The Lefty's Bar & Grill men's soccer team (4-2) and the Laurent Perrier Sun Valley women's team traveled to Jackson, Wyo. this past weekend for the ski town's annual soccer tournament.
Twelve men's teams from Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming squared off beneath the Tetons.
After Lefty's was knocked out of contention in the second round, Lefty's defender and co-captain Shaun Kelly felt the weekend served mainly as "gearing up for our home tournament," Aug. 6-7 in Ketchum.
If Kelly wasn't overly enthusiastic about his team's performance at Jackson, it may be a reflection on last year's contest, where Lefty's won the Jackson tourney with a four-game sweep of its opponents.
This past weekend was different, although Lefty's enjoyed some success. The Ketchum team debuted with a strong 5-0 win over an Idaho State University club team.
Co-captain Troy Ruckman scored the first two goals with Josh Sonneland, Jason Southward, John Campbell, and Luke Fostvedt pouring on the final scores of the easy victory.
The second game was a "good close game" against Vail, Kelly said. Although the game "was a lot closer than the score would reflect," Kelly added, it was enough to knock Lefty's out of contention and into a consolation round against Utah's Weber State.
Lefty's finished the weekend with a 3-1 win in that game as Campbell scored all three Lefty's goals.
When Lefty's hosts its 29th annual home tournament, Aug. 6-7, games will be played all day at Ketchum's Atkinson Park.
The Laurent Perrier Sun Valley women's team, captained by Casey Mills, traveled to Jackson to play "friendlies" and support their male counterparts.
"We were there for each other," said Mills of the collaboration between Lefty's and Laurent Perrier.
The tournament wasn't an official contest for the women's teams; LP "just went there to play some games," she said.
Despite the nonchalance, Laurent Perrier ended up playing some of its best games of 2005. Aiding the offense was a weekend recruit, Lleane Grinditch of Denver University, who was introduced by Sun Valley's Erika Connelly.
In the opener against Park City, Grinditch scored four goals with Mills and Connelly adding two more for good measure.
Sun Valley had "great defense," said Mills, noting that "Ashley Brown at sweeper was the backbone of our defense."
The second game was a 3-1 loss to Jackson with Grinditch scoring the lone goal.
With one win apiece, Sun Valley met Jackson in a casual final match that ended in a 2-2 tie. The game was "evenly matched," Mills said. Grinditch scored both goals.
Overall, Mills was pleased with her team's play. "We settled the ball well and passed to feet and were more aggressive," she said.
Looking forward to the rest of the summer, Mills is confident that Laurent Perrier team will perform when it counts.
"Not everyone can make the traveling tournaments," she admitted. Still, "We have a full bench when it comes to the home tournament—and a lot of talent."
The Sun Valley Laurent Perrier women's soccer tournament will be held Aug. 13-14 at Atkinson Park.
