Final standings

Our Wednesday night game was the last game to be played in the division this season. The standings are final and the playoffs can begin this weekend.

We finished 4-3-1 at a .571 winning percentage. That put us in 4th place, just two points out of 3rd place but a number of points from 1st and 2nd. It's quite a respectable finish. In some of the immediate past seasons, we've dropped a few games that we shouldn't have and finished out of the playoffs, in the bottom half of the table. This season was an excellent turnaround. The teams at the top of the table are solid through and through.

What do you notice about the numbers in the standings?

That's right...we had the most goals in the division! Meanwhile, we gave up the 5th fewest. I think we've only scored the most goals once before, when we finished first in 3rd division in 2007.

CCSL>Second Division>
Rank	Team		W	L	T	GP	PTS	GF	GA	GD	GDA
1		Itchy & Scratchy	6	1	1	8	19	19	10	9	1.1
2		Little Urban Achievers	5	1	2	8	17	20	12	8	1.0
3		Tsunami Naranja	4	2	2	8	14	20	19	1	0.1
4		Goleros	4	3	1	8	13	22	16	6	0.8
5		Taz Devils	3	3	2	8	11	20	15	5	0.6
6		DC Thunder	3	4	1	8	10	17	18	-1	-0.1
7		DC Divided	3	5	0	8	9	16	22	-6	-0.8
8		Lost Tourists	2	4	2	8	8	10	17	-7	-0.9
9		Celtic	2	5	1	8	7	8	15	-7	-0.9
10		The Diplomats	1	5	2	8	5	15	23	-8	-1.0

Talking trash before the big game

This email exchange allegedly from the diplomatic corps is making its way around the Internet. Funny.




From: Philip Breeden, US Embassy London
To: Martin Longden, British Embassy Washington DC
Subject: World Cup Bet
Mr. Longden, It has not escaped our attention that a certain sporting event is fast approaching, and that our respective nations will soon be meeting on the fields of South Africa.
My Ambassador has asked me to see if your Ambassador might be interested in a small wager? We will understand if you decline, given the outcome of the last such encounter.
Sincerely, Philip Breeden, U.S. Embassy, London
________________________________
From: Martin Longden, British Embassy Washington DC
To: Philip Breeden, US Embassy London
Subject: Re: World Cup Bet
Mr. Breeden,
Even for such an exceptionally optimistic nation as the United States, I am struck by the confidence with which your Ambassador proposes this wager. It is testament, I assume, to the generosity of your great nation - since the British Ambassador does not anticipate paying out.
Your email does not specify the exact terms of the wager. May I suggest that, in the event of an England victory, the US Ambassador agrees to entertain the British Ambassador at a steak-house of his choosing in downtown DC? And in the event that the United States is able to engineer a fortuitous win over England, then my man will entertain yours at a London pub of his choosing. Loser pays.
Your reference to a previous sporting encounter between our two countries puzzles me. Since the history of English football is long and extensive, in contradistinction to US soccer, I regret that I cannot immediately recall the encounter to which you refer. No doubt it is remembered fondly on these shores; we have quite forgotten it, however.
Are you sure you want to do this?
Yours sincerely, Martin Longden British Embassy Washington DC
________________________________
From: Philip Breeden, US Embassy London
To: Martin Longden, British Embassy Washington DC
Subject: Re: World Cup Bet
Mr. Longden ,
It is with great pleasure, and no small measure of anticipation, that the U.S. Ambassador accepts the terms of the wager. I am surprised, given the well known love of the British for history, that you have forgotten what happened the last time the "special relationship" was tested on the pitch. Of course, given the result, you are to be forgiven for having misplaced that particular episode in your memory banks. I refer of course to the victory of the U.S. over England in the 1950 World Cup.
It is true that our soccer (a fine English word we have kindly preserved for you) history is not as long and illustrious as yours. However, as your generals noted during WWII, we have a unique capability for quickly identifying and advancing talent.
Game on!
Sincerely, Philip Breeden
________________________________
From: Martin Longden, British Embassy Washington DC
To: Philip Breeden, US Embassy London
Subject: Re: World Cup Bet
Mr. Breeden,
Very well; it's a bet!
Incidentally, you should know that the Ambassador takes his steak like American soccer victories - somewhat rare.
Sincerely,
Martin Longden

Standings: one game to go

There's just one single game to play in Division 2 and then we'll have our final standings. Playoff spots and seedings are still to be determined.

CCSL>Second Division>
Rank	Team		W	L	T	GP	PTS	GF	GA	GD	GDA
1		Itchy & Scratchy	6	1	1	8	19	19	10	9	1.1
2		Little Urban Achievers	5	1	2	8	17	20	12	8	1.0
3		Tsunami Naranja	4	2	2	8	14	20	19	1	0.1
4		Goleros	4	3	0	7	12	21	15	6	0.9
5		Taz Devils	3	3	2	8	11	20	15	5	0.6
6		DC Thunder	3	4	0	7	9	16	17	-1	-0.1
7		DC Divided	3	5	0	8	9	16	22	-6	-0.8
8		Lost Tourists	2	4	2	8	8	10	17	-7	-0.9
9		Celtic	2	5	1	8	7	8	15	-7	-0.9
10		The Diplomats	1	5	2	8	5	15	23	-8	-1.0

The only outstanding match is the "replay" between Goleros and DC Thunder, who, ironically, are afraid of thunder. If Goleros win, we will finish a very respectable 3rd, which would be our highest finish in Second Division and one of our best finishes in about 2 years. That's something to aim for. However, if we lose, we will drop to 5th place because DC Thunder will match our point total and jump us on the first tie-breaker, which is head-to-head. You can bet that DC Divided are our best friends right now. If we win, they will take DC Thunder's playoff spot. Believe me, DCT is motivated so let's do our best to get score some goals and play our game.

Let's also note that Lost Tourists had a huge upset win last weekend over Itchy & Scratchy - the only time all season they were beat. That's enough for Lost Tourists to avoid relegation, even though we weren't able to reschedule the forfeited game.

At the top of the table, Itchy & Scratchy and LUC have just been solid. We were quite close to beating I&S and we didn't play LUC this season. If they don't go up to 1st, I would like to avenge our last loss to them.

Final standings Wednesday night.

We're playoff bound!

The cycle

If you want to get pumped for the US run in the World Cup, watch this video posted on Shin Guardian. It's over dramatic, but fun. There's some great footage from the Conferations Cup, World Cup qualifying, and even Donovan's last goal at Everton. There's a nice emphasis on the amazing counter-attack executed by Clark to Davies and Donovan against Brazil.

Our Wednesday night opponent is...

DC Thunder. The Commissioner is officially recording the Goleros/Lost Tourists match as a forfeit in our favor. There isn't time to make it up.

We will play Wednesday night at a time still TBD versus DC Thunder.

We will also play Sunday in the playoffs, also still TBD.

When I have precise details about the games, I will send around emails.

This day in history

Check out this link that my friend Jonathon sent me:

http://timelines.com/1970/6/7/gordon-bankss-greatest-save-of-all-time-off-of-pele-header

Commish schedules Goleros match for Wednesday night

We are definitely playing Wednesday night. The exact time and place have not been determined yet, but we pushed for that 8pm start time we had talked about. Field is highly likely to be Wilson HS near Tenleytown. Stay tuned.

DC Thunder actually brings the thunder

Five minutes from the half, our game versus DC Thunder today was canceled. The ref spotted lightning and called for a 30-minute break. When it looked like the lightning would not subside, he called the match. Even though we were up two goals - two strange own goals off Adrian's feet - it won't count. We will have to replay the entire game from scratch.

Bummer 'cause we were playing well. Five more minutes and we could have notched the 3 points. You can bet that DC Thunder will show up at full strength at the makeup game. They need at least a point to make the playoffs.

I don't know the schedule for the week yet. No matter what, I would plan to play our Wednesday evening game, 8:00 estimated kickoff at Wilson High School near Tenleytown. My guess is that the league makes us take the 3 points versus Lost Tourists and substitutes the DC Thunder makeup in that slot. We'll see. Check your email.

*Photo courtesy of Wikipedia on a commons license.

Update on Summer League

We're confirmed for Summer League. The roster is complete. Here's the message I recently got from the Commissioner:

Hi all ,

Just wanted to give a quick update on Summer League and
the basic plans. If you’re getting this email, you have reserved a spot
for summer session.

Some specifics:

Cost
will stay at $1400 and is due June 19th. That gives you two weeks to hound
your teammates for collection. Check should be sent
to:

Capital Coed Soccer League
P.O. Box 783
Arlington, VA
22216

There will be 7 games for the season on Sundays starting July
11th running through August 22nd and no playoffs
Standings will have no
bearing on Fall season promotion/relegation
There will be no games
conflicting with the World Cup Finals on the 11th
We will play 40 minute
halves with two referees
This is up from 35 minute halves that we normally
play during the summer because we have the field space. I figure if you
all are the die hards that actually want to play during summer, may as well get
as much as you can…

There will be an A and B Division depending on
team level.
The division split is still being worked out as I need to
fill two more teams still

Games will be all on Synthetic turf
fields either at Ridge Rd (DC) , Wakefield (Arlington), Washington and Lee
(Arlington) and George Mason High School (Falls Church)
Games at Ridge and
Arlington will be between 8:30a-5p and GMHS between 5-11p
We will be
spreading the game times across the teams so no team has to take the brunt of
melting with all midday summer games

Schedule will come out Week of
June 21st

We are allowing 30 people on the roster which will need
to be submitted to our registrar by July 18th. Forms to be provided
later.

I also wanted to say thanks to Lou, Jen, Andrea, and Jesse
specifically from the CCSL exec board for offering their valuable time to make
summer season happen. Its most appreciated!!

Anything else
you need/want to know, please just
ask….

Thanks!

Sanjay

Standings

Going into the final fixture of the season, here are the standings. As you can see, there a few makeup games to be played that may impact where teams end up.

CCSL>Second Division>
Rank	Team		W	L	T	GP	PTS	GF	GA	GD	GDA
1		Itchy & Scratchy	6	0	1	7	19	18	8	10	1.4
2		Little Urban Achievers	5	1	1	7	16	16	8	8	1.1
3		Goleros	4	3	0	7	12	21	15	6	0.9
4		Taz Devils	3	2	2	7	11	19	13	6	0.9
5		Tsunami Naranja	3	2	1	6	10	14	14	0	0.0
6		DC Thunder	3	4	0	7	9	16	17	-1	-0.1
7		DC Divided	2	5	0	7	6	13	20	-7	-1.0
8		Lost Tourists	1	3	2	6	5	7	14	-7	-1.2
8		The Diplomats	1	4	2	7	5	13	20	-7	-1.0
9		Celtic	1	5	1	7	4	6	14	-8	-1.1

Elyse, is that you out there?

There was a great video linked on the popular Soccer Insider blog this week. It shows all touches by Jose Torres in last weekend's USA vs Turkey friendly.

Torres was capped for the first time at RFK stadium last year. I was there to see it. He is a much-heralded Mexican-American prospect that plays for Pachuca in Mexico. He chose to play for the US national team instead of Mexico. He has a gifted touch at the age of 22, but he just didn't fit into the team during qualifying. Maybe it was attitude, maybe it was pace or something else. But he finished the Mexican clausura strong and played his way onto the final World Cup squad in camp. I hadn't really understood his potential until last weekend. He came on in the second half and changed the game by playing it cool in the midfield and distributing like a mad man. We will see him on the field in South Africa.

Reminds me of a certain someone...

Watch and enjoy.

Sunday June 6...Be there!

Hey Guys,

We hope you had a nice three day weekend. We are ready to get back out there and we can't wait!

 

Please RSVP by the end of the day on Thursday for this Sunday's game.

 

Sun. 6/6, 1:15 p.m. vs DC Thunder at Ridge in Southeast DC

 

See you all soon!

 

Ally & Peter

World Cup Watch Party Set

The evite just went out so don't forget to RSVP. We're having a watch party at George's place. I can't tell you how excited I am for this. Sat. June 12th. Party starts sometime after 1:00 pm. Kickoff at 2:30, you don't want to miss that. This will hopefully be a great game.

Team looking into a reschedule

As you've seen on email, we are investigating whether it will be possible to replay the Lost Tourists match from earlier this season. If we have enough people, we'll play. Stay tuned. Should have our answer tomorrow.