Yikes, it's early. RSVP for this week's game.

There's nothing you can do about it: we're playing at 8:00 a.m. Sucks to be us.

The game is at our "home field" at Trinity. Remember the special rules. In particular, don't speed on the way there.

Let's turn this early start into an advantage. By showing up ready to go, perhaps we can give our opponent a wake up call.We're playing Lost Tourists, which was a First Division team only a few months ago. I'm sure they're pretty good.

Maybe we can go to brunch after the game - like at a diner or something, 'cause I don't think the fine dining places want a bunch of sweaty soccer players.

Are you in?

10/19/08 Game Report

by Nate:

[I'll start by wishing our stalwart player, De, a speedy recovery. De,
if you can, comment here and give us an update on the status of your
nose. For those of you who don't know, De continued in the Goleros
tradition of putting it all on the line and was leveled half way through
the second half.]

As a result of our 3-1 win yesterday versus a struggling Armory team,
our playoff destiny is firmly in our hands. I'll let Pete blog on the
current standings, however, I will say that the situation is much
clearer now - especially since Funky Town has finally logged in their
results.

Armory is struggling. A team that used to vacillate between Premier and
1st division seem to have lost some umph. That said, they did have two
wins going into yesterday's fixture, so we can look on our win as a
great positive achievement and a continuation of our team cohesion. I
am of the opinion that all goals need a little bit of luck. However,
none of our goals could be called "fluke" goals. They all came either
from well crafted offensive maneuvers or from the continual pressure we
applied to the Armory defense. Also, again Alec deserves much of the
credit for keeping the score against at 1. Personally, I recall the
breakaway from me as sweeper and his finger tip save to push the ball
just past the post - as well as the karate kick off the ground to clear
the loose ball. [Actually, to me the move looked more like a Capoeira
move - but I wrote "karate" because I'm not sure how many people have
seen Capoeira in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51q1VB_dDik].
Put your favorite Alec saves in the comments section.

It was a break out game for many players. Liam had a great game on left
wing - improving on his debut performance a few weeks back. Kristin
killed in midfield. Carolyn gave their defense lots of trouble from the
forward position. Chip pitched in as stopper and put some moves on.
Please fill in some comments on other great plays and players.

Here' a brief summary of goals, but I need somebody to give me a few
details on the first two goals. Especially the first goal I believe
there is an assist to credit. The second goal I think there was no assist.
1-0: Good offensive maneuver ends with a trademark chip over an
onrushing goalie for a goal by Ermy.
2-0: Continual pressure leads to a bad clearance straight to Ermy who
volleys a shot over the keepers head right under the bar.
3-0: Armory caught pressing for a goal and Bri steals the ball away in
midfield for about the 100th time, passes to Anna who crosses to Nathan
for a one-on-one shot against their keeper.
3-1: Soft hand ball penalty call leads to their one goal (didn't I tell
you last week Alec not to dive in this league! - wait for the shot.)
Know of a great shot or offensive play we had? - put it in the comments
- or put it in a blog entry.

Time for me to head home for the day - please give me some comments to
fill in the holes in this game report.

[Notes: 3-1 win versus Armory on 10/19/08, Kenmore Middle School. Goals: Ermy (NK), Ermy (NK), Nate (Anna, Bri). GK: Alec.]

Goleros men not getting the job done

Check out this photo of Your Captain. He's enjoying himself at the DCU game, surrounded by many of the female members of the team. And this isn't the first time. Last year, there was a similar episode where Carlos and I were the lone wolves.

I hereby call upon the Goleros men to step up and join us more often at social events. The women on the team are carrying all the water. It's enough that they have to do it on the field - but off the field as well?

Of course, I have to mention that Jer and Jon came to the game too. And at the happy hour, we had a few more guys - Liam, Jer, Jon, and Mike.

So there's hope.

The DCU game was excellent. With the 2-1 win over New England, they are now making a late playoff run. If they win next Sunday versus Columbus, and New York loses versus Chicago, I think they can make the playoffs after all. I give it about a 30% chance, which is better than they deserve after this season.

[Photos by Author]

Fashionistas

We conducted a fashion poll last week and the people have spoken. Ally, a.k.a. the Princess, and Bubbles, a.k.a. the Banker, tied for both having made the most impressive fashion statement at our happy hour on Oct. 7th. Ally was recognized for her pashmina and Bubbles was recognized for his ultra-conservative work sweater. We already knew Ally was stylish. Jon, on the other hand, well, we didn't know he was Mr. Brooks Brothers. I'm told he wore the sweater for Jackie, who wasn't a big fan. I'm not saying it didn't look good. He looked the kind of banker we could trust.

The votes were as follows:

Ally the Princess - 4 votes, 33%

Jackie the Coach - 2 votes, 16%

Bri the Explorer - 2 votes, 16%

Bubbles the Banker - 4 votes, 33%

Fun happy hour!

Tentative playoff schedule released

The Commish sent around an email earlier today, with plans for the playoffs.

Hey All,

 

As you may or may not be aware, we've had a number of rainouts this season with the September tropical storms blowing through and the poor drainage of Marina.  All told, there are as many as 10 games that need to be made up.  We've been trying to work a way to keep with our original plan (which even had a contingency week built in) but it looks as if we will in fact need to bump the season back one week to get all the games in.  Needless to say, any more rainouts, and we will either need to truncate playoffs or have some games not be played. Hopefully we wont come to that. 

 

I also understand that this may mean that some teams who have not had any cancellations may have a 3 week gap between games.  Where possible, we will schedule playoff games in parallel when matchups are locked in and not contingent on the outcome of any of the make-up games.

 

So heres how the remaining post-season will shake out:

 

Sun Nov 2nd:     First set of Makeup games (already scheduled)

Sun Nov 9th:     Second set of Makeup games (to be scheduled this week)

Sat Nov 15th:    Quarterfinals

Sun Nov 16th:    Semifinals

Sun Nov 23rd:    Finals

 

Thanks as always for your patience with working through this and the shifting schedules.  Lou will be in touch to the affected teams to work out the reschedule times.

 

thanks! 

 

Sanjay

Hello, i'm posting from the boat show in Annapolis. Fyi, Jackie is planning a lunch after the game this week. Think about it!

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New arrival

I don't think Griz would mind this little announcement.

Yesterday, at 9:00 a.m., Griz and his wife welcomed their second child into the world. His name is Cooper, and along with Campbell, Mary, and the dog, Boom, they are like the coolest family ever. We may see Griz lose a little pace in the next few weeks as he endures a few sleepless nights. But it won't be a big deal b/c he's been showing some stuff out there recently.

CONGRATULATIONS!

See the US play again

The US men are scheduled to play another qualifying match tonight at 8:00 p.m. in Trinidad.  You can catch the game on ESPN.  

Who will Adrian be rooting for?

We have two games left in this second round of qualifying.  They are essentially exhibition matches because we're undefeated in our group and guaranteed a spot in the third and final round of qualifying in 2009.  But Trinidad is trying to survive; let's not forget they were the surprise qualifier for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

It will be an interesting game, in my opinion.  These are critical games for the B team, to try to work their way into the rotation and eventually onto that final roster in South Africa.  Most of the starters are headed back to their home clubs.  It's time for Guzan, Adu, Edu, Torres, and company to shine.  To the right, you can see Freddy subbing for Sascha Kljestan at this past weekend's game versus Cuba - a 6-1 rout.

Here's the roster for the T&T game, according to US Soccer:

UPDATED U.S. ROSTER VS. TRINIDAD & TOBAGO GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa: 2/2 SO), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF: 0/0) 
DEFENDERS (6): Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA: 0/0), Danny Califf (FC Midtjylland: 2/0), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew: 13/1), Michael Orozco (San Luis: 0/0), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock: 6/0), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC: 0/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (AS Monaco: 3/0), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers: 20/6), Brian Carroll (Columbus Crew: 1/0), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers: 3/0), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA: 4/0), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio: 1/0) José Francisco Torres (Pachuca: 1/0)
FORWARDS (3):  Jozy Altidore (Villarreal C.F.: 1/1), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF: 0/0), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire: 1/0)
*numbers indicate all-time World Cup Qualifying caps/goals

[Photo by author]

Looking for new career opportunities

Greetings, Goleros!

Well, I have decided that it is time to move on to the next phase in
my career, so I have decided to scour the wide world of work for
something better for myself. Some of you have heard me mention this
already, some not.

Down to it: I am looking for opportunities involving writing,
editing, or research in any of the sciences, energy, or environment.
(My strongest skill sets are writing/editing, research, and analysis.)
I am primarily looking at the D.C. area, but there are places I'd
consider moving to, as well.

If you hear of something or know someone in these areas, I'd love to hear more.

Thank you to all, and to all a good night!

Liam

Sunday Oct. 19th 1:00 p.m. - are you in?

Let's keep this train moving.



Please RSVP for Sunday's game at Kenmore MS in Arlington.



See you there!

Strange Game

by Nate:

Since Pete left the game early, he has asked for our help in the game
report department. The Diplomats first goal came early in the first
half. Our fifth woman was waiting on the sidelines to go in to bring us
up to full strength, however, the line ref. did not let her go on
because he could not get the attention of the center ref. Meanwhile the
Diplomats were dribbling and passing up our left side, blowing by all
our tackles and scored. Hopefully somebody that was on the field can
fill in the details on their shot in the comments section. Now up to
full strength, the second goal we allowed came off a bad bounce of the
ball off the turf. The last time we played on turf the field was wet so
the ball bounced more like a grass field. This time, however,
conditions were dry and the ball bounced weird, we missed the clearance
and their forward tapped in the easy score. Our first goal came after
some great pressure by Jon on a slow back pass to nowhere. Their
sweeper turned to pass the errant ball back to their keeper who had
already started to sprint to beat Jon to the ball. The sweeper's back
pass went into the net. At the start of the second half, even though we
were starting to gain momentum, yours truly put the Diplomats ahead
3-1. Another comedy of tacking errors led to their forward having the
ball at his feet facing the goal ready to shoot. I toe poked it away
from him for an easy goal into the right side of our goal past a diving
Alec. I wish I could score that well for our team!

Then tragedy struck. Someone will have to fill in on the comments
section or in their own blog posting about how Heather fell. I heard
that there was a collision that led to a bad fall, but I did not see
it. I do believe the collision was not very near the ball when it
happened which contributed to the strangeness of the game. We received
our text update that Heather's wrist was broken from Pete at 10:16PM. I
certainly hope she wasn't at the hospital that long before they figured
that out. In his text, Peter did not update us as to the status of
Heather's Goleros jersey. We all hope it is okay. By the way, the
captain of the Diplomats (Joe?) wants to chip in on the flowers. Who's
organizing? Of course, we all hope for a speedy recovery, and wish her
good luck in learning to write with her right hand.

Play resumed and we were finally back to our Goleroselves - passing well
- winning 50/50 balls. Chip scored soon after the break. He was on our
left in the penalty area, a cross came in from the right (by Cat?) and
Chip shot it hard into the roof of the net past their goalie who barely
had time to react. The clock was winding down - Adrian had a break away
shot saved well by their goalie - Katya had a shot barely miss wide
right - Chris kept getting fouled but strangely getting called for the
foul - Alec kept making great saves - we started to dominate. The goal
came off a high looping cross by Anna in to the box for Jon's head. He
"intentionally" headed it off the underside of the crossbar into the net.

See you at the next game - until then get the beers in!

Spirits lifted by late-game heroics

Short report this week. Sunday's game was ugly and costly. Suffice it to say that our spirits were lifted by two late goals following a tense break in the action due to the injury of our teammate, Heather. Heather and I left the field to attend to the injury and apparently you all kicked it in gear to rally for the tie. I can report that our tough winger is doing better and planning to make a full recovery as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, we wish her the very best!

Kudos to the Diplomats for their sportsmanship during the entire game and afterwards.

Have anything to add? Fill in the details of the comeback for the Goleros nation.

Notes: 3-3 tie versus The Diplomats, 10/12/08, GW Mount Vernon. Each team had an own goal. Goals: own goal by Diplomats in 20’, Chip (Ermy) in the 70', Jon (Anna) in the 80'. GK: Alec.

US vs Cuba - 1 ticket available

Jeremy has a ticket available to the US vs Cuba match on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.  Face value is $38, but he might discount it.  The ticket is part of our group of premium seats, section 228, row 4.  Let me know if you want it.  You would have to pick it up before 6:30 in the RFK parking lot.

My prediction for the starting lineup follows.  It's not my favorite lineup in the US pool, but it will do for now.  We have a host of problems, including finding a forward who can finish and finding a midfielder who can orchestrate the attack as opposed to disrupt on defense.  Right now, Donovan and Dempsey are kind of lost between the midfield and forward position.  We have lots of depth on defense.  The competition for left back will be pretty fierce leading up to South Africa.  More on that later.  Here's my prediction for Saturday.  I do think we'll see Adu in the game and probably Altidore too.

                           CHING

                          DONOVAN

BEAS           EDU                BRADLEY               KLJESTAN

PEARCE      GOOCH           BOCA                     CHERUNDOLO

                         HOWARD

RSVP for Oct. 12th, 2:00 p.m.

We're .500 at the half-way point.  Let's improve that mark in the second half of the season.

This Sunday's game versus the Diplomats is at 2:00 p.m. at the GW Mount Vernon field (upper Georgetown).  Other than Trinity, it's probably the best field we have access to in this league.  I just like the atmosphere.  Fun fact: Grizzy can walk there from his house.

Are you in?

[Image by GW Athletic Dept]

Happy hour tomorrow

Don't forget about happy hour tomorrow, hosted by Mike, Jon, and Jackie.  

Wednesday, October 8th, 6:00 p.m. at Fado's Irish Pub in Chinatown (7th & H Street, NW).  

The last time I went to Fado, I saw some one really famous.  Show up and I'll tell you about it.

See you there!

[Image by Paul Watson]

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?

Pickup tomorrow 11:00 a.m. at the Alexandria Marina

All Goleros, Far Post, and CCSL players are welcome. 

Wish her luck

This year, only one member of the team is running the Army 10-miler: Cat.

Best of luck, Cat, you're tougher than I am.  I can't believe you think you could have played a soccer match after that.  They would have to bring me home on a stretcher.

Impressive.

What was your result and what was your average split?

Win by forfeit

This game was called in advance.

[Notes: 10/4/08, forfeit win versus Far Post, 3-0].

US roster chosen

I'm headed to the US vs Cuba world cup qualifier at RFK next weekend.  Only Jer, Leslie, and Carlos were interested in joining me.  That's strange.  This is your one and only chance to see the US men's team this qualifying cycle.  Granted, it's versus Cuba, but still a good opportunity. Tickets are still available.

Who do you think will start the match?

Here's a little background.  Looking over the available players, it seems that Coach Bradley is not yet ready to experiment much.  There are plenty of regulars and a few reserves who will surely be trying to prove their worth in 2009 as we get closer to South Africa.  He's called in a lot of the European-based players, even potential reserves like Davies, Califf, and Guzan.  Not a lot of MLS talent on the roster - I suspect that is because the regular season is ending and many MLS clubs need their players for the final stretch.  There's a loud clamor to call in Kenny Cooper of FC Dallas, who has shredded DC United in the last two matches.  He's a strong striker, like a throwback to McBride.  I think we'll see him in camp after the MLS season is over.  One surprise: Troy Perkins, who now plays GK in Norway, returns to RFK for the first time.  He must be having a good season over there.

Here's the roster, as posted the Soccer Insider.

USA Roster Announced

Here is the group for the Cuba qualifier at RFK next Saturday:

GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Troy Perkins (Valerenga).
DEFENDERS: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Danny Califf (Midtjylland), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock).
MIDFIELDERS: Freddy Adu (Monaco), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Danny Szetela (Brescia), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca).
FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Brian Ching (Houston), Charlie Davies (Hammarby) Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy).

For the complete press release, click here.

Pick up is in the works

Message to Goleros and Far Post players: we're going to organize some pick up in place of the game on Sunday.  We're currently talking over email about the best time.  It will either be 11:00 am at the Marina, the originally scheduled match time, or 3:00 p.m. at the Marina, following the other games.

Stay tuned.

Sunday's game is canceled

We will take a win by forfeit, because Far Post doesn't have enough players to meet the minimum player requirement. I feel bad b/c their captain is dealing with a lot of things now, including a new baby to arrive momentarily!

Stay tuned for the plan...there will be one.

Play of the week

This guy made a sweet play last Sunday.  He followed a breakaway all the way to the goal and made a chest-save on the goal line to help preserve the victory.

Let's not forget Alec's impressive saves as well.  I can recall one save in which he came off his line and dove to block the ball and the striker from getting behind everyone.  It created enough of a delay to kill what I would have to characterize as a very good chance for DC Thunder.  Was that the same play as Grizzy's goal-line stand? 

I can't recall.

Rain, but no thunder

We're back in the win column, following our 2-1 victory in wet conditions over the impressive DC Thunder.  The win breaks a strangely long losing streak of 6 games - 1 playoff game, 3 tournament games, and 2 regular season games this season.  'Bout time.

We won't look back.  With this win, we move to the middle of the table, where we need to stay in order to remain in the Second Division.

For now, let's enjoy the victory.  We were excellent in all phases.  Alec led the defense with some clutch saves, and overall the D made few errors and repeatedly frustrated their quick, strong striker (Roland) with disciplined marking and the occasional double team.

We saw LOTS of improvement in the midfield - with aggressive challenges, crisp passing, and speedy wing play on both sides.  Although we did yield some long runs and passes on counter attacks, as we are prone to do, more often than not we challenged the ball upfield and re-established possession.

Of course, the forwards were crafty and finished well, making their difficult jobs look easy.  Congratulations to El Niño, who scored the winning goal!

I drove down from New York for the game

Read some of your own comments about the game here. We won by involving all 11 players on the field to an extent that our opponent could not match.  Our women are so good that we take it for granted.  It promotes a great team dynamic.  Just look at the first goal - at least 5 players touched the ball during the attack, and I don't even recall the defensive contributions. 

One last note - Chris wasn't the only one to travel a long distance to make the game.  Our girl Ally came from West Virginia.

Notes: 2-1 victory over DC Thunder, 9/28/08, George Mason HS. Goals by Ermy (Jer) 4', Chris (unassisted) 65'.  GK: Alec.

Standings

Here are the standings after Week 3.

1. DC Divided (3-1, 9 pts)
2. Lost Tourists (2-1-1, 7 pts)
3. Flirting with Sobriety (2-1, 6 pts)
4. Hoover FC (2-0, 6 pts)
5. Armory (2-0, 6 pts)
6. Goleros (1-2, 3 pts)
7. DC Thunder (0-2-1, 1 pt)
8. Diplomats (0-2, 0 pts)
9. FunkyTown (0-1, 0 pts)
10. Far Post (0-2, 0 pts)

Click here to see the full table.

Second Division is shaping up to be more competitive than Third Division was last year. Each team is capable of beating the others and it's not clear to me which team is the best. The Flirts are playing well and we won't get another shot against them in the regular season. We will close the season versus the current top team, DC Divided. Meanwhile, next week, we play Far Post, who will be hungry for a win, and who can tie us in the standings if they pick up 3 points. Both Far Post and Diplomats have played one fewer game than we have, therefore we are at risk of falling in the standings should they pick up points there. Funky Town has only played one game.