2004 US National Weekend:
13th ASA National Championship & ASA St.Louis Arch Open
July 17-18, 2004 in St.Louis, Missouri
13th ASA National Championship & ASA St.Louis Arch Open
July 17-18, 2004 in St.Louis, Missouri
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"..and all I've got is a louzy Mary Jane title!"
declared a frustrated Massimo Conturso at the Bradley Airport of Hartford on Sunday
night after the second bumpy flight in 3 days.
The SCC's campaign for the National Weekend wasn't particularly successful as none of
their players went over the Quarterfinals. The honor of such an achievement went to
Salem's Andrea Gasparini, who was eliminated in both tournaments by an impressive
Zach Walker with the results of 3-2 and 2-1. Absolutely dramatic was Saturday's match
as Walker tied with 15 seconds left, then scored the golden goal for the final 3-2. Zach
eventually beat Nick Giffen from Virginia in the semifinals, but failed to bring home the
national title as he lost Deinhart 2-1 in the Championship Match. The other two club
members, Jim Taylor and Massimo Conturso shared the same bitter destiny as they lost
in the Round of 16, respectively to host Tim Boone 2-0 and Pennsylvania's Mike Benkart
1-0. Mike scored one of the most beautiful goal of the weekend as he punished a
presunptuous Conturso with a rocket under the crossbar on a running flick in the first
half. Eventually, the Italian took Benkart's shooting area under siege, but a series of
woodworks, saves and mistakes in front the goal denied him the deserved draw. JT
played a good game against Missouri's Boone, but a not perfect pitch created problems
to his fine touch. He had a goal denied by the ref (ball not shootable) and two
promising attacks stopped by offside.
Sunday's tournament saw only two club members in the roster as Jim Taylor was driving
back home with Virginia's Giffen Brothers, Andrew & Nick.
Gasparini and Conturso struggled in their respective groups and both finished 3rd.
Andrea was in a group of 5 and his rank was enough to qualify him to the quarterfinals.
Massimo was in the Group of Death with Zach Walker, Eric Walton (eventually, the two
finalists) and ASA President, Jonathan Smith from Idaho.
After a 4-0 win over Smith, Conturso lost Walton for the first time ever on a 1-0
decision; then tied Walker Sr. 1-1 in a high-pace match that Zach controlled for most of
the time. The Italian eventually had a proud reaction and scored on a running flick after
a incursion from the right.
Four points in a group of 4 are usually sufficient to pass, but not this time and Conturso
was relegated to the Mary Jane Tourney.
While Gasparini had another titanic match against Zach Walker (1-2), the club's
co-founder had another unlucky draw as he found once again Smith and Benkart on the
road to the MJ Final. Both Conturso and Benkart defeated Smith and met for the 3rd
time in two days in a sort of MJ Semifinal. Massimo won 1-0 and achieved a little
revenge for Saturday's upset, but also realized how wrong were his assumptions on
Benkart, who's certainly not the player he defeated 5-0 in Connecticut last Spring.
The MJ Final was the inaugural match between Massimo and Chris Walker, Zach's
younger brother. Speed and excellent control run in the Walker Family and Chris gave
major headache to Conturso, who struggled to close the game after his first goal.
Before the half break, Walker tied with a tricky shot in the lower corner on a corner flick
action. In the second half, Chris commited some mistakes and the Italian punished him 3
more times for the final 4-1.
PICTURES (click to enlarge):
1. Close-up on Saturday's Gasparini vs. Walker Z.
2. Benkart vs. Conturso in Sunday's Mary Jane.
3. Zach & Andrea play under Paul Eyes' direction.
4. Conturso & Benkart flick while John Sarra watches.
5. Gasparini & Walker battle in a square inch on Saturday.
VIDEO:
Gregg Deinhart's winning goal at the 2004 National Championship Match
(Zach Walker, 2-1 OT). Click here
declared a frustrated Massimo Conturso at the Bradley Airport of Hartford on Sunday
night after the second bumpy flight in 3 days.
The SCC's campaign for the National Weekend wasn't particularly successful as none of
their players went over the Quarterfinals. The honor of such an achievement went to
Salem's Andrea Gasparini, who was eliminated in both tournaments by an impressive
Zach Walker with the results of 3-2 and 2-1. Absolutely dramatic was Saturday's match
as Walker tied with 15 seconds left, then scored the golden goal for the final 3-2. Zach
eventually beat Nick Giffen from Virginia in the semifinals, but failed to bring home the
national title as he lost Deinhart 2-1 in the Championship Match. The other two club
members, Jim Taylor and Massimo Conturso shared the same bitter destiny as they lost
in the Round of 16, respectively to host Tim Boone 2-0 and Pennsylvania's Mike Benkart
1-0. Mike scored one of the most beautiful goal of the weekend as he punished a
presunptuous Conturso with a rocket under the crossbar on a running flick in the first
half. Eventually, the Italian took Benkart's shooting area under siege, but a series of
woodworks, saves and mistakes in front the goal denied him the deserved draw. JT
played a good game against Missouri's Boone, but a not perfect pitch created problems
to his fine touch. He had a goal denied by the ref (ball not shootable) and two
promising attacks stopped by offside.
Sunday's tournament saw only two club members in the roster as Jim Taylor was driving
back home with Virginia's Giffen Brothers, Andrew & Nick.
Gasparini and Conturso struggled in their respective groups and both finished 3rd.
Andrea was in a group of 5 and his rank was enough to qualify him to the quarterfinals.
Massimo was in the Group of Death with Zach Walker, Eric Walton (eventually, the two
finalists) and ASA President, Jonathan Smith from Idaho.
After a 4-0 win over Smith, Conturso lost Walton for the first time ever on a 1-0
decision; then tied Walker Sr. 1-1 in a high-pace match that Zach controlled for most of
the time. The Italian eventually had a proud reaction and scored on a running flick after
a incursion from the right.
Four points in a group of 4 are usually sufficient to pass, but not this time and Conturso
was relegated to the Mary Jane Tourney.
While Gasparini had another titanic match against Zach Walker (1-2), the club's
co-founder had another unlucky draw as he found once again Smith and Benkart on the
road to the MJ Final. Both Conturso and Benkart defeated Smith and met for the 3rd
time in two days in a sort of MJ Semifinal. Massimo won 1-0 and achieved a little
revenge for Saturday's upset, but also realized how wrong were his assumptions on
Benkart, who's certainly not the player he defeated 5-0 in Connecticut last Spring.
The MJ Final was the inaugural match between Massimo and Chris Walker, Zach's
younger brother. Speed and excellent control run in the Walker Family and Chris gave
major headache to Conturso, who struggled to close the game after his first goal.
Before the half break, Walker tied with a tricky shot in the lower corner on a corner flick
action. In the second half, Chris commited some mistakes and the Italian punished him 3
more times for the final 4-1.
PICTURES (click to enlarge):
1. Close-up on Saturday's Gasparini vs. Walker Z.
2. Benkart vs. Conturso in Sunday's Mary Jane.
3. Zach & Andrea play under Paul Eyes' direction.
4. Conturso & Benkart flick while John Sarra watches.
5. Gasparini & Walker battle in a square inch on Saturday.
VIDEO:
Gregg Deinhart's winning goal at the 2004 National Championship Match
(Zach Walker, 2-1 OT). Click here
MASSIMO CONTURSO
P11 W8 L2 D1 GF30 GA4
Nationals:
Group Stage
Matt Morice................7-0
Mike Benkart.............3-0
Mike Keller.................2-0
Scott Givens..............4-0
Round of 16
Mike Benkart.............0-1
St.Louis Arch Open:
Group Stage
Jonathan Smith.........4-0
Eric Walton................0-1
Zach Walker...............1-1
Mary Jane Semifinals
Jonathan Smith..........4-0
Mike Benkart..............1-0
Mary Jane Final
Chris Walker...............4-1
P11 W8 L2 D1 GF30 GA4
Nationals:
Group Stage
Matt Morice................7-0
Mike Benkart.............3-0
Mike Keller.................2-0
Scott Givens..............4-0
Round of 16
Mike Benkart.............0-1
St.Louis Arch Open:
Group Stage
Jonathan Smith.........4-0
Eric Walton................0-1
Zach Walker...............1-1
Mary Jane Semifinals
Jonathan Smith..........4-0
Mike Benkart..............1-0
Mary Jane Final
Chris Walker...............4-1
ANDREA GASPARINI
P11 W7 L3 D1 GF32 GA11
Nationals:
Group Stage
Corey Rolf.................4-0
Mike Keller................2-0
Lenny Foster.............3-2
Keith Constable.........5-0
Round of 16
Lenny Foster..............6-1
Quarterfinals
Zach Walker...............2-3
St.Louis Arch Open
Group Stage
Mike Benkart.............3-1
Mike Keller.................1-2
Chris Walker..............5-0
Paul Eyes...................0-0
Quarterfinals
Zach Walker...............1-2
P11 W7 L3 D1 GF32 GA11
Nationals:
Group Stage
Corey Rolf.................4-0
Mike Keller................2-0
Lenny Foster.............3-2
Keith Constable.........5-0
Round of 16
Lenny Foster..............6-1
Quarterfinals
Zach Walker...............2-3
St.Louis Arch Open
Group Stage
Mike Benkart.............3-1
Mike Keller.................1-2
Chris Walker..............5-0
Paul Eyes...................0-0
Quarterfinals
Zach Walker...............1-2
JIM TAYLOR
P5 W2 L2 D1 GF10 GA4
Nationals:
Group Stage
Tim Boone...............1-1
Scott Givens.............4-0
Gregg Deinhart.........0-2
Toby Givens.............5-0
Round of 16
Tim Boone................0-2
P5 W2 L2 D1 GF10 GA4
Nationals:
Group Stage
Tim Boone...............1-1
Scott Givens.............4-0
Gregg Deinhart.........0-2
Toby Givens.............5-0
Round of 16
Tim Boone................0-2
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