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Sparta Premier 1 vs Alaska Strikers Gold 85 1
Both teams came out extremely physical. They each had scoring opportunities in the first half. Bret Shimizu distributed the ball well from the midfield. In the 30th minute Kyle Christensen shot the ball inches wide off a cross by Alexander Hubbard. Justin Solomon dribbled his way through two defenders and was fouled from behind just outside the box almost receiving a PK. Sparta dominated the first half.
The second half was extremely intense. In the first ten minutes Sparta had three opportunities to score--Britton Osborne's had a sot from 20 yards which was saved, another player put a shot just inches wide, and Shimizu ripped a shot just over the crossbar. In the 70th minute the referee didn't see a Sparta player get thown down on the ground away from the ball. Afterwards, Osborne had a 2nd shot from 30-yards out that was tipped over the goal by the keeper, Christensen got a break away and missed by inches, followed by Alaska also missing a break away. In the 80th minute Christensen broke through the defense, beat the keeper on the dribble and passed it into the goal. Alaska evened the score 2 minutes later with their first shot on goal of the half. The strikers then missed a break away by inches and had another opportunity in which the ball rolled in front of the goal line but no player was there to tap it in. In injury time Shimizu had a great shot on goal which was saved by the Striker's keeper. Sparta had the better play throughout the game and created many good chances to score but could not capitalize. The game ended with a 1-1 tie. Up next for Sparta is the HSC Bulls 85 from Hawaii.
Sparta Premier 2 vs HSC Bulls 3
Sparta went up 1-0 thanks to an early goal off a free kick. Fifteen minutes into the game, Hawaii came close to scoring. Sparta goalkeeper Jeffrey Rogers made an intitial save on a hard shot and the rebound was shot just over the bar. Hawaii evened the game at 1-1 twenty minutes in. Sparta immediately came back hard and created a few good chances to score. Hawaii's 2nd goal came 30 minutes into the game. Near the end of the half Kyle Christensen beat two players at the edge of the box and hit a hard left-foot shot wide of near post. Hawaii was leading 2-1 at half time.
Right at the start of the 2nd half, Sparta keeper made a good save on a 1 v 1 break away. At the beginning of the half Sparta had more of the possession, Hawaii was limited to counter attack opportunities. Sparta was able to draw a number of fouls in the attacking third but couldn't capitalize. As the game wore on possesion became more even, the intensity picked up as both teams received a couple of yellow cards. Sparta came close to scoring when Kyle Christensen ran onto a through ball and cut past the keeper. He played the ball across for Adam Brady who collided hard with two defenders and couldn't get to the ball. In the 80th minute Hawaii scored their 3rd goal in the game. In the 89th minute Sparta scored to get within one goal. The goal was scored by Justin Barker in a crowd of players on a hard cross. Sparta could not even the score and the game ended 3-2.
Sparta Premier 1 vs Marin United 3
The start of the game was pretty much back and forth with Sparta creating a couple of chances to score off crosses. Kyle Christensen was taken down at the edge of the box and the resulting free kick was shot just wide by Christensen. Kyle had a couple of near breaks in on goal stopped by physical Cal North defenders. In the 17th minute Cal North came close to scoring on a hard shot just wide of the right side of the goal. Sparta then had an excellent chance to score on a free kick played into the box by Bret Shimizu but the ball was just inches too high for Alex Hubbard to head in. In the 30th minute Bret used a series of moves to get by a player on the right side but the cross passes through the six-yard box untouched. The intensity began to pick up with both teams receiving yellow cards. In the 39th minute Cal North scored to go up 1-0. Just before half Sparta evened the game 1-1. Kyle Christensen scored on a long free kick into the box by Britton Osbourne.
Cal North started the 2nd half attacking hard is was rewarded with an immediate goal. Bret Shimizu began to set up several scoring chances for Sparta. He played a perfect ball in behind the defense for Justin Solomon but the shot was saved. Bret played another ball for Christensen to run onto and again the shot was saved. Shimizu played another good ball for a forward, but the shot by Edward Aguirre is deflected wide by the keeper. In the 70th minute Sparta keeper Jeff Rogers made a save on a free kick by Cal North. Then Cal North had a series of chances in front of the goal, but Sparta denied them. Cal North scored in the 85th minute to put the game away.
- Coach: Sterling Wescott
- Location: Layton
- Assistant Coach: Steve Osborne
- Assistant Coach: Eric Landon
- Team Manager: Nancy Christensen
- Colors: Blue Jersey, White Shorts
- Alternate Color: Blue
This team has worked very hard to accomplish what it
has so far. Every one of the players have made
sacrifices to help the team. The majority of the team
won state cup last year with the Advantage85 team and
they made it a goal to repeat this year. Sparta Premier has a
core of 8-10 players who have been Utah ODP players for
four years. They have four players who have been on
the regional team at one point or another: Cameron
Strickland, John Bergren, Kyle Christianson, and Brett
Shimizu. Utah has put together some awesome U18 teams
in the past, and this team ranks up there with some of the best. With an understanding that it takes all of the pieces of the puzzle in order to be
successful, Sparta Premier's future looks very bright. We look forward to seeing how far these players can shine.
(Sterling Wescott, Sparta United)
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