Captain opts out of indoor

Regrettably, I've decided not to play indoor this winter. I'm busy with lots of things and enjoying the opportunity to get healthy for the spring. Yes, more soccer is always better but I'll look for pick up games.

If others still want to play, get organized in a hurry. You can use the jerseys.

Outdoor is only a few short months away. Perhaps we'll have some practices and pick up games before the season.

Wanna play indoor?

Let's talk about forming an indoor team again this year. Post a comment if you're interested.

Read about last year's indoor experiment here.

We would probably play throughout the winter, beginning in mid-November. The first session is November-January, the second session is February-March. Games would be weeknights at 8, 9, 10, or 11pm.

The first session is brutal in terms of scheduling. You have some late December games that are tough for everyone to make. Last year, we just did the second session, but we kind of got lucky in terms of finding a slot. To have the best chance of playing, we should play both sessions.

Fees are pretty high: $75-80 per person, per session, which is the same price as outdoor, on a per game basis. Hey, it's still cheap entertainment. The field is nice; pretty large. It's great for footwork and dynamic play. Although we sucked as indoor team last year, we hit the ground running in outdoor and I think it made a difference. Last year, we played in a competitive division to ensure a challenge. We'll repeat that if possible. Regardless, we approach it informally. There's no haranguing in terms of attendance and we just don't care about our record.

Read more about the league.

So, what do you think?

Indoor season ends on a high note

The Goleros Indoor Experiment is over. It was a success...unless you define success by wins and losses. We were 1-5-2!

Here are the results:

• WINTER 2008 INDOOR
• Feb. 6th - 11-4 win vs i2 iXvs
• Feb. 20th - 5-4 loss vs OTL
• Feb. 27th - 2-2 tie vs Gung Ho
• Mar. 5th - 6-2 loss vs Fairfax United
• Mar. 12th 4-2 loss vs Dirty Nellys
• Mar. 19th - 5-1 loss to Esso Tigers
• Mar. 26th - 7-3 loss to Dubliners FC
• April 2nd - 3-3 tie vs Yellow Snow

Overall, it was great for ball control and decision-making. Additionally, it's nice to play without stressing about lineups, etc. Indoor is a place to test your skills.

There were some memorable moments - mainly in the oops category. I would summarize the season by recalling my "eagle" or "cobra" save in goal.

We ended on a high note with a tie in which 3 goals were scored in the final two to three minutes.

We'll probably do it again next year. Thanks to everyone, especially Juan, Alfonso, Max, Erin, Jenny, and Tim who joined us from other teams.

Have any memories? Did you enjoy it?

Indoor concludes this week - RSVP here

RSVP here for our last indoor game - Wednesday 10:00 p.m.

We've been steadily improving our play in the last few weeks. Last chance to prove it when we play Yellow Snow. If we win, we could finish right in the middle of the division. If we lose, we could finish second to last.

Actually, the division is quite competitive. There are only two standout teams - Dubliners and Dirty Nellys. The rest are very close, and few have a winning record. Fairfax United and Yellow Snow are in the third and fourth position with only 3 wins. That's more one than we can reach, so the playoffs are definitely out for us now.

The last two weeks have been ugly.  We played Esso Tigers to a 5-1 loss.  There were several junk/lucky goals, and some funny moments when I was in goal (my moves have been likened to the "swan" or the "cobra").  Last week, we played the top team in the division, Dubliners, to a 7-3 loss.  It was a pretty competitive match actually.  We fell asleep for a few minutes. 

See you Wednesday night. 

March 26th INDOOR game - RSVP here

Second to last game vs. Dubliners. 9pm. Nothing scheduled on the field at 8pm so feel free to show up early.

RSVP here for March 19th game

An early game, for once. Let us know if you'll be there.

Playoffs still possible

I took a quick look at our indoor standings. Surprisingly, it appears we could still make the playoffs. We have 4 points. If we picked up 2-3 more wins, adding 6-9 points to our tally, it might be good enough. It probably won't be though, because the top teams will continue to pick up points. Basically, I'm sure we'd have to win out and then depend on some key losses. That's what you get with our record. But hey, we have something to play for!

Much improved

I think we're all a little surprised at our indoor record. But we played well last night versus what I imagine is one of the top teams in the table (Dirty Nellys). Unfortunately, we lost 4-2 in a close game.

The difference was a few plays. Tactically, we were excellent. We effectively used man coverage, taking their key playmakers out of the game. We had a midfield that was relatively active on and off the ball. We dribbled when more possession was required. We passed from the back to open up the game when Dirty Nelly's pressed. And we counter-attacked and took shots from the perimeter to keep them honest (we picked up our two goals this way courtesy of Max and Adrian).

Unfortunately, the game came down to a few plays in which we either fell asleep or were outmatched. Their first goal came on a quick restart from the corner and we gave their best female forward a free deflection into the net. Their other three goals were the result of one-on-one's that didn't go in our favor.

I felt that we had a good team dynamic not to mention several good individual performances such as Nate's in goal. Whereas previous games weren't well managed by yours truly, this one came out alright. Let's keep it up next week!

Special thanks to Lexi for joining us.

Notes: 4-2 loss versus Dirty Nellys on 3/12/08. GKs: Adrian, Nate.

Wins are elusive

Last week, we had another difficult outing in indoor. We lost 6-2 to Fairfax United. Both goals by Tim (one on an earned PK).

The teams in the league, while not awesome as of yet, have proven to be well rounded. Meanwhile, we've been having a bit of a tough time jelling. We had a great number of players last week - no flow problems there. But somehow, we just couldn't manage forward and midfield defense, and the backline wasn't able to compensate despite an energetic goalie - nice job Adrian! We allowed 5 goals plus a junk goal, and we were only able to muster 2. It was a fun game overall (until the final minutes). This is indoor so let's not worry too much.

This week, we really need to work on our percentage passing. We are losing an aweful lot of passes in the midfield and then totally failing to recover on defense. The other team marches to the 18 and has a day.

This week, we face Dirty Nellys who have a much better record than we do. Let's try to stop them.

Notes: 6-2 loss to Fairfax United on 3/5/08, GK: Adrian.

March 12th - RSVP here

The game is at 11:00 p.m. We'll only have one more late late game this season.

March 5th game - RSVP here

Please RSVP here for our March 5th game. Game currently scheduled for 10:00 p.m. We don't need to hear from Nate, Max, or Jackie. We know they can't make it.

Midnight draw

When the clock struck midnight last Wednesday, we ended the match on a 2-2 draw. Despite the late late match, every member of the team was in attendance. Nate did a great job in goal. Goals by Juan and Max.

The tie is either our second under-performance or, if you think the glass is half full, the start of playoff run. I'm a glass half full guy. No, we didn't strike the ball well, distribute well from the back line, or threaten much. But we controlled the match and fixed most of the problems from last week's meltdown. Gung Ho was well rounded, but didn't have the striking ability to win the game outright. Tim hit the cross bar in the last few minutes, which was the closest either team got to winning the match - except of course for Adrian's goal-line save at the very end! That was comical, impressive, but scary.

I thought it was a good game on everyone's part. I like how we made the best of a full bench. We're having a decent season. Let's keep it up.

Notes: Feb. 27, 2008, 2-2 tie versus Gung Ho, GK: Nate

Feb. 27th - RSVP here

RSVP if you're going to make the game this week. Just post a comment to this post with your name or initials and whatever else you wanna say.

String of late games coming

Our schedule to start the season was pretty nice. Now, in this middle portion, we have to take the pain. We have successive games at 11:00, 10:00, and then 11:00. But, after that, we end the season in good fashion.

It's important for the late games that folks make sure to let me know if they're gonna make it. We may have to find subs. My next post will try a new RSVP system.

(Almost) Triumphant Return

George joined us this week in indoor. He played great, making his usual athletic and dominant saves. George, thanks for playing. Best!

Mini meltdown

The first game of our indoor season turned out to be too good to be true. Despite leading 4-1 in the second half, we lost our second game by a score of 5-4. OTL played well enough. Our defense had a mini meltdown, we didn't sub effectively, and we didn't establish good fluid passing. Oh well. We're going to have to raise our game next week. I think we've played the bottom of the table so far. In the first week, we were worthy. This week, not so much. Nate and Jenny and I scouted a few of the other teams after the game. One team bears absolutely no resemblance to the teams we've played. Everyone is at the college level so be ready!

See you next week.

Notes: 5-4 loss to OTL, Feb. 20, 2008, GK: George

Bye week

This week, we've got a bye in indoor. This kinda sucks because we waited all this time to get started again. The bye has to do with a shortage of time slots at the facility. I would expect the game to be scheduled on a day other than Wednesday - maybe in the coming weeks.

Rest up!

Off to a good start

We rolled to an 11-4 win versus i2 iXvs in our first game of the season. It was a great way to start the season. We saw a lot of good stuff from our new recruits. Adrian was great in goal, and took the liberty of charging the field often. That's what indoor is about!

Obviously, we are going to be a good team, despite not having played together before. However, I think we'll have some tough tests ahead. I doubt we'll cruise to any wins. We're going to have to earn them.

Hope everyone had fun.

Notes: 11-4 win vs i2 iXvs, Feb. 6, 2008, 2008 Indoor Session 2.

Roster additions - Dues are now $70

We are adding two players to our roster. Please welcome Max and Erin. These folks were actually supposed to be part of the squad early on, but I got confused and forgot to count them. We're now at 17 and full. With 10 men and 7 women, we're a little heavy so bear with us. We'll be subbing often, plus the late night games tend to be a little thin.

Everyone's dues will be lowered to $70. Please make a paypal payment to pdi.usa@gmail.com or bring a check to the first game, as directed by my previous post.

See you out there!

Indoor kicks off

The Goleros return to action this week in our first ever indoor campaign!

Our first game is at 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday night at South Run District Park Fieldhouse in Springfield (directions here).

A shout-out to Wolf, VCSRA league commissioner, for securing our spot off the wait list.  We sometimes play together on the legendary Hot Pink Panthers.

I'm excited about the indoor season. We'll play 8 regular season games from now until late March, with single-elimination playoffs for the top four teams that will stretch into April. This is coed intermediate so expect the pace and quality of play to be slightly better than what we have seen in outdoor. I noticed that one of the teams is even sponsored.

Our squad consists of some Goleros players, some Far Post players, and some new recruits who are friends of friends. It's a good crew, but we'll have to work out kinks. The league is 8 vs 8, with 5 guys and 3 ladies. The pitch (pictured above) is big enough to allow for organized passing. But it's too small to play rigidly. We'll want to cycle people up and down the field. Defenders will get in on the attack and will have to be covered by teammates when they do.

Roster
Women: Jackie, Ally, Kate, Katya, Heather, Jenny (Far Post)

Men: Pete, Nate, Jer, Adrian, Gonzalo, Antonio, Juan, Tim (Far Post), Braulio

Please bring your $80 dues to the first game - I posted instructions here.

Don't forget to Tivo the U.S. vs. Mexico game, which also starts at 9:00 p.m.

See everyone there!