Salt Ratz vying for MPSL title

In the Men's Premier Soccer League championship match last season, Arizona scored in the final minute of the first overtime session to beat Utah 2-1. One year later, the Salt Ratz will have a chance to exact revenge.

Arizona and Utah will meet today on Juan Diego's soccer field to decide the 2004 MPSL championship. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m.

While the prospect of beating Arizona in the title match would be nice for Utah coach Mike Hickman Sr., it's not a something the coach is obsessing over.

"It isn't something we've talked about," Hickman said. "They're some players who have some bad taste in their mouths, but it doesn't matter who we're playing — we just want a championship."

Earlier in the year, Utah almost forfeited the rest of its season because of financial concerns. Those concerns were eventually resolved, but the Salt Ratz lost coach Bob Martin in the process.

Enter Hickman. Utah lost an away match to Las Vegas in Hickman's first official match. At the point, the Salt Ratz virtually had to win out to have any chance of making the playoffs. "I knew they had to run the table," Hickman Sr. said. "When your backs are against the wall, the tiger comes out."

But Hickman and the Salt Ratz won their six remaining league matches. Led by the emergence of 2003 MPSL MVP KC Nordfors, Utah has returned to last year's form. Four teams qualify for the MPSL postseason. Utah and Arizona both finished the regular season with 33 points to earn the final two spots. Nordfors confirmed his return to form in the opening round of the playoffs, scoring the only goal in Utah's 1-0 win over Chico.

What's made the difference for the Salt Ratz? "In watching from the stands as a second guesser, a lot of the kids who had been around just weren't happy," Hickman said about the early-season struggles. "They've gone out and played for each other and had fun."

Martin had tried playing Nordfors in several positions on the field. One of Hickman's first decisions was to allow last year's MVP to play front and center as a striker again.

"The guy (Nordfors) is just a handful," Hickman said. "Just playing him up front opens things up for everyone else."

As far as tactics in the title match are concerned, Hickman has been preaching patience to his team.

"If they (Arizona) come out and play soccer, we'll be fine," he said. "If they pack it in, we'll just have to be patient. We know both tactics that Arizona will use."

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E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com