Making History! The AAFLMC United Team Won the New Student Cup Soccer Championship, the First Time in 7 Years!

    After a month of fierce competition, the Aeronautics and Astronautics - Foreign Languages - Media and Communication (AAFLMC) United Team broke through the 16 teams composed of 26 colleges from the whole university and made a historic breakthrough into the final of the Freshman Cup. On the evening of November 19th, the final, AAFLMC fought with the Medical College for 50 minutes, and finally defeated the Medical College with a score of 2:0, winning the 2023 Shanghai Jiao Tong University Freshman Cup Football Championship!

    In the group stage, the AAFLMC United Team was grouped with the Medical Team, the ABD United Team, and the IPAL United Team. Facing the siege of the Medical Team and the ABD United Team, two traditional strong teams, the history of being eliminated in the first round of the group stage last year seemed to repeat itself, and advancing to the knockout stage seemed like a distant hope. But as the tournament progressed, the AAFLMC United Team won all three group matches without conceding a goal, and advanced as the group leader, becoming the biggest dark horse in the knockout stage. In the quarter-finals, the AAFLMC United Team beat Zhiyuan College 2:1; in the semi-finals, they eliminated the Biomedical Engineering and Medicine United Team 5:4 in a penalty shootout, and met the Medical Team in the final. Although the AAFLMC United Team had beaten the Medical Team 1:0 in the first match of the group stage, the Medical Team's strength was obviously not to be underestimated after several rounds of competition. After winning the semi-final, the AAFLMC United Team did not indulge in the joy of victory, but turned to the final training and preparation. The veteran players of the AAFLMC United Team also actively cooperated, and did a good job of tactical planning and logistical support for the final. The Aeronautics and Astronautics School, the Foreign Languages School, and the Media and Communication School also provided material support and guarantee for the team's preparation as much as possible based on a careful understanding of the team's needs.

Final review:

    On the day of the match on November 19, the spectators from the Aeronautics and Astronautics School, the Foreign Languages School, and the Media and Communication School arrived at the stadium early, with the flags flying and the drums roaring. All the players were united and determined, and vowed to do their best for the final, and launched an attack on the first university-level soccer tournament championship in the history of the AAFLMC United Team!

    At 8 pm on November 19, the highly anticipated New Student Cup final kicked off on time with the referee's whistle. At the beginning of the game, the AAFLMC United Team showed a strong desire to attack. In the fourth minute, the AAFLMC United Team's ace shooter Li Sichen received the ball with his back to the goal outside the penalty area, turned around skillfully, passed three people, and then shot a powerful shot, and the ball went into the net! The audience did not expect the first goal of the final to come so quickly and so wonderfully, and the cheers and cheers of the mountains and the tsunami instantly flooded the Nanyang Stadium, and the AAFLMC United Team took a 1:0 lead! In the subsequent game time, the gold medal defense line composed of Tang Haowen, Ling Kaiyao, Zhang Yuchong and goalkeeper Semen suppressed the Medical Team's counterattack time and time again, and the midfield and frontcourt composed of Hakimi, Li Sichen and He Yuntao firmly controlled the game rhythm. At the end of the first half, the AAFLMC United Team maintained a one-goal lead.

    After changing sides, the AAFLMC United Team continued to pressure and got a free kick opportunity at the edge of the penalty area in the 30th minute. It was Li Sichen who resolutely stood in front of the ball. Observe, run, and shoot! The ball flew over the wall in a near-perfect route in the air and flew straight to the corner of the goal! Graceful like a swan, gentle like a dragon! The score was rewritten to 2:0! Li Sichen, who scored twice, could not hide his excitement, led the players on the field to run to the sidelines, and high-fived with the ecstatic AAFLMC fans. Faced with a two-goal deficit, the Medical Team decided to go all out and made two substitutions in a row, attacking with all their strength. And the AAFLMC United Team also strengthened the defense by changing players, stabilizing the defense line. In the last ten minutes of the game, the Medical Team launched several attacks on the goal, but the captain Ling Kaiyao bravely shoveled the ball and goalkeeper Semen's steady save kept the goal intact. Finally, as goalkeeper Semen leaped to save the Medical Team's free kick at the edge of the penalty area, the referee immediately blew the whistle to end the game. The AAFLMC United Team beat the Medical Team 2:0 and won the New Student Cup championship with a full victory!

    The moment the final whistle sounded, the AAFLMC players and fans on the sidelines could no longer restrain the excitement and excitement that had been suppressed for a whole game, or a month, and rushed into the field together, jumping, hugging, and laughing. Under the dark sky, the flags of the three schools fluttered in the wind, and the song "We are the champions" echoed. The ace shooter Li Sichen and the captain Ling Kaiyao were thrown high by the players, and the champagne splashing everywhere pushed the celebration to a climax.

    In the awarding song, Li Sichen held up the golden boot award and the Golden Ball Award representing the best shooter and the best player of the tournament, and Semen Moiseenko, the goalkeeper who only conceded one goal in six games, won the Golden Glove Award. And as the captain Ling Kaiyao lifted the dazzling championship trophy in the boiling cheers, the AAFLMC United Team's New Student Cup journey finally drew a slightly dreamy, tearful and sweaty golden end.

    In this "New Student Cup" tournament, the AAFLMC United Team had as many as nine students from the Aeronautics and Astronautics School: Chen Hong, Chen Ziyun, Deng Yunhan, Ling Kaiyao, Liu Xiangyu, Wang Zihao, Zan Bohan, Zhang Yuchong, Semen Moiseenko (in alphabetical order). They sweated and fought bravely on the court, loved to record and remember the wonderful moments on the sidelines, and injected a unique sky blue into this hard-won championship glory.