Posing for a team photo is the Sawtooth United FC Boys’ U-11 Gem State Challenge championship team. Bottom row, from left, Connor Netter, Kiran Merchant, Jackson Dies, Logan Robideaux and John Blackburn. Middle row, from left, Ziggy Slanetz, Kegan Lupton, Carson Miller, Oskar Wilander and Peter Wolter. Back row, from left, Dehner Figge, Keene Morawitz, Clay Cutler and Nick Swift. Top row, from left, coaches Werner Morawitz and Jack Dies. Not shown is Joseph Anderson. Courtesy photos
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While Idaho high school soccer teams decided their 2009 championships in the Boise Valley over the Oct. 23-25 weekend, there were dozens of youth soccer teams competing in the Gem State Challenge on Treasure Valley soccer fields.
In fact, three Wood River Valley teams won championships during the two-day weekend tournament, and one other squad made the finals.
Sawtooth United Football Club (SUFC) teams in the Boys' U-12 and U-11 divisions went unbeaten in their tournaments. And the Wood River Soccer Club Girls' U-14 squad also won a championship trophy.
Also, the SUFC U-12 Girls' White team was undefeated in pool play before dropping its title contest.
Here's a summary of some of the results, thanks to coaches, SUFC administrator Lynn Chaldu, and Wood River Soccer Club coach Mark Gasenica, who doubled up as an assistant coach for the Wood River High School boys' soccer team at its State 4A tournament in Caldwell:
Sawtooth United Football Club
It was a fantastic overall showing for Sawtooth United FC, with two champions and one finalist, Chaldu said in her summary:
Boys' U-11: The championship bracket winner was determined on final point tally, and SUFC boasted wins over the Boise Nationals, Les Bois and Idaho Rush.
Coached by Jack Dies and Werner Morawitz, SUFC went undefeated in tournament and outscored its opponents 15-2 in four matches. There was outstanding play by goalkeeper Nick Swift and the rest of the team.
They were John Blackburn, Clay Cutler, Jackson Dies, Dehner Figge, Peter Wolter, Kegan Lupton, Kiran Merchant, Carson Miller, Keene Morawitz, Connor Netter, Logan Robideaux, Ziggy Slanetz, Oskar Wilander and Joseph Anderson.
Boys' U-12: Coached by Tim Graves, the SUFC U-12 boys defeated FC Boise 2-1 on penalty kicks in the championship game.
It was 1-1 in regulation time on a goal by Alex Schwartz. SUFC dominated the second half but had to settle for a draw. The outcome sent the game into a penalty shootout.
Jack Dwyer, Danny Graves, Joey Reidy and Carter Ros all converted and Dwyer made two important saves to preserve the victory.
There was outstanding play by Emmit Stevens, Ben Brunelle, Mikey Levy and Yuri McClure. Rounding out the squad were Jacob Truxal, River Vorse, Derek Thompson and Callum Stevens.
SUFC was undefeated in the tournament with wins over the Idaho Rush and Pocatello's Apollo Real in pool play.
Girls' U-12 White: Coached by Dwight Cole, the SUFC girls didn't allow a goal in winning all three qualifying games against Mountain Home, Kuna and Nampa Kickers United. They dropped the championship game 4-0 to Pocatello Pumas and ended up finishing second.
The players were Olivia Ott, Kate Rathfon, Emily Siegel, Catie Sfingi, Sage Sfingi, Ashley Carnduff, Maggi Sfingi, Sam Busby, Julia Vorsteveld, Autumn Fluetsch and Jesse Cole.
Boys' U-10: Playing in a combined 10/11 age bracket, the SUFC boys went 0-3 for the weekend.
Boys' U-12 Navy: The boys went 1-2 in pool play including a Sunday 3-2 triumph over Rolling Thunder. Goal scorers in the win were Garret Rawlings, Jack Goodwin and Keegan Whitelaw. SUFC also lost 3-0 to Twin Falls Rapids and 5-1 to FC Boise, with Jack Goodwin scoring.
Girls' U-12 Navy: Outstanding play in the team's three games by Abbie Robideaux, Kami Norbom, Victoria Castellano Wood and lead goal scorer Pilar Pennell.
Boys' U-10: Three losses in the combined 10/11 bracket. Outstanding play by Taylor Koth, Charlie Stumph, Sam Hebert and Tiernan Nagash
Wood River Soccer Club
The Wood River Soccer Club U-14 girls took home the championship trophy at the Gem State Challenge in Boise, Idaho over the Oct. 24-25 weekend. It was a strong division of teams with most of them being State Cup participants next May.
The weekend started out with a great 3-2 victory over the Shock.
Being down 2-0 in the first 15 minutes, the girls fought back for the victory. Putting goals in the back of the net were Jordan Fitzgerald, Ellie Punnett and Maddy Watts, all from Haley Montgomery passes. Goalie Haley Cutler made some outstanding saves for the victory. She was on top of her game all weekend.
The afternoon game against Real Boise was dominated by Wood River as Haley Montgomery put one in the goal to win the game after a solid center from Brigette Thomas.
The third game of the round-robin division saw Wood River dominate again in a 3-0 victory over a Boise Raptor team that tied Wood River a month ago. Tallying goals were Erin Hennessy, Maddy Watts and Haley Montgomery as Samantha Sutton added two assists and Hennessy added one.
The championship game was fun to watch as Moscow United gave the Wood River team all it could handle with a strong counter attack and ball skills. But Wood River ended up on the victorious end with a score of 3-2.
Birthday girl Maddy Watts put another goal in the net, as did Ellie Punnett and Haley Montgomery. Assists were credited to Lily Jenner, Punnett and Fitzgerald.
Highlighting the championship weekend was solid defense by Rory Cole, Timber Kelly, Riley Kilmartin-Schmidt, Maddie Nelson and Claire Sauerbrey. Supporting these players were strong midfielders Lucy Brannon and Tate Morell.
Coach Gasenica said, "What made the weekend great was that all players played with heart and a desire to compete at a high level."
The team looked to finish its fall season Oct. 31 with two league games and a division championship.
