Looking back at Fall 2009

As we start the Spring 2010 season, let's have a quick look back. There were quite a few ups and downs.

For one thing, we only won one game - that hasn't happened in about 5 years, and it's on par with some of our worst records. Of course, back in the day, we usually didn't have a lot of ties, and we certainly didn't play the same quality teams. Our winning percentage of .250 isn't criminally low, but it's not anywhere near the Goleros average in past years. We missed the playoffs.

Let's look at the bright side. Although there was only one win, there were three ties, and they came against some of the best teams. Two of the tie games were outstanding battles. We tied a hot Armory team and we had an amazing comeback versus Gang Green. I believe we trailed by three goals in that game before Ermy sealed the point off of Chris D's free kick in the 90'. Armory won the division and Gang Green took second and won the playoffs, if I'm not mistaken.

Another thing to remember about last season. We integrated some outstanding players and I think we had some very solid performances in several games. Hopefully, we can build on that.

Another bright spot - we only had one game get out of hand - our 6-1 strange loss to Quicksilver. If we can just eliminate the stinker each season, I think we will all feel a lot better.

Anyway, we're in good position. Let's just go out and play the game! I'm looking forward to this season.

FALL 2009 (1-4-3, .250)

---------------

5-3 loss to Itchy & Scratchy on 8/29/09

3-2 loss to Celtic on 9/13

5-0 win vs Prism on 9/20

1-1 tie vs Armory on 9/27

4-4 tie vs Gang Green on 10/4

3-3 tie vs Diplomats on 10/25

6-1 loss vs Quicksilver on 11/1

3-1 loss vs LUC on 11/8

Last weekend of the playoffs

The playoff tournament is coming to a conclusion this weekend. We now know who will have the option for promotion/relegation, and how it could affect us.

See the bracket here.

In the 3rd division, it's DC Thunder vs. Tsunami. Both should have the option to be promoted into our division. If DC Thunder wins, Tsunami will likely get the option as the 2nd place team. If Tsunami wins, it will have secured its spot as playoff champion.

In 2nd division, it's Gang Green vs Armory. Same situation. Armory will likely get its shot to move up either as playoff champion or as 2nd place in the regular season.

In the 1st division, Capital Crew has gotten itself into the finals versus Team X. We'll have to see what happens there.

Sweet 16

A poll this week asked how many players tallied points on the season. The answer is a new team record: 16. Our active roster is only 25 players, but the more realistic number is 27 since Jackie and Percy played quite a bit. No matter what roster number you use, that is a large numbers to have on the sheet. Compare our stats to DC United this year, which utilized 23 players over the season and got points out of 12 of them.

As you look at the beautiful spread below, consider these thoughts:

• It shows we are very well balanced and have many, many players who can contribute on offense. This is critical depth to have week-to-week to avoid the prospect of losing just because a few players are out of town. Some players on offense were so team-oriented, they didn't even show up on the stat sheet. I'm thinking of Griz, Adrian, and Caro.


• It shows we have a more dynamic defense as well, which is a welcome change. Five (5) goals were scored from a defenseive position - Pete's, Mike's, and Ally's. There were a few assists in there as well, which is really what we're striving for in the flat 4 defense. Way to go defense!


• It shows our women kick ass. We didn't match the record set in Spring 2008 in which we had 8 women on the score sheet. But we have more women with a greater number of points. I'm guessing it's the highest points total among the women (19 of the 52 total points). No one has matched Jess' 9 points in 2004, however. That record stands. For now.


• It shows, to some extent, that we don't have a trusty scoring strategy that we are able to come back to again and again. Sadly, such strategies are effective at the rec level - just look at Armory, Celtic, or DC Thunder, who rely largely upon one striker. As long as we can produce just a few more goals or give up just a few less, our strategy of spreading the ball around will work. And it's more fun. We're good.

Ermy - 3 goals, 1 assist - 7 points

Mike - 3 goals - 6 points

Suzie - 2 goals, 1 assist - 5 points

Tracy - 2 goals, 1 assist - 5 points

Elyse - 1 goal, 2 assists - 4 points

Jon a.ka. "Bubbles - 4 assists - 4 points

Percy - 2 goals - 4 points

Pete - 1 goal, 1 assist - 3 points

Chris D. - 3 assists - 3 points

Chris a.k.a. El Nino - 1 goal - 2 points

Ally - 1 goal - 2 points

Ashley - 1 goal - 2 points

Nate a.k.a. El Loco - 1 goal - 2 points

Alec - 1 goal - 2 points

Chip - 1 goal - 2 points

Cat - 1 assist - 1 point

Charitable donation made

I finally cut the check to United for DC. Sorry for holding the funds so long. I kind of lost track of time during the busy fall season.

Below is the text of the letter we are sending in today on behalf of the team.

Thanks to everyone for giving!

November 9, 2009

Ms. Kate Larned

United for D.C.
c/o RFK Stadium
2400 East Capitol Street S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003

Dear Kate,

On behalf of the Goleros Soccer Club, we are pleased to present United for DC with another modest contribution, this one in the amount of $220.00. We are big supporters of your organization and enthusiastic fans of the DC United.

As you know, the Goleros are an adult, co-ed, recreational soccer team that plays in the District (http://www.golerosteam.blogspot.com). Founded in 2000, we play our games on Sundays in the Capital Coed Soccer League (CCSL – http://theccsl.com). Our team nominated United for DC as a designated charity for which we reserve a portion of our bi-annual dues. We hope to continue making periodic donations to support your organization’s mission of promoting literacy and healthy living for local children. Since we began raising money for this effort, we have contributed a total of $1250.00.

It’s always a pleasure to work with you. Best wishes in implementing your programs and activities this year. At your convenience, please acknowledge this contribution with a receipt.

Sincerely,

Peter & Allison

Captains

cc: Zach Walker, Caithlin Gorman

5th string keeper inspires team with gritty play, but it wasn't enough

We are fortunate to have 3 trained keepers in our ranks. Unfortunately, none of them could be there this week. Nor could Adrian, the most able replacement among the field players. So it fell to the fifth stringer: me. Thankfully, there are still others who are willing to pitch in too - Nate, Tracy, even Chip (who wasn't there today). Griz is still on goalie sabbatical, having earned the right to take a long break after breaking his ribs at the position.

Well, I wouldn't call it gritty play, but I made a few saves. I missed a few others. We went down by two goals early because of some porous defense and a little blooper on the second goal where the ball went through my hands and ended up eventually at the feet of the other team. Give Little Urban Achievers this: they had three great shots - particular the third one, which was a bender to the far post from approximately the 18. I got some fingers on it, but I couldn't block it.

LUC was gunning for the win at all costs. That was evident in their unnecessary challenges, dissent, and name calling - all despite being ahead by up to 3 goals. A few of their challenges, while they began with what appeared to be 50/50 balls, could have resulted in our players being injured. They're a great team, I'd like to see them put that part of their game behind them. The red card was puzzling. The ref was quick to pull it out. But the LUC player couldn't deal, talked back to the ref, picked up the second yellow, and then refused to leave the field - under different circumstances that would result in a longer suspension because our rules are clear on that (we speak from experience). He'll sit out at least one game by rule, but we won't support anything longer than that if asked by the Disciplinary Committee.

Raise your hand if you think Caro gives 100%

Congrats to the offense for pulling a goal back in the final 10 minutes. Elyse put some mustard on a nice shot from the top of the box. Even though it hit an opposing player's bum, it had plenty on it to get by the keeper. That goal cost LUC a second place finish and bye in the playoffs. Several players kept the pace up - Chris, Ally, and others.

Fun game.

Good LUC to our friends in the post season.

Check back later this week for the full season report.

Notes: 3-1 loss to Little Urban Achievers on 11/8/09 at Trinity. Goal: Elyse (Ermy). GKs: Pete, Nate, Tracy. Discipline: Percy (yellow for late challenge).

Standings: Looking towards next season

The regular season is coming to a close. Our division was competitive, but not quite like last season when everyone had wins and losses and it took until the final week to sort everything out. Gang Green has already won the division. Even if they don't win their last game, Little Urban Achievers won't catch them, because it would go to the second tie-breaker, which is goal differential. Gang Green has a substantial lead.

Second place will go to Armory. Again, Little Urban Achievers can catch them, but it will come down to goal differential and LUC will have to win by two goals against us, and I wouldn't take that bet.

Gang Green will go to the First Division. The winner of the playoffs will also likely go up, unless Gang Green also wins the playoffs, in which case probably Armory as the second place finisher in the regular season will go. I'm sure they'd take the opportunity and run with it.

At the bottom of our division, Quicksilver and Prism will go down.

We'll have up to four new teams in the division next year. Coming down from First Division will be the commissioner's team, DC Divided - and then either Taz Devils or the Flirts, who both face must wins in their last game versus Hoover FC (they play the same opponent on separate days) to avoid relegation. First must be pretty darn competitive because the Flirts are solid all around and Sanjay's team was a playoff team last season. We've played all of the teams that could be relegated and have been competitive against each. However, they manage to get the best of us overall so we can look forward to hard fought games.

It's not clear who will come up from the Third Division. Tsunami won the division yet again and will have the option to return. The older players on the team will want to stay in Third, since they didn't like their experience in the Spring when they were in Second with us. They had some rough games and are in it for the purely recreational aspect despite their skills. Yet they have some youngsters like Lisa and Alyssa who will want to return to Second. Which contingent will win out? The mighty Roland and DC Thunder finished a close second. They could take Tsunami's promotion spot or claim their own through the playoffs. Two Left Feet also looks good and might make a deep playoff run. They were disorganized when we played them several seasons ago so clearly they've reorganized and gotten better.

Standings for this week:


Printable Version

CCSL>Second Division>
Rank	Team		W	L	T	GP	PTS	GF	GA	GD	GDA
1		Gang Green	5	0	2	7	17	28	10	18	2.6
2		Armory	5	1	2	8	17	25	13	12	1.5
3		Itchy & Scratchy	5	2	1	8	16	22	16	6	0.8
4		Little Urban Achievers	4	1	2	7	14	19	9	10	1.4
5		Celtic	3	2	2	7	11	19	18	1	0.1
6		The Diplomats	3	3	1	7	10	19	13	6	0.9
7		Lost Tourists	3	5	0	8	9	16	18	-2	-0.3
8		Goleros	1	3	3	7	6	19	22	-3	-0.4
9		Quicksilver FC	1	7	0	8	3	8	30	-22	-2.8
10		Prism	0	6	1	7	1	8	34	-26	-3.7

Please RSVP for Game 8 at 1:15 at Trinity

The last game of the season is here. I'm really looking forward to it because the pressure is off. Yet we can still accomplish so much. A win would send us squarely into the middle of the table and we could even play spoiler for Celtic or Diplomats. Both of those teams "stole" points from us this season. Celtic waltzed away with a win in week 2 - lucky [bleeps] - and we tied Diplomats.

Are you in?

Maybe we go for a beer after the game?

Stay tuned throughout the week as there is a slight chance that the game will be moved to Ridge if the field at Trinity is unplayable. It was kind of sad to see it beat up last week. Hopefully it will be re-seeded and grated in the offseason.

Stronger!

I've corresponded with several people since the match. Every single one communicated the sentiment that the loss was like a bonding experience. You go through it as a team and you come out...stronger. Since Kanye's on my workout playlist, and also the Goleros Pandora station, I might as well link to the vid. I guess that Kanye says it all.

Do you agree? What do you think?

Go team!

It happens

Surprising result on Sunday.

Congratulations to all those who were there in body or spirit. We fought extremely hard but it was one of those days where nothing worked for us. We hit the crossbar at least 3 times, missed the frame by less than a foot on 3 other occasions, and missed a PK. Meanwhile, confusion reigned on all three lines and last-place Quicksilver scored six goals.

It was character building.

Our run to the playoffs stops here. We can't overtake Diplomats for that sixth spot, since they have 10 points and we have 6, with only one game to play. We're safe in terms of relegation because, earlier in the day, Prism was defeated by Lost Tourists. They can't match our points in the table. That's justice because we were awesome this season and got results against the top two teams. We can play with the best of them.

This week's game will be an exhibition. Let's go out there and have fun.

Notes: 6-1 loss to Quicksilver on 11/1/09 at Trinity. Goal by Ermy (not known). PK earned by Ermy (missed by Jeremy). GK: George.

Status update: as of 8:00 a.m. our game at Trinity is still on

Check the weather line later to see where we're at.

Got ideas for the next social?

We need an end-of-season social. Who's got some ideas?

Weather report

Our game this weekend is iffy, unfortunately. Here's the National Weather Service forcast:

SUNDAY
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE MORNING...THEN PARTLY SUNNY IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 50S. NORTH WINDS AROUND 5 MPH. CHANCE OF RAIN 50 PERCENT.

Given the rain that is expected tomorrow, the fields could be unplayable. Make sure to check the inclement weather line and check your email Sunday morning. If they reschedule us, it may be for Saturday next weekend or during the week. It may also impact our playoff hopes.

Anyway, it ain't canceled until it's canceled. So be ready to play. I would say there's still a decent chance that we go.

Standings: the final stretch

We have just two games to play in the regular season. Although we have played well and integrated some new players, we don't have a lot to show for it. Six games, six points. That leaves us in 7th place in the division, one spot ahead of Lost Tourists on goal differential.

CCSL>Second Division>
Rank	Team		W	L	T	GP	PTS	GF	GA	GD	GDA
1		Gang Green	5	0	2	7	17	28	10	18	2.6
2		Itchy & Scratchy	5	1	1	7	16	22	13	9	1.3
3		Armory	4	1	2	7	14	22	13	9	1.3
4		Little Urban Achievers	3	1	2	6	11	17	8	9	1.5
5		Celtic	3	2	2	7	11	19	18	1	0.1
6		The Diplomats	3	2	1	6	10	18	11	7	1.2
7		Goleros	1	2	3	6	6	18	16	2	0.3
8		Lost Tourists	2	5	0	7	6	11	17	-6	-0.9
9		Prism	0	5	1	6	1	7	29	-22	-3.7
10		Quicksilver FC	0	7	0	7	0	2	29	-27	-3.9

One thing is for certain. We MUST pick up at least one more point in the next two games to avoid potential relegation. Prism also has two games to play and could conceivably finish the season with 7 points. Since we beat them in the regular season, we would prevail in the event of a tie on points. They play Lost Tourists (8th) and Diplomats (6th) while we play Quicksilver (10th) and Little Urban Achievers (4th).

If we can win out, we'll finish with 12 points and likely make the playoffs. Diplomats has a relatively easy schedule to finish off and could very well finish ahead of us. So, unless things go squirley with the top teams, we're actually looking at getting one of those last spots if we can get the wins. We won't finish any higher than 4th and even that is hard to figure. That's not fitting because we're a solid team. I guess we have to win to prove we belong in the playoffs.

Go team!

What did you think of the game?

Last Sunday, we tied Diplomats for our third draw in a row.

I wasn't at the game. Please add any comments. How did we play? How good were the goals on both sides? What was the mood after the game and how do we go for the win this week?

Notes: 3-3 tie versus Diplomats on 10/25/09 at Ridge. Goals by Mike (set piece), Mike (PK earned by Adrian), Mike (PK earned by Suzie). GK: Alec. Only hat trick of the season. Team record: first time a player has scored on three set pieces in a game.

RSVP for Game 7 - 3:00 pm vs Quicksilver at Trinity

Team, we've been hanging in there with tough play. But we need points - bad. Quicksilver will be hungry for a win.

Are you in?

We already know that Mike, Ally, and Cat are out.

Into the wild

When you organize a soccer team, you hear lots of different reasons why players can't make games - got lost, hungover from Penn State homecoming, going to Peru for semi-pro match, have to watch the kids, swine flu.

But I've never heard this one: Arctic Survival Training. Out for three weeks.

And it's true, folks. Our versatile midfielder/defender, Mike, is off to the Great North for some Air Force reserve training. Captain Mike (literally) is going to enroll in the training and do a first person narrative for the Air Force Times, for which he is a reporter. That is going to be a really cool story. I wish he could blog it, but my instincts tell me that blogging won't be part of the curriculum.

It's a tough loss for us. I mean, the guy had a hat trick last weekend on three set pieces. That's a Goleros record. I don't think we've ever scored on three set pieces, let alone from strikes by the same player. The closest thing I can recall is two penalty kicks by Bubbles in the Coed Classic, one to put us in OT, and the other at the PK phase.

Travel and survive!

P.S. - can anyone tell me where the title of this post comes from?

Fan attendance up 1000%

Has anyone noticed the steadily increasing number of fans in attendance for our games?

That's right, each week, friends and family are coming out.

Earlier in the season, we had one of Cantina's regular customers show up. That was pretty cool.

We love our fans and will treat them right! Maybe we should bring back Fan Appreciation Day, something that we did for a joke in the early days. It ain't a joke anymore!

Put it on your calendar: makeup game scheduled for 1:15 on Nov. 8th

I checked the league website, and they have already rescheduled our game from this past weekend.

We will play Little Urban Achievers at 1:15 p.m. at Trinity on Nov. 8th.

Mark it down.

Game canceled; to be rescheduled for Nov. 8th

The Commissioner has notified us that our game is canceled. All games are off at Trinity. The game will likely be rescheduled for Nov. 8th. I wouldn't doubt it if it's same time, same place.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Weather questionable for Sunday

The weather report doesn't look good for Sunday. Regardless of whether it is actually raining at kickoff time, we may have unplayable fields. Make sure to check the inclement weather line before you leave for the game. If you don't hear about a cancelation on the weather line or from me, the game will be played. However, we are playing at Trinity on grass, so the chances of cancelation are higher.

The inclement weather line is shown to your left on this home page.

Let's hope we play!

Oct 18 Sunday
Showers.
Highs in the mid 40s and lows in the low 40s.