Eielson Icemen win State Soccer Championship

  • Published
  • By Glyn Gardner
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Eielson's men's soccer tem, The Icemen, won its second straight Alaska Amateur Soccer Association championship Aug. 5 in Wasilla.

After four games, the Icemen pulled off a nail-biter against Rusty Buffalo, another team from the Fairbanks area, to win the championship.

After 90 minutes of grueling play, the score was 2-2. Thirty minutes of overtime found the score still locked at 2-2, forcing a shootout.

In a shootout, five members of each team shoot penalty kicks, opposed only by the other team's goalie.

After having already saved two penalty shots, Eielson goalie Adam Bell made a third diving save, using all of his 6 feet 5 inch frame to give the Icemen a chance to win.

Eielson team captain, Alek Juskys, took advantage of this opportunity, and fired a rocket into the left corner for the game winner.

"It was a great save and a great shot," said Robert Palos, Eielson Iceman team coach.

"But, the whole team made it possible," he said. "We had the best defense in the tournament, and everyone contributed to this victory."

"Adam made it possible," said Juskys, echoing his coach's words. "I was lucky enough to take a shot after that great save."

"Our defense only allowed one goal through the first four games," he said. "Those guys deserve the credit."

The tournament started for the Icemen on Aug. 3 with one game, followed by two on Aug. 4, and the semi-finals and finals on Aug. 5. The Icemen won five straight to take home the championship.

The first victory of the tournament came against the Norland Kickers. "The Kickers came with a loaded team," Palos said. "They were a big and tall. They knew Eielson had won last year and were determined to beat us."

With the scored tied 1-1 and two minutes in regulation, a corner kick from Victor Valencia found Gabe Kallen for the winning goal.

Game two found the Icemen taking on a grossly overmatched Tommy's Gold Stars team in the rain and mud.

Forward Kris Noel scored once and Gabe Kallen scored three times as the Icemen dominated the Stars from the very start and never looked back. Final score: Icemen 4, Gold Stars 0.

In game three, the rain continued to fall, making the fields a virtual quagmire. Forward Kris Noel scored his second goal of the tournament leading the Icemen to a 1-0 victory over Good Time United.

In game four, the Icemen again found themselves playing in the muck and mud. This time it was a semifinals match against Humpys, the number two seed from the B1 bracket.

Forward Kris Noel and Gabe Kallen each scored goals. Fast and aggressive defense by Eric and Ryan Walsh, Seth Mock, Galen Perry, Adam Bell dominated the Humpys offense. Adam Bell made several diving saves to keep his 4-0 shutout.

As last years champions and a regular season record of 12-2-2, the Icemen came into the tournament with a target on their backs.

"It was tough this year," Palos said. "Everyone was gunning for us. Everyone who played us came out strong. Every team we played wanted to dethrone us."