Center soccer kicking toward championships

ANNA MARIA – With all three soccer leagues winding down at The Center, the championship games are in sight for the youth and adult Island ballers.

Last Tuesday night the number one and two seed teams in the 8- to 10-year-old league had a bye week as their reward for finishing the regular season on top. The Cheesecake Cutie team finished number one with 15 points in the season and a 5-1-0 record.

The Sato Real Estate squad came in a close second with 12 points and four wins in the six-game regular season.

Four scorers put up the points for team Westfall’s Lawn Care & Pest Control last week to put the team into the next round of playoffs. Wesley Bekkerus, Madeline Kimmons, Maggie Niedzwick and Callin Westfall each made a goal against AMI Coconuts goalkeeper Andre Harwood.

The Westfall offense kept Harwood on his toes during the first-round playoff game, making 10 saves in the match. In the opposite goal, Westfall is credited with a save, along with teammate Kason Price’s seven stops.

Scoring the lone goal for AMI Coconuts, TJ Hagey and his teammates could not get past their opponents’ defense and find the net.

Westfall’s Lawn Care took on Sato Real Estate Monday in the first youth semifinal game. In the second game this past Monday, Cheesecake Cutie played team Island Real Estate, the winner of the second quarterfinal game last week.

In post-regulation time penalty kicks, Island Real Estate secured the second semifinal slot, winning against Solid Rock Construction.

Before the PKs, each team scored a single goal. Solid Rock’s Matthew Darak and Island Real Estate’s Preston LaPensee took the teams to a kickoff to determine who played the Cheesecake squad.

With seven and eight saves respectively, goalies Isaac Roadman, for Solid Rock Construction, and Miles Moss, for Island Real Estate, helped secure the overtime play.

Solid Rock Construction’s Elijah Roadman made the only PK for his team. Under the pressure of overtime play, Owen Mahoney and Jordy Perez each made their penalty kicks, helping to secure Island Real Estate’s place in the semifinals.

The winners of the league go head-to-head on May 23 at 6 p.m. in the final game of the season.

The 11- to 13-year-old teams finished their regular season games last week with Gulf Drive Café defeating Shady Lady Horticultural Services 4-3 and HSH Designs winning over Moss Builders 5-2.

Monday night the Gulf Drive team was scheduled to play team Shady Lady in the semifinals. The other semifinal matchup put HSH Designs against Moss Builders to determine the championship game scheduled for May 23 at 7 p.m.

Adult co-ed soccer semifinal play last Thursday night saw the second seed Pool America winning by one goal against the eighth seed Moss Builders.

In the second game of the night, Vintage Beach, ranked seventh, beat the third seed Sandbar Seafood & Spirits 6-3.

The Paul “Ace” Hayward championship game is scheduled for Thursday night at The Center to end another season of soccer on the Island.