Championship within reach!

Team,

 

This is so exciting, we're playing for the division championship this Sunday!  I know, it's just one rec game, it's not like millions of dollars are at stake, or like our lives must stop or something.  But we've been building this unit for several years, often with fledgling results.  This is the first time we've risen to the top of the playoffs - and against some pretty good teams I might add.  We totally deserve to be in this game and it's going to be competitive and fun.  Just enjoy it.  I personally am disappointed to be missing the match but I simply must be in Colorado with my friends and family for a wedding.  While we all really want a win, it's pretty clear that we'll cap probably our best season on record no matter what the result.

 

The game is on Sunday, 9:00 a.m. at St. Stephens in Alexandria.  Megan is your captain.  We have a few people to hear from - Tom and Kristin - but otherwise we're set.  We have all the pieces in place to win!  Georgie is back in net.  Offense is in top shape, we're not missing a thing there.  On defense, we're a little thin, but we have plenty of stalwarts available, not to mention John who is coming to lead our back line.  We're close to minimums for women and slightly heavy on men - that's the way it has to be.  Leslie is re-joinging us, and you'll probably see Kara and Nick there, who are on our roster as alternates and who some of you may know from the Frightening Pace team in the Montgomery County league.

 

We're playing Team X, who proved themselves each game as the best in the division.  But we only lost to them 3-2!  The key will be to emphasize offense, because they are going to score.  If we can put in more than 2 goals, I think we have a very good chance of winning.  I want the offense to run with rhythm, meaning that we shouldn't switch out forwards and center midfielders too often, and not as a line change.  Instead, we can stack other areas with offensive production so that the players most likely to score are on the field a little more often.  However, when we are committed to an attack, other players must come back to slow down the counter.  You have to look where your other teammates are.  We got absolutely demolished in this area in the last game versus Team X.  They would march down the field for 40 or 50 yards without a single obstacle.  Our defense this time must start in the offensive end.  If we can take away their passes in our end of the field, they won't be able to post up at the 18 and take the last man one-on-one, which is what happened last time for all three of their goals.  They're two guy forwards are very strong one-on-one, not to mention quick.

 

Every player needs to prepare himself/herself for the possibility of penalty kicks.  You may get the call, and if you do, step up with confidence.  It doesn't matter what the result it, it's just a game.

 

One thing to think about: Team X doesn't have that much to play for.  They won the division already and guaranteed themselves promotion.  The only way we gain promotion is through a win.

 

Good luck everyone.  Despite the fact that we're taking this game more seriously than others, it's still the Goleros team.  Have fun!

POTD - this is Pepina

This is one cute girl. It's Anna's new 14-week old puppy, and her name is Pepina, or "Pina." Send in your comments, I want to see comments about how cute she is. Start now!

Beckham tix going fast

Read this story in the Washington Post today about tickets to the DC United vs. LA Galaxy game in August. Remember, this is likely to be one of Beckham's first matches in MLS. DCU has only been selling multiple-game packs, but on Monday, they'll start selling some single-game tickets. Get yours.

Welcome Tsunami

We may have a few visitors from Tsunami on our blog, cause our two teams may coordinate some scrimmages or pick up games in the coming months.

Remember everyone, we're going to restart Friday night pick-up on July 13th at Washington & Lee high school in Arlington. Travel in between now and then makes it difficult to start sooner, but be my guest. When the 13th finally rolls around, we have lots of catching up to do because we're getting a late start. Also, with the Coed classic tournament and the Fall season, it's going to be a short summer.

POTD

Your Captain works in aviation and he loves planes. Here's the first unit of the new Boeing 787, due in service next year. I picked it up from a fellow on airliners.net

Goleros to play for division title and chance at promotion

We're still alive. Due to a 2-0 win on Sunday versus a well-rounded and determined Tsunami team, we are advancing to the division championship. Should we win, we will likely earn promotion to the Second Division.

Sunday's game was one of our best matches in recent memory. Despite having only 11 players available, we were able to solidify all areas of the pitch with a balanced defense, midfield, and attack.

We started the first half with a few minutes of being turned on our heels. When Anna made her first save, she distributed nicely and we were able to gain possession and assume some control over the pace of the game. We set up some great chances right in front of the goal that we just failed to finish. After the first quarter water break, we continued the pressure. Adrian capitalized on a short clearance and hit a blast of a first-time shot from the right side for the go-ahead goal in about the 35'. We went into the half with a slim lead - "the worst kind of lead" according to Anna - and some gripes about an arm block in the box that was not called in our favor. The ref warned us to complain less and play more. This is advice that we will take, and it's probably going to be the subject of a future post.

The second half was eventful. In about the 50', Jon sent in a beautiful, authoritative shot. That second goal ignited Tsunami, who pushed everyone up and arguably deployed their players in a better fashion than before. We had trouble containing 4 capable offensive-minded men and 2 solid women, including a winger who hit the cross bar twice. We were on our heels for at least 15 minutes.

Liz earned a yellow card for defending a throw in, but she handled it well and the team recovered. When we successfully defended a 10-yard free kick awarded allegedly because Carlos passed back to the GK (how in the world was that a passback?), we had the game won. Kudos to Anna for guiding us through that mess.

Congrats to Tsunami, who played another excellent match. Their keeper was outstanding, as was their attacking midfield and wing play. I'm sure we'll see them around some more - perhaps we'll see them for pick up or in a future tournament collaboration.

Next stop: the dreaded Team X for the Division Championship.

Notes: Semi-final playoff match, 2-0 win versus Tsunami Naranja on June 24, 2007 at GWU/Mount Vernon. Goals by Adrian (solo), Jon (NK). GK: Anna.

Team battling injuries

As we head into our final match of the season on Sunday - stay tuned for a future post in that regard - we're limping into the finish.

Griz suffered at least two broken ribs on Saturday, but in doing so, gave himself and the team a clean sheet. He charged into a 1-on-1 hard, and made the low save.

Meanwhile, Court, Carlos, and John are all battling some minor injuries. Court is recovering from a torn calf, Carlos may have the same injury, and John is getting back into shape after a bout with travel-borne illness.

Jon and Jules also seem a little bit banged up but are hanging in there.

Get well team!

Double header coming Thursday

On Thursday, we are headed to the DCU game versus the Colorado Rapids at 7:00. Then, at 8:45, the U.S. takes on Argentina in our opening match for Copa America. The game will be broadcast from Venezuela on GolTV. We'll probably watch the U.S. game on tape delay. The U.S.-Argentina game is huge. It's our biggest test since we played Italy. While we've been clobbering the likes of Panama and Trinidad & Tobago, we are now going to play what many analysts think is the best team in the world. They're brining their A team and we are bringing a young and inexperienced group. Read about our roster here. More commentary later...

Gold Cup Champions

Hopefully, you watched the Gold Cup finals yesterday. The U.S. defeated our arch rival Mexico for the 2-1 win. Although we benefitted from a generous PK, we were better in the middle of the field and on defense. Feilhaber had a career goal with an absolute rocket from outside the box. Good times. We enjoyed the game at Carlos' house. Read about the game here.

"Bubbles" helps team to first ever playoff win

Little known fact - we had never won a playoff game before today. We had actually only made it to the playoffs two prior times in the Montgomery County league. Last season, we lost out on the playoffs in CCSL when they cut it back to only 4 teams per division. In our Montgomery county league playoffs, we had to make a much higher cut (finish first or second in the division), and then we were seeded against teams in higher divisions. It made winning difficult.

Today, we cruised to an easy 6-0 win versus Red Tape at Trinity. We advance out of the quarterfinals to play the 2nd seed, Tsunami, tomorrow. It was not an entirely expected result. We went into the game with only 10 players, missing both of our two awesome goalies. Thanks to alternates Ally and Jules who showed up for us and contributed in a major way.

Jer opened up the scoring in about the 5' with a nice back and forth with Jon. The first goal was the most important because it effectively took Red Tape out of the game. Ally followed up in about the 10' with a sweet finish on Jon's creative work to the endline and then his cross. Griz put in goal number three from an unknown assistor, and Adrian created some confusion for the GK when he poked one through his legs and into the goal. That was the first half.

In the second half, we flipped our roster as we had done in the last regular season game. Most offensive players played back, and the defenders get to play up top. We had some great runs and passing, but we had lost a little drive since there were very few 50/50 ball challenges or aggressive defensive plays. Later in the half, sensing some stagnation, we went back to a more standard formation and created two more goals. Jon smartly dribbled to the left side of the goal and placed a good shot to the far post. Jer got a second goal on Adrian's clever low corner kick, on which Jon executed a fake, leaving the ball open for Jer to first-time.

We paid a price for the big win though. We lost Griz for the remainder of the season when he made a sprinting 1-on-1 save to preserve the shut out. Two broken ribs! He gets the medal of valor!

Notes: Playoffs, 6-0 win versus Red Tape at Trinity on June 23, 2007. Goals by Jer (Jon), Ally (Jon), Adrian (unassisted), Griz (NK), Jon (NK), Jer (Adrian, with an awesome fake by Jon). GKs: Chip, Pete, Adrian, Griz, Pete.

This is the 100th post!

100 posts on this blog and probably about 80 comments. Not bad.

Your ceremonial 100th post is a good one. A very hilarious video submitted by Carlos. The music is awesome and it's entirely too reminiscent of Goleros goals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjyzJIKjnSE&NR=1

Ahora, Copa de Oro si es bueno

In a previous post, I ripped on the Gold Cup. But now we have a decent matchup. It's the U.S. versus Mexico, undisputably the two best teams in the region. The U.S. rose to the finals by beating Panama and Canada, and Mexico in all of its power beat Honduras and Guadalupe. U.S. - Mexico is always fierce, no matter what. You can't miss it.

U.S. vs. Mexico, 3:00 p.m. EST on Fox Soccer Channel and Univision (in Arlington, Channel 15).

I'm sure some Goleros will be getting together. If interested, email golerosteam@gmail.com.

DCU vs Colorado Rapids

DCU is on a tear, with more or less the best win streak in the league. No losses in 7 games. Now comes the Colorado Rapids, who beat us squarely in the opening match of the season.

Game is at 7:00 p.m. Thursday at RFK.

Jer, Pete, and Leslie are going. What about you?

Tickets to the DCU vs. Galaxy game, possibly featuring Beckham, are not yet on sale. They are selling a 5-pack, which includes that games and the MLS Cup. Carlos bought it. Get one for yourself!

Ain't no moutain high enough

Team, we've got a big weekend. The CCSL playoffs begin and we are setting our sights on the division championship. We must beat Red Tape in the first round in order to meet Tsunami on Sunday. Remember, Tsunami managed to best us at the Marina during the regular season, so we ought to be hungry, but they also know us and are nearly as well rounded as we are. If we can win the first two games, we will likely meet either Quicksilver or Team X, which is the way it should be. I believe we are the three best teams, with Team X laying the best claim on #1. But we can beat them!

Of course, we have quite a mountain to climb. We are generally short on players, and only 2 of our 9 regular women are showing for the Saturday game. Thankfully we have an awesome complement of alternates; we are going to see Ally and Julia, possibly also Kara out on the field on Saturday. On Sunday, if we make it that far, we will see Liz.

I will start in goal on Saturday, with the option of putting in Chip or others later in the game. On Sunday, again if we make it that far, Anna will take over in goal.

Everyone get there early please! Let's come prepared.

POTD

Hope the "readers" of this blog don't mind sharing in some occasional travel shots. Don't mean to brag, but only to share some fun and fortunate experiences on the road.

This shot depicts Your Captain and Lala the Panda, a permanent resident in the Wolong Panda Reserve and Breeding Center in China. It was taken about a year ago. Wolong is a tiny and mostly wild place located about 5 hours from Chengdu, which is a city of 10 million in the Southwestern province of Sichuan. Wolong has been chronicled in many TV documentaries and is quite amazing to visit if you can get there. In 2005, there were 14 baby pandas born, the most ever. Lala is not one of them; she's a lot older, but she was probably also raised in captivity due to her accommodating nature.

P.S. - I've discussed this photo with a few teammates so it was time to share.

Fwd: the sched

Team, our schedule for the next two weekends is:

Sat. June 23rd 11:00 am Trinity
Sun June 24th 11:00 am GWU (if we win)
Sun July 1st 3:00 p.m . St. Stephens in Arlington (if we win)

Fwd: game on Sat at 11:00a.m, hopefully Sun too

Team,

 

Playoffs start this weekend.  The path to victory is pretty simple.  We play Red Tape on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at Trinity.  This is a rematch of the last team we played on the same field.  If we win that game, we'll play again on Sunday, time and location TBD.  If we win that game, we're in the division final on Sunday July 1st. 

 

Please RSVP now for the Saturday game and let me know your sched for this Sunday and Sunday the 1st.

 

Make no mistake, this is a tournament and a huge opportunity!  We've never won anything outright and we're only 3 games away against known and beatable opponents.  Let's focus and do it!  The only way we are getting promoted is by winning the entire thing, because we narrowly lost out to Tsunami for 2nd in the division.  We are likely to play Red Tape, Tsunami, and Team X in that order.  Those are matchups that I will take.  But they aren't without their challenges.  First, we are without a trained GK on Saturday cause Anna and George are out.  Second, I'm out for the final game if we make it.  I've never wanted to be bitterly disappointed more; I want the team to make it and win it without me!

 

P.S. - Griz and Chip, either of you may get the call for GK on Sat, so please be ready and willing.  I am also considering taking the role, I'm just not sure what is best yet.

--
Goleros Soccer Club
www.golerosteam.blogspot.com

--
Goleros Soccer Club
www.golerosteam.blogspot.com

Friday pick up to start July 13

Last summer, we played pick up every Friday after work at W&L. It's a lot of fun. We're going to have a delayed start this year cause of Goleros playoffs and then the 4th of July week. However, there's nothin' stopping y'all from going out sooner. See you out there on the 13th.

I am awesome, I have GolTV and FSC!

Comcast offers a sports package for digital cable that's only $5/mo. It includes GolTV and Fox Soccer Channel, as well as NFL Network and others. NFL Network used to be part of the basic packages so that kinda sucks.

Happy Father's Day

Don't forget to call your Dad today, cause it's Father's Day.

There are many proud fathers on the Goleros - Carlos, Chip, Jer, Griz, Nathan.

Happy Father's Day!

Copa de Oro no es muy bueno

We are huge US Soccer fans, but it's time to face the truth. The Gold Cup, aka, Copa de Oro, kind of sucks. This year, it's really bad. We understand that the US-Guatemala game was decent. Since then, it's been downhill. We played T&T (at least they play with passion) and a struggling El Salvador team. We beat El Salvador by a score of 4-0 but it could have been much worse. Taylor Twellman almost appeared to intentionally miss the final shot of the game so as not to throw the little nation into a crisis.

Now we're in the quarters versus Panama. We beat them in the last Gold Cup finals, and before that in a World Cup qualifier by a score of 6-0. If we win that game, and we better, we'll face...Canada! or Guadalupe! Are you kidding me, Canada? And Guadalupe, I swear I had to look it up on Wikipedia, I had never heard of it. I want to play Guadalupe, but can you imagine if we lost that game? The only two teams worth their salt are the US and Honduras (playing great). Mexico isn't looking too good at the moment.

At the end of the month, we'll compete in the Copa America, South America's far superior international tournament. We open against Argentina and we'll be lucky to win a single game.

No games this weekend

Folks, just to clarify, we have no games this weekend. They are making up games canceled a couple of weeks ago due to rain.

We are in the playoffs as the #3 seed. We'll play Saturday the 23rd at a time TBD. If we win that, we'll play the next day, Sunday the 24th, again at a time TBD. If we win that, we'll be in the division championship on Sunday July 1st at, you guessed it, a time TBD. Please adjust schedules accordingly. We're looking dangerously short on some of these dates.

We'll know more Monday.

I may schedule a pick up game this weekend because several fields are available.

More photos of Goleropalooza

Goleropalooza good stuff

Our end-of-the-season party was a lot of fun, as these pictures attest. Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to Jess. She played her last league game with us on Sunday. She was her usual skilled self on the pitch.

GOOD BYE JESS.

Message from league commissioner

It leaves open the following questions:

- When and where will we play?
- Who gets promoted if the division winner also wins the playoffs?



Folks,Lou is prepping the schedule for games to be played on Saturday, 6/23, for quarter finals, Sunday 6/24, for semifinals, and Sunday 7/1, for the finals. There is one field 'in flux' for the 23rd, which will be Trinity if we have good weather this weekend (WAWSL wouldn't need it and we'd be picking it up). We do have a couple backup fields if we can't get Trinity, but I think folks would rather be on that field if we can be. Plus, 12 teams have yet to play this Sunday for their makeup games, some of which decide who goes to playoffs, where the seeding will be, and who just sits and chills until the Summer and/or Fall league starts up again.

If you want to make guesses as to where you'll be, hit the website and look at the standings. Top 6 teams go to playoffs. Top 2 teams have byes, and the other four play each other for quarter finals. The semifinals the next day will then incorporate the top 2 teams. One change from previous seasons is we no longer have a golden goal in the event of a tie at the end of regulation. Overtime is 2 5 minute periods, which if ending in a tie, will result in penalty kicks. Lou and I have allowed plenty of time between games for overtime, BUT, barring OT, games will start on time.One thing that hasn't changed is you win absolutely nothing but a golf clap at the captains' meeting the next season if you do well in playoffs, so have fun! It's why we play. ;)

Hope that answers some of the questions I've been getting. Good luck.

Nick

PS Happy Hour tomorrow night at Clarendon Grill.