Indoor soccer tournament brings 74 teams, about 2,000 people to Albion

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 February 2026 at 5:08 pm

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The annual Ben Kirby Memorial Tournament in Albion has brought about 2,000 people to Albion for the two-day tournament that started Friday and concludes tonight.

The top photo shows the grades 5 and 6 teams from Albion and Buffalo United in the elementary school gym. Buffalo United won the game, 2 to 1.

There are 74 teams in the tournament, up from 65 last year. The teams can have six players on the court and most teams have three or four subs. Many of their parents attended the tournament.

Lena Grillo of Albion looks for a pass in a JV game against the Batavia YMCA. Grillo would score for Albion in the game.

There are teams from grades 3 and 4 to adults in an open division in the tournament. The teams are from Albion, Alexander, Attica, Batavia, Bloomfield, Brockport, Buffalo, Campbell Sanova, Canandaigua, Holley, Hilton, Kendall, Le Roy, Lyndonville, Palmyra Macedon, Pavilion, Victor and Warsaw in the tournament.

Peter Borello, one of the organizers of the tournament for the Albion Soccer club, runs the scoreboard during a game in the elementary school gym.

Borello said a big group of volunteers put on the tournament. He estimated about 2,000 people attended the tournament on Friday and today.

Peter Borello holds the medals that will go to the winning teams.

Renee Wolf, coach for Holley’s JV and varsity girls teams, gathers the JV team before a game against Attica this afternoon in the high school gym.

The Albion Soccer Club organizes the two-day tournament which honors the memory of Ben Kirby of Albion. He was a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology when he died in a car accident on Nov. 6, 2017. He was 21 at the time, in his senior year majoring in software development. Kirby played youth soccer for Albion and also on the school teams.

Some of the proceeds go towards a $500 Ben Kirby scholarship given to a student nominated by one or more of the teachers in the Albion High School. Three of the scholarships are awarded each year.