Fall 2010 final results

RESULTS

• FALL 2010 (3-2-3, .600, 12 points, regular season, 4-3-3 overall .571)
• ---------------
• 1-0 loss to Tsunami on 8/29
• 3-1 win vs DC Divided on 9/12
• 3-3 tie vs DC Thunder on 9/19
• 3-0 win vs Geezers on 9/26
• 3-3 tie vs Lost Tourists on 10/2
• 3-1 win vs Quicksilver on 10/10
• 2-2 tie vs Little Urban Achievers on 10/17
• 4-1 loss to Taz Devils on 10/31
• PLAYOFFS
• 4-2 win vs Tsunami on 11/7 (Quarters)
• 4-2 loss to Taz Devils in OT (Semis)

Old game report

I neglected to post our last game report last season.  We do them for posterity.

Having beaten Tsunami in the quarterfinals, we advanced to face top-seeded Taz Devils.

Taz went up two goals.  Although we struggled a bit, we fought through it and managed to pick up a goal about halfway in the second half.  Suzie did some nice work in the corner and sent me a cross, which I headed in.  That got us going.  A bit later, we earned a foul in a dangerous spot.  Mike stepped up and hit the shot of the season into the back of the net directly off the kick.  We were back, and in fact forced overtime.

Unfortunately, Taz found inspiration. They beat us on an amazing trap and volley that was practically unstoppable.  A bit deflated, we did allow another goal before the OT was over.  So, it ended up being a 4-2 loss.  Taz was in high form.  That continued as they rolled past DC Thunder in the finals.  So they won the regular season and the playoffs.  We lost to the best.

We played great on this particular day.

Notes: 4-2 loss to Taz Devils in semifinals, November 2010.  Goals: Pete (Suzie), Mike (not known who earned the foul).  GK: George.

Goleros win - playoff bracket filling out

Awesome 4-2 win last night versus our friends and rivals, Tsunami.  We owed them one after they bested us the in both of the past two seasons by one goal in frustrating losses (2-1 in the spring and 1-0 this season).  See our game report from Week 1 here.

With this win, we go back on top of the Orange Bowl series by one game, 4-3-1.  Vic did pick up another goal against us though, but it's likely his last, at least on Tsunami.  He is moving to Washington Wanderers in the Premier Division next season.  Too bad for the 2nd Division; great player and competitor.  A few more notes about Tsunami.  I thought Terry was outstanding at central defender, as was the curly haired woman who played left back.  Ty has been making weaving runs for years against our back line.  He scored his first ever goal against us last night according to my memory.  Let's hope it's his last one.

We had a lot of bright spots.  One of our best performances of the season.  The defense was mostly solid.  We yielded to a lot of pressure in the second half.  But with some over-the-top distribution and timely runs by the Silver Fox and others, we seized the initiative back and ultimately withstood the test.  That was exciting to watch - an example of the dyanmic part of the game. 

Every once in a while, it's fun to mention some names even though this is a team sport.  Cat scored her first goal and continued her stellar play as of late.  Nap was very effective in the back and the middle against some of Tsunami's best players.  My vote for player-of-the-match is Griz, however.  His assists were quite skillful and he ran the full field, disrupting the attacks.

Well played by everyone though, seriously.

The playoff bracket is more clear now.

We will now have to play the top seed, Taz Devils.  The winner of the LUA/DC Thunder match was DC Thunder by a score of 5-3 (why do I think that Roland scored at least 4 of those?).  So DC Thunder will face Quicksilver and we - if we can win the semi somehow - will face the winner of that matchup in the finals.

Next up: Taz.

[Notes: 4-2 playoff win vs Tsunami on 11/7/10 at Geo Mason HS.  Goals: Chris N. (Griz), Cat (Griz), Ermy (unassisted), Nate (Nap).  GK: George.]

Full playoff schedule [corrected]

Here's our full playoff schedule based on our ranking.  Note they are all night games, all at the same place.

Quarters - 11/7
#4 (Tsunami) vs #5 (Goleros) - 9:00 p.m. at Geo Mason HS in Falls Church
#3 (LUA) will play #6 (DC Thunder)
Semis - 11/14
Winner of our game vs top-seeded Taz - 9:00 pm at Geo Mason HS in Falls Church
The winner of the LUA/DC Thunder game will play the second seed, Quicksilver.  They have the easier path to the championship game.
Finals - 11/21
Division 2 final - 8:00 p.m. at Geo Mason HS in Falls Church

Will we play all three games?

Sunday's game moved to 9:00 pm - and at GMU High School

Stay tuned for new or updated RSVP link.

Regular season standings

Here are the final standings from the Fall 2010 regular season.



CCSL>Second Division>
Rank Team W L T GP PTS GF GA GD GDA 
 1 Taz Devils 4 0 4 8 16 18 11 7 0.9 
 2 Little Urban Achievers 4 2 2 8 14 17 9 8 1.0 
 2 Quicksilver FC 4 2 2 8 14 22 14 8 1.0 
 3 Goleros 3 2 3 8 12 18 15 3 0.4 
 4 DC Thunder 3 2 3 8 12 19 19 0 0.0 
 5 Tsunami Naranja 4 4 0 8 12 13 16 -3 -0.4 
 6 Geezers 2 5 1 8 7 6 13 -7 -0.9 
 7 DC Divided 1 4 3 8 6 15 20 -5 -0.6 
 8 Lost Tourists 1 5 2 8 5 9 20 -11 -1.4




Despite what this says, we finished fifth, right in the middle of the table.  Tsunami leaps us on the head-to-head win.  Little Urban Achievers get 3rd place.

It's a bit cruel that we dropped to 5th.  If we would have won versus Taz last weekend, we would have been champions.  But, like other teams, we left a lot of points on the table.  And so, in failing to pick up the last three, we have to take our lumps.  The point is that there were a lot of good teams this season and we held our own.

Season ain't over

We dropped a tough game to close the regular season.  We lost 4-1 to Taz Devils, who made the best of every possession and opportunity.  Late in the second half, we found our groove again.  But it wasn't enough unfortunately.  Ermy had a nice kick-out to Griz, who finished the ball beautifully for our only goal.  It must have been frustrating, because we certainly had effort and good plays.

The standings show us finishing in third, with two teams above us tied for 2nd.  I didn't have a chance to analyze those standings, but they are almost surely wrong.  We are probably 4th, and maybe even 5th since we have a head to head loss to Tsunami.  It was really tight at the top of the division.  A win today would have delivered a title (not a tie).  Whew, that was close.  Shows that we had a good season.

It ain't over.  After that loss, believe it or not we are in great position to make a run in the playoffs.  Yes, we'll have to play 3 games to win.  But we can totally do it.  We are solid and look out if you're Taz and you have to meet us again.  I like our chances.

Schedule to be released soon.

Be ready!


Notes: 4-1 loss to Taz Devils, 10/30/2010.  Goal: Griz (Ermy). GK: George.

Standings [corrected]

We got lucky.  Again.  Just as we tied Little Urban Achievers, Taz Devils tied as well.  We had expected them to win and leap us.  Tsunami won as well, bringing them super close to us.  It's a three-way tie on points, with Goleros currently in second place.  Tsunami has a head-to-head win against us, which puts them on top.  We are second due to goal differential.

As discussed on email, we're in good position but we DO NOT control our own destiny.  To win the title, we must win our last game and count on a lot of other things happening.  More on that later.

CCSL>Second Division>
Rank	Team		W	L	T	GP	PTS	GF	GA	GD	GDA
1		Goleros	3	1	3	7	12	17	11	6	0.9
2		Taz Devils	3	0	3	6	12	11	7	4	0.7
3		Tsunami Naranja	4	3	0	7	12	12	12	0	0.0
4		Quicksilver FC	3	2	1	6	10	16	12	4	0.7
5		Little Urban Achievers	2	2	2	6	8	11	8	3	0.5
6		DC Thunder	2	2	1	5	7	8	12	-4	-0.8
7		DC Divided	1	3	2	6	5	12	13	-1	-0.2
8		Lost Tourists	1	2	2	5	5	7	10	-3	-0.6
9		Geezers	1	5	0	6	3	3	12	-9	-1.5

Lady Goleros score twice and secure another point

The record-breaking season by our female athletes continues.  Ashley and Anna each scored today, upping the total female goal tally this season to eight.  It secured us another point in the standings.

Smash

What a game!  I hope you enjoyed it.  From the sidelines, it looked gritty and competitive.  LUA sputtered at times, but came at us most of the game with incredible combination play and a very balanced attack.  Their two goals against us were well earned and very difficult to defend.  Likewise, our goals were both quality finishes.  4 excellent goals in the match; basically no defensive miscues on either side.

Jon picks up two assists btw.  I don't want to take anything away from Ashley's goal (a good finish), but Anna's goal was something.  She was in a tough one-on-one situation and she used her strength and touch to beat her man and the keeper.  It was great to watch.

We need the rest this week.  We're really banged up.  With this tie, we will likely stay in the hunt for the title, but it probably won't be entirely in our hands.  I would guess we'll need a win and help from a few teams.  We'll know more at the end of today.  But there are also games next week that will impact us so sit tight.

Well played!  What was the secret to our success?  Who stepped up today?

Notes: 2-2 tie versus Little Urban Achievers on 10/17/10 at Trinity.  First point against that team. Goals by Ashley (Jon), Anna (Jon).  GK: George.  Discipline: Carlos (yellow caution for language - not sure of the technical infringement there).

Our muse

I've been hearing this song on the radio nonstop.  It gets in your head.  Uprising!  They will not control us!  We will be victorious!

What do you think, does it work as our anthem for this season?

Muse - New Music - More Music Videos

Standings

We rounded the corner into the last leg of the season.  Here's how the standings look going into Week 7:



CCSL>Second Division>
Rank Team W L T GP PTS GF GA GD GDA 
 1 Goleros 3 1 2 6 11 15 9 6 1.0 
 2 Taz Devils 3 0 2 5 11 9 5 4 0.8 
 3 Quicksilver FC 3 2 1 6 10 16 12 4 0.7 
 4 Tsunami Naranja 3 3 0 6 9 10 12 -2 -0.3 
 5 Little Urban Achievers 2 2 1 5 7 9 6 3 0.6 
 6 DC Thunder 2 2 1 5 7 8 12 -4 -0.8 
 7 Lost Tourists 1 2 2 5 5 7 10 -3 -0.6 
 8 DC Divided 1 3 1 5 4 10 11 -1 -0.2 
 9 Geezers 1 4 0 5 3 3 10 -7 -1.4




As you can see, we're in excellent position.  Really, with two ties, we shouldn't be in first at this point.  There is quite a traffic jam at the top of the table, with four teams in striking distance of the title.  Leaving even a single point on the table WILL result in a drop out of first place.  So we'll do our best!

Here's what an anonymous teammate had to say:

Well, it looks like we are in first :p

 

Teams ranked 5 - 9 all have played 5 games and can not catch us on points AFTER they play their 6th game

 

Taz Devils ranked #2 has only played 5 games, so if they tie or win their 6 game, they jump us

 

They have DC Thunder & DC Divided and US....

 

So you would think if we can find a way to win our next game and they win the next two.....

 

SHOW DOWN for the championship game

 

However, we have Little Urban which will be a TOUGH GAME

 

Others...

 

Quick Silver plays Geezers and DC Divided, you would think those are two wins but you never know, QS has been on a two game slide....

 

Tsunami has two games left, Little Urban and Geezers, again you would think they would win one of these games.....

 

You also have to factor that we have a great GD at this moment and assuming IF we lose, we do not get blown out we will have the best

 

We still can hit 17 points - Best case scenerio:

 

Goleros - 17 points

Taz Devils - 17 points, win on GD

QS - 16 points

TS - 15 points

LUB - 10 points

 

Then Little Urban would fall down based on hypothetical losses to Goleros and TS :)

 

We still control our own destiny.....