The green,
green
grass of home
Lefty’s F.C. wins
25th annual Ketchum Classic soccer tournament
By JODY
ZARKOS
Express Staff Writer
No
post-game beer was ever colder, more refreshing or more deserving than the
celebratory barley quaffed after Lefty’s F.C. won the Ketchum Classic
men’s soccer tournament.
Lefty’s F.C. Dominic Conti cuts through traffic at the Ketchum Soccer Classic at Atkinson Park on Saturday. Conti scored twice against Seattle.
Express photo by Willy Cook
Anchored by
a commanding performance by goalie and Most Valuable Player Olin Glenne,
Lefty’s F.C. compiled a 4-0 record to capture the 25th annual
tilt at Atkinson Park, August 11-12.
"Everyone
kicked ass," Glenne aptly observed.
They also
took names.
With
plotting and scheming worthy of soap opera divas, tournament organizers
Kurt Funkhouser, Brian Enge and Glenne separated the 12-team field into
four brackets.
The trio
anticipated Lefty’s winning the A bracket and the Boise Blast winning
the D, setting up a showdown in the semifinals. They also wanted to meet
defending champion Park City, who knocked Ketchum out of last year’s
tournament in the semifinals.
The plan
worked perfectly.
"Usually
things never turn out the way you want, but not this time,"
Funkhouser said. "There was a lot of revenge to be had."
And this
year Ketchum had all the pieces to the puzzle. Dangerous forwards, two-way
midfielders and stalwart defenders. Add to the mix a talented goalie and
you have every ingredient for success.
"We
have more talent than we have had forever," Enge remarked. "When
we put it all together no one can stop us."
It’s one
thing to play on a team. It’s completely another to be a team.
But as the weekend progressed, outstanding individual effort melded into a
menacing machine.
Lefty’s
opened the tournament against F.C. Seattle Saturday morning.
With eight
shots in the first half, Lefty’s powerful striker Dom Conti buried an
untouchable left-footed shot in the upper right corner to give Ketchum a
1-0 advantage shortly before half-time.
In the
second stanza, Seattle’s game plan of building from the back did not
work in the face of Lefty’s relentless attack. With the middle of the
field, staunchly controlled and relentlessly patrolled by its halfbacks,
Ketchum’s offense shifted into high gear.
Enge ripped
a shot off the sidebar and Conti’s offering just missed the crossbar.
The former
Oregon State player notched his second goal by burying a rebound for a 2-0
lead. Shortly after that, halfback Baudi Radim forced a turnover which was
gathered up by Brian Enge and served to Roman Rozmanek, who headed it in
for a final 3-0 score.
"It
was good to go out and score first," Enge said after the game.
"We’ve been down first in the last four or five games."
Which is
exactly what happened in its second game against Pocatello.
Flat-footed
and watching the ball, Ketchum surrendered a score seven minutes into the
contest. It would not happen again ¾ in the whole tournament.
Forced to
the outside by a surprisingly scrappy Pocatello defense, Ketchum let loose
with a barrage of shots from outside the box.
At 37
minutes, Conti collected a long cross from Funkhouser and had three steps
in the box, which is two too many, and scored to tie the game 1-1.
Exactly a
minute later, Stevie Fostvedt buried a penalty kick for a 2-1 lead.
Outshooting
Pocatello 11-4 in the first half, Ketchum decimated them in the second by
scoring twice in a volley of 18 shots (including four corner kicks) to
Poky’s three.
John
Carpenter twined a worm-burner by Funkhouser and John Gerdis bent in a
corner kick for a 4-1 final.
Over in the
D bracket, the Boise Blast was having an easy time with its opponents,
defeating Forest of Salt Lake City 4-0 and Seattle United 5-2.
The Blast
had gotten the best of Ketchum in two earlier meetings this summer,
winning 3-1 and 2-1.
Sunday
morning’s matchup was a war from the outset, and Glenne and the defense
was seriously tested for the first time all weekend.
Early on,
Boise looked like the stronger team, passing fluidly and winning the 50-50
balls. Glenne was forced to make a diving save on an intercepted ball,
which was uncharacteristically misplayed back to him by Fostvedt.
Unflappable
defender Craig Maxwell had a save of his own, clearing out a loose ball
when Glenne was drawn out of the net.
Very slowly
Lefty’s gained momentum. Fostvedt hit the sidebar, Radim’s shot was
just over and a free kick by Funkhouser was a hair wide.
But 27
minutes into play, Funkhouser, who shoots and passes from a standstill
better than anyone on the team, bent in a free kick on the shortside of
big Boise goalie Steve Bilo.
With a
minute remaining in the first half, John Andonian scored on a bouncing
ball in the box for a 2-0 lead.
"It
was a nice free kick," Bilo said. "The second goal was a garbage
ball through the crowd."
Whatever
works.
Boise had a
golden opportunity in the second half. Robin Sarchett was red-carded and
thrown out for dangerous play, and the Blast had a one-man advantage for
the remaining 28 minutes.
Despite
being forced into defensive mode, Lefty’s was still able to pressure the
ball and cracked 10 shots to Boise’s nine, although the Blast finished
with a 21-19 shot advantage.
Glenne kept
up his end, making two superb saves on a point-blank bullet and the repeat
fire. On the third crack, Maxwell cleared out the ball, which was dancing
dangerously close to the goal line.
Bilo was
busy as well, jamming Casey Frieder and Gerdis. But the 2-0 score held up
and Ketchum moved on to the championship.
"It’s
tough to beat these guys up here," Bilo said. "The ball didn’t
bounce our way today. But you have to give credit where credit is due.
They played a great game."
In the
other semifinal, Park City upset Ogden 2-0, and in the championship match
the Beehive State boys picked up where they left off, firing nine shots of
which Glenne had to glove seven.
In
contrast, Lefty’s was limited to two shots in the opening half by Conti
and Funkhouser. There was a fire in the hills, but it hadn’t reached
Ketchum’s belly ¾ yet.
Park City
coach Bob Martin was upbeat at half-time.
"That
was a great half," he told his team. "We got around the corners,
and had some good chances. We can counter these guys."
Despite the
enthusiasm, Lefty’s was the team that came out with the resolution to
win.
The platoon
defense of Dave Skillman, Rob Butterfield, Will Minerich, Matt Brinker,
Maxwell and Frieder tightened up and allowed just three shots on goal and
¾ more importantly ¾ no rebound attempts. Glenne did his part to
encourage that, coming out with his knees and temper both up.
But 16
minutes into the half, Gerdis took a corner kick. Conti jumped and leveled
the screamer into the back of the net. Ketchum 1, Park City 0.
Utah had
two serious chances on a wide-open net, but both attempts were over or
just wide. The team was also given 10 free kicks in the second half,
including one from 25 yards out with 15 seconds remaining, but could not
convert and Ketchum triumphed 1-0.
"We
knew it was going to take a real special effort to win the game, and we
had to keep our intensity up," Funkhouser said. "It was not a
pretty game. It was a dogfight."
Martin,
whose team has lost 1-0 in three finals or semifinals this season,
concurred, "We were very evenly matched. We had a lot of chances that
we weren’t able to capitalize on. Olin did a great job. He’s one of
the best goalies we face."
Glenne (27
saves in tournament) was definitely the deciding factor with 10 saves on
12 shots. Lefty’s only got off four shots the entire game and the Park
City goalie saved two.
"It
was the best I have played all summer," Glenne remarked. "It’s
pretty hard when the ball keeps coming, but I had most of them covered.
And anytime a goalie is good the credit has to go to his defense. My
defense was just outstanding."
Also
sporting flashy new yellow jerseys were Zack Latham, Mike Reed, Andrew
Cesati and Ricardo Hildalgo.
The team is
sponsored by Lefty’s Bar and Grill with help from Johnny G’s Subshack,
K.B.’s Burritos, Schoffel and Sun Valley Insurance.