Young Bermudian footballer Aaron Burgess scored nine goals as he helped take Florida’s Fort Lauderdale Sunrise Under-12 elite team to a nail-biting final in the Palm Beach Cup at the weekend.The Hamilton Parish Hot Pepper player hit the back of the net in all four games in which he played during the cup competition, having been invited to join the team as an overseas guest player.Burgess has previously played for the Fort Lauderdale side, most recently last November when he bagged four goals during the 14th Annual West Pines Kick-Off Classic.At the weekend he underlined his ability as a striker, claiming a hat-trick in his team’s opening match against Boca United Academy, which ended 4-2. In the next match he scored the winner in a 1-0 result against Lake Worth Sharks FC Barcelona before adding a further two to his tally in the next game as his team overcame Ayso Region Heat 7-0.Those results took Fort Lauderdale Sunrise to the final of the fourth Annual Palm Beach Cup/Matt DeOrsey Trophy tournament where they faced Lake Worth Sharks FC Barcelona Blue Academy Team.Burgess got his team off to a perfect start with a first-half hat-trick that gave them a 3-0 lead at the interval. However, the Lake Worth team came back to win 6-3.Coach Phillip Burgess said there was a high standard of play and competitiveness throughout the tournament. The HWPC youth director has been networking with the Fort Lauderdale Sunrise elite team to open the door for Bermuda players to take part as guest overseas players.To be considered, young players must meet certain criteria, namely be on their school’s honorary list and with a school grade of 78 percent or higher.