of the match in the 33rd minute when he snuck through the middle of the field and buried his shot into the bottom left corner to make it 3-0 to Colorado-Columbus.

The third match of the day kicked off at 12:00pm when Miami faced off versus Metro New York. This match was ALL MIAMI. Princip Redondo had the first goal of the game in the 9th minute when his long-distant effort was buried. Less than a minute later, Miami added to their lead when a rebound was followed up by Stanley Gustav to make it 2-0. They capped it off with two more goals in the 13th minute and 16th minute, both by Saviola Charles for a simple 4-0 victory over New York.

The fourth match of the day kicked off at 2:30pm between New England & Colorado-Columbus. New England took the early lead in the match when captain Nico Calabria buried a penalty kick in the 9th minute. Musa Nzirimwo would add to New England’s lead just 15 minutes later when his effort was slotted into the bottom corner to make it 2-0 to New England. Vinny Fischer got on the scoresheet just 7 minutes later when Nico Calabria found Fischer for the tap-in finish at the back-post to make it 3-0 to New England. Colorado-Columbus would pull one back in the 36th minute when Obernesser’s long distant effort was buried to make it 3-1. The match would end in a New England 3-1 victory.

The fifth match of the day kicked off at 4:00pm between Metro New York vs. Arena FC. Juan Vargas Andrade would score first for New York when his lofted effort snuck in the net during the early stages of the match. Carlos Ayala would then connect to find Mbaye Gueye Faye at the back post in the 6th minute to add to New York’s lead. Keith Mann would then add to New York’s lead when a badly cleared ball fell to the top of the area and was buried into the b0tt0m corner to make it 3-0 to New York. Arena FC would pull one back just as the second half started when a hero ball was tapped in by Liam Fanning to make it 3-1. New York was quick to answer as just two minutes later; Mbaye Gueye Faye buried a close-range shot to make it 4-1. Carlos Ayala would another goal in the 36th minute when a long effort was deflected into the goal to make it 5-1 to New York. Abdul Halim would have the final goal of the match when a shot tucked into the bottom corner made it 6-1 to New York.

Playoff Sunday

In the first match of Championship Sunday, Metro New York took on New England in the first semi-final matchup. In a back-and-forth contest, it took 35 minutes for the deadlock to be broken when Nico Calabria buried it into the net to make it 1-0. New York was quick to answer the call when they scored the leveler just four minutes later when a delivery into the area was headed in by Luben which made it 1-1. After the match ended in a draw, it would enter a penalty shootout that saw finished efforts by Vincent Fisher, Musa Nzirimwo, Nico Calabria, Gavin Johnson as well as a massive save by Corey Laycock led New England the 4-2 victory in penalties, sending them to the final.

In the 9:15am Semi-Final match, Miami took on Columbus-Colorado. Princip Redondo broke the deadlock in the 18th minute when his freekick effort was buried to make it 1-0. Saviola Charles added to the lead in both the 24th minute & 42nd minute to give Miami the comfortable 3-0 victory. Miami would qualify for the final.

At 11:15pm, the Bronze Medal Game kicked off between New York & Columbus-Colorado. The match was a close one but was ultimately decided in the 37th minute when Juan Vargas Andrade broke the deadlock to give New York the Bronze Medal.

At 12:30pm, the championship game kicked off between New England & Miami. The clash was a tight one as it took 39 minutes for the deadlock to be broken when Miami ultimately took the lead when a ball centered near goal was tucked in by Princip Redondo to make it 1-0. Less than a minute later, Miami would add to their advantage when a long ball by the goalkeeper was trapped and ultimately buried by Princip Redondo yet again. Less than two minutes later, Miami put the game to bed when Princip Redondo found a teammate wide open at the back post to make it 3-0 for Miami.

New England would finish the 2025 edition of the U.S. Amputee Cup as runners-up.

For more news on members of the New England Amputee Soccer Team you can click on this link

(Editor’s Note: For more of Burt Granofsky’s photos, click on the link)

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