Nicolai has been the principal organizer for the inaugural New England Amputee Soccer Open Cup, which kicked off this afternoon at the SBLI Fields at Progin Park in Lancaster. The tournament has attracted 35 athletes from 17 different states who have been assigned to four evenly matched teams. The goal of the tournament is to build awareness of the sport and create a talent pipeline of future US National team players. In addition to the competition, the event will include a clinic for players with disabilities as well as coaching courses and referee sessions to help get more people involved in the sport. 

I volunteered to photograph the event and captured close to 2,000 images from the four games played today. Ninety-five percent of the photos are action shots, but my favorite of the day came from a post-goal celebration. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This image needs only two: PURE JOY! It not only captures this moment but also the atmosphere of the tournament.

A full set of photos (reduced resolution) can be found at New England Open Cup Photos. I culled the collection down to ~500 and hope I have at least a few images of every participant. I expect to add another 500 or so tomorrow when I shoot the remaining four games of the tournament.

Pictured below is a six-image sequence of Nico scoring on a direct kick.