Talented Murphy's Side Aims National Amateur Soccer Title

This is all so new to Jason Farrell.

Not the winning.

The pounding. The sheer force with which his Murphy's Pub soccer team has beaten opponents on the way to the National Men's Amateur Cup in Indianapolis.

"It's definitely surprised me," said the midfielder who played at Shorecrest High School and Seattle Pacific University. "Not the league play so much, but I had my doubts going into regionals. I know some of the players that play on these other teams, and they have great reputations. And we just went in there and blew every team out."

Up rose each playoff opponent to face the Seattle-area amateurs: Oregon, Northern California, Southern California and Hawaii. And down went each one: by scores of 5-0, 4-0, 6-1 and 5-1.

"That's why I wouldn't doubt it if we went back east and did the same thing," Farrell said. "It wouldn't surprise me anymore."

The Seattle team could surprise the rest of the four-team field this weekend with a championship in the 70th National Men's Amateur Cup. The last team from Washington to win the tournament was the 1982 Seattle-area Croatia Eagles.

Murphy's (17-0) opens Friday at 8:15 a.m., Seattle time, against Hota/Bavaria of New York. The championship game is 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

"I imagine they're a bunch of Germans or something. I know they take it pretty seriously back there," said Farrell, who knows some players from the New York amateur leagues. "They're real organized over there. A heck of a lot more organized than we are."

But that didn't stop Craig Walker from putting together a powerhouse team that's sure to be at least competitive in Indianapolis.

"I just put this team together in January," said Walker, who plays midfield and manages the Murphy's Pub team. "I just called all the guys and asked if they wanted to play, and they all said yes. We do have a lot of experience on this team."

Ten of the 14 team members are Seattle Pacific players or former players, including Walker (1988 graduate).

Among the other SPU players are four All-Americans: goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, forward Jason Dunn, defender James Dunn and Farrell.

Hahnemann starred at Bellevue's Newport High; the Dunn brothers played at North Thurston High in Lacey.

Half the players on the team have won national titles: the four All-Americans while playing for an under-23 Washington team; forward Danny Machado and defender Steve McCrath while playing for SPU in the mid-1980s; and midfielder Bruce Broughton while playing for Santa Clara.

All the players except Hungarian midfielder Tibor Bako played high-school soccer in the Puget Sound area.

"When you get a nucleus like this, it just says a lot for this area," Farrell said.

"I'm sure we're going to be in pretty deep over there in Indianapolis. But I think we've got a great chance. I think one thing we might have over the other teams is we just go out there and have fun. It's important to us, but it's not do or die to us like some of the teams back there might look at it.

"We've definitely got the talent to beat any team in the country. That's a given."

NATIONAL MEN'S AMATEUR CUP

Murphy's Pub, a soccer team made up of Seattle-area players, travels to Indianapolis this weekend for the four-team national amateur soccer tournament. Murphy's (17-0), which outscored opponents 20-2 in four playoff games, will try to become the first team from Washington to win the 70-year-old event since the 1982 Croatia Eagles.

The schedule:

Friday's semifinals - Murphy's Pub vs. New York Hota/Bavaria St. Louis vs. Georgia.

Saturday's championship - Friday's winners play at 10:30 a.m., PDT.

--------------------------------------------------------------. Murphy's Pub soccer roster. . Player Pos. Hometown College (Yr. of class). . Brent Aune MF Marysville Washington ('92). . Tibor Bako MF Mukilteo # . . Bruce Broughton MF Bellevue Santa Clara ('92). . Travis Connell MF Oak Harbor Seattle Pacific ('95). . James Dunn D Olympia Seattle Pacific ('94). . Jason Dunn F Olympia Seattle Pacific ('94). . Jason Farrell MF/F Redmond Seattle Pacific ('93). . Tim Farrell D Seattle Sonoma State, Calif. ('91). . Marcus Hahnemann GK Bellevue Seattle Pacific ('93). . Steve McCrath D Seattle Seattle Pacific ('90). . Danny Machado F Mukilteo Seattle Pacific ('88). . Pat Patterson D Renton Seattle Pacific ('91). . Todd Stauber MF Oak Harbor Seattle Pacific ('96). . Craig Walker MF/Mgr. Seattle Seattle Pacific ('92). .

# -Hungarian player.