×
×
homepage logo
STORE

Two teams through to 3v3 World semifinals

By Staff | Jan 18, 2010

LAKE BUENA VISTA – With the completion of pool play Sunday, two out of four Cape Coral teams are still in contention for the top prize in the Kick It 3v3 World Championship soccer tournament at Disney’s Wide World of Sports.

Hickory Smoked Beef boys and Cape Coral Tornadoes girls also advanced in championship bracket play by winning quarterfinal matches Sunday afternoon. They are headed to their respective age division semfinal matches Monday morning, followed by either championship or third-place games.

The Tornadoes pulled through with a close victory in their quarterfinals match to advance to their semifinal round Monday.

The Bad Ace Boys and Dynamite girls lost a quarterfinal match and will play Monday morning in a fifth-place bracket.

Breezy and sunny conditions prevailed Sunday compared to the overcast skies under which the tournament kicked off on Saturday, followed by periodic heavy rain and lightning through the night.

Hickory Smoked Beef (4-0-1): Winning their final pool play game 4-1 over Old Skool (New Jersey) Sunday morning earned a No. 1 seed in their pool and a quarterfinal match against Sour Diesel of Ponte Vedra, the fourth seed in the other pool. Beef extended its winning streak to four in a row with a 4-1 victory.

The win advances HSB to the 93 Male Gold division semifinals Monday morning against the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, Chicago United.

Michael Marzella (Bishop Verot), Caleb Barnhouse (South Fort Myers), Shane Jones and Eric Agostinelli (both North Fort Myers) scored the goals against Sour Diesel, which got their goal when trailing 3-1.

“Our pressure took command,” said Beef coach Bob Agostinelli. “Our possession of the ball was real good.”

Monday’s semifinal opponent Chicago United is part of the soccer program run by the Chicago Fire professional soccer team.

“We are capable of winning against them, but playing in the morning makes a difference,” said Agostinelli. “Sometimes you don’t know which team will show up.”

Earlier Sunday, HSB scored four unanswered goals with three of those coming in the first half. Jones collected two of the scores while Barnhouse and Yury Bykau (Ida Baker) added one apiece.

Bad Ace Boys (3-2): A three-game winning streak was snapped when the Ace Boys lost their quarterfinal match in the 91 Male Gold division that was decided on penalty kicks.

Kevin Schultz (Estero) and Travis Pacheco (Cape High) scored goals in regulation time that ended 2-2. Travis Pacheco also made a game-saving lightning run to block a sure goal at the end and send the match into a three-minute overtime. Still tied, Ace converted just one of two PKs to slip into the fifth-place bracket.

“The boys played hard and played their hearts out,” said Ace coach Bill Pacheco. “(Guillermo) Duque left the game in the first three minutes with a hamstring injury and did not return.

Earlier, Ace scored 4-2 and 7-3 wins Sunday morning to wrap up pool play.

Thunder Creek (Maryland) scored a quick goal to jump out on top, but Duque (Cape High) squared the match on a midfield run and finished one-on-one. Thunder Creek gained a 2-1 lead at half, but Schultz stole a ball on a tackle and worked a two-on-one play with Shane Pacheco (Cape High), who buried the tying goal with four minutes remaining.

On the ensuing possession, Gaston Sola (Cape High) stole the ball and passed ahead to Travis Pacheco, who converted an easy open-netter to regain the lead for good. Shane Pacheco tacked on an open-netter of his own in the final minute of play.

Cape Coral Tornadoes (2-3) and Dynamite (0-4): The Dynamite had a long wait to play one game Sunday, having finished their pool play on Saturday. Their quarterfinal match arrived in the afternoon against the AI Surge (Fernandina Beach), which was the top seed in the same pool as the Dynamite.

After a 1-1 first half, Surge scored two goals quickly in the second half to open a 3-1 lead. The Dynamite cut it to a one-goal deficit for the second time when Kaylee Herrera (Gulf Middle) scored from the left side on a pass from the point with less than three minutes gone in the half.

Surge converted a rebound shot with about three minutes remaining to seal the win.

The loss drops Dynamite into the fifth-place bracket of the 96 Female Silver division where they meet Huskies Red (Oviedo) Monday morning. The winner of that match earns the right to play another team to be determined for fifth place.

Huskies Red dropped into the bracket with a 4-3 loss to the Cape Coral Tornadoes in their quarterfinal match. Jonna DiMaria (Gulf Middle) got one goal for the Tornadoes while Cassie McKinsey (Gulf Middle) scored three times, including the game-winner with three minutes remaining that broke a 3-3 deadlock.

“It was a nice win for us after some close losses,” said Tornadoes coach Ron Scalzo. “We got back to our passing game like we should and showed great hustle.”

With several players not feeling well, the Tornadoes were worn down even before playing their final pool play game Sunday morning. It showed in a 1-0 loss to the 3v3 Tornadoes (Oklahoma). The only goal was scored with about three minutes remaining.

The Tornadoes advance to the semifinals Monday morning against the AI Surge.