Genesis Football Academy scored big on their first international youth football tournament when they won the Under-11 category at the Shaq Moore Youth Classic in Tobago on Sunday.

Genesis, which is run by former National Under-17 head coach Andrew Edwards, entered 3 teams at the tournament, including Under-13 and Under-11 A and Under-11 B teams. It was the Under-11 A which triumphed at the tournament, going unbeaten over the two days.

The U-11 B team played four games, drawing two and losing two while the U-13 team drew one, lost one and had a walkover in their third game to advance to the quarterfinals where they were knocked out by Ball Blasters.

The Under-11 A team, which is a co-ed team, played a total of seven games winning five and drawing two on their way to victory. On Saturday they defeated Beatnix 1-0 in their first match of the day while they drew 0-0 with Blasters Emerald in their second match.

On Sunday, they began the day with a 1-1 draw with Cardinal before ending the preliminary round with a 3-0 win over Trendsetter Hawks B.  

In the quarterfinals they beat Lambeau 3-0 before they smashed Creek 3-1 in the semifinals with 2 goals coming from Malakai Swaby and Raheem Boothe notching the other.

The final against Trendsetter Hawks A was the toughest challenge faced by the Genesis team. They however prevailed 3-2 on penalties, after a 0-0 draw at full time. Tahjair Barnes, Amora Rowe and Klevaughn Williams holding their nerves to ensure the win.

Rowe, who represented Jamaica as a part of the young Reggae Girlz team at the Under-14 level in Antigua this past summer, was named best defender and MVP for the Under-11 category at the tournament. She played all but five minutes of all the games her team played. A remarkable achievement for the first form student at Manchester High School.