Own goal keys soccer comeback, Island Cup set for July 16
The adult soccer season at the Anna Maria Island Community Center came to an end June 25 with four games that finalized the matchups for the playoffs.
The games take up Thursday, July 2, and continue until the Island Cup is played at 8 p.m. Thursday, July 16.
The past week started with Sato Real Estate taking on Eason Builders with the builders hoping to improve to 4-4 on the season and Sato wanting to hold onto its No. 2 seeding.
The game was a battle of evenly matched teams with both generating quality scoring chances only to be turned away by goalies Josh Sato and Ray Gardner.
Sato Real Estate jumped out on top early in the first half on a goal from Taylor Manning, but Eason Builders got two goals from Omar Polar a minute apart late in the first half for a 2-1 lead.
The second half was more of the same, with both teams getting chances only to be turned away until the 21st minute. A goalie switch by Eason Builders sent Polar between the pipes and brought Gardner onto the field.
Chris Klotz sent a pass up the middle that Teddy Louloudes ran onto, but Gardner hustled back and beat Louloudes to the ball. Unfortunately, the ball bounced off Gardner’s knee and into the Eason goal — Gardner’s own goal — to tie the game at 2-2 with less than 4 minutes remaining.
Two minutes later, Sato Real Estate took a corner kick, and Klotz hit a nice service into the goal area that Louloudes headed into the goal. That gave Sato an improbable 3-2 come-from-behind victory.
In other action July 25, 11 Man Gang defeated Wash Family Construction 4-2 behind three goals from Jeff Gonzalez and a goal from Rico Beissert.
David Hiram and Alisha Keene scored one goal each to lead Wash in the loss.
Smiledeep rolled to a 5-1 victory over Slim’s Place in the third match of the night behind three goals from Adam Bujarski. Steve Oelfke and Alan Waters each scored once to complete the Smiledeep scoring in the victory.
Sean Sanders notched the lone goal for Slim’s Place, which also received 11 saves from goalie Will Case in the loss.
The last game of the evening saw LaPensee Plumbing earn a 4-0 shutout over Rebellion. Jeff Christenson led the way with two goals and an assist, while Holly Belton and Yuri Pereira each notched one goal in the victory.
Nate Talucci made 10 saves in goal for Rebellion in the loss.
Then there were 2
Adult basketball playoffs got underway last week with a play-in game on June 22 between fifth-seeded Team Kern and fourth-seeded Team Spcondra.
In a minor upset, Kern came out on top by a 63-53 score behind 21 points and nine rebounds from Scott Elisio and 13 points and 10 rebounds from Eric Gledhill to earn a shot at top-seeded Gator Man Pools.
Team Spcondra was led by Ray Gardner’s 17 points and 12 points from Joseph Bazo.
Semifinal action took place June 23 with a two-versus-three matchup between Team Mickan and Team Ray. Mickan came away with a 55-49 victory behind a game-high 32 points from Antwaun Jackson and 10 points from Pat Calvary.
Team Ray was led in the loss by Jordan Demers, who poured in 25 points, while Matt Ray added 10 points.
The second game saw Gator Man Pools edge Team Kern 53-50 behind 23 points and seven rebounds from Aaron Dudukes and 14 points from Brandon Osmond.
Scott Elisio scored 19 points, while Brandon Kern chipped in with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists to lead Team Kern in the loss.
The finals were set for 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 30, following a 3-point challenge and dunk contest which gets started at 6:30 p.m.
Key Royale golf news
The Key Royale Club women played a nine-hole, individual-low-net golf match June 23 in two flights, while also playing a side game of “tee-to-green.” In this contest, only strokes from the tee box to the green are counted.
Tootie Wagner fired a 6-under-par 26 to edge Helen Pollock by one shot to win Flight A.
Lori Waggoner won the game of the day in Flight A with a score of 23, one less than Debi Wohlers.
Sue Wheeler, Terry Westby and Christina Mason tied for first place in Flight B with matching 2-under-par 30s, while Jana Samuels was one stroke back in second place.
Wheeler also took first place in the game of the day for Flight B with a 27, while Samuels was alone in second place with a 28.
Horseshoe news
Two teams emerged from pool play and were left to battle for bragging rights during June 24 horseshoe action at the Anna Maria City Hall horseshoe pits. The team of Steve Doyle and Steve Grossman edged Tim Sofran and Jay Disbrow by a 21-17 score to earn a trip to the winner’s circle.
June 27 action saw the team of Sam Samuels and Gary Howcroft earn the only 3-0 record during pool play and were the day’s outright champs.
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. followed by team selection.
There is no charge to play and everyone is welcome.