Diablo FC fares well at Bob Fowler Tournament

Oct. 10, 2008

The newly-formed Diablo Futbol Club held the fourth major event of its inaugural season, hosting the 12th annual Bob Fowler Memorial Class III tournament Sept. 27-28 in Concord.

It was an overwhelming success - with 111 games played over two days, involving 333 referee assignments and countless volunteers manning field marshal stations and overseeing the venues. Six Diablo FC teams reached either the championship or consolation game.

Following the Diablo Cup in March, Diablo FC Summer Classic and Devil Mountain U9-U10 jamboree over the summer, this tournament featured nine teams from the local club. The tournament attracted 64 teams in divisions from U12 to U19 for both boys and girls. That included teams from Santa Rosa, Elk Grove, Rocklin, Santa Cruz and Modesto.

Big win for United

The U16 girls team Diablo FC 93 United was the only local team to take first place. Their first game was against Livermore Earthquakes. United controlled the game and defeated Livermore 3-0. In their second game, United faced the Hayward Hotshots, who came out playing hard. United took an early lead but Hayward came back to force a 1-1 tie.

As day two started, United played their sister Diablo FC 93 Revolution. Halfway into the first half, United scored the only goal of the game. The Revolution pushed hard but weren’t able to get the ball in the net and United finished with a 1-0 win, solidifying a spot in the finals.

In the championship, they faced the San Ramon Stingers, who won their bracket with the same record as United, two wins and a tie. In the first half, Katey Hunter scored a fantastic goal. Just as the goalie was reaching for the ball, Hunter headed it into the back of the net. The United defense and midfield held tight and they finished the game with the 1-0 win to take first place.

“The girls trusted each other and the coaches and they played great,” said coach Rob O’Brien. “The forwards played hard and produced six goals; the midfielders dominated play; and the defense gave up one goal all weekend.”

Fury puts up a fight

The Diablo FC 96 Fury U12 girls team had its finest weekend of the season to date. After a fourth- place finish at the Santa Clara Rotary Cup, the Fury got off to a slow start this fall in the difficult Al Caffodio League but has been improving.

They kicked off the tournament by battling to a 1-1 tie against Montclair Clippers and then beat Castro Valley United 3-2 and Hayward United 2-0. They fell in the championship game to Mustang Tornados 3-1. In the Castro Valley game, the Fury game back from a two-goal deficit to score three late goals and advance to the finals. Clayton residents Rachel DeLong and Nicole Haley had goals in that game, while Kimber Searle and Zoe Westwater each scored two goals over the weekend.

“The girls put out a tremendous effort,” coach Chris Haley said. “They have been working hard in practice and it is beginning to show.” Goalkeeper Paige Alford is in her first year on the team and loves playing keeper. “You always get to communicate with the defense and you really help the team,” she said. “I liked the tournament because there were good teams we played against and it was a good challenge,” DeLong noted.

Tight games for Saprissa

The U14 boys Diablo FC 94 Saprissa also made the finals. They opened with a 2-0 win against Castro Valley United with goals from Brandon Bolender and Eric Goshey on a great pass from James Massey. In the second game, Saprissa tied Elk Grove Wild 0-0. Chris Sanchez and Geraldo Segovia played outstanding defense and Ryan Phillips made some great saves. They managed to get into the final with a 1-1 tie against Modesto before losing to a gold flight team from WCC Alliance.

Diablo FC 95 Crossfire U13 team finished third in the U14 girls group. They started off with a scoreless tie against Folsom Freedom before bouncing back to dominate West Marin Shooting Stars 4-0. Their final round-robin game was against Diablo FC 95 Phoenix, who they defeated 5-0. Crossfire faced another Diablo FC team in the consolation game on Sunday. They avenged a loss a week prior in league play by defeating DFC 94 Ambush 5-1.

Diablo FC 92 Rush coached by Jenny Haney was a finalist in the U16 girls Black division, losing a tough penalty kick shootout against Elk Grove in the championship game. The U16 girls Diablo FC 93 Revolution, a new team coached by Kurt Ecklin, was involved in three close games, winning one and losing two by one goal, including a 1-0 heartbreaker against eventual champions DFC United.


The tournament is dedicated to the memory of Bob Fowler--coach, teacher and friend to many soccer players and participants at all levels in the Bay Area. Bob died in August 1995 only two days after realizing a long-time goal of serving as a head coach on the collegiate level. He had officially been named head coach at Los Medanos College and was preparing for the upcoming season at the time of his death. He was also serving as Director of Coaching for the Diablo Valley Soccer Club.

By Randy Rowland
Reprinted from the Clayton Pioneer