WCMC-Q students win soccer championship

February 2009

The students of the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar Soccer Team are champions of the 2009 Education City Soccer League. They took the trophy with a 2-0 victory over the Academic Bridge Program (ABP) in the league finals on Thursday, February 19.

The win capped off an undefeated season for the team and co-coaches, director of student affairs Eric Fry and student academic counselor Gerard McKee.

Fry found the team record impressive considering the demands of the students’ studies vs. practice. “With a medical student’s schedule, it’s hard to commit that kind of time,” he said. Most other teams were able to practice more frequently.

The ABP, also undefeated before the finals, is a prime example. Spectators likened their pre-game warm up to a military precision drill team exercise. By comparison the WCMC-Q team warm up appeared quite relaxed, perhaps even a bit sluggish. But that was all part of the game strategy.

The plan, Fry explained, was to play the starters through all of what they expected to be a tough, physical game. “This was the final game for many of our students, so we looked at it as 40 minutes where they would leave everything on the field.”

The focus was on offense, Fry added. “We felt that if we scored first, we would be in control.”

Team captain Mohamed El Shazly made good on that plan by scoring WCMC-Q’s first goal. Forward Muhamed Baljevic cemented the lead with another in the second half.

A trophy ceremony was held on the field, watched by an enthusiastic crowd of WCMC-Q students and staff who braved the chilly evening to cheer their team on to victory.

El Shazly summed up the team’s excitement and gratitude: “This dream was made possible thanks to all the players who dedicated their time and effort, our two wonderful coaches, the Student Affairs Office and Dr. Maya Hammoud for their great support, and of course all the fans who cheered for us and believed in our team.”

“I hope this is only the beginning of many more championships to come," he added.

The trophy now joins that of the WCMC-Q Cricket Team, who this past November won the Education City league cricket championships for the second year running.

Images of the game and team can be found in the events gallery.

Congratulations to the 2009 Education City Soccer League Champions
Majed Al-Khulaifi Saif Al Rawas Khalid Al-Saegh Nael Amin Abdel-Samad Mahmoud Awad Muhamed Baljevic David Beshai Mohamed Elshazly (captain) Tarek Elshazly Amr Hassan Adam Khader Bassel Saksouk Zuhair Salah Alhassan Sedeeq