INDIO – Twin powers Jason Crowder and Joseph Stuart smoked past Long Beach Sunday 6-4, lifted by Crowder’s back-to-back goals in the first two minutes. Maui’s Christian Neumann pushed for the tap out of the lineup as Stuart positioned to receive. Crowder, hazed by Long Beach’s No. 3 Dan Walker, angled downfield, picked up Stuart’s pass and surged past Walker, hitting a blistering neck shot through the posts.
Photo: Maui from L to R: Jason Crowder, Christian Nuemann, Joseph Stuart and Jesse Neuworth.
Long Beach’s Sean Keys and Matt Walker got possession out of the lineup for a carry within 40 yards of goal, but a missed shot by Walker left them open for Crowder’s pick-up for the turnover. Crowder hit a long ball to midfield as Keys gave chase. Stuart carried the ball to within 60 yards from the end line before he was hooked. But Crowder, demonstrating the kind of consistent play reading that has earned him back-to-back tournament wins, was there for the save, flying in for the offside play and a two-goal lead.
Long Beach rode back to the trailers at the end of the first chukker down 2-1 on a penalty conversion by Dan Walker with 16 seconds remaining.
Maui held Long Beach scoreless in a second lackluster chukker peppered with whistles against both teams. Maui missed two shots on goal, scoring on a single penalty conversion. After the half, Long Beach’s aggressive offense netted two penalty conversions for Stuart, pushing Maui up to a 5-1 rout before Long Beach forward Therese Volmer took control.
Left open as father-and-son team of the Walkers hazed Stuart and Crowder, and Neumann guarded Keys, Volmer flew in under the radar and punched in a cross-goal winner with .48 left on the clock. Crowder scored on a tail shot early in the fourth before Long Beach rallied on goals by Walker and Volmer late in the fourth.
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| Playa Grande won their flight in the other Irish Cup Finals. From left to right: Teammate, Ernie Ezcurra, Caroline Anier and Shelley Geiler. |
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| Quilmes won their flight finals. From left to right: Juan Martin Gutierrez, Alex Rabida, Alejandro Nordheimer and Christian Moon. |
