Penalty Kicks Decide Indoor Arena’s Finals
Penalty Kicks Decide Indoor Arena’s Finals

Scorpion, which had stung Virgen del Milagro to win Sportime Arena’s indoor soccer (futsal) championship in early March, was, in turn, bested by the Bautista brothers’ team, now known as F.C., in the spring men’s open final, which was played at Sportime on May 18.
In the men’s 38-plus title game, which also was hotly contested throughout, Liga Sayausi prevailed 8-7 in a penalty kick shootout that broke a 3-3 tie.
The men’s open final also went down to penalty kicks, and it was bad news for the defending champs inasmuch as F.C.’s acrobatic goalie, Luis Bautista, proved to be unbeatable from close range, stopping successive bids by Christian Gonzales, Jimmy Baculima, and Diego Guazhambo.
Meanwhile, F.C.’s shots, taken by Ismael Penafiel, Christian Penafiel, and Daniel Acosta, beat Scorpion’s keeper, Luis Bermeo.
After Acosta’s goal clinched the championship, at 3-0, Luis Bautista did a series of flips as his teammates and he celebrated.
Scorpion (from whose lineup Antonio Padilla, Mario Olaya, and Danny Bedoya were missing) and F.C. battled it out in the 50 minutes of regulation, with F.C. getting on the scoreboard first, about midway through the first half, as Juan Villavicencio put away a pass from Luis Uchupaille, who had stolen the ball at midcourt.
With about two and a half minutes to go until the break, Scorpion’s Franklin Bermeo evened the count.
The second half was scoreless, though each team had good chances. Then, as aforesaid, Luis Bautista took over the game.
It was pretty much the same in the men’s 38-plus final, though the pace was not quite as frenetic. Liga Sayausi’s Walter Criollo broke the ice nine minutes into the first half, though the Cosmos’ Wilson Garcia responded with a goal of his own soon after.
The Cosmos were to tack on two more scores — by Manuel Calle and Jose Nano — to take a 3-1 lead with 10 minutes left until the break, but Carlos Guichay got one back for Liga Sayausi in the 21st minute of play.
Finally, in the 47th minute, Criollo tied it up as he buried a pass he’d received from Guichay.
The subsequent penalty kick shootout was lengthy indeed as both goalies — Milton Farez of the Cosmos and Gabriel Jimbo of Liga Sayausi — parried shot after shot. The pendulum shifted in the ninth round as the Cosmos’ Fausto Pintado, who had scored earlier, shot wide right. Guichay then beat Farez, clinching the championship for Liga Sayausi.
In other local soccer news, Maidstone Market was, with a 3-1-0 record, atop the outdoor 7-on-7 league whose games are played Wednesday evenings in East Hampton’s Herrick Park, going into last night’s action.
The perennial-champion Market shut out a shorthanded Tortorella Pools team 5-0 at the park on May 22. Cesar Correa had two goals for Maidstone, and Diego Marles, Hector Marles, and John Romero each had one. The loss dropped Tortorella to 2-2.
In other games that night, Hampton F.C.-Bill Miller, with Jose Almonsa scoring both goals, shut out Bateman Painting 2-0, and the Hideaway edged F.C. Tuxpan 2-1 thanks to an own goal (off a Tuxpan defender) in the second half. Cesar Galea accounted for the Hideaway’s first score, converting the rebound of a shot taken by Christian Bautista.
Behind Maidstone Market in the standings as of yesterday were the Hideaway, at 2-1-1, Hampton F.C.-Bill Miller, at 2-2, Tortorella Pools, at 2-2, Bateman Painting, at 1-2-1, and F.C. Tuxpan, at 1-3.