Kevin Beltran and Carlos Lattanzi, both of Sedona, teamed up for the game-winning overtime goal Sunday, Feb. 15, as the Verde Valley Vipers soccer team took home the Crossroads Cup.

The Vipers, consisting of the best local American Youth Soccer Organization players 9 and 10 years old, beat the Desert Foothills Athletic Club, 5-4, to take their first tournament championship in their second title try in less than two months.

“This is the first year I’ve had this team together, and the second tournament we’ve played,” said Jason Metzger, Vipers head coach and an English teacher at Sedona Sky Academy. “Their initial success has been a little bit of a surprise. I’ll try not to let it go to their heads.”

Lattanzi booted the winning goal on a Beltran cross after the Verde Valley all-star soccer team shut out Desert Foothills, 6-0, to open play Saturday, Feb. 14, in Gilbert.

Thanks to not only those two leaders, but also local goalkeepers Carson Karuzas and Reif Stevens, the Vipers would go on to shut out club soccer teams Gilbert Alliance and Flagstaff Revolution by a combined count of 11-0.

“It was very exciting,” Metzger said. “The kids had a really fun time.”

For more photos and the full story, please see the Wednesday, Feb. 25, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.