New England Aztec – a History: 2005 Aztecs 2004-05 PASL Recap
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New England Aztec – A History: 2005 Aztecs 2004-05 PASL Recap Aztecs Capture PASL National Championship Beat Dallas Tornadoes 6-4 in New York in Finals Albany, NY - March 6, 2005 - In front of a capacity crowd, a live Albany television audience and fans from all across the country, the Mass Aztecs captured their first ever PASL national championship. Chris Ethier scored the first goal of the final and put the Aztecs up 1-0 over Dallas off an assist by Ebbie Kodiat. Ali Kaba got the second, again on an assist by Kodiat who won a huge head ball that he then flicked on. Defensemen Ben O'Brien scored and Ethier left footed another to make it a 4-1 game in the third period. Luigi Mirasola scored the fifth goal and the Aztecs were cruising. Dallas then rattled off three unanswered goals to bring the score to 5-4 with 2 and a half minutes left. Markens Benoit then beat two players in the midfield and then a third defender and hit a rocket upper ninety to make the lead 6-4. And the Aztecs held on. Peter Levasseur was Tournament MVP. Game MVP's went to Levasseur, Kodiat, and Ethier. The Massachusetts Aztecs have done what seemed improbable at week 2 of the season, after losing back to back games and maybe what seemed improbable after the first few minutes in the first game of Round Robin play. The Aztecs were down 4-0 in their first game to Tacoma, Washington with just over 8 minutes remaining. The Aztecs came back to tie the game 5-5 with Ebbie Kodiat scoring the 5th goal with 20 seconds left to play. "This was a huge point coming out of our first game," said team manager, Mike Kersker. The Aztecs played host New York and beat them 4-2, for the second time in as many tries in the Shocker City. On Saturday morning the Aztecs played San Diego and were tied 4-4 with only seconds left. Ali Kaba scored the winner on a sweat lefty shot that put the Aztecs into the final, no matter what the result was with Dallas in the final round robin game. The Aztecs lost to Dallas in the round robin 4-2 which win gave Dallas enough points to get into the final. The PASL National Championship trophy is being held at the Soccer Shop at Soccer Etc. in Beverly, Mass. Aztecs Win PASL New England Men's Premier Team Breaks New York 4-Year Home Unbeaten Streak Albany, NY - March 6, 2005 - With just 10 players Player-Coach Doc Simpson had two goals to lead the Aztecs to an 8-7 victory in the New England PASL finals. Former Beverly High standout Ali Kaba also had two goals for the Aztecs who only brought 10 men into Afrim's Sports arena in Schenectady NY. The numbers were stacked against them. The Aztecs had only 10 players and only 3 defenders traveling to Albany. The New York Shockers hadn't lost at home in over 5 seasons, including a 18-11 win over the Aztecs in the 2004 finals and a 10-3 win in Week 3 of the 2005 campaign. And, the Shockers were national runners-up in 2004. But the Aztecs had momentum, coming off their third strait victory in a semi-final win over Montreal they were certainly hitting their stride. Still, the task seemed overwhelming. The indoor game is very quick with very little stoppages in play, therefore substitutions are similar to hockey and teams often play with 2 lines. The Aztecs were forced to stagger their defensive rotation around Benny O'Brien, Tony Lage, and O’Neil Gray. Aztec Men Host Legend in Season Opener Aztec Men's Premier Team: New Year, New Coach, New Goals Beverly, MA - December 1, 2004 - Dushawne Simpson has traded in his indoor sneaks for the clipboard at least when it comes to the Aztec Men's Premier Team's pursuit of another title for the Aztec Men. But, he and general manager, Mike Kersker, who coached the team to the finals in the 2003-04 campaign, have put together what could be the most exciting roster in the team's rich 3-year history. Aztec returning players to watch include Ebbie Kodiat, Benny O'Brien, Dave Evans, Ali Kaba, and goalkeeper Peter LeVasseur. New faces to watch include: Sean Carey, Ali Ayman, Mark Manganello and Domenic Martignetti. The big question for anyone who has ever seen Dushawne (Doc) Simpson on the soccer pitch, a stand-out forward for the Bulldogs, Phantoms, and Aztecs in year's past, is: Will he be tempted to put on the cleats? "Absolutely not," said Simpson. With the roster they've assembled, the Aztecs may not be missing Simpson's flair for goal scoring. It may be more putting together the right combinations that is the key to the Aztecs recapturing the league trophy. "We have very clear goals this season," said Simpson. "We want to play an exciting brand of soccer for our fans to enjoy and we want the Aztec name back on the trophy." "The respect Doc has garnered as a player, makes him the ideal coach," said Kerkser. "We have players traveling from all over to be part of this team. I think that says a lot about the kind of person he is." The new faces will be trying to bring the Aztecs back to the early glory days when the team had a 14-game unbeaten streak and captured back-to-back NEASL and American Indoor Soccer League titles under coach Johnny Garofalo. One thing is for sure, Sohier Road will be the site of some great matches this winter including powerhouse rivals and defending PASL champs the NY Shockers (January 23rd) and Montreal World Cup (February 5th) which ended the Aztecs unbeaten streak in 2003. The Aztecs again will be playing in the New England division of the Premier Arena Soccer League's (PASL) which promotes player to the PASL All-Star game in conjunction with the MISL All-Star game. The PASL consists of 5 leagues across the country and includes teams like the Minnesota Blast and the Texas Thunder. Aztec Premier Player Chris Ethier Named High School All-American The latest accolade for Aztec standout Chris Ethier is being selected to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's All-American team. Ethier joins 76 other players from across the country and has just added another highlight to an already long list of soccer accomplishments. Ethier has punctuated his high school career with the All-American selection following All-New England, All-Eastern Mass, Northeast Conference Player-of-the-Year honors. Some amazing accomplishments in 2005 for the Beverly High School soccer captain. Ethier's soccer talents have been noticed in every season, scoring two goals to help lead the Mass. Aztec Men to the PASL national championship. In the spring and summer where as a standout on Massachusetts State Team he was chosen to be part of the Region One Player Pool. Aztecs Announce 2005 High School All-Stars BOYS SIDE • Stewart Barrett - CAL All Star • Taylor Bracken - Catholic Conference MVP, All Conference, Salem News All Star • Kilder Cardona - All-EMass, Catholic Central League MVP • Justin Derosa - NEC All Conference • Cullen Donohoe - CAL All Conference, Salem News All Star • Alex Doto - CAL All-Star • Chris Ethier - All-American, All-New England, All-EMass, NEC MVP • Matt Furlong - All EMass, CAL All-Star • Ray Gravallese - First Team Catholic Conference All-Star • Richie Greene - MVC All Conference • Steve Ibanez - NEC All Conference, Salem News All Star • Jared Joaquin - All-New England, All-EMass, CAL MVP • Rob Kennedy: All - EMass, MVP Eastern Mass All-Star Game, CAL All-Star • Pete Koskores - All-EMass, CAL All Star • Bryan Lee - CAL All Conference • Alex Martland - NEC All Conference, Salem News All Star • Derek Osmond - CAL All Conference • Dan Sargent - CAL All Conference • Aaron Tibbetts - NEC All-Conference • Dean Tsortzis - CAL All Conference, Salem News All Star GIRLS SIDE • Taylor Bresnahan - CAL All Conference • Jen Courossi - Captain, MVP, Merrimack Valley all conference • Jackie Gauthier - All-State, EMASS All-Star, NEC All Conference • Steph Glowik - GBL All Star • Jillian Kinter - CAL All Conference, Daily News All Star • Barrie Lindsay - Independent League All Star • Kirsten Lundquist - CAL All Star. All League, Salem News All Star • Taryn Martiniello - CAL All Star • Kellie Oberholtzer - All State team (NH) • Gabe Pesce - EMass All Star, Boston Globe player of the week • Elyssa Power - EMASS All-star, CCL All Star, Lynn Item & Salem News All Star • Erin Quinlan - EMass All Star, CCL All Star • Briana Russo - NEC All Conference • Laura Sansoucie - Merrimack Valley All Conference • Monty Sherwood - Independent League All Star • Erica Skinner - CAL All Star • Leah Silva - Middlesex League All Star • Katy-Lyn Verrette - All Conference • Katie Weinstein - EMASS All-Star, NEC All Conference, Salem Evening News All Star Three Aztec Boys Youth Players Named MVP of their High School Leagues Three players from the Aztec boys side have been named MVP of their leagues. Chris Ethier of Beverly, Jared Joaquin of North Andover, and Peabody's Kilder Cardona were all named Player-of-the-Year in their respective conferences. Joaquin has also been a staple in the Aztec Organization since he was an eighth grader. Joaquin was named player of the year in CAL conference. Joaquin currently plays for the Aztec U-18 team and has just recently been named to the Aztec Men’s Team roster for the upcoming Winter Season. "Jared is a player that has the ability to be one of the best players every time he steps on the field," said Aztec President Mike Kersker.