The Chronicle-Journal - Sons of Italy Win Thunder Bay Tournament

By David Trifunov - September 07, 2004 Karen Barry has exceptional timing.She scored her first two goals of the season as the Thunder Bay Impact escaped with a hard-fought victory at the $10,000 Thunder Bay Invitational soccer tournament on Monday.For the second year in a row, the Impact defeated an Express team in the women’s first division final. This year it was a 2-1 decision over the Ozone Express under-16s.“It feels even better,” said Barry, a Lakehead Thunderwolves basketball graduate. “It’s more convincing, this one.”But Carolyn Fragale salvaged some hardware for the Express and was named the women’s MVP.The Impact takes home $1,500 for the victory and was one of two local teams that claimed a trophy on Monday afternoon. The Volunteer Pool Spiders doubled Dryden United 4-2 in the men’s second division finale.But Thunder Bay Croatia fell flat in the men’s Division 1 championship. With $4,000 to the winners, Winnipeg’s Sons of Italy emerged with a 4-0 win over Croatia. The women’s second division went to the Dryden Shooters who nipped the Winnipeg Titans 1-0.A crowd of about 500 converged on Fort William Stadium to watch Croatia carry the Thunder Bay colours into battle. But it was a 27-year-old Guatemalan who stole the show.Tony Sanchez scored three times for Sons of Italy, including twice from the penalty spot. Sanchez played professionally in Guatemala for Comunicaciones FC and also represented his country between 1995 and ’98.He scored seven goals internationally.“I think our secret was bringing everyone together,” said Sanchez, who was also named tournament MVP. “I think we’re working hard.”The day was a split decision for coach Rob Pasqualino. He led Impact to victory in the women’s final, but was on the losing end with Croatia.Pasqualino said the Impact’s performance was especially satisfying since the club has struggled since the beginning of the year. The team rescheduled five games during the season because of player commitments or injuries.And five minutes into Monday’s contest, goalie Whitney Schnieders was forced from the game after breaking her hand in a goalmouth scramble. “We’ve come a long way since the beginning of the season,” said Pasqualino.He helps coach Croatia alongside Drago Plasaj, but it was a different story in the men’s game later in the afternoon. Strong winds played havoc with the play.“To lose like that is definitely disappointing,” he said.