Special recognition

Congratulations to Elyse for being recognized as one of the best high school players in Northern New Jersey over the last decade. She ain't in high school anymore. She's a college graduate and Lady Golero. She's one of many players making a difference.

It's an interesting write-up. Read it here.

Photo credit to CUA Athletics. No copyright information available on the website.

Fan of the Year

Let’s face it, we don’t have many fans. It’s important to recognize the ones we have.

Top of the list is Missy, who not only puts up with Bubbles on a daily basis, but also comes out to support the team on Sundays. Missy has been a fan for a few years now. She has season tickets. My only issue is that she needs to be more vocal from the stands. What I’m looking for is the occasional shout – “Hey Zebra, you gotta call that!” or “Give me a break, ref, my boyfriend was onside!” Maybe she should bring some of those D-Fence posters.

Missy and Jon recently went to Aruba, which must have been nice. Jon missed a game but Goleros management fully supported the trip anyway.  It would be nice to see some pictures.

Missy, congratulations on this prestigious award.

Cast your vote!

It's time to recognize your teammates for their contributions. Let's start with these two categories:

- MVPs for Fall 2008 season (1 man, 1 woman)

- Goal of the Year

Read about past winners here.

There are other potential categories of course. Maybe you'd like to recognize someone for being "Most Dedicated to Happy Hour" or "Most Likely to Get Lost on the Way to the Game". Whatever, just let your teammates hear it. And vote on MVP and Goal of the Year too.

Spring 2008

It's time to turn the page on Spring '08, our most successful season ever. We went undefeated in eight regular season games, securing the division title, and placing second in the playoffs. We achieved promotion to the Second Division this coming fall. Golf clap.

This bunch won our first title

We set several records:

- First title of any kind

- First undefeated season (6-0-2)

- Longest streak without a loss (14 games). We still have a 14-game regular season streak going. Let's remember that...

- Most players scoring points in a season, which I discussed in this post (21)

- Most women on the score sheet in a single season (8 - Jackie, Bri, Ally, Katya, Carolyn, Jackie, Kate, Ashley)

- First goal scored by a keeper, although he was assigned to the field at the time (Liam)

- Most players on the score sheet in a single game (10, versus Red Tape)

- Fewest minutes played while short players (only 1 half versus Quicksilver).

Jon a.k.a. "Bubbles" won the scoring title and $1.00 off fall dues. Chris remains the all-time leading scorer by a wide margin. Deanna, Pete, and Jon get the MVPs. Hey, only two people voted and we each got one vote. De was a stand out, that was clear. I accept my co-MVP for coaching acumen. Recall that each player was required to take one practice PK after the Red Tape match. Turns out that was key to our win in penalties in the semis the following week.

The MVPs

Review the game reports for the season here. This was my favorite game report of the season, for obvious reasons. Wow, I was a happy fellow after that match.

But enough with stats. Most memorable to me is the concentration and dedication displayed by all players. We showed up in force to every game. We were aggressive. We made adjustments. We didn't take plays off. People drove in from out of state - all in pursuit of our common goal of winning our first title. It paid off, we did it.

Now it's on to the fall season, which will offer plenty of challenges - and fun of course.

Have anything to add?

Official results:

SPRING 2008 (.1000)
-------------------

• Mar. 30th - 1-0 win vs Flirts
• April 13th - 2-0 win vs Celtic
• May 4th - 3-0 win vs Capital Crew
• May 11th - 3-0 win vs 2LF (forfeit)
• May 18th - 2-2 tie vs Quicksilver
• June 1st - 4-4 tie vs ClareAndDons
• June 8th - 2-0 win vs Tsunami
• June 15th - 7-0 win vs Red Tape
• ----------------
• SEMIS - June 22nd - 2-2 win vs Quicksilver (penalties)
• FINALS - June 29th - 4-1 loss vs Flirts

Time to cast your ballot

You know how this works.

After each season, we vote for MVPs. We typically choose one guy, one gal. You can use any criteria you want: best body, most likely to succeed, whatever.

Cast your ballot now by posting a comment.

I'm going to withhold my vote until I see some comments up there.

Meet your MVPs

You voted for the MVPs and here they are. Meet Mike and Jackie.

This ain't no surprise. They are outstanding players and we love 'em.

Mike's 1-season resume includes the following bullet points: high-percentage passer, natural leader, versatile defender and midfielder, three assists. Mike, I agree with your teammates - you were solid out there. What accolades in your first season! We can thank Jon for the referral.

Jackie's resume goes on for miles - just this season she notched two assists and played numerous minutes as a key defensive midfielder. We all know how she can take over her space, use excellent vision to move the ball around, execute hard and efficient tackles, and disrupt anyone with the bad judgment to come her way. She's a gamer, she shows up to play and steps up to the competition. What's my favorite memory of Jackie? The completely legit steamroller tackles in the semi final of the 2006 Coed Classic. She went right through about 3 of the other team's best male strikers! It's no secret that your captain is in "soccer love" with this special player. She has an addictive personality, we all know that.

Let's not forget our honorable mentions: Griz, Ally, Chris, Jon, Liam, Heather, and Kara.

Vote for MVPs!

Team, now that the season is over, it's time to vote for Fall season MVPs. We've got some great players and people on this team. It's time to recognize them! Ideally, I'd like folks to vote on 1 man and 1 woman - and it's all in fun of course. Use whatever criteria you'd like. I believe I was nominated in an earlier post for most prolific blogger that no one reads.

Put your nominations here.

Tournament MVP

Here he is, your tournament MVP. Stellar play on defense. Fantastic footwork, particularly in the second game when he shut down their main striker for most of the match. Well done.

All-star game?

The midpoint in the season has arrived and it's our bye week.

Let's call it the all-star break.

Vote for your Goleros all stars here. Choose 2 players, one man and one woman, who should be the Goleros all-star representatives for our hypothetical all-star game. Use any criteria that you'd like. Most saves, MVP, most appearances, worst attitude, most blog entries not read.

While there are rec leagues that actually have all-star games, ours doesn't. This isn't real.