Photo courtesy of Jordan Pynes
By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor
The AYSO Area 1-P League Champions Tournament consisting of teams representing Culver City, West LA, South LA, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills, Los Feliz and Hollywood was held last weekend, January 13 and 14, at Belmar Park in Santa Monica.
The Mambas, a local Boys 12U squad representing Region 69, won the league title in December and continued their winning ways in the Area playoffs, advancing all the way to the final game after two thrilling wins. Head coach Jordan Pynes and assistant Steve Gilison guided the soccer team to a 14-1 overall record in one of the best runs by a Palisades-based AYSO team in over 30 years.
The Mambas’ roster consisted of 11 talented players: Ryan Bonakdar, Oliver Darvish, Max Gerber, Leo Gilison, Kai Holyoak, Jack McCutchen, Linken Merrill, Dominic Petersen, Asher Pynes, Josiah Vazales and Noah Zarnegin.
In the first game on Saturday, the Mambas beat Santa Monica, 5-4, on penalty kicks after the sides tied 2-2 through regulation and overtime. Bonakdar converted the winning kick in the shootout.
The semifinals on Sunday saw the locals beat West LA, 5-2. The championship game that evening was a tense struggle as Gerber scored with 10 seconds left in regulation to pull the Mambas even at 2-2 with Los Feliz and force overtime. Neither team scored in the extra session, and Los Feliz prevailed, 5-4, in the shootout to hand the Mambas their only defeat in a remarkable season.
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