Sports
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| Pine Avenue Store's Kylie Brownwell and Kayla Arritt of Harry's Continental Kitchens get all tangled up after a battle for the ball during Division III soccer action at the Anna Maria Island Community Center. |
AMICC Division III soccer race tightens up
by Kevin Cassidy
Islander Correspondent
The race for first place got a lot tighter in the Anna Maria Island Community Center Soccer League, Division III (ages 8-9), with previously unbeaten Island Animal Clinic falling 3-2 to Air America, which improved to 2-1-1 with the win. Throw Harry's Continental Kitchens into the mix as well after its 5-2 victory over Jessie's Island Store Friday, Sept. 24, to improve Harry's record to 2-1 - one game out of first place.
Harry's withstood some early offensive pressure from Jessie's before getting it together for the victory that saw Harry's unleash a flurry of shots against Jessie's goalie Rip Shafer, who finished with 13 saves.
Early on it was Harry's goalie Taylor Wilson who came up big on defense. Jessie's Stephanie Purnell received a pass at the six-yard mark from Jonah Castor. She quickly settled the ball and shot, but Wilson dove to her left to make a great save and deny Purnell. Three minutes later, Purnell found Jessie's teammate Kylie Brownwell on the left edge of the box, but her left-footed offering was again saved by Wilson in goal.
From that point onward, Harry's pretty much controlled the flow of the game and often had the ball down on the Jessie's defensive end. Harry's forward Hunter Parrish almost notched the first goal of the game when he picked off a Jessie's throw-in and dribbled in on Shafer in goal, but Shafer aggressively came off his line to smother the ball before Parrish could get a shot off.
Harry's finally broke through Shafer and the Jessie's defense when Parrish stole the ball in the midfield and passed inside to Olivia Alstrom. Alstrom carried the ball forward before hitting a beautiful through ball to Kayla Arritt streaking down the middle. Arritt carried the ball in and shot over a hard-charging Shafer for a 1-0 lead for Harry's.
The 13th minute saw Jessie's tie the game when the goalie was called by the referree for picking up an illegal pass-back with his hands. Jonah Castor deposited the free kick into the upper-right corner of the goal to tie the game 1-1.
Late in the first half, Elijah Toussant picked off a short punt and dribbled to his right past two defenders before ripping a shot far post for a 2-1 Harry's lead which carried into the half.
Jessie's showed some life at the start of the second half when Purnell cleared the ball up the left side to Castor, who pushed it past two defenders before his shot found the near corner to tie the score at 2-2.
Harry's turned it up a notch over the next 10 minutes and came up with a pair of goals from Toussant. The first goal was all Toussant, as he stole the ball in the midfield and outran everyone to score what turned out to the game-winner. Five minutes later, Toussant notched his third goal of the game when he finished off a nice pass from Savannah Schield for a 4-2 Harry's lead.
Schield completed the scoring for Harry's when Kayla Arritt stole the ball in the midfield and took off on a breakaway. Connor Field came over to break the play up, but Arritt alertly passed the ball to Schield, who finished the opportunity to end the game with a 5-2 victory.
There were other good performances as well last week. Read on to see how your favorite team fared. Don't forget about "Fun Day/Picture Day" Saturday, Oct. 2, starting at 9 a.m. Everyone is invited out to enjoy some good old-fashioned family fun before and after getting their team and individual pictures taken. A complete photo schedule appears at the end of this week's sports news.
Surf Shop 5, Jessie's 1
A hat trick by Giorgio Gomez and one goal from Danny Krokrskia carried the West Coast Surf Shop to a 5-1 victory over Jessie's Island Store Monday, Sept. 20, in Division III soccer action at the Center. Jonah Castor notched the lone goal for Jessie's in the loss.
Island Animal 6, Pine Avenue 1
Island Animal Clinic showcased the depth of its overall talent during its Sept. 20 Division III victory over Pine Avenue Store as six different players found the back of the net. William Brusso, Trevor Bystrom, Elijah Clay-Chapman, Joseph Darke, Reina Glavan and Jack Titsworth each scored goals during their 6-1 victory. Zach Guerin notched one goal to lead Pine Avenue in the loss.
Gateway 7, A&E 2
Joey Hutchinson's four goals helped Gateway Solutions cool off previously unbeaten Air & Energy during a Division II victory Tuesday, Sept. 21. Hutchinson received ample support from teammates Matt Bauer, Kyle Crum and Austin Wash, who each tallied a goal in the victory and move Gateway to the top of the standings. A&E was led by Sarah Howard and Carson Wooten-Stipcich with one goal each.
West Coast AC 10, Mr. Bones 4
West Coast Air Conditioning smoked Mr. Bones 10-4 on Tuesday, Sept. 21, behind three goals from Andrew Fortenberry and two goals apiece from teammates Chandler Hardy, Alex Wright and Amber Wright. Miles Hostetler added one goal to complete the goal-scoring barrage in the Division I contest. Mr. Bones received a pair of goals from Billy Alstrom and one goal apiece from Forrest Schield and Blake Wilson in the loss.
IRE 12, Danziger 1
Six goals from Travis Belsito carried Island Real Estate to its first victory, a 12-1 thumping of Danziger Allergy & Sinus on Wednesday, Sept. 22, in Division II soccer action. Shawn Conover added two goals for IRE, which also received goals from Chris Callahan, Daniel Janisch, Austin Martin and Kyle Parsons in the victory. Jordan Sebastiano notched the lone goal for Danziger in defeat.
ReMax 10, Mr. Bones 1
Four goals apiece from Celia Ware and Tim Villars carried ReMax Gulfstream Realty to a 10-1 victory over Mr. Bones on Wednesday, Sept. 22, in Division I soccer action. Ben Valdivieso chipped in with two goals to complete the scoring for ReMax, while Kristie Wickersham found the back of the net for the lone goal for Mr. Bones in the loss.
Gateway 8, Danziger 2
Matt Bauer stuffed up Danziger Allergy & Sinus with five goals during Gateway Solutions 8-2 Division II victory Thursday, Sept. 23. Joey Huchinson added a pair of goals, while Kyle Crum scored one to complete the scoring in their victory, which improved Gateway to 3-0 on the season. Joe Garbus and Mackenzie Kosfeld each notched a goal in defeat for Danziger.
West Coast AC 5, LaPensee 2
West Coast Air Conditioning received goals from four different players during its 5-2 Division I victory over LaPensee Plumbing in the Thursday evening late game. Andrew Fortenberry led the way with two goals, while Stephen Orlando, Alex Wright and Miles Hostetler each added goals in the victory. Chris Martin and Preston Riede each found the back of the net once to lead LaPensee in defeat.
Air America, Animal Clinic 2
Air America scored a 3-2 upset win over previously unbeaten Island Animal Clinic on Friday, Sept. 24, behind two goals from Daniel Pimental and one goal from Christian Goulet. The win pulls Air America to within a half game of first place in Division III. Island Animal Clinic, which fell to 3-1 with the loss, was led by Trevor Bystrom and Max Miller with a goal apiece. |
