The Weston Fury U18 boys’ team never jelled upon resuming club play after the high school season, supporting the theory that soccer is the consummate team sport: the world’s greatest game is about the team, not about individual talent.
Head Coach Alvin James, who last year took his Weston U18s to the National Finals, took on the challenge of building a new team with the remnants of the previous season’s Weston U17s and the disbanded Plantation Eagles U17s. James, who coached American Heritage-Delray to a high school 3A championship this year, got a coaching assist from Rene Osorio.
The quest ended abruptly Memorial Day weekend. Weston lost two of its three matches in the 2006 Florida Youth Soccer Association Premier State Cup Round of 16 at the Ed Radice Sports Complex in Tampa, and then was disqualified when it was learned the Fury used a former Plantation player carrying a red from the State Cup opening round a year ago.
The new Fury squad started on a high note last summer, beating Team Boca White, a squad that made the Final Four in 2004-05. Weston ended the early season 5-5; beating out seven other teams for a playoff spot to be contested at the conclusion of the high school season.
The challenge got tougher for James and his gang when high-scoring forward Jonathan (J.T.) Thiel suffered a broken leg in a high school exhibition match, fellow starting forward David Gordon severely injured an ankle late in the high school season and original players Manuel Sotelo and Jose Pablo Ruiz, also injured, and could not return to the team. A still-recovering Gordon did come back, but Thiel continues his rehabilitation.
So James went looking for players and added considerable talent in forward Jaime Saenz and midfielders Jon Degia, Luis de la Puente, Josep Sagarra and Craig Whitmore. As good as the parts were, however, the whole never came together for the Fury.
Weston went 1-3 in the late season playoffs, and then got a favorable draw for the opening round of the State Cup. The Fury, playing on its home field, won two and tied one, with the deciding win 2-1 over the Sarasota Storm.
Coincidentally, it was Sarasota that Weston would have played in the third match of the Round of 16 Memorial Day weekend, had the Fury not been disqualified. Neither Sarasota nor Weston won either of its first two matches.
In the Round of 16, Weston opened May 27 against Team Boca and fell behind 3-0 in the first 34 minutes. The Fury stormed back to make it 3-2 with 34 minutes remaining, but only Boca would score again. Both Weston goals were assisted by fullbacks – Juan Lopez to forward Rodrigo Paredes and Jeremy Weber to forward Leo Caldeira.
The next day, Weston took the lead over the Clearwater Chargers in the 16th minute when midfielder Matt Mobley’s hard shot ricocheted off a teammate to the feet of fellow midfielder Sagarra, who easily put the ball away for the score.
Only nine minutes later, Clearwater converted a penalty kick awarded for a foul in the box. The Chargers took the lead shortly before half when a shot deflected off a Weston player was redirected into the net.
Weston made it 3-2 with 10 minutes left in the match. Left outside midfielder Chris Bent beat his man to the corner and sent a perfect centering pass to Paredes, who headed the ball in for a goal. Clearwater put the match away with a goal in the 88th minute of the 90-minute match.
Against Boca, James, desperate for forwards who could finish, started on top Saenz, hobbling from a groin injury the previous weekend, and Luis Alva, normally a central midfielder. Whitmore and Sagarra started in the central midfield, with Mobley on one wing and Degia on the other. De la Puente started at stopper and Andres Velez at sweeper. The fullbacks were Mario Figueroa and Lopez. Michael Anderson was the keeper. Anderson recorded two saves on Boca and five against Clearwater, including a penalty kick with his team behind by only a goal.
Against Clearwater, Paredes started at forward in place of Saenz, out after aggravated his injury; Jaime Villarreal at one midfield wing, in place of Degia; and Weber at fullback, in place of Figueroa.
Also playing for Weston were Caldeira and Gordon at forward and Bent, Iker Ibanez and team captain Eugenio Lascurain in the midfield.
