Orangemen vs Chantilly Jan 2014

I’m not gonna write too much about the game last night...it was 31 degrees at kick-off, it was 22 degrees by the final whistle.  I feel sorry for Springfield and the teams that got to kick-off after us.  22 degrees is arguably  the coldest game we’ve had in recorded history, ever since I’ve been writing this blog anyway.  In Feb of last year we hit 25 degrees in a game vs Springfield, but 22 degrees takes the cake...the ice cream cake.

Chantilly crushed us...no real explanation other than the cold.  We had a good side...we just were not firing on all cylinders...and Chantilly was there to play, despite the cold.

The ref was also working against us...he wasn’t interested in calling early fouls as his philosophy was to let the game go on as long as anything egregious didn’t happen.  The times I stopped to talk to him, his version of the play wasn’t even close to what I saw, so how do you argue with that?  He’s not going to reverse his decision if he saw something completely different from what everyone else on the pitch observed.  The best we can hope for is he simply calls every foul...regardless what occurred...just stop play and restart...without really sorting out whose fault it was etc. And hopefully the aggression would settle down.

Case in point...their man Jose, runs into the box, Mikey keeps pace with him, and reaches around to put his right foot on the ball to clear it over the end line.  Jose clearly reaches out with his right arm and pushes Mikey to the ground.  Refs awards a corner kick because Mikey cleared the ball out of bounds.  But Jose is screaming about a slide tackle, even though the only reason Mikey was on the ground was because he pushed him to the ground.  The ref even says, “If you want a foul, then the foul is on you”, meaning Jose.   But then he still awards the corner kick to Chantilly.  Fast forward 5 minutes.  Exactly the same play, Jose runs into the box, Mikey pursues, this time even more committed to staying on his feet, as he turns the corner and get’s his foot on the ball, Jose reaches out even further, and stiff arms Mikey to the ground.  This time, everybody on the field is expecting Jose to get the penalty, because it was the identical play, and the ref already told him the penalty would be on him.  Then  the refs signals a penalty kick for Chantilly.  It was a stupefying decision...

So my question...to you Orangemen... is what value is there in talking to a referee, who isn’t watching the same game that we are?  This happened over and over again...he would blow the whistle...everyone would expect the foul to be going one way, and he would signal the foul in the opposite direction.  Again, the only thing that was achieved was a halt in play, that signalled something bad had happened, so whatever it was, don’t do it again.  So, in the end, it did quell the aggression...but it didn’t solve the problem with the ref last night.  I’m glad we played, it was good to run, even in the cold.  We welcomed Ben back for a good run, and Cris just got off the plane from Chile to join us.

So aside from the highly irregular ref...it just wasn’t our night.  The average age of the Orangemen is probably 10 years higher than the average age of the Chantilly players.  And I suspect, when you are playing in the cold, every degree drop in temperature, gives a younger team just that more advantage. I can’t prove it...it just seems that way.  And based on the chart above, we have a disadvantage across the board, due to our age, but if we are ever gonna have a fighting chance...we need a good spring or fall day with temperatures between 60 and 70. 

First Game of 2014 - Orangemen Vs Metros

First game of 2014 in a World Cup Year!! 

I want to offer my apologies for an eVite gone bad. Maybe it was the Polar Vortex that caused the email anomaly...but, bottom-line, it took a lot more communication to put the game together this week.  And then, the final count was uncertain due to the confusion.  Including the fact that 10 minutes from game time, only three Orangemen were standing on the field.  But things worked out and we had a great team...with a final showing of 12 players...our numbers were at 13 because the Metros were gracious enough to provide us with their ringer, a young kid name Alexandro, who we’ve play against before. What was funny is the Metros manager came to me to ask if we had any underage players...and I said no, not tonight.  They had an underage player show up, but they wouldn’t let him play unless we had one to balance it out.  So they asked him to stand down.  When they realized we were only 10 at kick-off they told him to put on an orange jersey and join us.   Who was I to turn them down?  As it turns out, we had 11, I looked around for the 11th player, but he was no where to be found.  Chris, forgot his cleats, so he left for home to go retrieve them.  Turns out, had he been there, we probably wouldn’t have let Alex play.  But, Alex really aided our midfield team and contributed to the outcome of a very fun and well played fixture.

First, the funniest headline of the week, the Polar Bears at the Chicago Zoo are going inside because it’s too cold to stay outside.  But even though the week started at 2 degrees above zero, with a windchill minus 10 below zero, by game time on Saturday, we were up to 49 degrees, and mercifully, it stopped raining.  Otherwise it would have felt like we were playing in a rain forest with the balmy temperatures, the mist and fog, and humidity.

Here was the side last night.

Gene - played some fullback/halfback

Chris - played some fullback and halfback

Johnny H - sweeper

Mauricio - stopper and fullback

Alfredo - halfback

George - stopper halfback and fullback

Tommy - central midfield and stopper

Karl -  fullback

Kendall - striker and halfback

Will - striker and halfback

Freddy - fullback and central midfield

Mooch - striker and halfback

Alexandro (Alex) - central midfield and striker

Final score was 0-2.  We held the metros to one goal in the first half and one in the second half.

Both goals were rather soft.  The first one Gene had both hands on it...he jumped too soon and couldn’t decide to catch it or deflect it over the bar.  As the ball was coming into his hands on his descent he decided to deflect it over, but as he was dropping he deflected it up and into the top of the net.  Soft goal.

On the second goal, Chris got caught off his line.  Had he remained at home, he would have easily stopped the goal.  Another soft goal.  That’s not to say he made a spectacular save against a 1 v 1 at point blank range with his feet...by all estimates that one should have been a goal.

We passed incredibly well through the midfield.  By always keeping the ball moving I’d say we probably actually had more possession than Vienna.  I’d like to have the stats on that…  We were stringing pass after pass together.  Being patient, getting our heads up, and always looking to pass.  Our possession and defense really thwarted the Metro attack...infact...with the exception of the two soft goals, and the great save Chris made, the shots and the challenges on goal were dealt with reasonably well.  Can’t really say they deserved much more.  We defended well on their corner kicks...the Metros are known for scoring on corner kicks...but no real threatening opportunities emerged.

We had a number of shot opportunities...none that really challenged the keeper, because as always, the Metros have a top defense.  We took a few shots from outside, that were weak.  But we did pass into the box and had a number of chances, but again, the Metros speed broke the plays up before they were are real threat.  But we were passing well and getting the crosses in.  The best opportunity came late in the game, Mooch had an easy opportunity to score.  We worked the ball the outside right, Alex, made a move and got in behind.  Mooch was standing in front of the goal, Alex passed the ball in, between the two defenders.  All Mooch had to do was get his favored right foot on it, but choose instead he sensed the keeper had the direct shot to the near post covered so he decided to open up, let the ball run across his body, and hit the ball far post, with the outside of his left foot.  He had plenty of time to think all this through.  But when he went to execute, as the ball came across his body, it was moving too fast for him to hit the ball with this left foot, on the roll, firmly.  He barely grazed the ball, and just helped to assist it across the box, rather than direct it on goal.  He should have just crushed it with his right for straight ahead.  A missed opportunity that will haunt him all week.

Will brought out Freddy to the match.  Freddy has some great skills and was a fine addition to the side last night.  Great ball control, and great positioning.

Last issue...Mooch had a run it with the ref last night.  The ref called a good game from my perspective, but when a  Metro guy went down in a flurry of arms and legs and then continued to play the ball while he was on the ground, Mooch pointed the play out to the ref.  The ref didn’t want to hear it and threatened him with a red card.  Mooch rarely gets in trouble with the ref, but felt as the manager, he was permitted to question the ref.  This ref wasn’t hearing any of it and told him the manager has no special privilege.  After the game he explained his call...that in our league you are allowed to play the ball when you are on the ground so long as it’s not considered a dangerous play.  From my perspective, if the player is on the ground and winning the ball from an opposing player, if it’s not a slide than it has to be considered a dangerous play.  However, I’m more concerned about his statement that the manager has no special privilege to talk to the ref.  This in my mind doesn’t sound like a reasonable position.  So I will check into his view with the league.

Bottom-line.  With the Metro’s two soft goals and one goal that should have been, I award them 1 point total.  For the goal that Mooch missed...I award one point.  The outcome of the game should have been a tie...considering we’ve lost to the Metros by the score of 0 to 10 in the past, we can be proud of this game.  I applaud everyone for the effort to pass the ball last night.  It was an amazingly fun game because of all the passing and possession we had.   We were not chasing the game by any stretch...we were taking it to them and they knew it.

Orangemen vs Springfield 28 Dec 2013

We had a decent turnout last night to play Robbie and his Springfield team...considering the mid holiday timing of the match...and our last match of 2013...Happy New Year by the way.

We had three  Mike’s, Mikey the son,  Mike the Gooch thicker, and Mike the Gooch thinner. Temperature was hanging around 45...but humid with a breeze so it felt chillier

Here’s the line up.

Johnny H - sweeper

Mikey - Stopper

Mike Gooch The Thinner - fullback

MIke Gooch The Thinker - fullback

Marico - fullback

George - Central Midfield

Jan - Central Mid

Scott F - midfield

Kurt S - midfield

Kendall - striker

Will - Striker

Dave Nanney - striker

Mooch midfield

Steve H - midfield and fullback

The ref last night was really good...he made the calls loud and clear and quick.  And he stayed out of the way of play. We had our chances...we dominated when we were passing...a trend we need to continue...When we tried to go it alone...or held the ball too long...they were fast and covered our movement well.

Mooch left before the game was over so he is unable to comment on the totality of the match.

The final score according to Kendall was 0 to 6.  So not our best effort...Springfield can always score so we ought to think about reverting to our five defenders when we know we are coming against a high scoring team and we are struggling.

Orangemen vs Pretenders on a Very Warm Winter Solstice in 2013

Some might think the days are getting longer as the Sun is setting later in the day.  As it turns out December 21 is the Winter Solstice, and although the Sun has been setting later each day this week, it’s been rising just a little later as well, making December 21st this year’s shortest day of the year and the true Winter Solstice.  If you don’t understand how the Earth tilts on it’s axis as it rotates around the sun, you can catch up on your science here.  And even though the Earth is actually closer to the Sun during the winter months, due to our angle with the Sun the Earth's Atmosphere reflects a larger portion of the inbound radiance which is why it is cooler.  Although yesterday, at game time, temperatures in Fairfax were at 70 degrees, we must have been taking the direct rays, or Al Gore was right.  Here’s a good recap of the mechanics of a Winter Solstice as we make our annual passage around the sun.  

So we lost the game 2 to 3, but it was well fought and we certainly had our opportunities.  The game was ours to win and we had several additional opportunities to score that we failed to finish.  Will had the first really good shot on goal, which was textbook from outside the box.  Well struck, low and hard but rose just above the cross bar.  However Will redeemed himself with a fantastic assist to Tedd.  Tedd made a horizontal run right to left looking for an opportunity to put his left foot on the ball.  The Pretenders closed him down but eventually he was able to put the ball through to Will on the outside and advance on the inside of his man.  Will knew what he was going to play that ball back to Tedd and did so with a perfectly waited touch  back to the advancing Ogre’s left foot.  Tedd blasted the ball into the net but the credit goes to the scored with a fantastic assist from Will.  

A little later, after Mooch made the decision to play Jan in the midfield instead of straight back into sweeper, as Chris H very capable of cleaning up in the back, Jan scored with a fantastic goal with a great assist from Kendall.  Kendall made a great run up the left flank and beat his defender on the outside.  He ran forward and attacked the goal.  The keeper kept on his line so Kendall got his head up and saw orange in the center.  He crossed the ball into the box where Jan swept it into the net with his left foot.  Kendall came screaming out of the back with his arms spread wide to celebrate the goal as if he scored it.  Just like with Wills assist.  I give the credit to Kendall for playing the right ball and making the goal a walk in the park for Jan.

Unfortunately, the final score was Pretenders 3 Orangemen 2 but it was a great game nevertheless.

On the first Pretender’s goal, Chris charged out of the box but the ball took took an incredible unlucky hop or deflection and when over his head.  Their second goal came during the start of the second half. Gene had a low, but hard shot to his left easily covered,  But somehow it squirted out of his hands with enough momentum to make it into the net.  Their third goal was unstoppable.  However, with a little bit of luck going our way, the Pretenders first two goals wouldn't have happened and we would have won.  We fought to the end and in the closing minutes Cris ran onto a magnificent ball to the far post.  He almost brought it down and scored the tying goal in the last seconds of the game.  An appeal for handball went up as it look like the Pretenders defender pushed the ball past the end line with his arm just before the ref blew the whistle.  Without an Champions League Ref patrolling the end-line we may never know what happened.

Other important mentions for the game.  It was Eric B and Chris H first time to come play with us in months.  Jim Lister and Chris Brody, long veterans made an appearance.  Jim Landoll, still in retirement as far as we can tell, made the drive to watch the game and cheer us on. Chris and Gene split goal time first and second halves.  Tommy came, but noticed the numbers of Orangemen and graciously decided to head for home.  We had Mauricio, Alfredo, Kendall, William….as well as Cris S who played the first half for the Pretenders but then returned to us.  Him an Eric B started working together during the second half and when those two start passing they can take the ball anywhere on the field.

John Hamner played D and was fast running down most threats.  He also had to use his signature move to kick the ball off the attacker to win a few goal kicks rather than surrendering a corner.  Mikey and Jan were on board as was Gooch and Steve Harris.  Tedd fortified the midfield.  Dave Nanney and Mooch played up top.  Mooch was handed the ball in the box by the Pretender’s fullback but was unable to score.  He took the shot across the keeper, and although it appeared that the ball was on goal, he would argue that the keeper got his thumb on it, others would say it was always swinging wide.

Peter played for the Pretenders but confirmed with them ahead of time.  He had a wonderful opportunity to curl the ball from the flanks to the center of the field but kicked it straight into his own player which ricocheted out of bounds and to turn the ball over to the Orangemen at midfield.

The Ref called a great game...not much controversy...a very sporting match.

I know when we have big numbers like today everyone plays has a little less time on the field.  Thanks for being conscientious of the other players for coming off the field when called.  And if you didn't get enough playing time...my apologies...but thanks for coming and having a lot of fun regardless.

Fall Classico Alianza vs Orangemen Nov 2013

by guest blogger Kendall Perez

On a comfortably cool, misty night the Orangemen were facing one of the Grey division's most ill-tempered teams. In fact Alianza had just come off a three game suspension for fighting. Previous instructions from our management advised us to play our normal, sportsman- like way.  

Most of our players arrived on time and in fact we even had a few guest players insuring that Le Orangé even had a few subs. With the approval of Mooch I was allowed to invite a previous guest Richard.  Others such as Gene's son George also made a cameo appearance.

The game started promptly at 8 pm and began at a frenetic pace with Alianza attacking throwing many players forward spearheaded by their two under-30 players. The game was lively with chances at both ends. Several lovely balls over the top allowed us to draw a foul just outside the left side penalty box. William stepped up to take the direct free kick and blasted a laser beam of a shot left-to-right to the top right corner of the goal. Golazo! Their goalie could only look on ....frozen in disbelief. "First blood"to the Orangemen! 1-0. 

Throughout the first half Kendall (henceforth referred to as I) had several chances to score but only managed to kick it too close to the keeper for a tip over save and one shot that hit the crossbar and that was just in the first half. Before the half was over we were leading  2-1. 

In the second half Alianza blocked several of my shots and I missed even more chances! Luckily William scored again from distance on a well placed shot to the left lower corner. Alianza answered back with a swerving blast of their own that Jean did well to get his gloves on but was unlucky to deflect in for a goal. 

The Orangemen would never relinquish the lead and more unselfish play from the defense and midfielders released Ben down the left flank. He accelerated past the last defender cleverly going near post to squeeze one past the keeper. Near the end of the game we were leading 4-3 when Andy of Alianza did his best "Greg Louganis" diving impression deceiving the ref into calling a questionable penalty. Alas the score was tied 4-4 in a game that if not for my futility in front of goal we would have won. 

Thanks gentlemen for continuing to have faith in me throughout the game. Lineup f/Orangemen: Jean, George, Jan, Matt, John H, Mauricio, Ben, Ted, Chris, Nathan?, Dave Nanney, Richard, William's friend, Kendall

What a night!

Thanks Kendall for a terrific write-up.  You put me right in the action.  I'm sorry I couldn't be there!!

Orangemen vs Rowdies Nov 2013

True to form we once again did better in the second half, then the first.  It’s really not clear to me, how, with an aging team, we seem to pull it together in the second half, and it’s not like the other teams back off.  No, in this case I think the Rowdies had more action against us in the second half, but we played up to their advances.  So the first have score was 4 to zero.  And we went 1 to 1 in the second half.  Bernie gets the honors for the goal in the second half.

Gene had a number of tremendous saves...he was always well positioned.  One shot was in his hands, he was too hard, another shot beat him on the near post it looked like he had it covered.

We lacked passing in the back third and in the final third.  Last night passing in the final third would have been more effective.  

When things are not going well for the Rowdies way a couple of their players seem to whine a bit more than most.  One is an extremely talented player...but he constantly complains and tries to gain an advantage anyway he he can. He pushes and fouls, but when he get’s fouled it’s like he was a victim of Charles Mason.   He’s got whining on the brain and is one of the most annoying players to play against.  Don’t know what it might be like to be on his team, but after the game, to walk off the field and not shake anyone’s hand is a classic move and gives us a glimpse of his true character.  I think he actually believes he’s too talented to be on the field with us.

Although he was a young guy he didn’t do the damage to us.  The Rowdies pass the ball, relentlessly.  That was does the damage.  The guy passing the ball in get’s a much pleasure from a great ball in then the strike itself.  Why we can’t play this way, I’m not sure, but we need to passing or crossing the ball into the box.  Last night, in fact the game last week, we were only playing fast breaks.

I talked to Doug and he apologized for the underage player.  He says he showed up before he knew he was on the field.  He said he wouldn’t allow it next time we play.

Finally, I’m not a big fan of the Ref who called the game from over half-field.  I’ve heard that the ref’s from one of the other companies are of higher quality...I’m going to start looking into it.

Orangemen vs Great Pretenders - November 2013

In the midst of the controversy over the Washington Redskins name it was pointed out to me that Syracuse University, affectionately referred to as the Orangemen, officially changed their title to simply “Orange” in 2004...almost ten years ago.  This, to avoid the apparent gender bias of referring to the collective as Orange-men, even when we do have women who play for us and cheer us on.  Once an Orangeman always an Orangeman is what we like to say...and for me there is no gender bias associated with the term.  Orangemen refers to the collective players or fans on the team and only reflects gender so far as the gender make-up of the team and fan base is known.  We have female players and fans who are Orangemen so collectively the term Orangemen is gender neutral.  Women can be Orange”men” just as women are wo”men” and as an Orange”man” they are just as hu”man”.  But instead of being wo and hu they are simply Orange, collectively, we are Orangemen.  I’m well aware that even the term women and human, have also been categorized as having gender bias, which prompts us to use terms like “person”. But, in normal conversation, human and women have not yet been struck from English Language. And, there is no way we are changing our name to Orangepersons.  In the end, unless a group steps forward complaining that the term Orangemen is discriminatory we are not prompted to change our name to Orange.  An Orange is a color or a fruit.  We are definitely not a type of citrus or simply a color choice.  Syracuse Orange went in that direction thus leaving us to be the only Orangemen on the block.  We should be proud because our name is both gender-less and uncontested..  Now onto last nights game...

As the Fall officially took hold of Northern Virginia, with the nip of winter in the air, and the smell of falling leaves all around, it is officially soccer season.  The Orangemen assembled, slowly, at Arrowbrook Park in Herndon for another fixture with the Great Pretenders, led by Michael R.  It appeared we would have 14 by the eVite, however at kick-off only 10 Orangemen had arrived and we had to rely on the Pretenders to supply us with number 11 to get the game started.  At home games we’ve got to do better on getting to the field on time, not the least of which is the fact that I have to pay for the field ahead of time, and last night the ref was looking for his recompense early.  Also, and more important, with the colder temperatures upon us, everybody needs to warm up.  The other reason an earlier arrival is important so you know the rules under which we are playing, like having to remove jewelry, or  whether or not we are sliding.  Last night was a no sliding game.  So please get to the field on time.

Last night we had an all star line-up.  Jan was in the back sweeping, Matt was ahead of him as stopper.  Karl was in in his fav position as right full-back and Chuck started as left back.  Tedd started in midfield assisted by our loaner, Genaro, with Maurico on the right, and Alfredo on the left of midfield.  Johnny H and Mooch started up top.  Players who rounded out our Orangemen power last nighted included Bernie, Cris, Steve H, Will H, and a friend of Genaro’s.  

The Orangemen dominated possession for the first 20 minutes of the game.  We controlled the midfield and pressured the Pretenders immediately, winning and winning the ball.  We had a number of opportunities to score, and our persistence was repaid when Johnny H found the back of the net.  Eventually, the Pretenders found they form and mounted numerous counter attacks, but Jan was able to run down the serious threats, and Dr. Matt was able to use his speed to break down threats before they developed.  When Cris took the field our dominance in the midfield was boosted considerably as his ball control is exquisite, rivaled only by Ben who took the night off to walk in the park with more visiting family members and look at the changing leaves.  Also, with Bernie’s arrival (Bernie went to the wrong field) which we’ve all done once or twice, or three times, he complemented Johnny’s speed up top which always takes the pressure off and allows us the defense to recover and reset.

The Pretender’s never gave up and during the second half they were throwing everything at us.  In fact I lost count but at a minimum the Pretenders hit the post or the cross bar on at least five shots.  That’s not to say we didn’t have our share of chances at their end of the field, we did, however we didn’t hit the pine that many times.  Unfortunately, in the last minute of the game, the Pretender’s were given a corner kick.  The ball went to the back post, a scramble ensured, and they were able to tie the score with only seconds remaining.

All and all it was a fantastic game…

I need to point out that the ref last night issued at least one yellow card to the Pretenders for dissent, and was considering a yellow card for dissent for us as well.  There should be no reason to talk to the ref.  If a yellow card is shown, walk off the field.  Also, after Bernie took down one of the Pretenders strikers, was shown yellow, and walked off the field, everyone else should be walking away from the incident.  That diffuses the situation.  Walking toward the incident or debating with other players just increases the tension.  Will H, who was already on a yellow, was seconds away from being shown red, which would have reset our “Sportsmanship” clock.  I want to point out that the Orangemen haven’t had a red card since Nov 6, 2012.  We are at exactly a year...it would have been ironic to reset the clock at the one year point.  So way to go Orangemen,  365 days without a red card.  Well Done!