Tourney a Step To Grander Prize

Food -- tacos from a truck -- and a salsa band were placed near the fair, just to make sure the men could not avoid seeing it.

But by midday, soccer seemed to be the only thing on the minds of the players, with their neatly embroidered jerseys and professional-sounding team names, such as Juventus de Loudoun, last year's champ and the favorite to win this year until its 3-0 loss in the first round.

Down the sideline from Fuerte Aguilares, players for Metroplex, the Mexican team, paced, waiting for someone to score against Colonial. At one point, a Metroplex forward kicked a glorious shot toward the goal, and the Mexicans erupted in hoots. Then the ball bounced off the goal post, prompting a hail of cursing in Spanish.

When de Jesus Castro arrived in Loudoun 15 years ago, there were so few Hispanics that teams rarely represented one country -- there were never enough men from one place, he said. Today, in one of the nation's fastest-growing counties, the Hispanic population is exploding, too. More than 15,000 Latinos live in Loudoun, Census figures show -- more than seven times the population in 1990.

For all the intensity of the competition, the tournament was a flexible affair. One game was postponed because a team with only one car had to ferry players in stages. The team's opponent was delayed, too, because many of its players had to work in the morning.

Anaya switched his work shift at Wal-Mart so he could compete. His weekly Sunday morning soccer sessions with Fuerte Aguilares, usually followed by a dissection of the game over barbecue, bring relief from the stress of separation from his children in El Salvador, he said.

The score remained 0-0. Fuerte Aguilares, of course, wanted Colonial to win because they were compatriots. Besides, the Mexican team -- whose members were nearly all from Queretaro and related-- plays more "violently," Anaya explained.

At that moment, a Metroplex player tripped a Colonial player. "An example," Anaya said.

A whistle blew, signaling the end of the regulation 90-minute playing time. The score was 0-0. Players lined up for penalty kicks, and one after another they scored. On the 12th kick, a Metroplex player booted the ball high over the goal. The Mexicans sighed.

Members of Fuerte Aguilares, who had a second-round game to play, were all smiles. Another Salvadoran team had won, de Jesus Castro said, and that might portend good luck for them.