ANNA MARIA – The spring adult co-ed soccer season on the Island started with 10 full teams of players young and not so young, traveling from Sarasota, Palmetto and beyond to hit the pitch for the last three months.
Last Thursday night, two teams faced off for the final game of the season and bragging rights as Island soccer champions.
After two halves of play, the exciting game ended in a tie. Tim Holly scored the first and only goal for the Ross Built Custom Home team in the first half of the big game. Leo Gonzalez scored the tying goal for Progressive Cabinetry after halftime.
The strong defensive efforts by both teams kept the scoring low and goalkeepers busy. Each team is known for their shooting and Progressive’s Tyler Bekkerus made eight saves in the team’s win.
On his side of the field, Ross Built’s main keeper, Max Gazzo, worked hard with a recorded 14 stops of his opponents’ strikes. Taking Gazzo’s place at the net, Eliza Faillace made two saves in the game.
The title of champion for the season came down to overtime play. Using Golden Goal overtime play, Progressive’s team captain, Keith Mahoney, was the first to strike and first to score in overtime, giving his team the big 2-1 win and championship title at The Center, and ending another great season of soccer on Anna Maria Island.
ANNA MARIA – More than two months of adult soccer action on the Island led to a showdown in the final games of the season this week.
Semifinal playoff action saw teams Ross Built Custom Homes and Progressive Cabinetry outplay their opponents, making way for them to take the last two slots in the league’s bracket.
In the first game of the night last on Thursday, Ross Built had an easy time of their win against team Pool America. The team’s active offense led to the 6-1 win.
Pool America’s Brandon Rolland scored the team’s only goal in the game, while teammate Jessica Reukberg was put to the test as the keeper. Reukberg is credited with six saves in the game against the onslaught of shots from her opponents.
Team captain Chris Klotz put an assist into the game statistics.
Also with six recorded saves, Max Gazzo supported team Ross Built defensively as goalie.
Ross Built Custom Home’s offense pursued the Pool American goal with five scorers and two additional team members with assists. Jake Ross, son of team captain Greg Ross, led the team in scoring with two points.
The father-son scoring trinity was realized with additional goals by G. Ross and Jake’s twin brother, Andrew. Dean Hinterstoisser and Tim Holly shot the other two points for Ross Built.
Hinterstoisser is credited with an assist in the game for Ross Built, with Helio Gomez and Ted Hurst with assists of their own to help with the team’s victory.
The scoring in the second game of the night started in the first minute of play, with Progressive Cabinetry taking the lead early and ultimately winning the game against team Salty Printing. The close semifinal game was won by a single point, making the early Progressive goal all too important.
The six winning shots came off the boots of team captain Keith Mahoney, with three goals, and Junior Martines and Osvaldo Cabello. Martines slid two shots by Salty Printing goalkeeper Charles “Tuna” McCracken.
Alex Aviles, Leo Gonzalez and Raul Loera each had a single assist for the Progressive Cabinetry team. In goal, Tyler Bekkerus made seven critical saves for his team, aiding the squad in securing the last slot in the season finale.
Kevin Roman’s Salty Printing team worked hard on the field to stop the Progressive charge. The 14 saves by McCracken exemplified the offensive attack released by his opponents.
Roman, the Salty team captain, dominated the field and his team’s scoring with four goals. Tyler Brewer made a solo goal for Salty Printing, working to keep the team in the hunt for the championship honors.
Salty Printing came up just short of the championship goal, 6-5, paving the way for the final matchup: Progressive Cabinetry versus Ross Built Custom Homes. The final game of the season for the Island’s adult co-ed soccer league is scheduled for Thursday, June 13 on The Center’s pitch.
ANNA MARIA – To close out the winter 2024 sports season at The Center of Anna Maria Island, the adult indoor soccer players went into round two of the playoffs last Wednesday knowing that if they won, they would advance to the championship game in only a few very short minutes.
In the first game of the night, second-ranked team Pool America lost to the Sato Real Estate team 9-5. Coming into the night as the third seed, Sato Real Estate was ready to play off of the win against Slim’s Place the week prior.
Pool America had a bye in round one playoff action.
Team Bucky Construction faced the same fate in the semifinal round against ServisFirst Bank. Fourth-ranked team Servis beat team Mi-Box to earn their round two seat. Top-ranked Bucky Construction had the week to rest.
The week off for Pool America and Bucky Construction seemed to work as a disadvantage for the two top-ranked teams. ServisFirst Bank’s win matched them up against Sato Real Estate in the final indoor soccer game of the season.
Having the apparent advantage of playing the first game of the night, Sato Real Estate led the championship game going into halftime 3-2. As the game clock ticked, the fatigue of playing back-to-back games started to take its toll on team ServisFirst Bank.
Team captain Josh Sato protected his team’s goal for the duration of the match, with 14 recorded saves. Servis shared the goalkeeping duties between Scott Cooper and Robert Fellowes. Cooper finished with three stops, while Fellowes put three saves in the game stats.
The game’s 15 points came off the boots of Sato Real Estate’s Ted Hurst and Nate Welch, scoring four and three goals, respectively, as well as two goals for each of the ServisFirst Bank scorers Nate Stotler, Luca Vecchio and Fellowes.
James Noblett and Sato each added a single point for the Sato Real Estate team, contributing to the team’s solid win.
Team Sato Real Estate progressively widened its lead with the final whistle blowing to a 9-6 win for the slightly favored squad. As the indoor soccer season ends, the play on the outdoor pitch starts with spring adult co-ed and youth soccer on the Island.
ANNA MARIA – Center soccer play ended last week with six teams playing for three championship titles. Monday night started with semifinal playoff games for youth soccer.
In the 8- to 10-year-old league, top-ranked team Moss Builders lost the first age group game against team Adrian Griffin Interiors in an overtime shootout after the 0-0 regulation time finish.
Solid Rock Construction eked out the win, moving on to the championship game against Adrian Griffin Interiors, after a 1-1 tie against team Am I Coconuts? by a single goal in the shootout.
The semifinal games for the older youth players were not as close. The 11- to 14-year-old league play started with Solid Rock winning over The Gitt Team – KW on the Water by four goals.
11- to 14-year-old league youth soccer champions, team Cheesecake Cutie, are, from left, Coach Keith Mahoney, Maggie Niedzwick, Charlee Maize, T.J. Hagey, Preston LaPensee, Owen Purcell, Gunnar Maize, Theo Aupelle, Kegan McGlade, Thomas Holly, Coach Dave Hagey and Josiah McDonald. – Monica Simpson | Sun
In the final game last Monday night, the top-seed Cheesecake Cuties team outscored HSH Designs by seven goals. The Cuties’ win put them up against the second-ranked Solid Rock team the next night in the championship match-up in youth soccer.
Kicking off Tuesday night soccer, James Roadman’s Solid Rock Construction could not compete against the tough Adrian Griffin Interiors team in the 8- to 10-year-old championship game. With the final score 7-1, Jordy Perez had a hat trick for the winners.
Teammates Phoenix Harwood and Jackson Griffin each had a goal in the game. With two points, Joseph Caballero scored two points to help his team earn the win. Andre Harwood made 10 big stops for the Adrian Griffin Interiors team.
Carson Long worked hard at the goal with nine saves for Solid Rock Construction. Sam Raulerson got one past A. Harwood for a solo goal for his team. Solid Rock showed a never-quit spirit on the field for two full halves of play, ending the season strong.
The Adrian Griffin Interiors team, led by coach Jesse Griffin, set the stage for their victory with a huge victory against Moss Builders in the semifinal round.
Last Tuesday night’s final game showed strong efforts on both sides of the field as the Cheesecake Cuties, coached by Keith Mahoney, narrowly defeated the Solid Rock Construction team in the 11- to 14-year-old league championship game.
Thomas Kelly led the defensive charge with nine saves for the Cuties. Jack Zaccagnino stopped eight strikes for Solid Rock.
On offense, the single goal by Luke Dellenger just was not enough for the Solid Rock Construction team, coached by J. Roadman. Three goals by three players solidified the Cheesecake Cuties place on the top of the rankings for the age division.
Adult soccer champions, team Gulf Drive Café, are, top row from left, Juan Vega, Eliza Falliace, Kevin Roman, Tyler Brewer, Javier Rivera, Flavio Olvera and Jana Whitehead. Bottom row from left are Alejandro Aviles, Charles “Tuna” McCracken and Helio Gomez. – Monica Simpson | Sun
Closing out the action-packed season and nail-biting playoff series, the adult co-ed recreational soccer finals were played last Thursday night. After over 45 minutes of regulation play, Gulfview Windows & Doors faced Gulf Drive Café utilizing the Golden Goal rule.
After letting one in during the final seconds of the game, Gulf Drive’s Tyler “Bean” Brewer was the first to score in overtime, winning the game for his team.
Gulf Drive Café’s Helio Gomez scored the first two goals for the team, while Jesus Martinez and Amber Augustine got the soccer ball past Charles “Tuna” McCracken. McCracken, the league’s leading goalkeeper, had 11 saves in the final game of the season.
The two Gulfview goals by Martinez and Augustine were capped off by team captain Keith Mahoney. Mahoney snuck the ball away from Brewer in front of the Gulf Drive goal, leading to the third Gulfview goal with McCracken caught off guard.
Heating up the field, Gulf Drive’s captain, Kevin Roman, was left just enough time in the game to dominate and strike. Roman’s shot sped past Gulfview keeper, Raul Loera, at the lower left corner of the goal to tie the championship game 3-3 at the whistle.
Brewer’s OT goal captured the Paul “Ace” Hayward championship for team Gulf Drive Café. As a player at The Center since he was 4 years old, the big win is Brewer’s first soccer championship in his 17 years of playing on the Island’s pitch.
Soccer moves to the gymnasium in 2024 with indoor soccer action for both kids and adults. Walls, balls and high-speed action starts in January.
ANNA MARIA – The Island cool air brought friends, family and fellow footballers to The Center to watch the semifinal adult co-ed soccer action last Thursday night. After weeks of lead-up, the lineup for the championship game is set.
In the first game of the night, fifth-ranked Gulfview Windows and Doors defeated the top seed Wash Family Construction squad, with the single goal scored by Raul Loera.
With lots of action on the field for 44 minutes of regulation play, Gulfview captured the first spot in the final game of the season, the Paul “Ace” Hayward Cup championship game.
Gulfview’s victory included 10 saves by Gulfview’s Tuna McCracken and seven stops by Mark Long for team Wash Family.
Sealing the deal in a shutout, second-ranked Sato Real Estate handily beat team Moss Builders. In the 7-0 game, the Sato offense kept Ryan Moss and the Moss Builders’ defense busy.
Goalkeeper Moss had seven brilliant stops in the game, but the shooting power of team Sato Real Estate was on fire.
Scoring a solo goal for Sato Real Estate, Will Kretzmann also made four critical stops in goal.
Lindsey Styka’s hat trick contributed to the Sato Real Estate scoring by Danny Anderson and Pedro Gonzalez. In addition to Gonzalez’s two goals, he is credited with an assist in the semifinal game.
The season closing game is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 8 at The Center.
