The CR's perspective

Bob, the center ref for our game last weekend, sent these thoughts to me and Ally by email. You might enjoy reading the feedback.

Goleros,
We Referees really enjoyed YOUR game Sunday! You all are a
“very classy & talented team” and it is always a pleasure to watch you all
play. I was VERY IMPRESSED with your defensive crew working constantly together and not making forays forward when not warranted. Equally your midfielders were very good at containing and then playing the balls thru Chris or your very talented woman with him. You are a strong team because your women are very talented players and understand the game. Up front you all created opportunities but some day’s things just don’t go in. That was a nice finish on your goal and teamwork got you there!

A well disciplined team and it would be a pleasure to play on the Goleros. It certainly was our pleasure to referee the game and you all made it easy concentrating on playing your best! THANK YOU for the Opportunity from CK Kennedy, Montgomery Sibley, Jonah Roth (4th) and myself.

Good luck and have fun this summer!
Cheers,
Bob

A small step

We raised a quick and impressive $300 at the game this week for Andy and the fight against cancer. I have sent your contributions to LUC, and they have already been forwarded to the American Cancer Society. The effort brought in a total haul of almost $1200. The money will be designated for cancer research.

Here's what Andy wrote to me this morning:

"The donation for cancer research was a whopping $1,165!!!! Which is pretty awesome since it was put together in a week. Peter- please thank your team
for doing this! You are a great group of players and I am very humbled and grateful for your teams participation. Tim- I am equally humbled and grateful for our team and their participation in this."

I don't think collecting money has ever been this easy. When people read about the challenge and the opportunity, they stepped up. It made for a nice atmosphere at the game. Clearly, a lot of us have been touched by cancer and are doing our best not to take anything - not even soccer - for granted.

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR PARTICIPATING!


Post updated

Code Orange!

Code Orange is the name of our summer team. It's a nod to the colors of both Goleros and Tsunami, with the obligatory Washington, DC double entendre. Code Orange is a threat-level on the Homeland Security awareness scale, as well as a term used by local weather folks for really hot and nasty days when the air quality sucks.

We won't be sucking, however.

We are ready to play. We signed a keeper this week, which makes our summer squad complete. Welcome Galen!

Now, if we only had a schedule. I am guessing it will come out soon. In any event, be read to play on Sunday, July 11th. I think we'll be sending out evites instead of the customary RSVPs on the blog that Goleros players are used to.

We are also doing a happy hour in the next couple of weeks at Cantina Marina. Stay tuned for more on that. Cat from the Goleros is organizing.

We will be providing the jerseys for the summer team - either Goleros' jerseys, Tsunami's or whatever.

Championship game was quite the event

I think we've all had a few days to reflect on Sunday's championship game. Hopefully, you've come to the same conclusions as I have. It was a hard fought, close game that was fun. There were eight other teams in the division - at least 200 other players - who wanted to get there but didn't have the opportunity.

If you consider everything that was going on - the championship, the fundraiser, the engagement, the friends and family in attendance, etc - you're not likely to play in a more meaningful sporting event in your adult life. We even had a walk out. There were no children to hold hands with, and it was a little awkward, but admit it, you kind of liked it.

The game was well officiated. You probably noticed that we had 4 officials. That's extremely rare for a recreational match. Throughout the country, most teams make do with one or two - even some youth travel teams whose parents get a little crazy about this stuff. We regularly have three accredited officials in CCSL, and for this final, they gave us a fourth official much like a professional game. The officials are chosen based upon their reputation and performance throughout the season. Most of us know the center, Bob, for his fair arbitration and enthusiasm for the game. He's an asset to our league. He did a great job on Sunday with his crew. I would say Bob's best instinct is knowing when not to make a call. He doesn't give you the impression that he's blind or that players can get away with anything. Rather, he wants players to regulate their own conduct and focus on playing the game.

Bob and crew, it's great of you guys to spend 2 hours with our teams on a hot day. It made a big difference in creating a memorable match. Next time, count on the Goleros winning.

No goal-line technology was necessary in this one

Contribution made to United for DC

Last week, we made our bi-annual contribution to United for DC, the DC United charitable foundation that has become our designated charity.

Kate Larned and the DC United staff were very appreciative as usual for our team's efforts.

We don't raise a lot of money, but it's adding up. We contributed $200 this season. I think that brings up to around $1500 over the last few years.

Whistle blows on fantastic season

It's never fun to go out with a loss, but that's what happens for all playoff teams except the champion. We weren't the champions, unfortunately, but rather the runners up.

We came up short and lost 3-1 to Little Urban Achievers in the 2nd Division championship match. Credit our opponents. They played really well. They also celebrated an important homecoming for one of their organizers, Andy, who has returned to the field after fighting cancer. Congratulations to LUC.

It was a very close game. There were no easy goals. No big mistakes. To say it was hard fought would be an understatement. It just came down to a few bounces, rebounds, and miscommunications. No matter how many times we have played LUC, we have never found the answer to their 3-man attack. We have got to find a way to shut that down and exploit the open spaces in the middle and the female matchups.

Maybe I'll write more about the game later.

Suffice it to say that it was extremely well played by everyone. We played our game. There's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm not sure we would do it a whole lot differently if we could replay the game. We were not easy to beat today. There were some great plays and some close shots. Chris and I nearly scored goals in the final 10 minutes.

Game summary:

47' - Goleros give up a relatively quick goal after LUC won the ball from our last line of defense in the air and then got behind the defense.

60' - Goleros score on a trademark buildup. Chip recovers a turnover, heads to the center for Chris' feet, and Chris makes a great finish.

70' - LUC scores on an open net after an outstanding save by George and failed clearances.

80' LUC scores again on a similar play when we had sent most of the troops forward.

If you have something positive to say about our awesome season, go for it! There will be more posts later, including the customary wrap ups.

Notes: 3-1 loss to Little Urban Achievers in 2nd Division championship game, 6/27/10, Ridge. Goal: Chris N. (Chip). GK: George.

Special recognition

Congratulations to Elyse for being recognized as one of the best high school players in Northern New Jersey over the last decade. She ain't in high school anymore. She's a college graduate and Lady Golero. She's one of many players making a difference.

It's an interesting write-up. Read it here.

Photo credit to CUA Athletics. No copyright information available on the website.

Gol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is some great audio. Even if you don't habla castellano, you'll get it.

Attendance on Sunday

Hi everyone, we look ok on numbers for the game this weekend. But I’m getting a lot of “warning shots” from people. It seems much of the team is going to attend Jon & Missy’s wedding on Saturday night, while a number of others have other games Sunday morning before ours, not to mention the Round of 16 games on TV.

Even though it’s a championship game, it is what it is. Go have fun at the wedding and don’t worry about the next day. As far as the other games go, it’s not a big deal. We’ve already achieved our goal of making the playoffs and it doesn’t matter what the result is. As long as we show up and play, we’re good.

Have fun and see you there!

Coed classic team building slowly

We're building our Coed Classic tournament team slowly but surely. We have a few no's, a few yes's, and some silence. After this weekend, we're going to have to get the roster together.

Right now, it's just me, Mike, De, Ashley, and Anna. I know, we're pretty good, but I think we'd be better off with at least a full team.

Weather report

It's going to stay hot, and perhaps even peak in the afternoon on Sunday. We're looking at potentially 98 degrees. http://www.weather.com/weather/weekend/USDC0001

Come hydrated.

Bring water and gatorade.

Pledges are coming in

As you may have seen on email, our opponents this weekend are playing for a lot more than the win. One of their players, Andy, is engaged in a fight with cancer. LUC has decided to make this weekend's final matchup versus Goleros a charity event. They are asking players around the league to pledge $5 per goal scored by either team, with a maximum pledge of $20 (unless you want to pay more).

The Goleros are rising to this challenge.

Oure pledge sheet is growing. We have 6 pledges so far and more are expected.

Here is the email traffic on the matter, if you're interested:

Goleros -

I apologize for the many emails this week, but there's
lots of important stuff going on. I was just contacted by our
opponents this weekend and it turns out they are playing for a lot more than the
win. One of their founding members, Andy, is fighting cancer and will
play in the game. The team has organized a league-wide fundraiser in
his honor. Players are being asked to pledge $5 per goal scored
by either team in the Goleros-Little Urban Achievers championship game.
Pledges are limited to $20 (4 goals) unless you want to give
more.

I think it's important that we participate since, among
other things, we want to support Andy's recovery and re-introduction to soccer
and the Goleros are featuring in this event.

Please reply to your captains if you will join the Goleros pledge sheet. You can
specificy a precise donation if you prefer.

Here's to a 4-0 Goleros win and generous support for a great cause by both
teams.

Regards,

Pete & Ally


---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Tim
Date: Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 5:03 PM

Subject: re: Soccer Game Question for this Sunday!

To: Goleros Soccer Club

Good afternoon Peter,

Congrats on your team’s success – my team looks forward to taking youon this coming Sunday at 1pm!Anyways – I wanted to run an idea past you to see if you and yourteammates may be interested in participating.This week is an important one for one of the founding members of oursoccer team – Andy. A year ago this time – he was diagnosed with a form of cancer that he was committed to beat. By late
summer oflast year, Andy was already on the mend, and so far, his recovery
hasbeen nothing short of extraordinary. In fact, he was able to get backon
the field with us for this spring season.In talking with folks – our team
decided we wanted to do somethingextra special for this weeks game to celebrate
Andy’s triumph in themost important fight of his life. We want to see if
we could convinceyou to sign up your teammates as well.For this weekend’s game,
we are asking each member of our team toconsider making a financial pledge to
the American Cancer Society.

Specifically, we are asking them to make a contribution pledge foreach goal that is scored in our championship match. Don’t worry – themaximum number of goals we told people that they will be on the hookfor is 4 – any goals beyond that won’t count towards their pledgeunless they want them too.

Personally – I have pledged to Andy that I will give $5 to ACS forevery goal scored and I hope that you and some of your teammates willconsider doing the same. We are reaching out to other captains andthe league to join in. Our hope is that we can collect enough $20 contributions (4 goals at $5 each) that we can make a contribution on Andy’s behalf to the American Cancer Society that we can all be proudof.Let me know what you think, if you have any questions and / or if youwant to participate in
this very important effort, and at what $level. If you and your teammates
are planning on donating, pleaseadvise them to bring cash or check with them to
the field on Sunday so that we can settle up right after the game.I really do
think this would be a fun way to add to our season finalethis Sunday. That
being said – if folks want to take a pass, I certainly understand, so don’t feel
like you have to participate – butI at least wanted to make you aware.

Thanks

Peter – if you want to call me about this idea, by all meansreach me at
XXXXXXX. I am looking forward to Sunday’s matchup!

Tim

Little Urban Achievers FC

Plans are afoot...

Carlos and I are planning to meet at Grand Slam for the US vs Algeria game tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Grand Slam is located in the Grand Hyatt at 11th & H Streets (Metro Center metro). I'm going to try to arrive before 9:45 to get a seat. It will likely be crowded in there but I'm sure there will be room.

Interested in joining us?

Any other plays worth remembering?

This week's poll recounts some great plays from the spring season. There were others not included that are also worth remembering. How about...

• Adrian's free kick against the Diplomats. Straight shot from 30 yards out.

• De's near post block of Taz Devils low corner kick from the Quarters. She was manning the post, Taz hit a very dangerous ball low and inside. She wrapped her leg around the post and heel-slapped the ball quickly out of bounds.

• Nate's drive for the goal against Taz Devils. Even a professional foul at the 5' to try to stop the shot wasn't enough. We didn't need the PK. Nate finished the job.

Any other plays that you can think of?

A little reward

As a reward for winning the semifinal match, the soccer gods decided to bestoy upon us a second match ball. The ball is identical to our current Euro 2008 ball, but a different sytle. It's the 2008 MLS match ball. Again, it was on sale and worth picking up at a discounted price. I am getting greedy. I want more: the Champions league ball, the new MLS ball, the Premier League ball. I especially want Jabulani, but, if the best in the world can't control it, that doesn't leave a lot of hope for me/us.

Photo credits to Amazon, Adidas, and MLS.

LUC tops Tsunami

In the other semifinal today, Little Urban Achievers beat Tsunami by a score of 2-1. So our opponent on Sunday will be LUC. I wonder if they have a good scouting report on us? Oh, as a matter of fact they do. Their captain just reffed at least three of our games in the last couple of weeks. He saw every play.

Best team photo ever!

Ally suggested that I look through her FB page for some good team photos.

I had forgotten about this gem.

This is by far the best photo of our team ever taken. It's brilliant. Looks like everyone's having a good time. We see the awesome Alex, who I've known since her birth. It's a DC United match; everyone loves that.

BUT THEN THERE'S JASON REINCARNATED AS DC UNITED FAN!

No matter how many times I look at it I can't stop laughing.

I love it!

Finals here we come!

It's been a long since we've been this deep in the playoffs. The last time we were there was Spring 2008 following our first-place finish in the regular season. Having secured promotion already, we weren't that hungry. In the final match, we were outplayed by the Flirts.

Now, two years later, we're back - but this time in the Second Division. It will be our third appearance in a CCSL playoff final and our 5th overall finals match if you count two deep tournament runs in the Coed Classic. While we have a stellar 5-o record in semifinal games, guess what our record is in the finals? 0-4.

More on that later.

Let's do the game report for our semifinal versus first-place Itchy & Scratchy. It was a hot day out there, but we ran hard and achieved a great result. We avenged a 3-2 loss during the regular season and gave Itchy only its second loss of the season. Doubt we'll play them again soon. They are headed back to First Division, having finished at the top of the table.

Scoring summary:

• 20' - Elyse gathers a rebound at the 18' and curves a nice shot to the far post.
• 25' - Pete finds open space on the right wing, crosses back to the center. Suzie "leaves it" and Adrian finishes.
• 50' - Chris N. bends an incredible corner kick off the far post and into the net directly off his foot. Umm, golazo.
• 65' - Direct kick yielded from the 18'. The I&S player bent it around the wall and beat Pete on the far post. This was punishment for a premature substitution at the keeper position to get Alec some minutes in the field.
• 80' - Adrian slides at the 10 yard line to finish a nice cross from the left side from Chris. Adrian's shot goes hard and high into the netting.

Notes: 4-1 win in CCSL semifinals versus Itchy & Scratchy at Ridge on 6/20/2010. Goals: Elyse, Adrian (Pete), Chris N. (direct off the corner), Adrian (Chris N.). GKs: Alec, Pete.

More photos of happy hour

Team completes grueling training session

As a sign of how seriously we're taking Sunday's semifinal matchup against Itchy & Scratchy, we held a grueling training session last night.

Among the various "drills" were Margs, Coronas, and appetizers.

Great happy hour. We should do it more often. We met more of the Cantina staff, including Rich, the manager who has set us up with this great sponsorship.

Now, about the game. We need to process the Tequila and be ready for Sunday morning. Itchy & Scratchy found our number in the last game and defeated us 3-2. Read about it here.

I don't have any motivational speeches. How about listening to this onerepublic video? I kind of like this song.

See you Sunday!

Happy hour scheduled for Friday 6ish at Cantina

Be there!

All about summer league

The emails started this week. We're preparing for summer league. Most important, of course, is fees. Players on the team need to send me the $48 in fees right away. Use paypal and refer to my email for instructions.

There's more.

We need to name the team. Any ideas? So far, all we've got is "FC Sweetness", which isn't bad. Perhaps "Orange Wedges" to harken back to youth soccer and also to recognize the orange colors of both Tsunami and Goleros? Hmm, need more candidates.

Also, we need a full-time keeper, preferably a woman. Have any leads?

Website redesign coming...

Can you believe that our website is more than 3 years old? That's crazy. It needs a fresh look. Blogger has a lot of new templates that are easy to apply. Look for a re-design in a few weeks.

Fancy footwork

Some fancy footwork led to a win in the quarterfinals of the playoffs today. We beat Taz Devils - a team we have never beaten to my knowledge - by a score of 4-1 on a hot day.

The only thing that prevents it from being a classic is that Taz played with 10 players. Though they showed signs of life and strength up top with their clever strikers, our passing and tackles were effective to frustrate their attacks. Well played by the defense today.

At the beginning of the first half, Taz came at us. The back line scrambled but made the plays necessary to shut down the most dangerous runs. We tried to move the ball, but didn't have a lot of success. Basically, we were holding on.

Nate's tenacity and Elyse's late insertion into the match made the difference. The second and third goals were clinical. We moved the ball efficiently; at least 5 players touched the ball within a few seconds.

Scoring summary:

25' - Nate receives Jeremy's pass and drives hard past the defense and beats the keeper to the left post. If he wouldn't have buried the shot, he would have drawn the PK and maybe a red card for the defense, who held his jersey.

45' - On our first possession, we slotted the ball between players. Adrian ran to the goal line and cross back to Suzie, who finished and got a goal on her birthday. Happy birthday...to us!

48' - Goleros strike again with a close-range finish by Ermy off Suzie's assist.

60' - Nate receives the ball and scores from a long pass from our Ally.

Notes: 4-1 win versus Shorthanded Taz Devils in Quarterfinals of playoffs. 6/13/2010. Goals: Nate (Jer), Suzie (Adrian), Ermy (Suzie), Nate (Ally). GK: George.

Busy week!

In 7 days, we played 3 games and had a kegger. That's darn productive.

Our match on Sunday June 6th was called just before the half due to lightning. Our two-goal lead versus DC Thunder was lost to the soccer gods. We replayed the match this Wednesday in our firstever weeknight match. It was a great match, although we could only muster a tie this time. Adrian scored in the 10' minute with a very strong move on the wing. He dribbled into the box and showed a lot of finesse with a tricky shot to the far post. Although we were busy attacking for much of the game, we only got a handful of chances after that. And we couldn't finish them.

DC Thunder scored in the first half too when we fell asleep for just a second and they sent Roland on a through-ball. I missed the best chance at a tackle and he blew past me. This scenario would replay itself over and over. As the match drew on, we were less and less effective at deterring the long ball to Roland. But our last lines of defense - Ally and George - got stronger. We preserved the point.

Good times.

Notes: 1-1 tie versus DC Thunder, 6/9/2010, Wilson High School (DC). Goal: Adrian (unassisted). GK: George. PK opportunity by Mike after Adrian was dragged down in the box (miss).