Tom Farrington (left) and Bob Haiger pose for a photo after recording the only 3-0 record in a game played in the pits at Anna Maria City Hall on May 22. Farrington won again on May 25, this time teaming with Steve Augustine to post the only perfect record in pool play. Islanders photo: Courtesy of AMI Pitchers
The Anna Maria Island Center Youth Soccer League playoffs have begun for the 8-10 and 11-14 age divisions.
The 11-14 team began their season on May 21st, taking on No. 4 seed Solid Rock Construction and No. 5 seed Westfall's Lawn Care & Pest Control. Callin Westfall scored three goals and Lucas Signor added one to lead Westfall's to a 4-0 comeback win and a spot in the second round of the playoffs. Austin Guess contributed with eight saves in the shutout win.
Hayden Uris made six saves in the loss for Solid Rock.
Third-seeded HSH Design defeated second-seeded Gitto 3-0 behind three goals from Sterling Holiday to advance to the finals, where they will face the winner of the match between West Falls and top-seeded Moss Builders.
The semifinal was a close one, with West Falls continuing their recent good play with a 2-1 win over Moss to advance to the finals on May 28. Rust Dilly and Lucas Signore each scored one goal, while goaltender Austin Guess made 11 saves to preserve the win.
The only goal for Moss Builders came from Tristan Hagee and the team was helped by six saves from Thomas Holly, but they still came away with the loss.
The playoffs for the 8-10 division began with a quarterfinal match between the 4th seed Am I Coconuts and the 5th seed Emily Moss Designs on May 21. Phoenix Harwood scored the lone goal for Am I Coconuts and Miles Moss scored for Miles Moss Designs, with the teams finishing 1-1 in regulation and Am I Coconuts winning in a penalty shootout to advance to the semifinals.
Both goalkeepers played well, with Coconut goalkeeper Andre Harwood making 12 saves and Moss Design goalkeeper Miles Moss making an incredible 17 saves.
In the second quarterfinal match of the night, third-seeded Isola Bella Italian Eatery won 1-0 over Shady Lady Horticultural Services thanks to a game-winning goal from Louis Bacon. Carson Long made five saves for Isola Bella in the shutout win.
In the semifinals on May 22, top-seeded Intuitive Foundation (8-10) comfortably beat Am I Coconuts 3-0 behind two goals from Gunner Mays and one from Parker Svoboda. Bailey Shenbaum and Alexander Chaykovsky each added an assist, and Sawyer Leibfried contributed with five saves in the win.
In the loss for the Coconuts, Andre Harwood made nine saves and Everett Hood had four.
Aidan Guess scored the lone goal to lead second-seeded Solid Rock Construction to a win over Isola Bella in the second semifinal game of the night. Carson Long made five saves to lead Isola Bella Italian Eatery in the loss.
Intuitive Foundation and Solid Rock Construction were scheduled to face off for the championship on Tuesday, May 28th at 6pm.
Adult soccer games set for playoffs
The adult soccer regular season concluded on May 23, deciding the upcoming playoff brackets. Pool America was seeded first with 6 wins, 1 loss and 2 ties, while Progressive Cabinetry was seeded second with 6 wins, 2 losses and 1 ties. Salty Printing and Ross Built were seeded third and fourth, respectively, with 6 wins, 3 losses and 2 ties. Sato Real Estate and Moss Builders rounded out the top six teams in the league with 4 wins, 5 losses and 2 ties.
The bottom four teams, Language Services Associates, Diamond Turf, Beach House Restaurant and Solid Rock Construction, will compete in a “play-in” game on May 29 for the continuation of the season. Seventh-seeded Language Services Associates will face off against 10th-seeded Solid Rock Construction at 7 p.m., followed by eighth-seeded Diamond Turf and ninth-seeded Beach House.
The first round of the playoffs will begin at 6pm on Thursday, May 30th with Salty Printing facing Moss Builders, followed by Ross Built facing Sato. In the 8pm match, top-seeded Pool America will face the winner of Diamond Turf vs. Beach House, and in the 9pm match, Progressive Cabinetry will face the winner of Language Services Associates vs. Solid Rock.
In the final game of the regular season on May 23, Salty Printing defeated Diamond Turf, 3-2. Erica Nielson, Javier Rivera, and Kevin Roman each scored one goal to help Salty Printing win.
Diamond Turf lost the game, but Christos Luzu and Blair Schlossberg each scored a goal.
Ross Built comfortably beat Language Services 4-1 in the second game of the night, with Dean Hinterstoyser scoring two goals and Helio Gomes and Ted Hurst adding one each in the victory.
Daniel Hampton scored the only goal for Language Services, who were also helped by nine saves from Steve Elfke in the loss.
Junior Martinez and Keith Mahoney each scored two goals to lead Progressive Cabinetry to a 5-4 win over Sato in Game 3. Leo Gonzalez also added a goal and Tyler Beckles made 10 saves in the win.
Alex Landy scored two goals for Sato, while Zaharia Anabtawi and Josh Sato also scored one apiece in the losing effort.
In a battle of the bottom teams, Beach House and Solid Rock ended up in a 2-2 draw in the fourth game of the night, with goals from James Rodriguez and Jonathan Stern for Beach House and Luca Vecchio and Jana Whitehead for Solid Rock.
Pool America proved why they are in first place heading into the playoffs with a 6-1 win over Moss Builders behind four goals from Nate Welch. Brandon Rowland and Chris Klotz added one goal each and Jessica Lukeberg made 11 saves in the win.
The only goal for the Moss Builders came from Riley Goffrey, and despite Ryan Moss and Olaf Kraus combining for 13 saves, the team fell to the defeat.
Golf News
Golf competition at Key Royal Club in Holmes Beach began with a men’s modified stableford-style match on May 20. Steve Drum won with a plus-five, beating four golfers by one point: Jack Connors, Marty Hicks, Rich Salzberg and Quentin Talbert.
The girls took to the course on May 21 to play a nine-hole individual low net match over two flights. Phyllis Low shot a three-under par 29 to win by two strokes over runner-up Pam Rowley in Flight A. Jenny Hubers and Helen Pollock tied for third at even par 32.
Terry Westby shot the lowest score of the day, 5-under-par 27, to take the lead in Flight B. Connie Livanos finished in sole second place with a 1-under-par 31, two strokes behind third-place Laurie Hicks.
Members closed out the week with a 9-hole Scramble/Shamble combo on the par 43 modified layout on May 23. The team of Jim Bailey, Joe Coyne, Deb and Dave Richardson earned clubhouse bragging rights that day with a total of 4-under 39. The team of Leo Burke, Gary Duncan, Don Grau and Warren Stevens was one stroke back in second place.
Horseshoe News
The Horseshoe action in the Anna Maria City Hall pit was short and sweet, with no playoffs necessary, as the team of Tom Farrington and Bob Higer posted the lone 3-0 record in the May 22nd game to emerge as the day’s champions.
Farrington remained undefeated this week, this time teaming up with Steve Augustyn to claim the lone 3-0 record on May 25th and take the championship once again.
Games will begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday and Saturday at the Anna Maria Pit. Warmups will begin at 8:45 a.m., after which teams will be selected at random.
It's free to play, so anyone can join.