Aug. 11, 2004

DRAPER, Utah - University of Denver men's soccer sophomore Kyle Christensen (Layton, Utah) and senior Christian Bowers (Holladay, Utah) led the Utah Salt Ratz to a 4-2 victory over the Arizona Sahuaros in the Men's Premier Soccer League Championship. The Ratz tied the game at 1-1 in the 32nd minute when Bowers centered the ball to Christensen inside the box. Christensen then scored the game winner in the 77th minute. Teammate Adam Acosta dropped the ball back to Christensen for a 22-yard blast that flew chest-high inside the right post and made it 3-2. "Those are the things you dream of," Christensen said. "It's always the best feeling when you get (a game winner)." Bowers added an insurance goal in the 85th minute after taking a pass from teammate K.C. Nordfors, driving into the right side of the box, winning the ball from the keeper and hitting the center of the wide open net. The MPSL is a regional men's soccer league (currently made-up from teams in the western states of California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Oregon) formed in 2002, designed to provide men with a highly competitive league, playing a minimum of 16 to a maximum of 20 regular season games. The teams are comprised of players who play at the highest levels of soccer available to men. Christensen, Bowers and the rest of the Pioneers will begin the regular season on Friday, September 3, when they play host Illinois-Chicago at 4 p.m.