WESTMINSTER COLLEGE, SALT LAKE CITY. (October 25, 2010). Olympique Montreux manager Bel-Ami has a footballing philosophy that is unshakeable.
It involves playing the game the right way. Bel-Ami’s way.
The ball stays on the turf. It moves rapidly between players. Unnecessary touches are frowned upon and when it is humming smoothly, it can rightfully be considered as art.
Over the last eleven years there have been enough beautiful moments to fill a gallery many times over, and fortunately for Bel-Ami, the Olympians and the supporters, those beautiful moments have resulted in numerous championships and overflowing trophy cabinets.
At Westminster College last Saturday against Mundo Utah, the Olympians displayed their surgical passing game to the delight of the spectators and the misery of Samir Delilbasic and his Mundo Utah mates. Bel-Ami’s men were physical and gave back as good as they got. There was no sign of fear and it looked as though everyone had each others' back.
It felt like the good old days of Paul Williams, Todd Miller, Nate Murphy, JT Cracroft and Josh Kimball when the Olympians used to mix the beautiful game with muscle. All-for-one and one-for-all.
The result of all that electrifying passing game and steel started producing results early and often.
David Chevez was cheeky in clipping Samir Delilbasic while Sina Alipour clearly was inspired by his teammate’s aggression when he went through the back of Admir Softic. Adis Alagic was a one man land mine. Mundo Utah players just did not dare go where he was for fear of running into steel.
All this happened in the first 24 minutes of a fiery first half that saw Mundo Utah’s giants rather intimidated and frustrated as the round thing rolled and rolled from the dizzying passing of the men in the red jerseys featuring the “Think Haiti” tribute to the victim of Haiti’s devastating earthquake last January.
The Olympians were intelligent, kept possession superbly and wore Mundo Utah down with their non-stop aggression and willingness to mix it up.
By the end of the 90 minutes Samir and Mundo Utah were exhausted thanks to those two components. Not to mention the three or four dizzying spells when Bel-Ami’s men put together 30-plus successful passes.
“I didn’t think that we had the character or mentality to dish it back. I have been wanting that in long time. After the bullying we have been receiving all season long, it was good to be physical and yet impose our brand on the game,” said Bel-Ami.
If there really has been a change in the attitude of the club, if they are willing to go nose-to-nose when the situation demands it, perhaps Lazio better beware in the Utah Super Cup game a fortnight from now.
Bel-Ami is a proud artist with a strong stubborn streak but maybe he’s thinking that getting his hands a little dirty may just be the key to creating his finest masterpiece.
The Olympians won the Utah Open Cup “avec de la manière” (with style). Armin Sedarevic scored a brace and Steve McMurdie, David Chevez, Nathan Braun and TJ Waters, scored beautiful goals. Mundo Utah put in a consolation goal in the closing minutes on a defensive mistake to make the score 6-1.
“You just cannot fake the funk in front of greatness,” mused Mundo Utah’s coach Mike Brown who had planned a victory celebration at Café on Main should his men upset Olympique Montreux.
Provo, UT. --David Chevez has found the fountain of youth. Again.
The former Alianza Lima marksman scored his third hot trick of the season in a 3-1 win over Utah Valley Soccer Club on Saturday.
“El Tanque,” as the striker was known in his glorious days in Peru, brought his goal counter to 14 in all competitions in what appears to be a solo race to the golden boot of the Premiership team.
"Let me say this to all of you, I am in the best shape I have been in a long time. I felt fresh even before coming into the game today," Chevez said. "I am a lean, fit machine. Bel-Ami has dared me to get in shape. Look at the results."
The peripatetic forward, who won the golden boot in 2007 has rededicated himself to his football to the delight of the fans and his teammates who are in awe of his skills.
"David is by far the best center forward in Utah, pro and amateur players included. If he was only playing soccer and pro soccer at that, he could start for any team in MLS," Olympique Montreux’s coach Bel-Ami said.
Although the team won comfortably against an inspired Utah Valley side motivated to upset the defending champions, the absence of many starters meant the manager had to draft several First Division players to play a second game in the same day, something the team hates to do.
“I do not like playing a man in two games on the same day. This can result in injury to the player. I am just glad we managed to win and that I brought all the guys home safely,” said Bel-Ami.
OM, second to Lazio in the Premiership standings appears to be closing in on the Premiership title after a difficult start of the season. Lazio, however, might be given the title by forfeit since its last opponents appear to have dropped of the competition.
“It is very strange that we have played all of our games, nobody never forfeits against us, and have faced stiff competition from all the teams and that the league might crown a champion by forfeit. If that happens, it will be almost laughable,” joked Bel-Ami.
The league’s Premiership labyrinth notwithstanding, OM already qualifies for the final of the Utah Open Cup, having eliminated mighty Westminster College along the way, and hopes to be featured in the Utah Super Cup game end of October.
While the Premiership is trying to sort out its title aspirations, Olympique Montreux’s First Division team, led by hardworking captain and defender Colton Spencer, is cruising with open sails to the division title, out-distancing its nearest competitor by more than 10 points with four games remaining
The D1 team has been on a tear since the restart , out scoring opponents 23 goals to 7. Marksman, Juventino "Cubano" Silva is the team’s leading scorer with 17 goals.
Orem, UT – The O.M. Girls U-16 team advances to the State Cup Final with impressive wins against Arsenal Strikers, Avalanche 94 White, and Sparta 94 Premier.
The O.M. Girls U-16 squad has played exceptionally well during the 2010 State Cup! Last Saturday the girls alongside Head Coach Nate Murphy squared off against a difficult Arsenal Strikers team. The Strikers worked hard in the first half and held the score at 2 - 1 in favor of Olympique Montreux. Following the half, OM showed who has the stamina and shut the Strikers down scoring 4 more goals and allowing none!
With the 6 – 1 win the girls advanced onto the the Quarterfinals where they would face the Avalanche!
Due to rain the Quarterfinal game was pushed back until Wednesday evening. The girls came out and played hard right from the beginning. It was a tough game on both sides of the field but Olympique Montreux came out ahead with a 2 – 1 win over the Avalanche! “It was a great game to watch”, said Founder Bel Ami Montreux! The girls fought hard and played with passion. With the win the girls advanced on to play Sparta Premier in the Semi-Final game. They had previously played Sparta Premier earlier in bracket play and beat them 4 – 2. You can be sure that they were looking to take O.M. down this time around.
The stage was set Thursday evening for the State Cup Semi-Final! Only 4 teams remained and the girls are now playing back to back games after their win the previous night over the Avalanche. The game began and Sparta scored early in the game to go up 1 – 0 over Olympique Montreux. It would remain that way until half. The second half the girls came out and fought hard but couldn’t find the equalizer and still were a goal down with time diminishing quickly. It would remain that way until the final 5 minutes when O.M. would strike back and tie the game up at 1 a piece. The game went into overtime and the score remained the same. It stayed tied all the way through the double 10 minute over time and so we were headed to a PK shoot out. The Penalty Kicks didn't take long and the O.M. girls shut Sparta down 4-0 for the win and the chance to play in the final for the 2010 Youth State Cup! What a game!
The Girls have played extremely well the entire tournament and now look to take the title as State Cup Champions as they face a very tough and very good La Roca Premier team. The game will take place this STAURDAY May 29th at 9:30 a.m. at the Lakeside Soccer Complex ***Field 2 (1850 West 400 South, Orem UT). We need your support this weekend. ****The first 100 O.M. fans at the game will receive an official O.M. lanyard for your keys***** So get out there and cheer on you Olympique Montreux Girls!
Salt Lake City, UT - The O.M. Premiership excels with back to back wins against Bosnia FC and a scrimmage against Utah Valley University.
Saturday evening at Westpointe Park the O.M. Premiership faced off against a winless Bosnia FC team looking to take down the Red Warriors. O.M. took an early lead with a great goal from, this years new addition, forward Luis de Lucas. By Halftime It was only 2 – 0 in favor of the Red Warriors. But sloppy play and failure to control the ball in the middle led to a heated talk from Coach Bel Ami de Montreux. “We need to be more aggressive and fight for the ball the moment we lose it. They have no business touching our ball”, added Montreux.
The Red Warriors came out into the second half with a renewed spirit and it began to show quickly. O.M. began to take advantage of mistakes from Bosnia FC. 3 more goals were scored by Cesar Duran, David Chevez, and Luis de Lucas. That’s the way it would finish. O.M. wins in traditional fashion with yet another clean sheet. “Even though we won 5 – 0 we still have a lot to work on as a team”, said coach Montreux afterwards.
The Utah Soccer Association didn’t schedule any games Memorial Day weekend so Olympique Montreux headed down South Thursday evening to Utah Valley University for a friendly scrimmage against the Wolverines. “It’s tough to stay match fit if you’re not practicing and playing constantly”, said coach Bel Ami de Montreux.
The first half was full of sloppy play from the Red Warriors and everybody knew it. “We just need to finish up top”, said forward Steve McMurdie. The second half coach Montruex made some key substitutions and O.M. began to take control of the game. In the second half left winger Chamale aka”Homie” curved in a beautiful free kick from 40 yards out right over the keepers head. Zach VanWagenen moved up top and helped increase O.M.’s lead scoring 2 more goals. The defense played well and, all except for an unfortunate slip by goal keeper Brandon Rogers, held off the Wolverines. The final whistle blew and O.M. walked away with a 6 – 3 win.
The Wolverines were gracious enough to host O.M. at their field and the game provided a great opportunity for both squads to improve. We are very thankful for that. The game left much to be desired from the Red Warriors side. “Nobody seems to have the desire to play and defend this teams title as reigning Champions”, said coach Montreux, “We need leaders out there and we need to be more aggressive”!
Olympique Montreux’s Premiership squad kicks off next Tuesday evening after Memorial Day weekend against Lazio at Riverside Park. Come out and support your Red Warriors! We need you!
Orem, UT - The Olympique Montreux Girls U-16 Team opens State Cup play with a dominating performance over Sparta Premier and OCFC Lightning.
The girls are off to a good start towards their quest for the Utah U-16 State Cup this year after an opening win over Sparta Premier by a score of 4 – 2. “The girls played well,” said coach Murphy. Head coach Nate Murphy has led the girls this season and together they are looking for that elusive State Cup title. “We are playing good soccer right now,” he added. Michelle Murphy has been the top scorer for the girls so far this season and is really playing well right now. Goalkeeper Nina Allen has been very consistent and made some key saves in the win over Sparta last Saturday.
Last night the girls continued their dominating performance with a 9 – 0 win over OCFC Lightning U-16 Girls. Almost every girl from O.M. got a shot on goal. It was quite a riot playing with all of that rain, “but the girls were troopers and seemed to have fun with it” said coach Murphy.
The State Cup Tournament is being held at the Lakeside Soccer Complex in Orem Utah. Click here for a map. Also to see a map of the field layout click here. We need all the support we can get so make the trip down South to support them in the 2010 State Cup competition.
The girls kickoff against a very difficult Arsenal Strikers team this Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
Salt Lake City, UT – Coach Bel Ami de Montreux works with his players as Olympique Montreux prepares to travel to Idaho to play the U21 Mexican National Team this Mother’s Day weekend.
This weekend Olympique Montreux will be making the trip this weekend to play the U21 Mexican National Team in Idaho. Yes this is the real U21 Mexican National Team and O.M. has been invited to face the young team. The 1st time event is being hosted by Magic United SC and Chapalas Restaurant. Coach Montreux and the Red Warriors are very excited for the opportunity and have been preparing for the task of playing a team of such caliber. If you can make the trip up to Idaho this Mother’s Day then come and support us. The event details are listed below:
Sunday May 8th, 2010
Meridian Speedway – 335 South Main Street – Meridian, ID
Kickoff at 5:00pm MST
For those of you that can’t make the trip up to Idaho but still want to feel like you’re at the game then Twitter is the way to go. If you would like to follow us on twitter and get up to the minute information on the game then follow the instructions below:
With Twitter you will be able to find out how the game is going, when our next game is, when practice is, and other important information all throughout the season. If you have a smartphone then you probably have a Twitter app already and all you need to do is follow “OMFC”. But just in case here is some instructions on how to get started using twitter.
Here is what you need to do:
1 - Go to this link http://twitter.com/OMFC and you will see our twitter page. (You can follow us by simply going to this page. But to get mobile updates see steps 2-4)
2 – Click the yellow button above our name that says “JOIN TODAY”
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3 - After you have created your account you should be “following” OMFC already. To enable mobile notifications just click “Settings” in the top right of your twitter page then to “Mobile”
(click to enlarge)
Now you can stay in touch with O.M. and have access to up to the minute news, scores, and other information!
Lone Peak Park, Sandy, UT – Olympique Montreux Division 1 is handed their 1st loss of the year while the Premiership soars past Pan World FC in stunning fashion.
Friday evening the First Division looked to continue where they left off last week with a win against Pan World FC. Much to their surprise things wouldn’t quite turn out the way they hoped.
The game started a bit late due to the delay from Pan World FC. They were playing a man down for the first few minutes so early on in the game OM tried to capitalize but just couldn’t convert. Right before halftime Pan World took advantage of a poor clearance by defender Jacob Christensen and scored to take the 1 – 0 lead over the Red Warriors. Once again OM found themselves in the same predicament as last week where they went down a goal to begin the game. At half coach Bel Ami made a few key substitutions in order to battle back. Isai Tapia entered the game and helped in the midfield giving OM a few more chances at goal. But it wasn’t before Pan World would capitalize again on another OM error to go up 2 – 0. The 2 goal deficit was very defeating. Still the Red Warriors would battle back a few minutes later and score off a free kick that was headed in by forward Khalid Alnajjar to narrow the deficit back to 1. With time winding down the Red Warriors needed to score quickly to even up the score. But those hopes were soon diminished as Pan World crossed a ball in to the box that took an unfortunate curve into the upper 90 and gave them a 2 goal cushion with just 6 minutes left to play. OM would eventually score another goal in the 88th minute but it was too little too late giving the 1st division their 1st loss of the year by a score of 3 - 2.
“I’m disgusted with our level of play,” said captain Colton Spencer, “We need to score early and keep the same intensity throughout the game”. Afterwards coach Bel Ami Montreux responded “What can you do? It was a couple of really critical errors that lost the game for us. We need to play mistake free soccer.”
Looking to rebound from the 1st Division loss the premiership quickly got ready to take the field against the Premiership team from Pan World FC. The lights were now on and the stage was set. The cold was settling in but that didn’t stop Olympique Montreux from catching fire. From the very first minute OM would dominate possession of the ball and never looked back. Early in the game captain Tiva Zarate was kicked in the mouth away from the play and went down hard. Blood was rushing out of his mouth. “You could just sense it was bad” said a fan. Later that night Tiva would receive a total of 19 stitches to seal up the cuts he suffered both inside and outside of his mouth. OM fought on and in the 20th minute was awarded a Penalty Kick from a hard foul committed inside the box. Midfielder Jimmy Cuadros converted spot on to give the Red Warriors a 1-0 lead. Isai Tapia, who was now playing in his second game, increased the lead OM had over Pan World FC with another great shot on goal. His 3rd of the season. The second half was much of the same. Great defense, great ball movement, and great soccer. The icing on the cake came when once again midfielder Isai Tapia raced past the Pan World defense in the 70th minute and fired a bullet with the right foot to the bottom left corner of the goal. A true “shake and bake” said coach Montreux. The score would stay that way until the final whistle blew. OM wins it with yet another clean sheet over Pan World FC 3 – 0.
“I am very proud of the guys. They played like professionals out there”, said coach Bel Ami Montreux. It was a very satisfying win for the Red Warriors who will be traveling to Idaho next weekend to take on the U21 Mexican National Team. Go OM!
Storm Mountain Park Sandy, UT – Olympique Montreux opens up the season just as it left with wins from both teams over Meatus FC and Gunners FC.
The Outdoor season has finally arrived and expectations are high for the defending Utah Champions. Last year the squad saw great success and was looking to replicate that heading into the 2010 season. Many changes were made during the offseason in order to benefit the team but as it is with every new season questions always arise. Will OM continue to be dominant as in years past? How will the chemistry of the team affect the play on the field? Will players be able to stay healthy? Will OM have a home field? With questions like these the Red Warriors led by coach Bel Ami Montreux set out to open regular season play for the 2010 season.
Division 1 was matched with Meatus FC, a very big and physical team, to start things off Saturday afternoon. The Red Warriors went down 0 – 1 early in the game but not before Tomas Colindres scored the equalizer to bring OM back. A few minutes later Alan Ruelas was taken down in the box and eventually converted the PK to put OM up 2 – 1. Then right before half Midfielder Isai Tapia put a great shot in from about 30 yards out to give OM the 3 – 1 lead. In the second half Meatus FC quickly scored putting thenselves only down by a goal. Coach Bel Ami Montreux made key substitutions and OM quickly extinguished Meatus FC’s hopes of coming back when Isai Tapia scored his second goal extending the lead to 4 – 2. That’s the way it would finish. “It was about as good as I expected for our first game. We did some things well but we have a lot to work on” said coach Montreux.
The Premeirship would kick off next against a very fast FC Gunners team. The previous year FC Gunners was in the first division and made the move up to the premiership this year. The Red Warriors knew that they were a very good team and would have to pass the ball really well in order to beat them. The game started off well for OM with many close opportunities being created towards goal. Finally about 30 minutes in forward Steve McMurdie would connect on a great assist from Fox to go up 1 – 0 on the Gunners. That’s where we would stand at half. In the second half, after a great pep talk from the coach, OM would control the ball a lot better and wear down the defense of the gunners. About 70 min. in David Chevez made a great drive towards goal scoring with the left foot just past the Gunners goalkeeper. To put the icing on the game Steve McMurdie was clipped from behind in the box and David Chevez hit the PK bottom left corner to give OM the 3 – 0 win.
The nerves were finally settled and OM has begun it’s road to success on a great note. Two great games and two great wins. Both teams will play Pan World FC Friday night night under the lights at Lone Peak Park. So come out and support Olympique Montreux. You never want to miss some good soccer.
UPDATE: PRACTICE CANCELLED THURSDAY due to weather.
This year we are looking to make the teams stronger and more competitive here at OM. In order for this to happen tryouts were necessary. We have looked at all of the players and evaluated how many new players we could take on as well as how many returning players will remain on the team. Below is the list for players that are welcome to come to the next practice. Because of weather this week it has been difficult to practice. Keep watching the schedule to see when we will be practicing next. There are a total of about 24 on this list. Note: this is NOT the final roster. We will be cutting the Division 1 roster to 20 people. That will be the final roster for the team and from there we will have forms to sign and instructions to get signed up. Please arrive on time to practice and bring water. Thanks.
Remember no practice tonight (Thurs. 4-01-10)
List of people after 1st cut of tryouts: Armando Colton Spencer Antonio Cassillas Adam Harris Igor Ivakovic Haroldo Darelli Jamal Henry Koroma Alan Ruelas Pelon Jaddon Rogers Tim Ballentyne Cubano Andres Pena Victor Aguire Zack VanWagenen Cameron Pettey Oliver Loua Caleb Debenham Passi Bayingana Isai Tapia P.J. Jensen Alonzo Fabriscio Francesco Martinelli
Also all past O.M. players must turn in their shorts at practice. Thanks
Outdoor season is coming and expectations are high for the defending champions. THE OTHER TEAMS ARE BUSY GETTING BETTER. It is rumored that Real Salt Lake is putting a team in the league composed of its former players and others. Everybody's objective is to beat O.M. whether it is the Premiership or the D1. Our teams struggled last year and Las Vegas was a total failure. We have to get better !!!
Because of increased interest and demand from good players who want to be on the team, we will be holding a 2-day tryout. ALL PLAYERS ARE REQUIRED TO TRYOUT! Whether you’ve played for years with O.M. or it’s just your first time. This is necessary to make our two teams more competitive. O.M. gets a lot of attention and we need to keep cultivating the competitive nature that we hold as a soccer club. There are a few changes to how we will be doing things this year so please read carefully:
1 – ALL PLAYERS MUST BRING O.M. SHORTS TO TRYOUTS! This year we will be washing the jerseys and shorts together and only giving them to the players before games and collecting them afterwards. Players will not be allowed to take the shorts or jerseys home with them. The uniforms (Jerseys and Shorts) will remain in our care before and after every game. No exceptions! We cannot afford to lose any more jerseys and shorts. It is very costly. However if you already have the O.M. warmups, jackets, practice jerseys…etc. those are to remain with you. Players can wear their warmups to the game then change at the field. ****NOTE: If a player does not bring all O.M. Shorts (Red, White, Black…..) and Jerseys, then he will not be eligible to tryout!
2 – BE READY! We will be trying to narrow the squad down to 20 players for Premiership and 18 for Division 1. We have to control the expenses of running the team in this difficult economy.
3 – TRYOUT DETAILS: We will be holding 2 days of tryouts. After that the squad will be posted. Dates and Times are:
Tuesday March 23rd @ 6:00 p.m. 1300 East 4300 South (subject to change)
&
Thursday March 25th @ 6:00 p.m. West Jordan Soccer Complex Field O (SouthWest Field)
Players must come to both sessions! And remember we will be checking in shorts before the tryout. If you don’t bring them then you don’t tryout. Sorry, no exceptions.
We appreciate your understanding and we look forward to seeing you and preparing for another successful season as Utah’s Premier Soccer Club.
Las Vegas, Nevada - Olympique Montreux arrived in Las Vegas with high hopes of a very successful weekend but were soon let down with sloppy play and mistakes that would cost them advancing out of pool play..
The annual Silver Mug Soccer Invitational “Bud Cup” attracts only the best soccer clubs from around the nation to compete at a very high level. Currently it is the #3 tournament in the nation. O.M. took down both a women men squad to compete at this prestigious tournament. The men were in a very tough group scheduled to play teams from TX, CA, NM, and NV.
It was early Saturday morning and at the Kellogg-Zaher Soccer Complex and the competition looked very good.
The mens’ 1st opponent was SD Pumitas out of California. The rain began to come down and along with the rain the Olympians began to struggle. Off of a close offsides call SD Pumitas took an early lead on a 1 on 1 break away against experienced goal keeper Andre Domingos. Despite a red card in the second half SD Pumitas eventually held off the attack and finished the game with a 1 – 0 victory over O.M.
“That was a crushing loss. We really needed to win that first game and get 1 under our belt early” said coach Bel-Ami de Montreux. The pressure was on and wouldn’t get any lighter.
The OM men faced Stroke City a few hours later that afternoon. The rain began to let up a bit but the Olympians still couldn’t find a way spark the offense. Stroke City took an early lead off of an unfortunate defensive turnover and scored an easy goal against goalkeeper Jeff Rogers. “That was a stupid mistake” uttered coach Bel Ami referring to the turnover, “Each mistake can be severely detrimental.” Stroke City scored again and OM found themselves down at the half by a score of 2 – 0. In the second half various substitutions were made and OM tried to rally but still couldn’t put a single shot on goal. Loss number 2 was up on the charts and with those 2 early losses, things were looking pretty grim.
Playing now back to back OM rushed over to field 1 to face Escuela FC. Early in the game the Olympians had a great opportunity to score when a shot ricocheted off the post but failed to enter the net. It was half now and OM was still gridlocked at 0 – 0 with Escuela. Goal keeper Andre Domingos was coming up with some huge saves throughout the game including blocking a PK in the 2nd half. Escuela eventually capitalized and scored to make it 1 – 0. Then off of a missed call on a clear offside they put one in again to go on and win the game 2 – 0. They couldn’t believe it. Loss number 3!
It was a very disappointing start to a much anticipated Saturday. The Olympians failed to score a single goal throughout their first 3 games of the tournament and were now sitting on the outside looking in. At various scoring opportunities inside the area, experienced players like David Chevez preferred to try to nutmeg defenders or dive for penalties instead of shooting the ball.
“On Saturday evening, after a totally disappointing performance, I saw Hector Kalucha Rendon packing a 24-pack beer on his shoulders in the hotel lobby. That fellow called Cholo who came highly recommended by Joe Menino basically sat in the hotel room that I provided and drank himself to a coma along with other key players.,” said Bel-Ami.
“Basically, I took a number of drunks to an important tournament. We even had players arrested for various criminal conduct. Wasn’t right! Just plain deceiving.”
With a good chunk of the team under the influences of drugs and alcohol, OM had to find a way to regroup after that horrible showing on Saturday. There was no chance of advancing on to the playoffs but the team still had their pride to play for. Their next opponent was El Alamo Crew Select.
Early in the first half the defense was caught off guard when backing up for a free kick, the ball was played before the whistle and El Alamo scored the first goal of the game. This controversial call helped fuel the Olympians to not have a repeat of Saturday’s performance. OM controlled the ball very well and was making good attempts on goal. Just before the half midfielder Antonio ripped in a goal from distance, top shelf over the El Alamo keeper to tie the score at1-1.
Bel Ami de Montreux prepared the troops for the second half and you could see the effect immediately. Steve McMurdie played exceptionally well and quickly put in a goal just minutes into the second half. Forward Philip Menezes was put in and was immediately awarded a yellow card. Seconds later off of a breakaway he was pushed from behind into the red rocks and given a red card ejecting him from the game. This was probably due to mouthing off to the referee before he even got onto the field. Various substitutions occurred and the Olympians extended their lead as Garcia put in a great goal 1 v 1 against the El Alamo goal keeper. OM went on to win by a score of 3 – 1. Finally the OM players had played like they should have!
The final game for the men was against a team from El Paso, TX. OM began to move the ball really well controlling the midfield but couldn’t get a single shot to go in when attacking. Just before half forward Tim Ballantyne went up for a header and landed a nasty cut just above the left eye. It was quite a war wound. That’s Tim for ya though. In the second half OM kept putting shots on goal and attacking the El Paso defense but despite the OM attack the game ended in a 0 – 0 tie.
The men finished with a record of 1 – 3 – 1 for a total of 12 points. Nowhere close to where they needed to be in order to advance out of pool play to the playoffs.
The women didn’t do too well either. They managed to win 1 out of their 5 games as well but what can you expect with not much practice going into the tournament. “Many girls bailed out at the last minute and the team had to be thrown together in order to make it work”, said team captain Alexis McMurdie.
It was a very disappointing ending to a very disappointing weekend in Las Vegas for both OM squads. “I felt there wasn’t a single team we played that we couldn’t have beaten” said forward Steve McMurdie. It was a very humbling experience after such a dominating year for OM.
“I need to gather myself and rethink the personnel on the team” said Bel Ami. “Every year the lure of the Las Vegas tournament makes us want to come down here. When we had our last big game it was October of 2009 and it is awfully hard to compete with teams who are match fit and in the prime of their soccer season right now.”
“This was not a complete sporting collapse of Utah’s champions though. Other factors interfered. It definitely did not help that players like Kalucha and Cholo were so drunk that they could not stay on their feet and continuously made bad passes to the opponents. Those two did not even show up to play on Sunday along with those that were in jail in some Vegas police precinct. Go figure.
“Make me miss the days of Nate Murphy, Aaron Bruderer, Mike Rogers and Sergio Vasquez,” said a disgusted Bel-Ami.
Salt Lake City, Utah.— Olympique Montreux trains at the University of Utah field house for upcoming trip to the prestigious Las Vegas Tournament "Bud Cup".
Olympique Montreux will be heading to Las Vegas to participate in the prestigious Silver Mug Soccer Invitational Tournament. Often referred to as the "Bud Cup". The 2009 Tournament will be played on February 7 - 9, 2009 at the Kellogg-Zaher Soccer Complex in Las Vegas.
This is one of the top three National Tournaments in the United States and recognized for its highest level of Competition. Often referred to as the "Unofficial Open National Cup Event". To win this event, a team must play nine (9) games in a three-day period. Started in 1978 this is a national affiliated soccer event for both adult men's and women's teams from all over the USA, Mexico, and Canada.
This is an Invitational Tournament. Teams are invited based upon one or more of the following: National Champion, Regional Champion, State Champion, or League Champion. Evidence is required to be submitted at the time of application for verification.
Competition is of the highest level. Teams are generally "professional" level and higher. Past teams include those from the Major Soccer League (MSL), Women's Professional Soccer League (WPSL); Men's Professional Soccer League (MPSL); Professional Indoor teams etc. Many USA National Team players have participated in this prestigious event.
Olympique Montreux will be taking both a men's and women's squad. In order to get match fit they have been practicing periodically the past couple weeks at the Field House of the University of Utah. We are very excited to participate in this event.
You can participate with us too. Whether you're in Las Vegas or at home. You can download a copy of our scheduled group play here: OMFC Las Vegas Group Play Schedule Right Click and "Save As". Also you can Follow us on Twitter for up to the minute news including: Game Info, Scores, Highlights, etc. We will be posting articles up on the blog and site after each day of play. Here we go now. Viva Las Vegas baby!
