Preview of fall schedule

Ahead of our first game this Sunday, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at our schedule.  It's a tough one.

Like last season, we start off the first week playing our rivals and co-equals, Tsunami.  I'm sure everyone remembers our close 2-1 loss to them last year in that first match.  It turned out to be accurate prediction for the season.  Tsunami finished 3rd behind Itchy & Scratchy and LUA and we finished a very close fourth.

Labor Day Weekend we are off as usual so there's an early bye built in.

When the season begins in earnest we will have the first of two night games this season.  Those 9:00 p.m. games will be late, but I expect really strong attendance because everyone is home from traveling on Sunday nights.  In those early games, we will be playing DC Divided and DC Thunder, teams that we're pretty familiar with by now.  We have even records versus both teams so it's a coin toss on paper.  But you can be sure we can't rely on chance to win.

We have four games at the league's new field at Galludet University.  Combined with our Trinity game, that's five games in the same general part of Northeast DC.  We'll be getting to know the neighborhood.  My neighbor plays for Geezers, a 3rd Division team that is being promoted.  That's our 9/26 matchup at Galludet.

We finish the schedule with three hard games - Quick, LUA, and Taz.  Quick and Taz have beaten us, but we have also beaten them.  Quick, of course, scored a 6-0 victory against us before they were relegated two seasons ago.  That one was bitter because it was a meltdown on our part.  LUA we have never beaten.  We played them once about 4 years ago and then 3 times recently.  Each time it's a LUA victory, although the margins are getting thinner each time.  When is that going to end?

Our late bye is six of one, half dozen of the other.  It should allow us to get healthy. But if we are in position for the playoffs, it will result in awkward breaks in the action towards the end of the season.  Our nonstop run of several games in the spring proved to be important to our success.

Any thoughts of your own on this sked?

It will be fun and very competitive.

After promotion and relegation, here's how the Second Division looks this season.  Rankings are based upon last season's final results.

1. Little Urban Achievers
2. Tsunami
3. Goleros
4. Taz Devils
5. DC Thunder
6. DC Divided
7. Lost Tourists
8. Quicksilver (from 3rd)
9. Geezers (from 3rd)

We used to have 10 teams in the division.  Since we lost two teams last season (the Replacements and Black Haggis), the league was able to drop back to 36 teams evenly split across 4 divisions.  So we will play each of these teams this season.  Every game will be competitive.

Get Pumped Up!

Get pumped up! The season starts tomorrow. A little after 9:00 a.m., the Goleros will remove the cobwebs and get back on the pitch.

It all starts in the Cherry Blossom Tournament. We've got a great squad for this popular, but competitive tournament. Wish them good luck!

Then, on Sunday, at 3:00 p.m., we start the regular season campaign. We're playing our old rivals, Tsunami.

Please show up early and let's have a great season!!!

I'm out of town until the game so text or call me if you want to talk. Same with Ally, she'll be out and about so text/call her.

Preview of this season's schedule

Let's take a second to look at this season's schedule. A little preparation will go a long way towards a potential playoff appearance.

First, some logistics. Note that most games are at fields that are somewhat unfamiliar. Make sure to check schedules and directions carefully. We start off on a new turf field in Silver Spring - Blair High School. De, one of only two Maryland residents on the team, must have gotten to the Exec Board. Our new "home field" will be Ridge in Southeast, where we play fully half our regular season schedule. We will play our first matches at Wilson High School and Dunbar High School, both in Northwest DC, and only one game at our favorite field, Trinity. Unlike past years, where we often played in Virginia, we now play almost exclusively in the District. Seven of our games will be played there, with this coming week as the only exception.

The times and dates of our games are decent. There is only one early morning game - on April 25th - and 9:00 a.m. isn't that bad. We have a nice 3:00 p.m. kickoff this week to avoid a potential conflict with the Cherry Blossom tournament. More importantly, check out the flow of our schedule. We start off with an initial game this weekend, then we have two weekends off. Let's make sure to schedule practices to take advantage of that. When we resume play April 18th, we'll have six consecutive games, which is more than I can remember us playing before. Most likely, this will work to our advantage, if we can stay healthy. It gives us a great opportunity to get into a rhythm and pick up some wins. We'll have a break in the last few weeks to rest up before the final game and hopefully the playoffs (but so will everyone else).

Now, our opponents. The schedule seems - at least at this point - to be pretty balanced but of course it will be difficult. We do have some darn tough teams. I never particularly relish playing the promoted and relegated teams; however, we play them all. DC Divided and Taz Devils are both on the schedule, formerly of the First Division, and so are Tsunami and DC Thunder, formerly of the Third Division. You can bet the Third Division teams will be hungry and in-form. I know Sanjay's DC Divided team hasn't lost a step; they just had some miscues last season after nearly making it to Premier before that. Taz Devils beat us good many moons ago. It's time to right that wrong.

Beyond those teams, we also play several teams that know us and have beaten us. Itchy & Scratchy managed a win last year, 5-3, and Lost Tourists, Little Urban Achievers (LUC), and Celtic have both stolen games from us. We let Celtic walk away with the win in week two last season. I've always wanted to beat LUC, but we never have. They beat us soundly last season, but the win wasn't rewarding for them because we managed to frustrate them enough for them to draw a red card, and also we were able to give them a much more difficult playoff schedule, which they ultimately couldn't handle. They'll be ready to beat us again.

It's going to be a great season and I think we can do great!

• CCSL REGULAR SEASON
• ------------------
• Sun. 3/28, 3:00 p.m. vs Tsunami at Blair HS in Silver Spring
• Sun. 4/3 - NO GAMES (Easter)
• Sun. 4/11 - NO GAMES (Bye)
• Sun. 4/18, 12:00 p.m. vs Celtic at Ridge in Southeast DC
• Sun. 4/25, 9:00 a.m. vs Lost Tourists at Wilson HS in Northwest DC
• Sun. 5/2, 10:00 a.m. vs Itchy & Scratchy at Ridge in Southeast DC
• Sun. 5/9, 1:00 p.m. vs DC Thunder at Ridge in Southeast DC
• Sun. 5/16, 1:15 p.m. vs Taz Devils at Trinity in Northeast DC
• Sun. 5/23, 12:30 p.m. vs DC Divided at Dunbar HS in Northwest DC
• Sun. 5/20 - NO GAMES (Memorial Day Weekend)
• Sun. 6/6, 1:15 p.m. vs LUC at Ridge in Southeast DC
• -----------------------
• PLAYOFFS
• ---------------------------
• Sat & Sun 6/12-6/13 - QUARTERS & SEMIS
• Sun. 6/28 - FINALS

Thoughts on the sked

It's going to be a challenging season, and we welcome that. Overall, I think the average quality of our opponents will be higher than we are used to seeing - on par with the Coed Classic this summer.

Since this is a new division, it's difficult to prepare for the games. We may have vague scouting reports for certain games, but the only teams we truly know are Far Post (against whom we are 2-1) and Flirting with Sobriety (against whom we are 1-1). We'll have to approach every game with a blank slate and make quick adjustments to mark players and stay in games. Scoring first will be important against the best teams.

I'm circling a few games as always. First one is the Flirts game this coming weekend. Since we've already shot ourselves in the foot by handing Hoover FC a win in Week 1, we need to get back into the win column and stay in the middle of the table. The Flirts have the better of us in goal differential, having outscored us 4-2 in two games in the spring. We can't say much because we know they spy on us, but let's just say the rematch ought to be good.

The other two key games will be against Diplomats (Oct. 12th) and Lost Tourists (Oct. 26th). These are both bound to be high quality teams. Diplomats finished at the top of the Second Division last year, while Lost Tourists were relegated from the 1st Division. Both will have high quality strikers and present quite a match for us, who have spent a year and a half in Third Division. The Lost Tourist game worries me for a different reason; it's at 8:00 a.m.!

Kickoff times vary so pay attention and clear your schedule now. We have some early morning, mid-morning, and afternoon games. We have one night game on Sept. 28th.

Captain faces tough questions

Last week, we endured a 3-1 loss to Hoover FC at the Marina. I am told we were only able to field 10 players. We had some defensive miscues and missed a PK. Not our day.

Following the loss – our fifth in a row across all competitions – I sat down with the media to talk about the rest of the season. (BTW, this is not meant to be serious)

Q from NBC’s Bob Costas: What’s your greatest challenge this season?

A: Bob, I believe it all starts with communication and consistency. When we field a full squad, we work well together and often take home the W. We have a deep bench and sweet tradition of teamwork. However, when players do not communicate their status or show up late, we don’t give ourselves a chance to win – and that’s frustrating. Last season, attendance may have been the difference between promotion and staying put. This year, we’ve already had a lapse in week one, which means we’re in the hole early.

Q from ESPN’s Michelle Tafoya: What’s happening with your roster?

A: As you know, Michelle, the final roster is due to the league on September 21st. Almost everyone is returning, which is great because we have a kick ass team. We are making some minor changes as necessary. We’re losing our beloved co-captain, Megan, to retirement. Tom is shifting to alternate status and we’ve picked up a few more players to round out the team. We welcome Cat, who will help us continue the tradition of having the best all-around female roster in the league. We’ve also added Alec to mix, who stood out in the summer tournament and who will give us superb depth at the goalie position.

Q from ESPN’s Julie Foudy: Talk about what it means to have Jackie take over as co-captain.

A: Well, it obviously means a lot. Jackie is one of the best players and personalities we’ve ever had on the team. You can trace a large part of our roster to her recruiting efforts. Whether it’s delivering fierce tackles or motivating the troops, she’s there for us. Of course, this season, she won’t actually be there for us for half the season, but we’ll make do!

Q from the George Michael Sports Machine: What do you need to do to get the Goleros back on track?

A: Without revealing secrets to our competitors, I think we need to shore up our defense, improve the work rate of our forwards and midfielders, play a little more dynamically, and make sure enough people show up to games. We do those things and we’re going to be successful.

Q from MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann: Next year, you are entering your 10th season. What does that mean to you and your fans?

A: It means a lot, Keith, it really does. We’ll be sharing more details on that soon.



Notes: 3-1 loss to Hoover FC, 8/24/08, Marina field. Goal: Ermy (NK). GK: Nate, Liam. PK opportunity: Jon (earned by Jer).

Risin' up

"

Cue the inspirational music.

We are now in the final stretch of the season with back-to-back-to-back games against ClareAndDons, Tsunami, and Red Tape. We need to finish strong and focus on the prize: promotion to the Second Division.

The easiest way to take the prize is to finish first, in which case we would automatically go up, regardless of playoffs. Check out the standings.

The race for first will probably be decided this weekend.  We sit in second place (13 points after 5 games) and we play ClareAndDons, the first place team (16 points after 7 games).  If we win or tie, we have a great chance of finishing first.  If we lose, however, the best we could hope for is second place, because ClareAndDons would finish with 19 points and the tie-breaker (head-to-head win).

On the stat sheet, ClareAndDons are impressive.  They have more than twice the number of goals we have.  A source tells me they have some mean D1-level strikers, and that they are not always friendly.  But they haven't faced our defense or counter-attack yet - it's been lethal for every other team thus far.  I know we can do it - we are solid top to bottom.  We are working well together.  We'll just have to make a few tactical adjustments to take their goal scorers out of the game and to sink some goals of our own.  

I'm looking forward to it. We're having an awesome season. Let's enjoy this opportunity.

OK, off to the races...

We're getting more chit chat about the season than we've ever had before - it seems we're all really excited! Well, it's time to play.

Our first game is Sunday night at 7pm at Washington & Lee HS in Arlington. You can mapquest the location if you don't know it: 1300 N Quincy St, Arlington, VA 22201. Be there at 6:15-6:30.

Please help your captain keep his sanity by arriving early. You know me before the first game of the season - I'm a basket case. Let's kick off the first match in an organized fashion. This game will be a new experience for the team - the turf is fast and true. We need to warm up and be prepared to play to space, something that we are not that accustomed to doing. This and Trinity are as nice a field as you get in rec soccer, believe me it will be sweet.

Our attendance looks good, in fact it's pushing 100%. Although we rarely have a crowded sideline, it's probably gonna happen this week. It's OK, though, we'll need plenty of subs. If you haven't let me know your status, please do.

Remember, please bring your dues to the game (exceptions for newbies).

Thoughts on our sched

As you know, our schedule was released today, and it's much different than anything we've seen before. From our perspective, it's a great schedule, but it's not without its challenges.

Share your thoughts about the schedule by commenting on this post. Some things to think about...

• We're circling two dates on the calendar: this Sunday, March 25th, and Sunday, April 29th. This Sunday, we play our first game of the season - but more importantly, our first game on turf (not to mention our first night game). It's going to be fast, fun, but tiring. On Sunday April 29th, we'll have a rematch with Capital Crew, who beat us 2-0 last season. It was a bitter loss. They're not going to run over us this time.
• The 8:00 a.m. game in week 3 is brutal.
  
• Our fields are awesome! If they're not premium fields, they are in premium locations. 2 games on turf, 3 games at the Marina (horrible field, good location), 1 game on the Mall, and 1 game at Trinity. This is what we're paying for.
• It's not going to be easy to get into a rhythm because we are pretty much two weeks on, 1 week off. We'll have to see how this affects us.
• Basically, we're excited and we hope you are. Let's have fun!