A third of the teams in the adult soccer league at the Center of Anna Maria Island have four victories after six weeks of action and a fourth team has three wins, leaving it wide open for an emerging top seed when the schedule comes to a close Jan. 5.
Earning the top seed ensures an easier first-round playoff matchup, making the path to the Jan. 26 championship game a bit less daunting.
Mason Martin and Ross Built are currently tied atop the standings with matching 4-1-1 records, with Wash Family Construction on their heels with a 4-2 record. Anna Maria CrossFit also is in the mix for top seed with a 3-2-1 record.
Eason Builders leads the second tier with a 2-3-1 record, followed by Acqua Aveda and Jiffy Lube with matching 2-4 records. Slim’s Place brings up the rear with a 1-5 record.
In action last week, Eason scored a 4-3 upset victory over Anna Maria CrossFit to open Dec. 15 action and knock CrossFit out of a first-place tie. Josh Sato and Bing Robinson scored two goals each to lead Eason, which received five saves from goalie Omar Polar in the victory.
Jessica Williams led the CrossFit offense with a goal and an assist. Will Kretzman added a goal, while Rico Beissert chipped in with a goal and five saves for CrossFit in the loss.
Acqua Aveda defeated Jiffy Lube 5-3 in the second game of the evening behind three goals and an assist from Eric Pullen. Nathan Kragt added a goal and an assist while Sean Flynn completed the scoring with one goal in the victory.
Danny Anderson scored a pair of goals to lead Jiffy Lube, which also received a goal from Murat Akay and three saves and an assist from Richard Anderson in the loss.
Mason Martin stepped up as the team to beat on a 6-3 victory over Ross Built in the third game of the night. Ted Hurst and Frank Agnelli scored two goals each to lead Mason Martin, which also received a goal and an assist from Anthony Barberio and a goal from Tara Stutts in the victory.
Wash Family Construction edged Slim’s Place by a 2-1 score to notch its fourth win of the season behind a goal each from Aaron Parkin and Alf Klotz. Jason Sato helped preserve the victory with five saves in goal.
Chris Culhane notched the lone goal for Slim’s Place, which also received five saves from goalie Richard Fosmore in the loss.
Beach to Bay tops adult basketball
Harry’s Grill missed out on a chance to gain ground on idle Beach to Bay Construction last week. Going into this week’s action, Harry’s was a game behind in the standings, but thanks to an upset victory by Mike Walter & Associates over Harry’s, Beach to Bay lost ground in its pursuit of first place.
Beach to Bay is 6-1 with a game in hand over Harry’s Grill at 5-3, finished for the regular season. No matter what happens in Beach to Bay’s last game, they clinched the top seed and a bye for the playoffs, which get started Jan. 3.
Mike Walter & Associates improved to 3-4, while Intechgrate Systems and Blake Medical Center are both 2-5 heading into the last week of regular season play.
Mike Walter & Associates earned a 67-59 upset victory Dec. 13 over Harry’s Grill behind a balanced scoring attack that saw four players with double-figure scoring, led by Ian Hardy’s 19 points. Jay Terry followed with 17 points, Nick Evangelista added 15 and Thomas Gish finished with 12 points in the victory.
Harry’s Grill, which was without top player Antwan Jackson, was led by 17 points each from Brandon Kern and Teagon Purtill. John Davis added 14 points and Derek Gargett finished with 9 points in the loss.
The second game of the evening saw Intechgrate earn a 52-33 victory over Blake behind 24 points from Aaron Dudukes and 17 points from Doug Hawkins.
Van Kinder, the only player to score in double figures, led Blake with 10 points, while Louis Flores added 8 points in the loss.
Key Royale golf news
Beautiful weather last week brought a flock of golfers to the Key Royale Club in Holmes Beach. The men played two rounds Dec. 12, starting with a nine-hole individual-low-net match in the morning. Bob Blaser matched Jim Thorton’s 4-under-par 28 to finish in a tie for first place.
Later in the day, the men returned for a nine-hole modified Stableford-system match. Art McMillan earned clubhouse bragging rights and first place on a plus-2. Barry Izzard, Peter Lund and Fred Miller finished in a three-way tie for second with matching plus-1s.
The men were back on the course Dec. 15 for a nine-hole scramble. The team of Bill MacMillan, Earl Ritchie, Dennis Schavey and Greg Shorten combined on a 4-under-par 28 to earn a trip to the winner’s circle. Second place went to the team of Al Carr, Peter Lund and Merritt Fineout with a score of 3-under-par 29.
Horseshoe news
Two teams emerged from pool play and battled for bragging rights during Dec. 14 horseshoe action at the Anna Maria City Hall horseshoe pits.
Bob Lee, seeking his sixth win in succession, was teamed with Gene Bobeldyk and looked to be on the way to his seventh win after jumping out to a 15-0 lead over walker Bob Palmer. Palmer, however, had other ideas and answered with 22 consecutive points to earn a 22-15 come-from-behind victory.
Dec. 17 action saw three teams advance to the knockout stage. The team of Steve Doyle and Palmer drew the bye into the finals and watched as Tim Sofran and Tom Farrinton advanced to the final on a 24-20 victory over Bob Mason and Rod Bussey. Doyle and Palmer mowed down Sofran and Farrinton 22-6 to earn a trip to the winner’s circle and make it two wins in a row for Palmer.
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 random team selection. There is no charge to play and everyone is welcome.