Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Enjoy a weekend of classic soccer at Atkinson Park

Valley teams compete at annual soccer tourney


By JENNIFER TUOHY
Express Staff Writer

The Ketchum Soccer Classic, Ketchum's annual midsummer men's and women's soccer tournament, takes place this weekend, Aug. 4 and 5 on two fields at Atkinson Park.

Highlight of the Wood River Valley adult soccer season, the 31st annual tournament features 16 teams from across the West competing for the title of Champion.

For the last four years, the men's side of the tournament has been won by Boise Blast and the returning champions are sure to have their eyes on the grand prize once again.

"I would say they're the strong favorites," said tournament organizer and Lefty's Bar & Grill player Josh Stanek. "But there should hopefully be 12 men's teams and four women's teams."

So the Blast will have some real competition.

Two local men's teams will take to the field, Lefty's Bar & Grill and last year's finalist San Lorenzo, as well as one local ladies team, Laurent Perrier.

"The 12 teams competing in the men's tournament are Boise United, Boise Blast, Fultan FC (Boise), Jackson Hole, Park City, Pocatello, Firehouse FC Logan (Utah), Weber State (Utah), a team from Seattle and possibly Idaho Falls," said Stanek.

The women's side of the event will feature four teams, Laurent Perrier, Boise Blast, Jackson Hole and Park City.

Despite a weak start to the season and a number of player shortages, Lefty's has some confidence going into their home tournament, as they made it to the semi-finals of their last tournament in Jackson Hole, losing to Weber State of Utah in overtime.

"Our last two years we have not played very well at home," said Stanek. "So, hopefully this year is different. I don't know what happens to us at our tournament; we seem to come out lackadaisical. But we have a lot of new people so it should be better this year. We have high expectations for this tournament."

Employing the traditional soccer tournament format, there are four groups containing three teams each. Group matches will be played on Saturday starting at 8 a.m.

The group winners will go on to the semi-finals, which will be played on Sunday along with the final, which is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. There will also be a consolation match on Sunday for the losers.

The women's matches are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. for the semi-final and final on Sunday.

The tournament will be held at Atkinson Park and spectators are highly encouraged to attend.

An all-you-can-eat and drink barbecue will keep the sidelines lubricated for the evening games on Saturday night. The barbecue starts at 6 p.m. and costs $8.




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