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.

Going up against the best

The U.S. men's program is back in the news this week. They're heading into the toughest stretch of friendlies ever, facing England (May 28th - 3:00 p.m. ESPN Classic), then Spain (June 4th - 5:30 p.m. ESPN2), and then perhaps the best team in the world, Argentina (June 8th - 7:30 p.m. ESPN Classic).

Typically, there's no downside to playing friendlies against such respected teams. But playing three top teams in a row, on the cusp of World Cup qualifying, carries the risk of exposing weaknesses and demoralizing the team if we aren't competitive. Believe me, they are taking these games seriously. Coach Bradley is calling up so many different kinds of players, relying pretty heavily on players that will feature prominently in qualifying - particularly those that are just outside the staring XI. We'll probably see about 20 different players take the pitch in the three games.

Maybe I'll do more posts about the player pool later. Let's talk forwards right now. This is a traditional weakness for the MNT given the undersized athlete that is attracted to soccer in our country. With Brian McBride out of the picture, it's time for the next generation to arrive. The current crop is Taylor Twellman, Brian Ching, Clint Dempsey, and the hot and cold Eddie Johnson. Will Jozy Altidore, Nate Jacqua, Freddy Adu, and Kenny Cooper find their way into the mix? Bob Bradley will begin the process of finding out.

Here's the player pool for the England match:

Men's National Team vs. England
May 28, 2008 - Wembley Stadium

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Birthdate	Caps/G	Hometown	Club
Adu, Freddy	M	5'8"	140	6/2/1989	4/0	Potomac, Md.	SC Benfica (Portugal)
Beasley, DaMarcus	M	5'8"	145	5/24/1982	68/15	Ft. Wayne, Ind.	Glasgow Rangers (Scotland)
Bocanegra, Carlos	D	6'0"	170	5/25/1979	55/9	Alta Loma, Calif.	Fulham FC (England)
Bradley, Michael	M	6'2"	175	7/31/1987	16/1	Cedar Grove, N.J.	SC Heerenveen (Holland)
Califf, Dan	D	6'1"	175	3/17/1980	16/1	Orange, Calif.	FC Midtjylland (Denmark)
Cervi, Dominic	GK	6'6"	205	7/9/1986	0/0	Norman, Okla.	Out of Contract
Cherundolo, Steve	D	5'6"	145	2/19/1979	44/2	San Diego, Calif.	Hannover 96 (Germany)
Clark, Ricardo	M	5'10"	150	5/10/1983	13/1	Jonesboro, Ga.	Houston Dynamo (MLS)
DeMerit, Jay	D	6'0"	185	12/4/1979	7/0	Green Bay, Wis.	Watford FC (England)
Dempsey, Clint	F	6'1"	170	3/9/1983	38/9	Nacogdoches, Texas	Fulham FC (England)
Donovan, Landon	F	5'8"	148	3/4/1982	99/35	Redlands, Calif.	Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)
Feilhaber, Benny	M	5'9"	150	1/19/1985	16/2	Irvine, Calif.	Derby County (England)
Guzan, Brad	GK	6'4"	210	9/9/1984	5/0	Homer Glen, Ill.	Chivas USA (MLS)
Howard, Tim	GK	6'3"	210	3/6/1979	28/0	North Brunswick, N.J.	Everton FC (England)
Jaqua, Nate	F	6'3"	180	10/28/1981	2/0	Eugene, Ore.	Out of Contract
Johnson, Eddie	F	6'0"	180	3/31/1984	32/11	Palm Coast, Fla.	Fulham FC (England)
Lewis, Eddie	M	5'10"	155	5/17/1974	75/9	Cerritos, Calif.	Derby County (England)
Onyewu, Oguchi	D	6'4"	210	5/13/1982	30/4	Olney, Md.	Standard de Liege (Belgium)
Orozco, Michael	D	5'11"	160	2/7/1986	0/0	Orange, Calif.	San Luis (Mexico)
Pearce, Heath	D	5'10"	175	8/13/1984	11/0	Modesto, Calif.	Hansa Rostock (Germany)
Spector, Jonathan	D	6'0"	180	3/1/1986	12/0	Arlington Heights, Ill.	West Ham United (England)
Wolff, Josh	F	5'8"	160	2/25/1977	50/9	Stone Mountain, Ga.	Out of Contract

No pick up this weekend

I won't be able to organize any pick up this weekend.  If you're interested though, feel free.  Nate, Katya, Heather, Kristin, Chip, and Ally were possibilities so far.  We've got a lot of folks out of town.

Summer soccer?

Lots of soccer this summer. We'll have pick up, some tournaments, and then Fall season will begin before you know it.

In addition to all of that, CCSL is planning a summer session again this year. Games would start July 6th and run through mid August. It's a money maker for the league, allowing us to secure better fields in the spring and fall.

Anyone interested?

I won't be captaining our team because I want us to focus on tournaments and the Fall league. But someone else could take the reigns and put together a team. We could also merge with another team for the summer - that is frequently done.

Check out Cara's email sent out to the captain's list serve:

At long last, it's time to talk about summer league! With Memorial
Day weekend being the unofficial start to summer, I figured now was a good time
to get the word out about CCSL summer league and suggest to those interested
that you begin organizing your summer league team. As was the case
last year, our summer session is a chance for us to keep our skills
up on the pitch during the dog days of summer but in a slightly more
relaxed and informal environment.

Season dates are from Sunday, July 6th through Sunday, August
16th. Each team will play one another one time for a total of
seven games and then schedule depending I plan to do a two-day playoff-
Saturday Aug. 17 & Sunday Aug. 16 (with the top four teams making
playoffs). At the moment, I am still working on all the details
but each team is guaranteed seven regular season games for now as
I am still working on fields for the playoffs. As usual, games will
be played on Sundays, with each team playing one additional weekday game on the
Mall. Any necessary makeups will also be played during the week
as we do not have enough Sundays to make things work
otherwise . Sunday games will be held at the GW Mount Vernon
Field (artificial turf field) with some games scheduled possibly in the
Alexandria, Arlington or Washington DC area depending on
availability.

There will again be two brackets of eight teams each- a competitive division (A) and recreation division (B).
Registration will be on a first come, first serve basis with CCSL teams having
first priority through June 4th. Teams that are interested in
participating should email ccslsummerleague@gmail.com and indicate which division
they would like to play in along with their team colors. Teams that
are affiliated with the Metropolitan DC-Virginia Soccer Association (MDCVSA)
will be given next priority. Merging of teams is permitted and
encouraged. Please email me if you are looking to merge with other teams
and we can see who we can match folks up with. Registration packets
and checks will be due on Friday, June 20th. Information on where to send
and what format the packets should be in will be sent once your email of
interest is received. Registration forms are available on the CCSL
website under Forms. Cost per team is $1400. Once
the brackets are full, we will post a note to the
website.

Games will be 80 minutes in length with 5 women and
6 men to a side. There will be a two man referee crew per game and rules
will be consistent with those currently used during the regular CCSL
season. A list of summer league rules is also available on the CCSL
website. If you have any questions, please contact Cara Rooney at cara.rooney@gmail.com. And should you wish to volunteer
to help me organize this summer's season, please don't hesitate to contact me at
either my email address or the CCSL Summer address as I will be running this
show solo for the summer as Dan is busy helping inner city kids play soccer
these days ;-).

Thanks!
Cara

Cara Rooney
Summer
League Commish
ccslsummerleague@gmail.com

Big contributor

Liam's the man in net.

It's great to have a talented and steady keeper back there. It's the most important piece of a rec team - you can't play without a keeper. And you can't win games without a good one. He's made some aggressive saves this season, posting three shut outs.

Did you know that Liam saves you money? Each team in our league has to provide enough refs to handle at least 5 matches per season. If we don't comply, we can be fined up to $500. Liam is one of our two refs, along with Jer. It's really an important contribution, and you gain knowledge of the game.

Thanks bud.

The Crew beat ClareAndDons!

Despite our great season, there's one team that has been doing even better: ClareAndDons. They have 16 points after 7 games (we have only played 5). But they lost on Sunday to Capital Crew, a completely surprising result. This gives us a big opening to catch them in the division race if we can seize it.

More on that later.

We have a bye this week in observance of Memorial Day Weekend.

Next week: ClareAndDons.

Same result as last time; 2-2 tie

Good game today. We probably let two points slip away, but we showed some grit. It was the first time we were tested all season. It was a necessary wake up call in order to play the first place team next week - ClareAndDons.

What did you think of the game?

We tied Quicksilver by a score of 2-2, the same result as our last competitive match. We're now 1-0-2 versus Quicksilver, including a forfeit win last fall.

To me, it was up and down. When our first goal was called back on a delayed offside call, I think we got a little dazed. Soon thereafter, Quicksilver took possession of the ball in the center of the field and was able to make a quick strike to take an early 1-0 lead. Yes, they probably did it with 7 men on the field in violation of the rules, but they still played down a player so let's not focus on that.

In the second half, our offense really took off. Despite losing Kate and Ally, and thereby playing shortfooted, we pressed. There were a lot of great crosses, passing, and one-on-one's. We finally found the net by overwhelming their D with a nice buildup (Chris - assist by Jon). Our second goal came just a few minutes later on through ball by Chip, which Jon used to out-dribble their last two men for the score.

We lost a composure late in the half and gave up the tie. But there were lots of great plays and you have to recognize that we came from behind. Jackie was fierce, Heather was outstanding, Liam saved the game multiple times and it was a good time. Don't forget my goal-line save!

What should we focus on for next week?

Notes: 2-2 tie versus Quicksilver, 5/18/08, Chris (Jon), Jon (Chip). GK: Liam. Shorthanded second half.

Monsoon scrimmage

We played a memorable game last week - in a monsoon.

Our opponent, Two Left Feet, couldn't field a team. It seems the driving, cold rain deterred all of their women from showing. It was Mother's Day. The team captain said they had a lot of mothers on the team.

But we were ready to go with 13 players, despite the harsh conditions. We ended up scrimmaging on the turf field. Reminded me of being a kid again.

By rule, we picked up a 3-0 win.

Notes: 3-0 win by forfeit vs Two Left Feet, 5/10/08.

Our history Vol. II

This is the second installment of the critically-acclaimed three-part series: our history. Read the first installment here.

These are the Montgomery County years. They were always fun, but the field locations slowly wore on the team. In the beginning, we played in Bethesda, then Silver Spring, then Wheaton, then Olney, and then the suburbs of Olney! For our growing DC/Northern Virginia contingent, this meant sometimes more than 1 hour of driving each way.

Pete's Graduation in 2003

The significance of these years is clear: we turned things around. We were done simply kicking it around. It was time for some wins. It took awhile but we steadily developed a better work ethic, got some new talent on board, and saw some results. We said goodbye to some players but added some new ones - Kristin, Jackie, John Magoba, Patrick, Chris, Justin, Mark, Erinn, Ermy, Jessica, Megan, among others. In my mind, the turning point was a match in 2003 versus the dreaded Green Team. They had whipped us before but we bested them in a bitter match to close the season at .500. It was so bitter that the Green Team actually disbanded following the game. Some of their nicer folks proposed a merger with us to bolster our numbers for the next season, but we said no.

We hit a stride in 2004, going more than .800 for an extended time. Mike was steady in goal; Mark ran the midfield at that unforgettable pace; Jessica outwitted defenses on the wing; Justin and Chris scored more than 15 points each per season; and our women were very strong all over the field. I no longer cared if we won or lost because we were good and the wins would often just come. In 2005, we were promoted to the Second Division. We made the playoffs twice. Our first tournament was the 2004 Coed Classic, which we played in conjunction with Frightening Pace.

What else is noteworthy? Megan agreed to be co-captain. She really helped to organize us and make the team fun. We owe a lot to her.

High points: beating the Green Team, winning one game 10-0, listening to John and Patrick yell at each other in Ugandan.

Low point: missed playoffs in 2005 because of a forfeit. We just didn't have enough women.

Rivals to remember: G.O.R.F. (one of the few teams that we played more than once who we never beat - they once beat us 10-0), Green Team, Yellow Team (love story!), Frightening Pace (read this post).

Greg & Michelle's Wedding

Have any memories of your own?



Next installment: The Move to CCSL.

Details of the next social - you decide

What should we do for our next social event? Post your thoughts here.

Here are a few thoughts of my own:

• DC United game - you know I love them, even if the last one we went to was a downer
• End of season BBQ like last year
• Drinks at Ireland's Four Provinces in Falls Church following our 4:00 p.m. game at George Mason HS on June 1st

Consumer alert: rain and mobile phones do not mix

My cell phone is still not working after I used it Sunday night in the rain. My texts come garbled, I can't dial or receive calls to the right people, and it wants to dial China whenever I hit #9. Don't be stupid. Avoid using your cell phone in the rain!

Seriously though, my cell is down for a while - don't expect to be able to reach me there.

Sunday May 18 - RSVP here

Our game is at 11:30 on the mall. I'm a little worried about attendance this week so please RSVP early.

Our opponent, Quicksilver, is talented when they field a whole squad. They only trail us by three points, but they've played better teams and didn't pick up 3 of their points from a forfeit, as we did. My point: show up and be ready to play.

Since we're playing on the mall, the fields may be water logged. If we get more rain this week, make sure to call the inclement weather line.

More photos of the US women's game

Three Way Tie

America voted and the results are in. It's a three-way tie for "player of the week."

Chris was recognized for scoring a goal and an assist. Ally and Mike were recognized for their dedication by driving from far away places. Actually, the voting was close. Everyone got votes. That's the way it's supposed to be. Go team.

Oh, Canada...your defense is not good

I went to the US Women's Saturday night friendly versus Canada at RFK. The announced crowd was about 9,000 - not bad for a game that was almost completely unpromoted. Too bad there weren't more though, the US women are incredible athletes and there were an awful lot of goals scored.

The lineups

The US thrashed Canada by a score of 6-0. Lindsey Tarpley had the first and winning goal, assisted nicely by Abby Wambach (three total assists). In the second half, Natasha Kai - easy to pick out of a crowd for her tatoos - had a hat trick. She celebrates like crazy; not a shy girl. Carli Lloyd had a breakaway goal and second-half substitute Lesley Osbourne scored the final goal on a nice run all the way to the end line by Amy Rodriguez who was born when I was in seventh grade.

First goal

What did I learn?

• Drama queens. They love to waive and celebrate like they're in a school play.
• As a group, they are quite tall and fit. Hope Solo is a freak athlete.

Hope Solo is Back

Lori Chalupny, who plays left defensive back, is my new favorite female player. She's the quintessential player - she moves up/back/laterally, has great vision and good ball skills.

Chalupny

Weather not likely a factor for Sunday's game

The weather forecast isn't very good for this weekend. But that won't likely affect our game, because we are playing on turf. The only thing we need to watch out for is thunder and lightning. There is a little bit of that in the forecast. Call the weather line (703.229.1705) if you have a question. But otherwise plan to be there.

Weather forecast for Falls Church for Sunday May 11th

High: 65 °F RealFeel®: 68 °F
Mostly cloudy with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm late in the afternoon

Old Man's Opinion: (debut article) DC needs new coach

How many Goleros teammates that braved the rain last night to watch DC
United get beat again agree with me?
DC United needs a new coach and, HEY!, look who is available:

(Note: this article not posted by Pete)

Safety first!

Anna, who is being called up this weekend from our reserves, got into a bike crash this week. Apparently, she slammed into an SUV. Knowing how tough she is, my first thought was, was the SUV damaged?

We're just glad she's OK - and ready to play.

Anna, see you at the game.

Night game! RSVP here for May 11th

Our next game is at 8:00 p.m. Sunday May 11th at George Mason HS versus Two Left Feet.

Are you in?

It's a rematch of last year's night game in which Bubbles' hat trick secured the win. 2LF has some good strikers. They score more goals than we do so we'll have to get on the board early. They scored five against the Crew; we scored three. They scored two against the Flirts; we scored one.

We know the following players are out: Chris, Katya, Mike (may be able to make 2nd half).

Another bruiser

Yet another bruiser versus Capital Crew, my least favorite team to play.

Check out Jackie making a fearless tackle at the top of the box. This one got the whistle.

But...3 goals, 3 points. We established control of the match early, and closed out in acceptable fashion. Check the standings. We're in third place with at least one game in our pocket.

In the first half, we got on the board quickly with a low cross by Chris. Kate deflected it nicely inside the near post. The CC keeper is solid so it always takes a good effort to score. Remember last year when he took Katya out? Anyway, congrats to Kate who gets her first outdoor goal with us.
















The rest of the match was characterized by a lot of offensive runs on our part. Nathan scored a nice goal on a solo effort. About 10 minutes later, still in the first half, I won a 50-50 ball at midfield and advanced it to an unmarked Chris for the breakaway score.

We made some fun switches before the final whistle. Jon and Jackie played up, Mike anchored the defense, Liam joined the midfield, and I went to goal to secure Liam's third shutout of the season. Ermy was a fantastic alternate, setting up multiple runs and almost tallying several goals. Carolyn played her first game with us - welcome. Our women rule, I'll say it again.

Notes: 3-0 win versus Capital Crew, May 4, 2008, shutout. Goals: Kate (Chris), Nate (unassisted), Chris (Pete). GKs: Liam, Pete.

Correction to poll above: Chris scored 1 goal and 1 assist

The three goals this week were scored by Kate, Nate, and Chris.

Lost ball

After the game this week, I picked up a white Addidas match replica with black and red markings. It has the letter "S" written on it, or it could be "5". Let me know if it's yours, or else it is the latest edition to my collection.

We're going to the game - let me know if you're in by Monday evening

$15 tickets are too good to pass up. We're going to the game. If you're in, let me know by Monday evening. I'm going to buy tickets Tuesday morning.

I will buy the tickets and you will bring money to the game. Right now, we've got 6. Several others are expected to join.

We'll probably meet at Cap Lounge - about 5:30-6:00 p.m. - for some pre-game.

Goleros alumni weekend

It was a Goleros alumni weekend.

On Saturday night, I attended two "alumni" events. The first was Nick & Kara's engagement party held at Cafe Citron, a posh spot in Dupont. They don't usually let my kind in. I had a chance to see many of our old friends from Frightening Pace. As you remember from my earlier post, Nick & Kara moved to Denver and have a nice life there in their downtown apartment. They were back in town to celebrate their upcoming Boston wedding with friends. Kara and I both work for the same federal agency now, so we'll probably see each other from time to time. Congrats to the happy couple, we miss them!





Later that evening, after a quick stop at Ben's Chili Bowl, I went to Rachel's birthday party, also in Dupont, but closer to the U Street corridor. Rachel is an original Goleros player - and the only player ever to have started with us completely from scratch. She learned quick and was a lot of fun to play with. She's back in DC after an assignment on the Clinton campaign in New Hampshire. She's doing great. As you can see, Megan was at the party too. Megan and Rachel are two peas in a pod. Megan and her sister Molly had spent the day painting for DC-area schools (read about it here).

Scrimmage here if game is canceled

If our game this weekend gets canceled, and it's not too rainy, we'll probably scrimmage here. Just monitor the old Goleros Action Network (my texts).

The park is called Randall playground or Randall Recreation Center. It's at South Capitol Street & Eye Street, SW, which is walking distance from Capitol South or Federal Center, SW metros.