Go West!

Nick and Kara are moving to my hometown of Denver.  They are joining the long list of Goleros players with roots in the great state of Colorado - me, Jer, Mark, Erinn, Mary, Shannon, and Justin.

We'll miss them an awful lot.  We've been playing together, off and on, since 2004 when we met them in one of our many matches versus Frightening Pace in the Montgomery County league.  They first joined the team in the 2005 Coed Classic.  Nick has been steady on the back line whenever he's played for us.  Kara was a runner-up MVP last season for her stellar play and also for saving us from a forfeit!  She took a call at 7:30 am and was at the field before 8. That's dedication. 

Check out some action shots.

2005 Coed Classic

Spring 2007 Season

There's more.  Nick and Kara recently got engaged!  It happened on a recent trip to NYC, which was supposed to be just a theatre weekend.  Nick had something more in mind.  He booked a fancy spa in Koreatown and asked Kara there.  It's great news!  Another Goleros love story (read about others here and here).

Perfect storm

It was not Tropical Storm Gabrielle, but it was a perfect storm for Goleros. Anything and everything affected our players and led to only 7 people showing for the game.

First and foremost, let's give Kara the credit she deserves. As a faithful alternate, she took my 7:15 a.m. call and rushed to the field. Her presence gave us the minimum number of players and saved us all the unthinkable $200 fine that is assessed by the league for forfeits. Thank you Kara, we owe you - BIG TIME.

The game was fun but the result wasn't peachy. We took a 4-0 loss to Far Post, a full-strength-plus team who we had beaten by a combined score of 8-0 in two previous meetings. Don't get me wrong, we like Far Post a lot. But it's disappointing to hand them a win.

In the first half, we played keep away and did a great job early on of stopping their attack and using our wings. In about the 15', Far Post scored off a cross that was clearly offside. That took some wind out of our sails, but at the same time, it also freed us of any fantasy of winning. Therefore, we just played good possession soccer. With 7 players, however, it is quite challenging to make good passes into the opponent's half. Far Post wore us down and scored a few more time. Tim, one of their strikers, had a nice chip off of a fast break. I consider that the winning goal.

In the second half, we were tired and I believe we gave up another goal. By the end of the game, some Far Post players joined our side and we went on the attack actually. We had a few chances but nothing too threatening.

Props to those Goleros who played: Pete, Megan, Liam, Nathan, Kara, Chris, Jer. Liam in particular played great. Imagine joining a new team as goalie and starting your second game with only 6 players in front of you! But he made save after save, coming off his line and distributing well.

Notes: 4-0 loss versus Far Post at Trinity on 9/9/07, only 7 players. GK: Liam.

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).

Fall 2007

Fall 2007 is behind us. It wasn't impressive statistically, but it was fun. We finished 3-2-3, which is one game over .500 and in 7th place in the division - out of the playoffs. There's a lot behind those numbers though.

First, let's start with the fact that we had to rebuild, despite an extremely successful spring season. We bounced back and added an impressive list of people: Liam, Heather, Ally, Mike, Kate, and Katya. We reinforced the team with help from lots of people - that's why I find it hard to be too disappointed by missing the playoffs. Not me. I'm proud that we came as far as we did. Despite a handicapping forfeit loss and having to integrate new bodies, we almost got 2nd place.

Second, we started off slow. Game 1: forfeit win. Game 2: forfeit loss with only 7 players. Game 3: meltdown versus Red Devils (that was the low point). It was only a 2-game losing streak, but it seemed like an eternity. We tied Capital Crew in Game 4, but since we yielded a goal at the end, it didn't feel like a reason to celebrate. In Game 5, we nearly shot ourselves in the foot by fielding only 10 players, but we got it done anyway versus Celtic and took home a tie. We played really well - an obvious turning point in the season. In Game 6, we finally scored a win versus Red Tape. We followed up with another win versus Two Left Feet in Game 7. We know about Game 8: we tied Tsunami and yet again, that team got off easy. They had a lot of help from the refs, let's put it that way.

Third, despite some turnover, we still have the best roster of women in the league. Jackie, Kristin, Megan, Ally, Kate, Heather, Katya - you guys are awesome. Jen, Kara, Leslie, Julia, Kay, Courtney, Anna, you too. We have some good leads to make this an even more impressive female side in the spring.

Here's my usual bullet points for the season:

• We were 3-2-3, which is a .600 winning percentage. Not bad. We usually tie at least once, but not three times.
• We finished 7th due to tie-breakers (we were tied for 4th in points). If we would have won our last match, we would have finished an impressive 2nd. That's one goal that made the difference.
• We closed the season on a 5-game no-loss streak (tie, tie, win, win, tie). It's not dominant, but it's impressive.
  
• We dealt with the whole probation thing - something that even I will view humorously from this point forward.
• We scored 16 goals, which is low but fair. We left a lot of goals on the table so this is bound to catch back up to us.
  
• 9 players tallied points (2 points for a goal, 1 point for an assist), which is decent. We like to spread the wealth. The list included 2 women, which is good but not our best.
• The points leaders are: Jon (9 with 4 goals), Chris (6 with 3 goals), Adrian (4 with 2 goals), Ally (3 with 1 goal), Jer (3 with 1 goal), Mike (3), Griz (2 with 1 goal), Chip (2 with 1 goal), Jackie (2). This comes with the usual caveat: points don't tell the full story. Certain players - let's use Kristin as an example - play out of their mind and don't get the points.
  
• We only had 1 shut-out. We were in transition for much of the season.
• We have beaten everyone in the division, except Celtic. We have tied them twice by a score of 2-2 each time.
• Liam played in every game - and did an outstanding job. Well done my friend!
• Props to Chris, a legendary Goleros players who treks from Baltimore to run his butt off for the team.
• Thanks to our alternates for coming out. Kara, you saved us $200 by helping us avoid a forfeit (and you played well). Others contributed - Carlos, Jen, Leslie, Kay, Nick, Dianne.
  

The team is in great shape. I love playing with you folks.

Former player featured on NPR

Check out this National Public Radio piece that ran last week. Our former player, Kara, is featured at 2:28 asking a chef how to make a romantic Thanksgiving dinner.

Kara moved to Denver earlier this year. She's back in Washington soon for foreign service officer training. I take it from the training that her stay in Washington will be temporary, before she and Nick will be posted in Timbuktu or Tokyo or....

Current player featured on evening news

Check out Cat giving her opinion on the need for a new Silver Line extension to Dulles.  I wouldn't have put this up but it just seemed like a nice parallel to Kara's interview.  It seems the Goleros have taken to the media this week.

http://cfc.wjla.com/videoondemand.cfm?id=28908

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!

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.

Celebrate at Cue Bar on Saturday night

Nick and Kara are having a goodbye party at Cue Bar on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.  They are celebrating their recent engagement, move to Denver, and Nick's 29th birthday.  Everyone has to bring three expensive presents.  Everyone is welcome!  Cue is at 12th & U, N.W.

Meet your MVPs

You voted for the MVPs and here they are. Meet Mike and Jackie.

This ain't no surprise. They are outstanding players and we love 'em.

Mike's 1-season resume includes the following bullet points: high-percentage passer, natural leader, versatile defender and midfielder, three assists. Mike, I agree with your teammates - you were solid out there. What accolades in your first season! We can thank Jon for the referral.

Jackie's resume goes on for miles - just this season she notched two assists and played numerous minutes as a key defensive midfielder. We all know how she can take over her space, use excellent vision to move the ball around, execute hard and efficient tackles, and disrupt anyone with the bad judgment to come her way. She's a gamer, she shows up to play and steps up to the competition. What's my favorite memory of Jackie? The completely legit steamroller tackles in the semi final of the 2006 Coed Classic. She went right through about 3 of the other team's best male strikers! It's no secret that your captain is in "soccer love" with this special player. She has an addictive personality, we all know that.

Let's not forget our honorable mentions: Griz, Ally, Chris, Jon, Liam, Heather, and Kara.

Heat advisory

A group of us went to the DCU vs Real Madrid game today. Whew, it was a hot one, and not just because Cristiano Ronaldo was there. One player - who will remain anonymous - asked me to snap his photo because she has a little thing for him.

Real Madrid handily beat DC United, but it was a pretty good match. It was hard for the players to run full steam in the heat, with nothing at stake. DCU held them off in the first half but gave away 3 goals on some quick and painful strikes by Higuain and Robben. Those guys are pretty good.

Jer, Chip, and I had the best seats in the house: lower bowl, 18 yard line, in the shade, right by the exit. Chris wasn't too far away, but if you're from Baltimore, you have to sit in the upper decks. Our friend Kara was also in attendance.

Meanwhile, I am told that Red Tsunami lost its match today.

Here's a photo of Chip and Jer. Check out the rest of the photos here.