Weather report

 The weather report looks pretty good for our game.  According to the WP's Capital Weather Gang, we are looking at a brisk day with little chance of rain.  We will, however, possibly see rain on Saturday. It probably won't be enough to make the bermuda grass field at Trinity unplayable.





From the Washington Post as of 9:30 a.m. on Friday:

Tomorrow night: Break out the jacket, maybe light coat—seriously. While winds will calm and skies clear a bit, it could still, uh, feel like late Fall. Lows drop into the 40s (low to high), region-wide. Confidence: Medium

Sunday: The breezes are a bit easier on you but temperatures in the upper-50s to lower 60s feel pretty much the same as yesterday. Clouds may battle the sun, but chances of showers are MUCH lower—perhaps almost zero. Confidence: Medium

Notes on the Schedule

Don't forget, there are several fixtures on our calendar this season that have not been finalized.  We will have a makeup on October 30th that has yet to be scheduled.  We are also hoping to make the playoffs, which will begin the following week.  All of those dates and times are to be determined.

Save the date.  We're having a good season and we want to have players available to finish it out!

RSVP - Game 6

Team,

Another excellent win on Sunday!!  Great work by everyone (even our late comer).  Peter posted the in-depth recap so visit the blog to relive the memories (and remember Adrian's awesome goal shot).

We have a HUGE match up this weekend vs Far Post (currently ahead of us in the standings) so let's keep our winning streak alive!  Sunday's game (10/2) is at 1:15 PM at Trinity (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=125+Michigan+Ave%2E+NE,Washington,DC+20017).

RSVP to the blog or send an email.

See you Sunday (and Friday for the Happy Hour in Adams Morgan).

At the halfway point

Half of the regular season is in the books.  At the midway point, we are still showing third.  There's no movement from last week because the teams above us won too.  But we shored up our stats a bit.  We only had a +1 in goal differential last week, due to our bad loss to FC Arlington, whereas this week, we repaired that number to a respectable +5.  That's still not going to help us versus the teams above us for the time being.  Far Post has scored a ton of goals this season, and we have a head to head loss versus FC Arlington.  We need to keep pressing on the goals though in case of a tie with Far Post.

Speaking of that, guess who we play this weekend?  This is the key game for the season.  We have a chance to overtake Far Post in the standings here - maybe our only chance.

CCSL>Third Division>
Rank	Team		W	L	T	GP	PTS	GF	GA	GD	GDA
1		FC Arlington	3	0	0	3	9	11	2	9	3.0
2		Far Post	3	1	0	4	9	16	4	12	3.0
3		Goleros	3	1	0	4	9	11	6	5	1.3
4		Our Kicks Dont Lie	2	1	0	3	6	6	5	1	0.3
5		DC Divided	2	1	0	3	6	5	6	-1	-0.3
6		Unathletic DC	1	2	1	4	4	9	17	-8	-2.0
7		Two Left Feet	1	4	0	5	3	6	13	-7	-1.4
8		Red Devils	0	2	1	3	1	7	12	-5	-1.7
9		Funky Town	0	3	0	3	0	1	7	-6	-2.0

Second straight shutout

Sunday's 4-0 victory was not your average game.  The insanely early 8:00 a.m. start proved to be one of many competitive advantages for us.  Most of you crazy people were there at least 15 minutes prior to kickoff.  How motivated are we right now???  What is more, we had six fans not to mention Mike & Denise's dog.  The tried-and-true fanbase was quite vocal in support of the Orange & White.  I heard Nap's dad shout out from the stands, having arisen that morning around 4:00 a.m. according to sources, and I think it was De's dad that razzed the refs for blowing the offside call in the second half.  I don't blame him.  Elyse's volley to Anna, which would have resulted in a goal, was quality.

Despite that early start, you have to admit the following.  Once you arrive at the pitch and see the open space and your teammates warming up, things start looking up for the whole day.

From the start, we gained control of the match.  We had the personnel and the attitude to get it done.  Meanwhile, Red Devils struggled to integrate their pieces and had players trickling in throughout the game.  Red Devils were a last-minute add to the league when we lost a team that folded.  They are a patchwork from several teams brought together by the Vice Commissioner so we haven't seen nearly their best yet.

In terms of scoring, Nate got on the board in about the 20th minute with another one of his long runs.  Pam found him on a cross and Nate finished confidently with his head from the far post.  Pam continued her breakout game about 10 minutes later by creating a seam on a diagonal run, which Anna found easily.  Pam's excellent cross found Ermy.  Anna's persistence paid off with a goal in the second half and Ermy picked up another goal as well.

The defense yielded but two chances the entire match and was fully deployed in distributing to the attack.  I came off my line as reserve keeper on a number of occasions, but I only had to make 1 save.

Well done.


Notes: 4-0 win vs Red Devils on 9/25/11 at Galludet U.  Goals by Nate (Pam), Ermy (Pam), Anna (Nap, Chris D.), Ermy (unassisted off the crossbar).  GK: Pete.  Shutout.

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Early look at the table

After three weeks of play, we are just barely in that top echelon of the table.  I think it's more accurate to characterize us as middle of the table at this point in time.  We've got one game on FC Arlington, who beat us head-to-head and whose goal differential is obviously much better (for the time being).  So that's a decent place to be as we push for a top spot in the playoffs.

CCSL>Third Division>
Rank	Team		W	L	T	GP	PTS	GF	GA	GD	GDA
1		Far Post	3	0	0	3	9	15	2	13	4.3
2		FC Arlington	2	0	0	2	6	9	1	8	4.0
3		Goleros	2	1	0	3	6	7	6	1	0.3
4		Unathletic DC	1	1	1	3	4	8	14	-6	-2.0
5		Our Kicks Dont Lie	1	1	0	2	3	3	4	-1	-0.5
6		DC Divided	1	1	0	2	3	2	4	-2	-1.0
7		Two Left Feet	1	3	0	4	3	4	10	-6	-1.5
8		Red Devils	0	1	1	2	1	7	8	-1	-0.5
9		Funky Town	0	3	0	3	0	1	7	-6	-2.0

Trending up [updated]

With the forfeit victory in Week 1 and the weather and holiday events in the following weeks, we didn’t play our first game in months until Sunday, September 11^th.  It wasn’t pretty.  The upstart new team, FC Arlington, beat us 6-1 in a game that was reminiscent of our first match in this league years ago.  We came in from the middle division in Montgomery County.  We were young and rearing to go.  We beat Far Post 6-0, leaving our opponents frustrated.  That game is referred to in this old post.

Following a rainout in Week 2, we had the pieces in place in Week 3 - but they didn’t fit together well.  We had new players, new formations, and rust, all of which was compounded when we started short-handed.  Just as we were getting things under control, FC Arlington took advantage of some confusion and sent a long ball over the top, which bounced above Carlos and George, for a header into the net at speed.

We never recovered, stuggling the rest of the match.  The defense was outmatched by their young and tall strikers – no one on FC Arlington looked above the age of 27 to me – who had better service than we had answers.  One mismatch after another moved the scoreline from 2-0, to 3-0 and so on.  We finally got on the board with Suzie’s layoff to Anna.  But we yielded yet another goal late in the game.

It was sufficient motivation to return to form for Week 4.  Even though we faced a Funkytown team that was shorthanded for much (but not all) of the match, and not very speedy, for the first time in a while we absolutely did what needed to be done.  We made the broad range of plays that are necessary to win – we had defensive stuffs, long runs on the wing, possession, and counter attacks that resulted in shots and goals.  No one will tell you that we were perfect, but that worked well.  It was fun and it represented the proper integration of the various pieces of our arsenal.  Pam and Maggie had good games.  Nate and I earned the shutout in goal – we’ll have to teach George a little something.  Chris D. was the engine that kept us motivated.  De was back in a big way.

From my perspective, I want to point out a few plays that I rather enjoyed watching.  First, early in the second half, when I received the ball as goalie, I was looking for an outlet.  The off the ball running that we have been lacking came back to life.  Kelly got wide and deep on my left wing to create options.  Jon recognized the situation from midfield and came back to split Funkytown’s players.  He gave me a great, direct outlet that spread the field and got the ball not just to safety but to a threatening point in our attack – quickly. 

There were three other plays – little plays – that I remember.  One involved Jon coming back for the ball again.  But on this one, he received the ball then just made a simple and completely unnecessary back pass to Carlos. It reset the offense, allowed Carlos to distribute effectively from the middle of the field, and again allowed us to build a full field attack.  We had people in front of the ball!  It was an example of that trust, possession, and Barcelona style that we need to get back to.  A similar play happened when Elyse and Nap made a series of 1-2 passes on the wing that just unraveled Funky’s defense.  Lastly, I’ll note a play in which Griz saw an attack coming and stepped up quickly to the opponent from central defense.  He forced a mistake and was able to reset the ball quickly.  It took away space and created the underlying conditions for a nasty counter attack that resulted in the second goal.

So, we’ve got something to build on in the coming weeks.  We're trending up.

Game notes:  

 6-1 loss to FC Arlington on 9/11/11 at Blair High School.  Goal: Anna (Suzie).  GK: George.   

3-0 win versus Funkytown on 9/18/11 at Galludet U.  Goals by Jon (Chris D.), Chris N. (Chris D, Maggie), Nate (Chris N. Elyse).  GK: Nate (1^st), Pete (2^nd).  Shutout.  Discipline: Carlos (yellow, unsporting), Nate (yellow, unsporting).

Game 5 - RSVP

Team,

Great win last week.  Even though the other team was down, I think we looked pretty good!

Our next game is Sunday, September 18 at 8:00 AM at Galludet.  No excuses for it being too early...let's make it worthwhile!

RSVP to the blog or by email.

Go team!!

Game 4 - RSVP

Team,

Let's not fret about our loss on Sunday, we're still a .500 team (better than half the NFL right now).

Our next game is Sunday, September 18 at 2:00 PM at Galludet (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl).

RSVP to the blog or send an email.

See you Sunday!!!

Preview of the Fall Schedule

At last, we play.  This season has taken FOREVER to start.  We're going to have to deal with that and be ready for the opening whistle at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday night.

Let's look at the schedule this season.

• FALL 2011

• -----------------------------

• Sun. Sept. 11, 5:00 p.m. vs FC Arlington (Blair HS in Silver Spring)

• Sun. Sept 18, 2:00 p.m. vs Funky Town (Galludet U in DC)

• Sun. Sept 25, 8:00 a.m. vs Red Devils (Galludet U in DC)

• Sun. Oct. 2, 1:15 p.m. vs Far Post (Trinity College in DC)

• Sun. Oct. 9, 10:00 a.m. vs Unathletic DC (Ridge in DC)

• Sun. Oct. 16, 9:45 a.m. vs Our Kicks Don't Lie (Trinity College in DC)

• Sun. Oct. 23 - BYE WEEK

• Sun. Oct. 30th - MAKE UP GAMES (TBA)

• PLAYOFFS

• --------------------------

• TBA - could be a 2 week or 3 week process

Our first fixture versus Two Left Feet was a dud.  The other team forfeited.  We collected a 3-0 win on the books but it doesn't mean squat because we didn't break in the boots.

The game this weekend is versus FC Arlington, a new team in the division.  It's a wildcard game, I cannot say for sure what to expect.  We are planning to face a seriously good team, and that is more likely than not anyway.  FC Arlington jumped over from the less organized and less competitive S Leagues.  They likely had their fill in that league and were looking for more.  Like this team, but 5 years later, they are ready for more and will probably be on the rise.  Expect them to be one of the best teams in the division.

The next week we start a 2-game stand at Galludet University.  It's a nice enough field I guess.  The first afternoon game will be nice.  The next week, at the crack of 8:00 a.m., won't 

be.  Don't even think about it.  You're showing up.

The last three games will be trying, but the field selection is nice.  Two at Trinity and a third to be determined (our make up game).  Far Post won its first game 8-0.  Granted, they probably faced a partial squad, but clearly it's going to take several goals to beat them.  

That last game versus the Commissioner's team in DC Divided figures to be a thriller.  Most likely both teams will be playing for a top spot or a playoff spot at least.  DC Divided has beaten us before and is perfectly capable of doing it again.  Unless...

Please keep a few things in mind:

- We'll need bodies for the 8:00 a.m. game.  We aren't carrying a huge roster.

- We'll need people to be flexible for the makeup.  I don't know where or when it will be yet.

- WHEN we make the playoffs, it will go pretty deep into the fall.  If we don't finish first, and that's not something any keen manager will count on, then we'll have to win out in the playoffs.  That will require focus and attendance.  

So save those dates, please.

 

It happened at...Blair High School

This week's game is at Blair High School in Silver Spring, just outside the Beltway and really far from my house.  It's close to De's place, though, so I'm sure she's happy.  Me, well I don't like the field at all.  Not a fan.  Can anyone remember a certain play that determined the game there 2 years ago versus Tsunami?

RSVP - Game 3

Team, 

It's time to actually get on the field and play a game!!! Sunday's game (9/11) is at 5:00 pm at Blair HS (51 University Boulevard East, Silver Spring, MD 20901).

RSVP to the blog or send an email.  See you Sunday!

Watch this training video

Interesting 2 v 2 drill on a shortened field.  It's cool to see the US players work so hard in training.  You can hear Coach Klinsmann shouting out instructions.  I'm not certain what this teaches, but it seems to put a premium on game-breaking moves that lead to the final pass or shot.