Showcase of talent and heart at the Battle for Steve Lawlor

Gunnison team repeats as champions

Friends, former teammates, soccer players and even a couple of guys from Philadelphia came out on Sunday, March 11 for the second annual Steve Gardner Memorial indoor soccer tournament, dubbed the Battle for Steve Lawlor.
Lawlor is in the midst of a battle with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy in Chicago, and the community came out in droves to raise money and send a positive vibe Steve’s way. Fifteen teams, including three from Gunnison, signed up for a shot at the title, or to just have a good time.
Like I said, Pete Canale and Dan Olley from Philly flew out for the occasion and Heather McDowell’s father, Philip, laced up the old shoes to help out on team Hawaii 5-0.
In the end, the same team out of Gunnison that won last year, the White Tigers, emerged the victors with a potent mix of speed and talent. Last year’s core of Texas leaguer Cole Brittain, Matt Smith and former Denver area high school stand-out player Zach Schlichting picked up Jake Rainer and Chad Kurahara to fire through pool play and the single elimination round.
Meanwhile, the Alpineer team led by Mark “Tutu” Cram gave it a go out on the court, as did a hodge-podge but no less talented crew of Todd Dohlman, Topher Donohue, Tim Kugler, Jason Lakey and Pete Basile, with a little help from Reed Betz.
The Shifty Lifties had another quality showing and the Barneys convinced John Ralston to come out of retirement to join them on team Off the Couch for the second year in a row.
Two teams were on fire through pool play—White Tigers and the Mystery Men, comprised of Mike Martin, Than Acuff, Todd Wasinger, Ben McLoughlin and Tom Hoeflinger. Both teams flew through pool play with perfect records to reach the single-elimination round.
The Sociopaths of Brian Fenerty, Junior Silva, Ian Elder, Matt Schmalz and Luke Maloney were on a silent quest for their own title shot, amassing a 2-0-1 record in pool play to reach the round of eight.
The Mystery Men were knocked off by Gunnison team the Gardner Gunners but not without one final statement from McLoughlin. McLoughlin had the goal of the tournament, taking a chip pass from Martin off his chest to settle it for an instep volley blast.
Team Philly was eliminated and in the end, the Sociopaths emerged through the flesh mass to face the White Tigers in the finals.
The White Tigers built an early 2-0 lead but the Sociopaths had them pinned for a sting and Elder flashed straight down the middle to score, pulling to within one.
The White Tigers held on through the waning minutes of the game to maintain their one-goal lead and repeat as champions.
The party continued on to the Brick Oven as tournament players and fans joined forces to drain a keg donated by Avery Brewing Company, and to host a raffle and silent auction that ended up raising over $10,000 for Lawlor.