Skip to content
The Upside
Link copied to clipboard

Military members square off in ‘Battle of the Branches’ soccer tournament on Battleship New Jersey

This week's UpShot.

The Battle of the Branches soccer tournament took place on Aug. 6 on the deck of the Battleship New Jersey.
The Battle of the Branches soccer tournament took place on Aug. 6 on the deck of the Battleship New Jersey.Read moreTYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer

Air National Guardsman Mosthigh Thankgod shoots on goaltender Luke Bryzowski during the Aug. 6 “Battle of the Branches” soccer tournament, which was held on the deck of the Battleship New Jersey. The Philadelphia Union-sponsored event fielded teams of active and retired military members as well as friends and family in five-on-five matches, as part of Military Appreciation Week. While Thankgod’s team, “Liberty Battery," would go on to thump Bryzowski’s team, “Davy’s Still in the Navy," it couldn’t go the distance. The tournament-winning team, “Bear’s Dawgs," received free tickets to the Aug. 11 Union match against the Houston Dynamo and were celebrated on the field before the game. The Union also donated $1,000 to the United Service Organizations of Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey (Liberty USO), and $1,000 to the battleship’s preservation fund.