For the week of August 13 - 19, 2003

Boise Blast gives Bilo
a proper sendoff

Blast shades Weber State 2-1 in Ketchum Classic soccer

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By JEFF CORDES
Express Staff Writer

Steve Bilo, Boise Blast’s beefy and often brilliant goalkeeper, walked off the soccer field at Ketchum’s Atkinson Park Sunday afternoon and made an announcement to his teammates.

Lefty’s midfielder Greg Gvozdas (center), who played college soccer at DePauw University in Indiana, has a meeting with Boise United defender John Vachek (left) during the Saturday evening Ketchum Classic tournament game won by Boise 2-1. Vachek headed a certain John Campbell goal away from trouble in the final minute to preserve the win. Express photo by Willy Cook

Pulling his shirt over his head and removing it in the heat of the day and the satisfaction of a job well done, Bilo said, "That’s it. Next year you’ve got to find another goalie. No mas."

Bilo wasn’t angry. His retirement announcement wasn’t a surprise. Having founded the Boise Blast soccer team 20 years ago, the 45-year-old keeper with scores of memorable saves in his resume had just had enough.

John Andonian (left), who scored five goals last weekend, battles for the ball during the 2-1 Lefty’s loss to Boise United Saturday evening. Express photo by Willy Cook

Fittingly, he went out a winner and so did Boise Blast at the conclusion of the. 27th annual, 12-team Ketchum Classic men’s soccer tournament.

Boise Blast became the winningest team in the history of the long-running Ketchum tournament with a 2-1 victory over Weber State University in Sunday’s championship game.

Andoni Artioch scored in the first half for Boise Blast, and the champions added an own goal created by Mike Anderson early in the second half. Bilo allowed a late goal, but the Blast hung on in an increasingly physical game to beat the Wildcats.

It was the first Ketchum championship since 1997 for Boise Blast (4-0 for the weekend, 14-5 goals-against), which now leads the pack with five Ketchum Classic titles to four for Weber State (1989-90, 1994-95).

Lefty’s sweeper John Gerdis (center) wards off a Boise United player. Express photo by Willy Cook

With Bilo in goal, the Blast dominated the tournament in the 1990s—going 22-2-3 at Atkinson Park from 1991-97, landing in the title game six times in seven years and winning in 1997, 1996, 1993 and 1991.

As the last decade came to an end, the pendulum of winning in Ketchum swung toward Park City (Utah) and Lefty’s F.C. of Ketchum. Park City won in 2000 and 2002, while Lefty’s triumphed in 1999 and 2001.

Last year was the first time in 17 years that Boise Blast didn’t come to the Ketchum Classic—and that was chiefly because Bilo got into a motorcycle accident and dislocated his elbow and tore his rotator cuff.

Boise Blast returned with a vengeance this year and got revenge over Weber State. Indeed, the only other time the teams clashed in the Ketchum championship game was in 1995—when Bilo somehow yielded a late goal to erase a 1-0 Blast lead and Weber State won the shootout 5-4.

Kurt Funkhouser (right), Lefty’s midfielder/captain, sets up a play Saturday at Atkinson Park. Express photo by Willy Cook

It never went to an extra session this year and Bilo walked into goalkeeper retirement with the Most Valuable Player distinction in Ketchum.

Earlier Sunday in the semi-finals, Boise Blast ousted defending champ Park City (1-2) by a score of 4-1 and Weber State beat Boise United 4-2.

Boise United, strong on defense, was a surprise semi-finalist because of its upset 2-1 victory over Lefty’s F.C. Saturday evening. Otherwise, Lefty’s F.C. breezed to a couple of easy wins and ended up 2-1 for the weekend.

John Andonian was the big Lefty’s scorer for the weekend with five of the team’s 13 goals. Roman Rozmanek and John Campbell each scored twice for Lefty’s F.C. Scoring singles were Stevie Fostvedt, Robin Sarchett, Greg Gvozdas and Olin Glenne.

San Lorenzo, the other Wood River Valley team in the two-day tournament, went 1-2 and lost to Lefty’s 6-3 in Sunday’s consolation contest.

Team captain Kurt Funkhouser of Lefty’s thanked the team’s sponsors: Lefty’s Bar & Grill, Sun Valley Insurance, KBs, Subshack and Sturtevants.

Lefty’s F.C. will take this week off, then will continue to get together for practices Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 p.m. at Atkinson Park. The team is considering a trip to a sanctioned tournament at Whitefish, Mt.. Sept. 6.

 

Games for local teams

Lefty’s F.C. opened with a 6-2 win over Forest (Utah), then lost to Boise United 2-1 and beat San Lorenzo 6-3.

Andonian, a lightning-quick forward, scored a three-goal hat trick against Forest. His first goal came on a cross from Pomona College’s Josh Stanek at the five-minute mark.

Three minutes later Stanek cracked a shot that rattled around in the Forest box before Andonian ended its misery. Robin Sarchett made it 3-0 at half on a feed from Greg Gvozdas.

Forest emerged from intermission with a head of steam and ripped off two goals in the first 21 minutes—Craig Smith and Gregor Linsig capitalizing on sluggish Lefty’s defense.

Sarchett originated perhaps the biggest goal of the game. He streaked down the right wing and dished a pass along the grass to Andonian, who chipped it home for a 4-2 Lefty’s cushion at the 63-minutes mark.

Center halfback Gvozdas helped give Lefty’s some insurance when he sent a pretty pass against the grain to John Campbell down the middle. Campbell made no mistake from a tough angle for a 5-2 lead, and Roman Rozmanek then finished the scoring.

The Lefty’s-Boise United clash Saturday evening wasn’t an artistic success, indeed, it looked like it was headed for an overtime shootout in front of the players and teams gathered for the annual Ketchum Classic barbecue in the picnic shelter.

Lefty’s never scored cleanly, although dangerous striker Dom Conti (nursing a tender ankle) made his only appearance of the weekend and was held scoreless, closely marked, for the final 60 minutes of playing time.

Stevie Fostvedt, the only member of all three Ketchum-based championship teams in the annual August tournament (1992, 1999, 2001), scored the only Lefty’s goal on a quick bouncer, from Funkhouser, that went between the legs of the Boise keeper.

The 1-0 Lefty’s lead at 17 minutes lasted only a minute. Boise’s Aaron Coats took a cross from John Vachek and rammed a header past Lefty’s keeper Glenne for a 1-1 deadlock.

Early in the second half Lefty’s had two decent chances. Fostvedt hit the post with a shot off his left foot at 47 minutes, then Conti just missed the corner of the net to complete a volley at the 54-minute mark of the game.

The game turned into a standoff for much of the rest of the 40-minute second half and it looked like a shootout would settle the issue—the winner advancing to the semi-finals and the loser dropping from contention.

Boise United shocked everyone.

With only four minutes left, Mike Taliaferro caught a centering pass from Mark Mays and did a little spinning move in the box. Taliaferro, a Coloradoan living in Boise, blasted the eventual game-winner into the net.

It was one of only a handful of shots against Glenne that Boise United mustered all game. "Lefty’s was working the ball better than we were. But I lost my guy and got lucky that Mark saw me," said Taliaferro.

Unfortunately, Taliaferro said Sunday, Boise United used up all its luck against Lefty’s and exited with a 4-2 semi-final loss to Weber State.

After Taliaferro’s goal, Lefty’s put together an amazing array of desperation shots off corner and direct kicks in the final four minutes. At one point, with a minute left, Funkhouser drilled a direct kick deep into the box.

John Campbell worked his way into perfect position and had a header that was headed directly toward the corner—for what would have been a 2-2 tie. But Boise United’s defender John Vachek got his own head on Campbell’s header, and the ball bounced lamely away, out of danger.

"I was in the right spot at the right time," said Vachek.

The disappointing outcome ended Lefty’s hope of making its third Ketchum Classic championship game appearance in five years.

One game remained, a meaningless consolation contest against San Lorenzo Sunday afternoon. The game started on a high note for San Lorenzo and a low note for Lefty’s F.C.

From the opening kickoff, San Lorenzo’s Ciro De Lima blasted a shot from midfield that floated into the Lefty’s net—a goal, for sure, in a tournament-record three seconds.

The lead didn’t last long. Andonian scored twice in 23 minutes off lead passes by Rob Butterfield and Mike Stevens. Then Gvozdas took a pass from Campbell and chipped a shot into the net for a 3-1 lead at half.

A John Gerdis throw in and a little drop pass by Campbell set the stage for Glenn’s 18-yard goal three minutes into the second half. Then Josh Stanek raced down the right side and crossed perfectly to Campbell, who scored for a 5-1 lead at 60 minutes.

Ciro De Lima made a penalty kick at 67 minutes and Alberto Gil launched a long shot that eluded Lefty’s goalkeeper Luke Fostvedt slicing the Lefty’s lead to 5-3. Then Roman Rozmanek finished the scoring with his second goal of the weekend.

In other games, San Lorenzo lost 4-2 to eventual tournament runner-up Weber State and San Lorenzo also beat Boise Osprey 5-1.

The team’s goal scorers for the weekend included Ciro De Lima with four goals, Wood River High School striker Maicol Corrales two along with singles by Alberto Gil, Randall Rodriquez and Marco Hidalgo. Wood River senior K.C. Rivera also played.

 

Pool play

In Saturday’s games, Boise United (2-1 for the weekend) won the A division with a 2-1 victory over Forest (0-3) and its 2-1 win over Lefty’s F.C. Lefty’s raced past Forest 6-2.

The B division was the closest of all. Park City, Logan and Missoula each won a game and ended up tied with 6 points, but Park City got the top seed with its tiebreaking total of six goals and Logan edged Missoula for #2 seed based on head-to-head.

Scores were Missoula 3-2 over defending champion Park City, Logan 1-0 over Missoula, and Park City 4-1 over Logan.

Boise Blast won the C division rather easily with a 5-2 triumph over Weber F.C. (0-3) and a 3-1 decision over The Attic from Seattle (1-2). The Attic slipped past Weber F.C. 2-1.

And Weber State rolled to two big wins in the D division by scores of 4-2 over San Lorenzo and 6-2 over Boise Osprey. San Lorenzo (1-2) won its other game 5-1 over Osprey.

 

Sunday’s play

In consolation action early Sunday, Boise Osprey (1-2) earned its only victory 5-3 over Forest of Utah and Missoula (2-1) picked up yet another triumph 3-2 over Weber F.C.

Later Sunday, Lefty’s F.C. was a 6-3 winner over San Lorenzo and Logan (2-1) outscored The Attic of Seattle 4-3.

 

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