Center’s fall soccer underway — despite rain delays
The Anna Maria Island Community Center’s fall soccer season got underway with a few games played during the week.
However, Spirit Day, a day-long event packed with games and a contest to see which team and its fans have the most spirit was postponed to Oct. 11 due to rain and a flooded field.
The center’s youth soccer league is divided into five age divisions. The instructional 3-5 year old league has six teams and sponsors, including Pink & Navy, Fun & More Rentals, Sign-A-Rama, Beach to Bay Construction, Beach Bistro and Southern Greens. This age group plays on Monday and Wednesday evenings through Oct. 20. With an emphasis on instruction, no scores are kept.
The 6-7 instructional division also lacks scores, wins, losses and standings. There are three teams sponsored by Bowes Imaging, Air & Energy and Usual Chaos. Games are played Wednesdays and Fridays through Nov. 7.
The 8-10 division has five teams that play games on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays through Nov. 10. Their sponsors include AMI Doughnuts, Bowes Imaging, Tyler’s Ice Cream, Miller Electric and Gulf-Bay Realty.
The 11-13 division has four teams sponsored by Sugar Beach Digital, Jen Crady Massage, The Feast and Smiledeep. Their games are played on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays through Nov. 10.
Lastly, the 14-17 youth division boasts only two teams with Wash Family Construction and AMI Fitness as sponsors. Their games will be played Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays through Nov. 10.
The weather allowed a few games to be played Oct. 10 starting with a 6 p.m. 8-10 division matchup that saw Bowes Imaging short-circuit Miller Electric by a 7-1 score behind three goals each from Cole Pearson and Byron Law. Mikaela Culhane added one goal to complete the scoring for Bowes.
Ozzy Lonzo notched the lone goal for Miller.
A second 8-10 division game of the evening saw Gulf-Bay Realty roll past Tyler’s Ice Cream on a 5-1 score. Jeremiah Sculco and Phillippe Baumgartner scored two goals each, while Anthony Manelli added one in the victory.
Travis Bates scored the lone goal for Tyler’s.
A contest in the 11-13 division wrapped up the night’s action with Jen Crady Massage pushing past Sugar Beach Digital by an 8-1 score. Sean Rodriguez led the way with three goals, while David Daigle scored twice. Alex Rodriguez, Lila Naeher and Gage Nevin completed the Crady scoring with one goal each.
Tyler Brewer notched the lone goal for Sugar Beach Digital in the loss.
Adult soccer starts up, too
The adult soccer league also got started with four matches played Oct. 2. The first match of the evening saw Island Pest Control battle to a 3-3 tie with Slim’s Place. Chris Yavalar led the way for IPC with two goals and an assist, while Teddy Louloudes and Drew Mitchell added a goal each.
Rico Beissert scored two goals to lead Slim’s Place, which also received a goal and an assist from Austin Balais and 11 saves from Will Case in goal.
Jessie’s Island Store rolled past Sato Real Estate by a 4-0 score in the second game of the night behind two goals and an assist from Holly Belton and a goal each from Matt Kretzman and Jeff Christenson. Perry Pittman made 10 saves in goal to preserve the shutout.
Eason Builders demolished Wash Family Construction 8-3 in the evening’s third match behind five goals from Matt Plummer. Scott Eason added a goal and two assists and Chris Klotz had one goal and one assist for the winners. Sean Sanders completed the scoring with one goal, while goalie Wes Robinson registered 14 saves in the victory.
Austin Wash, Ally Titsworth and Ray Gardner each notched goals to lead the Wash effort that included two assists from Aaron Parkin and one from Titsworth. Gardner finished with five saves, while David Greene had six saves in the loss.
The final match of the night saw Beacon Design and Dojo Martial Arts battle to a 4-4 tie. Roman Eckert led Beacon with two goals while Eric Pullen and Shawn Kaleta each scored one. Jordan Demers finished with 10 saves in goal for Beacon.
Adam Bujarski led Dojo Martial Arts with two goals, while Shay Coleman and Matt Ray each scored. For Ray, it was his first career goal. Adam Mott was strong between the pipes, finishing with 16 saves.
Horseshoe news
Three teams advanced from pool play with 2-1 records during Oct. 1 horseshoe action at the Anna Maria City Hall horseshoe pits.
Walker Tim Sofran drew the bye into the finals and watched as the team of Bob Heiger and Hank Huyghe rolled to an easy 21-9 victory over Sam Samuels and Jay Disbrow. Heiger-Huyghe prevailed 21-20 in a back-and-forth final, earning bragging rights.
Oct. 4 horseshoe action was canceled after nearly 3 inches of rain flooded the pits.
Play gets underway at 9 a.m. every Wednesday and Saturday at the Anna Maria City Hall pits. Warmups begin at 8:45 a.m.