Injury report

We only have two entries on the injury report.

Courtney - IR (calf)
Pete - out (bruised knee).

I'm out for this weekend and doubtful for the week after. If we can keep our season alive into the semis or the finals (depending on how we're seeded), I am eyeing a return this season. I'm going to the doctor this week, so I'll know more then.

If you haven't noticed, this "injury report" was just an excuse to give you an update on me!

Fallfest is postponed...maybe December

Jason over at Columbia Soccer tells me that the Fallfest is definitely canceled for Nov. 17th. He can't get enough fields. He is trying to set a December date. That's bound to be quite chilly, but imagine the holiday cheer! I'm still planning to register a team so stay tuned.

Pay your dues; support the kids

Paying your dues - only a few days left to pay up. About half the team has paid. Per the email, please send me the money immediately if you haven't already.

Supporting the kids - we are making progress. Our goal is to contribute more than $180 to United for DC. Our participation rate is about 60% right now. That needs to go up a little bit to reach the goal. It's just $13 if you can swing it.

To that end, your captains will match your contributions again this season - subject to a total limit.

Thanks!

Bubbles keeps playoff hopes alive with hat trick

Last night, we kept our playoff hopes alive with a 4-2 win over the division's new entrant, Two Left Feet. We did it on the back of three goals by Bubbles. It's a nice personal accomplishment that really helps the team.

It seemed all too easy when we scored in the first minute. Jon picked up his first tally by taking a great through ball by Jackie, dribbled to space, and launched a shot on a rope - I think he uses his toe sometimes! We had dealt an early blow to our opponent, but we played lazy into well into the second half and could have paid a price. In about the 20' minute, we gave up a score on a miscued pass, and went into the half tied. How would we respond?

Gradually, by creating more opportunities in the midfield. Midfielders supported each other and restarted the passing game. Jon scored two more goals with good service by Mike and Jer, and "Grizzy" added a nice open field goal. We were actually tied (2-2) for a period when 2LF scored on a dual effort by two good strikers. Three of our defenders bit on one of the striker's moves, and he simply passed to his uncovered teammate who put a shot in the upper 90 past Liam. That was a little scary!

While we weren't very disciplined in the match, at least we were having fun and not taking ourselves too seriously. Carlos - who was called up from the reserves - set a nice tone with some merengue moves. Of course, he's Cuban, we expect him to have rhythm.

Thanks to Carlos and Allie for joining us.
Statistically, this game was quite important. Look at our accomplishments as of Sunday:

• We kept our playoff hopes alive
• We extended our no-loss streak to 4 games
  
• We evened our goal differential to 0 (15:15). That's impressive since we lost games by 4-0 (with 7 players) and 5-2.
  

We are starting to look like ourselves again - and just in time. Later this week, I'll do a post on playoff scenarios. You can get a headstart by reading Nate's comments here.

I want YOUR comments on this post. Who deserves kudos for their play? Who assisted on Grizzy's goal? How awesome are our women? I like what I saw at the end of the game - the women did the hard labor of moving the goal posts. We could get used to that.

Notes: 4-2 win versus Two Left Feet at George Mason High School on 10/21/2007. Goals: Jon (Jackie), Jon (Mike), Jon (Jer), Griz (NK). GK: Liam.

Tom chooses Red Sox over Goleros

Hey, Tom, where are your priorities?

Griz reported to us that you chose the Red Sox game over the Goleros game! The Goleros were fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive and the Red Sox were playing a garden variety game.

Actually, it was Game 7 of the ALCS! We can't believe you got tickets! And the Red Sox took control in the late innnings? Was it awesome? Did you sit atop the Green Monster?

The bottom line is that Rocktober continues (that's what Coloradans call post-season baseball that involves the Rockies). The World Series starts Wednesday. It's Rox vs. Sox.

Go Rockies!

1 DCU ticket available

Katya has an extra ticket available for the DCU playoff versus the Chicago Fire on Thursday Nov. 1st at 7:30 pm. If you don't have a ticket yet, the question is, why not?

Price is probably $31 (but contact Katya)

MLS Cup Tickets Selling Fast

Yesterday, when I bought our team's tickets to the playoff opener, the DC United ticket rep told me that the MLS Cup tickets are selling fast. They are already selling seats in the 500 section at the top of the upper bowl. They may sell out the game.

Get your tickets now!

We'll probably tailgate for the game. It will be a nice follow up to the Fallfest tournament, which is the day before.

Buy your tickets from Zach, the CCSL ticket representative, at 202-587-5000.

Playoff picture coming into focus

Wow, it appears as if the entire roster will show for this weekend's match. It's a good thing, because we're in a must win situation versus a team we haven't faced before: Two Left Feet.

In an earlier post, Nate layed out the playoff picture when he commented that,

Actually, if Celtic won their game against 2LFeet then they would be in 3rd place. If they tied, they would be in 6th behind Tsunami because Tsunami beat Celtic.

It looks like the 6th and last playoff spot is going to come down to the last game between us and Tsunami....whoever wins goes...if there is a tie then goal differential matters.

Dude speaks the truth. With two games to play, we need to win out. We may not control our fate, even if we do that. While we have missed opportunities to pick up points, Far Post and Capital Crew haven't. Far Post has lit it up the division, going undefeated thus far.

Realistically, we are gunning for the 6th and final playoff spot. Additionally, we have to hope the weather cooperates so there is sufficient time on the calendar for the league to schedule a proper playoff bracket that unfolds over 3 weekends (opening round with 2 byes for the top seeds, semis, and final). Otherwise, we're looking at a compacted 1 weekend playoff where it's 1 vs 2 for the title, and two "exhibition" games of 3 vs 4 and 5 vs 6. We want our shot at the title, because as I wrote earlier, we have favorable odds to beat anyone in the division.

Summary: we've got our work cut out for us. So let's get to it!

For your reference, the standings are as follows:

Team GP Points
Far Post 6 14
Cap Crew 7 12
Quicksilver 6 9
Red Devils 6 8Tsunami 6 8
Goleros 6 8
Celtic 5 7
Red Tape 6 3
2LFeet 4 1

See the full table here. And remember, there are some missing game scores that haven't been reported. Our best guess is that Celtic beat 2LFeet earlier this season, putting Celtic in 3rd. Additionally, it looks like 2LFeet is missing a scheduled game in October (?). I don't know what that's about or how it affects the standings.

See you Sunday!

Last chance for DCU tickets

I am going to buy our group seats this afternoon (Friday). We have quite a group right now. I think we've made 20, but I'm not sure without looking more closely at our count.

Fallfest is coming...

It's mid November, the regular season is over, and you're feeling blue. Whatcha gonna do?

Play the Fallfest.

This year's tournament will take place on Saturday Nov. 17th. Some will choose to make it a Goleros Weekend by joining us at the MLS Cup that Sunday.

Fallfest is a good time. Last year, we finished second after a commanding performance in our group, a thrilling semifinal win, and a darn good effort in the finals. When the final whistle blew, man were we exhausted. And cold. Remember, this is where we were introduced to Pants Guy. Read about it in this rough sketch of a post.

We need to register a team soon. We'll do it by email.

In the meantime, got any memories to share? Put 'em here.

POTD

Flasback to July. Here's the official team photo from the 2007 Coed Classic. I pulled it off the tournament website. Relive the memories from this post.

Bad news: I need your money

It's time to pay up. As previously reported here, they are on the high side. Unfortunately, we have to pass on the increased fees charged by the league plus try to offset the fact that we had a smaller roster when we started the season. Let me repeat that the team's finances are open to everyone, 'cause I know you work hard for your money.

We're going to keep the charity program rolling as well. Let's try to beat the $180 mark that we set last season. It's just a few extra bucks. Remember, the donation is optional. For newbies, you can read about our charity program here.

Without further ado...

Dues $92
Donation $13

TOTAL $105

Please send the money within 1 week. I will send payment instructions by email.

League-sponsored happy hour tomorrow

The league is sponsoring a happy hour tomorrow at McFadden's in Foggy Bottom (2401 Penn), beginning at 4:00 p.m. Enjoy!

Here's a link to the evite: http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=WZFIGAIYQWNLNUXMSQIH&li=iq&src=email&trk=aer2

Back in form

At last, we are back in form.



We struggled out of the gate this season, but last night, it was back to the good ole days in a 2-0 win versus Red Tape. The score does not tell the full story, because we controlled the match from the kickoff. We were strong in all aspects of the game - except perhaps shooting away from the keeper (their keeper played well, notching about 20 saves on the night).



We scored one goal in each half. In the first half, Red Tape had several impressive goal-line saves until Adrian received a pass from Jon in the penalty area and converted. The Goleros D was rarely tested but was able to disrupt a very few troublesome breakaways - Hans, a Red Tape striker is quite capable of scoring. In the second half, Chris and Jer found each other, allowing Chris to score at relatively close range. In the meantime, we had taken lots of shots.

Liam earned himself the shut-out by making a charging, one-handed save in the last 15 minutes. It was particularly impressive because he hadn't been involved in the game a lot.

Congratulations everyone, good game. It puts at 4-0 lifetime against Red Tape. It's noteworthy for other reasons too:

• It's our first legitimate win of the season (!)


• We have battled back to .500 with a 2-2-2 record


• We improved in the standings, but it's not clear by how much. The website is currently showing us as tied for 3rd, but that's not correct because several games have not been accounted for among the contenders.

• I thought our women played very well and were quite physical. Our new recruits are making a difference!

• We used a lot of different combinations on defense, with similar and consistent results.
  

Congratulations to Red Tape too - good sports and good players.

Notes: 2-0 win versus Red Tape on October 14, 2007 at George Mason High School. Goals by Adrian (Jon) and Chris (Jer). GK: Liam. Shutout.

A friendly in Switzerland

The U.S. men will play a friendly against Switzerland Wednesday in Basel. The match is on Fox Soccer Channel at 2:30 p.m. EDT. Read about the match here.

We haven't seen much of the MNT since July. Recall that we won the Gold Cup (the CONCACAF North and Central American tournament) but sent our C team to the prestigious Copa America (CONMOBEL South American tournament) to get whipped.

This friendly is typical in that it will showcase future talent. The roster is mostly stocked with young American exports who are in development by European clubs. Headlining the bunch is former DCU midfielder Freddy Adu, who was signed to Portuguese powerhouse Benfica, but who has yet to break into the first team there. Other notable youngsters include Danny Szetela, Michael Bradley, Heath Pearce, and Benny Feilhaber. We've got some well-known veterans too, starting with Marcus Hahnemann, Eddie Lewis, Oguchi Onyewu, Clint Dempsey, Steve Cherundolo, Carlos Bocanegra, and DaMarcus Beasley.

There's a lot of talent there.

USMNT Switzerland Camp Roster

Goalkeepers

Hahnemann, Marcus Reading (England)
Hall, Tally Esbjerg (Denmark)
Seitz, Chris Salt Lake (MLS)

Defenders

Bocanegra, Carlos Fulham (England)
Cherundolo, Steve Hannover 96 (Germany)
Califf, Danny Aalborg BK (Denmark)
DeMerit, Jay Watford (England)
Onyewu, Oguchi Standard Liege (Belgium)
Pearce, Heath Hansa Rostock (Germany)
Purdy, Steve 1860 Munich II (Germany)

Midfielders

Adu, Freddy Benfica (Portugal)
Beasley, DaMarcus Rangers (Scotland)
Bradley, Michael Heerenveen (Holland)
Edu, Maurice Toronto FC (MLS)
Feilhaber, Benny Derby County (England)
Lewis, Eddie Derby County (England)
Szetela, Danny Racing Santander (Spain)

Forwards

Dempsey, Clint Fulham (England)
Findley, Robbie Salt Lake (MLS)
Zimmerman, Preston Hamburg SV II (Germany)
Zizzo, Sal Hannover 96 (Germany)

MLS playoffs - are you in?

Hey, following up on the earlier email traffic, we're goin' to the DCU playoff game that will be announced shortly. Time and date are expected to be Thursday, Nov. 1st at 7:30 p.m. We'll buy tickets this week. $30 for premium seats (if we get the group rate).

Pos a comment here if you're in (or by email).

DCU Update

Our favorite pro team is closing yet another outstanding season, maintaining their reputation as MLS' leading and most classy franchise. DCU is just a few points short of the Supporter's Shield, which is given to the team with the most points after the 30-game regular season. DCU has a 2-point lead over Chivas USA going into the final two games. Meanwhile, they sit firmly atop the Eastern Division and the league overall. They have made the playoffs.

Over the course of the season, they've shown remarkable depth. Keep your eye on a few of the players. First, there's Emilio, a leading candidate for league MVP with an incredible (league leading) 20 goals. Then you have the usual standouts - Christian Gomez, Ben Olsen, and Clyde Simms, all of whom are playing really well. But also watch for Fred, a talented winger, and Marc Burch, a college forward-turned-defender who has Beckham-like vision and can play a long ball and really get involved in the offense. One of my favorites, Josh Gros, is probably out for the rest of the season as doctors examine his recurring headaches. DCU's stellar league play have coach Tom Soehn likely to take a coach-of-the-year award.

First up for DCU is a home and home series versus an opponent to be named later. The team will play its first game away, and then return to RFK for the Nov. 1st game. If they advance beyond that series, they'll play in the Eastern Conference Finals, which I think would be at RFK. If the team advances beyond that, it's all the way to the MLS Cup to try for a fifth title - that game is at RFK for sure. Some of us already have tickets.

See you at the game!

Disciplinary committee has been busy

The league has been emailing captains more frequently about what it believes are increased episodes of dissent and unsportsmanlike conduct. Last week, the league suspended a player for 3 games and put a team on probation until the end of Spring '08 for an incident in which a player threatened to throw down with a ref following a red card (the player admitted the error, apologized, and accepted the sanction). This week, the league issued an unprecedented indefinite suspension and team probation for another red card incident in which a player allegedly head-butted another player. See the commissioner's email below.

I'm glad we play fair and don't get into this kind of mess. Thankfully, we've experienced very little of it in our games.

Diplomats Captains,

I am writing in reference to the booking incident that happened during your game last weekend (October 7th) where one of your players (Travis Sheldon) head-butted one of the Prism players according to the referee reports. Aggressive actions such as these are absolutely unacceptable in our league and our Disciplinary Committee is in the process of gathering information to investigate the incident. In the interim while the committee goes through their process, in addition to the mandatory one game suspension for the red card, I am suspending Mr. Sheldon indefinitely. In situations like this, we want to ensure that we get all the accurate details of what happened, but have to err on the side of safety for our players. A violent head-butt is not only punishable by
the league, but it even verges on criminal conduct. In addition to Mr. Sheldon¢s indefinite suspension, the Diplomats will be placed on temporary probation. Any further disruptive incidents of any nature by any member of the team will result in further disciplinary action. If we find that the alleged actions have been somehow over-exaggerated or misconstrued, these additional interim sanctions will be lifted. As said, the disciplinary committee is in the process of gathering information and we hope to reach a punishment recommendation prior to the 10/21 games. Let me know if you have any questions about this
decision.

SanjayCCSL Commissioner

Next 2 games are at night

We are now entering a stretch where we play two night games in a row (kickoff: 8:30 p.m. Sundays). This is pretty rare, as we've only played one previous night game before (last season's opener, 2-0 win versus Far Post).

These games will be at George Mason High School in Falls Church. This is right by the West Falls Church metro on the Orange Line. This is another first for us - we've never played out there. I'm not even sure whether it's turf or grass.

Night games are more fun.

Standings

Check out the standings. The division has turned upside down from last season. In my opinion, the best teams in the league are in 7th, 6th, and 5th position respectively. It's a competitive division, yes, but I think consistency and attendance have played a major role. You have to credit Far Post. They have played 5 games with no losses, which in the past two seasons, I have only seen Team X do. They have probably locked down the playoffs already.

This offers us a golden opportunity. If we can win out, we will be able to catch many of the teams, make the playoffs, and hopefully earn the chance to play again in the division championship, as I give us good odds to beat anyone.

Goleros/Celtic play to a draw

After two meetings, nothing has been decided in this great rivalry (actually, there's no rivalry). Last season, we tied Celtic 2-2 and today we reached the same result.

For our team, it was a fine result. We were shorthanded due to many players being out for holiday travel. We played the entire second half with 10.

In the first half, no team had much of an advantage. Our defense began to weaken as we couldn't clear or distribute to the midfield effectively. We yielded a goal by a Celtic Woman who placed a nice rebound shot away from Liam.

After the half, Celtic beat us pretty good on one of their six-man, second-half runs. A solo effort through the defense resulted in a one-on-one goal in which Liam was forced to come well off his line. It's here that we settled. We pulled a goal back nearly immediately on a long throw-in (Jon, assist by Mike). Then, several minutes later, Jer headed in Mike's corner kick. These goals mark the first set piece scores that I can remember in years (about time!). After that, our defense dug in and was good, but not perfect. In fighting what seemed like about 4 male midfieders and some talented women, we could not stop Celtic from several shots and runs. Liam made a crucial sliding save to preserve the tie.

Fun game. It was really something to build on as we try to make a run to the playoffs. Congrats to Mike who gets his first points since joining us this summer. Great sportsmanship by Celtic, as we have come to expect.

What were your impressions of the game?

Notes: 2-2 tie versus Celtic at Wakefield HS, Oct. 7, 2007, goals by Jon (Mike), Jer (Mike), GK: Liam.

Greg on the move

A legendary Goleros player is on the move. Greg - known as Greg the Goon for his physical presence and uncanny ability to break up a play with strong tackles - is taking a new position with Oxfam.

Greg is a great guy and a do-gooder. That's why we love him (and the fact that he always gave 110% on the pitch). He was a recruiting boon. He recruited Megan, now our co-captain. He also recruited Chandra, who recruited Jackie and Kristin, who themselves have recruited folks such as Ally and Kate. That's six degrees to Greg.

We celebrated Greg's move at Cap Lounge on Friday. Megan and I represented the team. Things are going well for him. Greg and his awesome wife have a nice house in Southwest and a bright future.

Cheers and congratulations!

Photo 1: Chandra, Pete, Greg, and Megan at Greg and Michelle''s wedding in 2005
Photo 2: Megan and Greg dancin' the night away. Megan rarely checks this blog (bad girl!) so she may never be embarrassed!

Rocktober is here

For only the second time in franchise history, the Colorado Rockies are playing in October. Last night, they completed a 3-0 sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series. Now they are going to chase the pennant in the NLCS versus the Arizona Diamonbacks.

This coming NLCS is not only something special for Colorado, it's one of the great runs in baseball history. The Rox have won 17 out of the last 18 games, and are undisputedly the hottest team in the league, leading back weeks or months. They made the post-season in a rare one-game play-in versus San Diego, with no room to spare for losses.

This was worth a post!

Traffic alert: Army 10 miler

The Army 10-miler runs up against our Sunday game, so watch out for traffic advisories. Looks like Fox Hall and the Memorial Bridge are going to be trouble spots. See the WP traffic blog:

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/getthere/?hpid=traffic

RE: Busted!

Ah Peter, you should know better than to speed in DC…  But I don’t think you’re going to find much sympathy among your teammates.  My first thought was something like this…

Busted!

On Saturday, I was having a peaceful lunch when the mailman delivered a little surprise: a citation from the Metro PD (no, not from Reno 911). I got busted by the Invisible Man for going 37 in a 25. My first ever encounter with automated traffic enforcement.

Where and when was it?

Michigan Avenue and North Capitol Street, 7:30 a.m. on Sunday. Yes, I was rushing to a Goleros game.

The lesson is don't speed around Trinity. When you turn right onto Michigan Avenue off of North Capitol, the camera appears to be right there. I got a $50 fine but no points.