It may not be real combat but Brandon Saldana still saw plenty of action as he claimed the top prize of Goalie War champion in the U14 bracket at the 2005 Northeast Regional Goalie War Championships held Oct. 22 at Rutgers University.

Saldana had to face three opponents before defeating Ian Huxel in the tournament finals. Saldana and Huxel have faced each other several times before, so far with the same results. The final score of the championship match was 27-14. In the end, Saldana scored 101 goals and only allowed 32 goals against him. Full scores and stats can be found at www.goaliewar.com/scoresandstats.cfm.

Goalie War is one of the world's fastest growing extreme sports. The game pits two soccer goalkeepers in a one-on-one battle. Competitors face each other on a 24- x 22-yard playing field. For five intense minutes, they trade punts, kicks, throws and headers. The player scoring the most goals wins.

Saldana is a goalkeeper for the Massapequa Terminators and the Chaminade High School freshmen squad. On to Boca Raton, FL, in March 2006 for the national championships!