The Large Farva soccer team couldn’t have asked for a much better host than what it got from Marc Reilley.Reilley agreed to switch teams and play for Large Farva for this year’s Soccer Six Moonlight Madness so he would have the opportunity to compete with some of his former North Greenville University teammates. It wasn’t an easy decision, considering his team from the previous year — International FC (of Hilton Head) — was competitive enough to qualify for Sunday’s championship of the Soccer Six event at Chaplin Park.“You know, it was probably more weird playing for (International FC) because I hadn’t really played with any of those guys before,” said Reilley, the lone player from Large Farva who lives on Hilton Head Island. “So I think I made the right decision.”You could say that.Reilley scored a pair of goals, leading his new team, Large Farva, to a 5-0 win in the finals of the men’s A bracket of the national championship tournament. He got on the board early in the first half with a header on a perfect feed from Jason Wiggins and capped off the team’s shutout with a second goal midway through the second half.“That was just a great ball from Wiggins,” said Reilley, who played host to his teammates over the weekend. “I happened to hit it just right. It looks pretty good when that happens.”His teammates looked just as smooth Sunday afternoon. Danny Cobb scored two minutes into the game before John Restrepo added a pair of goals in the first half to put the game away early. Former Presbyterian and Porter-Gaud High School goalie Mark Owens recorded the shutout in goal.Things didn’t come quite as easily for the Savannah Booters, who picked up a 2-1 championship victory against Hilton Head International in the men’s 40-and-over bracket.The Booters dominated the first half of play but couldn’t get it past the Hilton Head International defense until Tripp Wolfe finally broke a scoreless tie on the last play of the opening 20 minutes.“It was a relief,” Wolfe said. “We had been playing well but couldn’t come through. And that was just a pure goal. Three guys made good passes and then one touch to the net. Great soccer.”Pat Aliffi added the second half goal for the Booters, who fell 3-0 to Hilton Head International in pool play on Saturday. That loss, Wolfe said, lingered over the Booters throughout the rest of the tournament.“Looking back, I’d say it definitely helped us,” Wolfe said. “We used it as motivation to get back here so we’d have another crack at these guys. And we played much, much better this time around.”
Sunday’s championship resultsMen’s A: Large Farva 5, International FC 0Men’s B: Salty Dog Cafe 2, Melbourne FC 0Women’s A: Sporting Charlotte 2, MILF 1Women’s B: Urban Cougars 6, Aeros 0Coed A: Stingers 2, Divided FC 0Coed B: ASE 3, East Cobb 2Men’s 40-and-over: Savannah Booters 2, Hilton Head International 1Men’s 30-and-over: Team Jaron 4, Divided FC 0
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