FFAS MEDIA

Pago Pago, American Samoa, Monday, May 3, 2010 — Black Roses’ men completed a Futsal double championship by claiming the men’s title in a down-to-the-wire, 5-4 thriller against Lion Heart at Leone High School’s gymnasium on Friday, April 30, 2010.

Just 40 minutes earlier their women’s team crushed Utulei Youth 8-1 to claim the female side of the FFAS Futsal League 2010 championship.

Accumulated fouls was the culprit in Lion Heart’s loss as they had reached their 6th foul of the second half with seven minutes to play.

Luckily for Lion Heart the division’s eventual MVP, Dion Ott failed to score on the penalty kick from the second penalty mark but on the next foul they weren’t so lucky.

After celebrating a midway blast from Rafe Luvu for the equalizing goal with 2:15 to play, Lion Heart was whistled for an impeding the progress foul that put the ball back at the second mark for another free shot against the goalie.

This time around Sulupo Matauaina fooled the goalie, Neil Vili, with a roller towards the keeper’s left post and his splits could not stop the ball from going in for the game-winner with 1:11 to play.

It was a magnificent final to begin with as Ott draw the goal line defender towards him, leaving Matauaina open in the corner where he beat a flat-footed goalie 7:02 into the first half.

The equalizer came from Luvu, whose game hat trick was not enough to overcome the Black Roses, exactly one minute later after he received a perfect tap pass in traffic that he one-tapped past Black Roses’ Kelupi Utima.

Utima threw a cross-court goal clearance that went off of Vili’s hands and into the net for a 2-1 lea with 6:45 to play.

Lion Heart’s Falagasisi Tomasi tied it with a 22-foot shot with the side of his foot with 4:53 remaining and two minutes later Luvu gave his team their first lead of the match on a 30-foot shot that caught Utima unawares.

The two teams played to a stalemate for much of the second half until the MVP took control by stealing the ball off of Luvu’s dribble and then sneaking in a 22-foot shot for the equalizer.

Two minutes later Jerry Iosefa took advantage of his cover man turning his back on him and then sneaking past to tap in a perfect corner kick from Matauaina for a lead change in their favor that was later tied by another long shot from Luvu.

Besides the championship trophy and the MVP award to Ott, Black Roses was awarded a monetary prize of $500.

Lion Heart was awarded $300 for second place while FC SKBC was awarded $200 for finishing third.
Black Roses are also 2009 11-a-side champions and have now taken the Futsal double after their women’s squad won the title game earlier on that evening.