The Weston Fury 87/88 Premier boys won the SuperClubs Orlando Regional Thanksgiving weekend at Walt Disney World's Wide World of Sports, qualifying for the national championship tournament next summer.
Weston won all three pool games, defeating the Seminole Blades 7-0 Friday, Indian River Select-United 4-0 Saturday and the Orange County Strikers 3-2 Sunday morning. The Fury dominated the Sarasota Storm in the championship match Sunday afternoon, winning 5-1.
Seven players scored for Weston and three others assisted goals. Forward Jonathan Thiel led the offense was six goals and four assists. The other starting forward -- David Gordon -- tallied four goals and two assists. Guest player and substitute forward/midfielder Christopher Ramon contributed four goals and an assist. Also scoring: midfielders Jaime Villarreal, two goals and two assists, and Jeremy Weber, a goal and three assists; and fullback Juan Lopez and substitute sweeper/midfielder/forward guest player Jose Ruiz, each with a goal. Starting midfielder and co-captain Eugenio Lascurain contributed a pair of assists and midfielder Luis Alva and fullback Mario Figueroa each had an assist.
Coach Alvin James's Fury tallied 93 shots, 27 of them on goal, over the four games, while Weston's stingy defense allowed only 27 shots, 15 of them on goal. Goalkeeper Michael Anderson notched two shutouts and four superb saves during the tournament, the most important coming early and late in the match that go this team into the championship; early to keep his team from trailing and late to keep his team ahead. Sweeper Andres Velez had an outstanding tournament, as did fullbacks Figueroa and Lopez and backup defender Ruiz. James and assistant coach Rene Osorio also started co-captain Matt Mobley in the midfield in all four matches.
Others who contributed valuable minutes for Weston are Leo Caldeira at stopper and Rodrigo Paredes in the midfield. An injury in the opening match put Paredes on the sideline the rest of the tournament. Due to injury, several Weston players did not make the trip -- Chris Bent, Davide Bombonato, Iker Ibanez, Jose Pablo Ruiz and Manuel Sotelo.
In the opener against Seminole, Thiel and Gordon each recorded hat tricks. Against Indian River, Ramon scored a goal from the field and another from the penalty spot, after being taken down in the box. The Indian River keeper, making five saves, and the crossbar, stopping shots by Mobley and Villarreal, kept the score from being worse.
Weston needed to beat Orange County Sunday morning to get to the championship match. The Fury opened a three-goal lead and decided to play the final 15 minutes a man down to provide rest for injured players. Orange County scored first on a quick kick after a foul, catching Weston napping, and then in the final minute of the match.
Weston got off to a quick start in the championship, when midfielder Villarreal scored in the sixth minute before Sarasota ever mounted an attack. Two minutes later, the Storm keeper made a beautiful save on forward Ramon, tipping the shot over the crossbar at the last instant. Forward Thiel made it 2-0 just before halftime. He took a pass from midfielder Weber, reversed his dribble twice, found a crease to the net and put it away with his left foot.
In the third minute of the second half, Villarreal scored again, this time off an assist from forward Gordon. Two minutes later, the Storm made it 3-1. In the 66th minute, Thiel scored again, getting the assist from Weber, again.
Sarasota went down a man in the 74th minute when the center referee disqualified a midfielder with a double caution. The fifth and final goal came with only two minutes remaining in the match. Thiel set up Gordon at the post, drawing the defense and sliding the ball through. Gordon calmly tapped the ball across the line.
Now the Weston club players return to their respective high school teams -- Thiel, Mobley and Lascurain to St. Thomas Aquinas, Anderson and Velez to Cypress Bay, Caldeira and Lopez to Archbishop McCarthy, Gordon to Douglas, Weber to American Heritage-Plantation, Alva to Northeast and Figueroa to Western. The Fury next is scheduled to play in the prestigious Tampa Bay Sun Bowl the week after Christmas.
