Zahirnaik-Sargent
Memorial Tournament

The Zahirnaik/Sargent Memorial Tournament is in honor of two amazing dads that not only left us way to early but were also great friends that dedicated their lives to their kids and soccer.

From Melissa Zahirniak:

Pat Zahirniak
1958 – 2005

Pat Zahirniak was a very dedicated and loving father of 4 daughters that loved playing soccer.  Being involved in various soccer associations since 1987, he watched his daughters grow up playing this sport, being their biggest fan, and even coaching them at times.

Pat past away from pancreatic cancer in July of 2005.  At this time he had seen his two oldest daughters, Kristal and Anna, play recreational, club, and high school soccer, making every game possible.  His daughter, Brittany, was in her 2nd year of club, while his youngest daughter Courtney, was still in CISA recreational soccer.   Brittany continued playing soccer through her high school years in memory of her father.  Pat’s youngest daughter, Courtney, class of 2013, is currently playing on the CHS soccer Varsity girls team also in memory of her father. 

In January of 2006, High School Coach and longtime family friend, Mike King, decided to dedicate the CHS Soccer tournament to Pat, naming it “The Pat Zahirniak Memorial Soccer Tournament”.

In December of 2008, another dedicated soccer dad and close family friend, Mark Sargent, died in a car accident.  Mark had a daughter, Mallory, which was a player on the girls Varsity team at that time.  Coach King then changed the name of the CHS soccer tournament to “The Zahirniak/Sargent Memorial Soccer Tournament” in honor of these two fathers that were so involved in their daughter’s soccer careers both in and out of CHS.

From Jill Sargent:

Mark Sargent
1962 - 2008

There are just a few things I know for sure about my husband.  He loved his children and he loved watching them play any sport they were passionate about.  He learned about soccer when Mallory started playing rec in Crowley at age 4, going to clinics and reading coaching books. He was a football guy born and bred in Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee, not a soccer fanatic.  However, he became a coach and dedicated fan at first because it mattered to Mal and then for the love of the game.   The Sunday before he died, Mallory's junior year in at Crowley he was able to see Mallory head the ball into the net in a Lake Highlands game.  He missed her Junior and Senior season and we missed his presence at every game.  He would stand away from all of us because we were loud and sometimes inappropriate. He was a man of few words but he left a huge mark on my life, our children and the soccer families he had become a part of over the years. At his memorial they came in droves to honor him.  His family thanks you all for this.  I know he would be embarrassed but proud.