Orangemen vs U-18s

In a strange twist of events the team we played the weekend before Christmas was having a hard time fielding a team - we were to play long time  rivals Mt Vernon.  In fact they only had 5 confirmed going into the weekend.  Since the Orangemen held promise of having at least 15 or 16 at the show the Orangemen Manager convinced Jon (the Mt. Vernon manager)  not to cancel but instead show for the game and we would just combine the sides so we could all get out for a pre-Christmas run, and work of some of the meal calories ahead of time.  The twist came when only 2 players from Mt Vernon appeared and only 12 Orangemen...it’s pretty hard to make up two teams with 14 players.  A number of young players however were hanging out at Arrow Brook park as Jon and Mooch proceeded to ask a number of them if they would like to play.

As we started the game, Mt Vernon was at full strength, with 11 players, and the Orangemen were short handed at 10.  Mt. Vernon added 9 players to the roster which turns out, a number of them play for South Lakes High School.  We know this because a South Lakes Teacher plays with us, Mr. Palmer.  He was greeted with a “Hi Mr. Palmer” as he entered the pitch.  And in some weird transcending generational vortex, we found ourselves on a play ground among 16 year old kids showing us how the beautiful game is played.  Mr. Palmer, had to assume his roll as hall monitor instructing his kids to put their cell phones away.  That’s right, in the middle of the game at least two of these kids thought it was appropriate to pull their phones from the pockets and talk during the action...incredible for several reasons...however, the day is coming when this technology will be embedded bio-mechanically into our brains and we need never stop from the action to phone our wives our girl friends.

Turns out the Orangemen were  well outclassed by these kids -  these Sea-hawks from South Lakes, can’t give Mt Vernon too much credit for the score since there were only two of them, needless to say we lost by a healthy margin. But we passed well, kept out heads up, and had plenty of opportunity, we were just no match for the one thing they had in spades, speed.  Considering the game could have been a bust it was fun nonetheless that it all worked out.  Plus, since it was a home game, and with the exception of a few stragglers who made good on the cash, I collected enough to pay for the officials.  

 It was really fun playing with those young kids...and as it turns out those kids were playing when we got field and after the game and they continued to play.  Keep in mind it was pretty cold that night as well, and windy.  But they continued to play...no wonder they are so good.  I wish I could say that's the future of US Soccer...but still the best US athletes are not playing soccer and these kids don't stand a chance as the road forward is still for the elite who can afford to buy their way onto the prestigious traveling teams and building their playing resume in accordance with USSF.  After that, it gets very political , but this blog is to just report on the game.

Special thanks to Jon for not canx the game and managing the affairs of kids team so we could have this pre-Christmas match.

As small group went for pizza and beer at Bertucci’s after the match to relive some of the action...something I hope will catch on more following our home games.

UnReal Fun

When the Orangemen arrived at the pitch on the cool Saturday evening in mid December, the first thing they noticed was that a strange team, one they had never seen before, was slowly going through their pregame warm-ups  A few asked Mooch if this strange team, was in our league. The answer was, “They are not in the Coaches league, they are normally in the NVSL but as NVSL does not have a winter season so they are playing with with us”. They looked like pros and the only consolation was that although they play in NVSL, they play in the over 40 division. James, the UnReal Fairfax manager, revealed to Mooch that today they would have a few actually under 40 since it’s to the competitive season, and asked if that would be alright? Mooch said absolutely, not one to really take exception with how another team fields a starting 11. 

As it turns out UnReal would actually play a man down for the entire match. Upon hearing that UnReal Fairfax played in the over 40 league, one of the Orangemen laughed and said, yeah, and we’ve been playing in the over 40 division, for over over twenty years. And he would be correct as included in tonight's line-up would be many veterans of the squad including Jim L, Jim L Sr., Karl M, Dave N, Gene O, Bob A, Tedd O, and Jim M all safely past the age of 40, and then some. On average, this team was much older than the starting 11 we fielded for the humiliating defeat against our rivals the Vienna Metros the previous weekend. In fact, unless I’m not thinking clearly, our youngest starter tonight would be Greg Z, who is still cutting his teeth, this being his first year of organized soccer. Greg Z would start in defense, and come face to face with the UnReal Number 10, their star striker who was no doubt one of those players under 40 James was talking about. And who, quite frankly, has to be the most talented player we have faced in many years. So take a team loaded with talent, and over 40 experience, and add a striker who should be playing in MLS and we were in store for an interesting game. 

Before we started Gerard our duly assigned ref for the match, led us in a moment of silent reflection to remember the taking of innocent life at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut yesterday. As we stood at the center circle, each in our own thoughts, I wondered if our soccer brotherhood could bring some light to this dark time. For those assembled to play this beautiful game let's simply give thanks for our good health and these wonderful opportunities that are so easily taken for granted.

As expected, the Orangemen fell to UnReal, but not in the manner that was expected. Mooch was extremely pleased with how bravely the Orangemen played and how our senior experience came together. In fact mid-way through the first half, one of the UnReal players was overheard asking, how many players we had on the pitch, 14? Clearly a complement to how we were defending in mass in our end of the field. We left them very little space to work, however, they worked incredibly well and didn't need a whole lot more  space. Early on Chris H, made the statement that they played like an indoor team. They passed, passed, passed...many one and two touches with multiple combinations, it felt like being in a pinball machine, always leading to a through ball played to their number 10 who stated his run onto the ball, well in advance. They played incredibly well, and I think were having their own brand of fun, courtesy of us. Were it not for Maurico, interrupting play as stopper, and Jan using his speed to intervene on every ball, the score would have been a lot worse. As it was the score ended 7 to 2. Not bad against a team that could seemingly score at will. And a far better showing than last week.

What changed? Well for one, the midfield defended, along with the four full backs. Lacking more defensive players we switched back to the defensive formation of yore with Jan sweeping and Mauricio stopping. As always Karl M started as right back, with the rookie Gorrilla Greg Z playing left back. What Greg lacks in skill he makes up for in speed. Today however, we were giving Greg a little too much guidance. We would tell him to move forward to engage the off-sides trap, and then UnReal would sprint by, beating the trap by inches. We would tell him to move outside to cover the right wing, and they would attack through the center where we needed him. Late in the second half Greg got tangled with up with one of their wingers and using his speed to stay with him, accidentally gorilla'd him to the ground to earn a yellow card. Suffice is to say that Greg fared extremely well in the face of a team that could intimidate the most experienced players.

Our passing was far improved from the previous week. We always passed out of the back to the midfield, with Tedd, Mooch, Chris H and Jim L Sr. receiving passes from all full-backs. Jan, Maurico, Karl, and Greg all got their heads up and made quick passes the to midfield. Bob A, Jim Landoll, and Dave Nanney then lingered around midfield to receive a pass, while Emile made a run forward using his long legs to sprint at the UnReal Defense.  We had considerable options and used them all.   And we were not ineffective going forward.  With all those options we from the midfield we then played ball after ball foward with Emile running down most of them.  Chris H and Emile hooked up on numerous runs forward as well., with Tedd and Mooch running just behind in support. Later in the game Peter Z arrived and added to the attack. The only thing lacking was the final finishing touch...Emile, Chris, or Peter had opportunities to score on numerous occasions. Many shots went wide and the few that were on frame were collected by a keeper who could jump about 11 feet and defend above the rim. All three had one on one opportunities with the keeper and failed to come away with a goal, but there were plenty of opportunities to keep us in it and that made it exciting.

It’s hard to criticize all those opportunities other than to say our finishing was lacking. However, we had a number of other opportunities when another pass in final third would have resulted in a better percentage change to score. Mooch missed a big one to Tedd on his left, Emile missed one to three open Orangemen, on the right as he attacked through a crowd on the left, and Bob A frittered away another wonderful opportunity to put the ball back to Tedd’s famous left foot. I’m not saying to attack when the opportunity presents, but keep in mind the other options, and it helps to make the attacker know he has options...for most of us, when the attack is on, tunnel vision sets it, so a call from the other players is always helpful. I suggest a review of the following Orangemen vocabulary to help communicate passing in the attacking third.

SQUARE - you are directly even and would like a 90 degree pass to the left or right.

THROUGH - you are running forward passed the defense and would like a ball played into space between or over the defenders.

SUPPORT - you are behind the play but in an open position to receive the ball if necessary.

EIGHTEEN - play the ball back to the top of the box, you are open to attempt a shot.

Our breakthrough goal came in exactly this manner when the ball wasn't going forward, but when it was played to an on rushing Ogre at the top of the box. Played to Tedd’s left foot at the 18, the result was vintage Tedd. He buried it in the top left corner of the net with stinging pacce. A very well struck ball indeed.

A final goal came in the second half to cap off, despite the defeat, what was an extremely  fun game. Mooch, brought a poorly cleared bouncing midfield ball under control with shoulder and ran onto it. Half expecting to hear a whistle for a hand-ball (it hit the ball of his shoulder) he lifted his head knowing he had space, time, and options...he could play the ball left or right. He heard Chris H on the right side as well as a screaming Pete on the left, and he knew Tedd was in there as well. As he glance up to see which was the better option he looked forward and couldn't understand why the goal looked so big, even though it was far too distant to take a decent shot. Above the din he heard one voice...Bob A was screaming “Keepers Out”. And that was all it took. The ball was settling nicely as he ran onto it and fell perfectly for a right footed kick. He hit the ball square on the bounce and knew it was on target the moment it left his foot. It carried the defenders and Mooch could see the scrambling goalkeeper trying to make it back between the sticks. He was too late. Mooch had scored an easy late game consolation to compensate for all for the Orangemen’s hard work.

Part of the fun during the game, aside from UnReal playing very good soccer, was that they were having a lot of fun during the game as well. Not only were they talking to each other, and encouraging each other in a friendly way, they were also talking to us and encouraging us. When we did something good, they told us we did it well. It was a very friendly game between two sides who love to play the game...I hope we get to play this team again some other season.

It's Why a Soccer Ball is Round

Let’s start with the positive things...The winter soccer season has kicked off and the weather was spectacular. Collecting money for the game went seamlessly and turned out to be surprisingly easy. After the game, the group that went to Bertucci’s really enjoyed the beer (Draft Peroni) and the stone fired pizza. Every two weeks, when we play these home games, I intend to rally the team for Bertucci’s after the match. In fact we may also invite the other team.

With the positive things out of the way, now it’s on to the bad news. On Saturday evening, under the lights of Herndon’s spectacular Arrow-brook Park, we suffered one of our worst defeats in Orangemen history. The Orange was crushed to death by the Vienna Metros by a score of 10 to 0.  If this was indoor soccer they might have forced a forfeit of the match so we could have started drinking early. As it was we had to suffer through right until the end as the Metros never took their foot off the gas, wanting to relish in their goal scoring extravaganza right until the end.

What went wrong? First, I’ll take the easy road out of this and push the blame on the Metros. They have been playing with the same core teammates for at least a decade. Same faces, same names, same positions. Their team never changes. The Orangemen on the other hand have a much smaller core...and that core is never consistently at the match. This is a by product of the Orangemen Philosophy...as we are a fun organization as opposed to a competitive one. If you come to the match you will play, and you will play with considerable field time, no matter what your skill level. This can be frustrating, particularly during games like last nights, but to try to change our philosophy is to cease being the Orangemen. Currently we have 55 players on the roster, 34 of whom attend games during the season. Consistently we average about 14 at each match. That means we literally rotate 20 other players through our revolving door. I’m not about to change that because to reduce that number, would reduce the likelihood that we would have 11 at any given match. So we have to live with an inconsistent line-up with various amounts of fitness level, etc.  And we will adjust or positions and formation on the fly.

Second, the Metros, in case anyone didn’t notice, are a passing team. They pass the ball in the back, they pass the ball through the midfield, and the even pass the ball in the final third. Most of their goals coming off of crosses or simple passes to the open striker on the other side of the box. Yes, some of the Metros passing comes from their familiarity with their teammates. But more likely, they pass because their team approach is built on passing the ball, not unlike the winning teams such as Barcelona who have made the approach so successful. The Orangemen, on the other hand, have been moving backwards in their passing abilities. If we counted the number of passes made by the Metro’s last night, and the number of passes the Orangemen attempted, we would find a similar imbalance to the scoreline, quite possibly 10 to 1. The question is, how do we fix our passing deficit?

The Orangemen typically pass as a last resort, not as a tactic. We have a number of individuals with good individual skill, but we don’t have, in general, an always pass first mentality. Passing first requires individuals to set their ego’s aside and to get their heads up. It’s as easy as trapping the ball first, that’s the first touch, followed by the second touch that should be a pass. If we had time to practice two touch ball, we could have some fun. As it stands we don’t have the opportunity to practice unless individually you can do it during the week, etc. But two touch ball is hard, in fact the only thing harder than two touch ball, is one touch ball. And whereas you might see some pros doing one touch ball in training drills, they rarely do it during a match. Two touch ball is also, hard, even for the pros. About the only team that I’ve seen playing two touch ball has been Tottenham Hotspur during Champion’s League games under Harry Redknapp. Short of that, no team plays two touch ball. Even the kings of touch, Barcelona, don’t play two touch ball or even one touch during most of the game. They actually play three touch ball most of game. That doesn’t mean they don’t switch to one or two touch when they attack, they do, but it’s not how they play for the full 90 minutes. But that’s what you see in the highlights. No, for most of the game the Barcelona players, trap the ball with their first touch, make space for themselves with their second touch, and their third touch is always a pass. It’s helpful to emphasize this...their third touch is ALWAYS A PASS! Their magical play comes down to this very simple formula. And, is obviously far easier than one or two touches. One touch ball means your first touch is perfect, every time. Two touch also means your first touch has to be perfect every time, to set up your second touch to become a pass. Three touch means you can make minor errors on both your first and second touch, and still produce a decent pass.

So what does this mean for the Orangemen. It means I’m going to start getting vocal about passing. Fair notice, if you are trying to dribble through a crowd you are going to start hearing some criticism about getting your head up and releasing the ball to a teammate on your third touch. As it turns out, because a soccer ball is round, its pretty good at rolling across the turf to your awaiting teammates. Use them!

Passing alone would not have changed the outcome of the game last night...but it most definitely would have reduced the Metro’s possession and we would have created more chances for ourselves.  The winter season will be about passing.  Get ready.

Post Turkey-Day Scramble

Special thanks to all who provided commentary from the Orangemen Game on 24 Nov.

It was a cold windy night with 11 Orangemen and 8 opposition players at start time.  Bob noted that wind-chill put the temperature around 20.  Peter accepted duty to even out the numbers as an additional opponent arrived, but by a minute into the game Peter was back in Orange (well red actually) as the game settled at 11 Orangemen and 11 plus 1 sub on the other side.  

The give and go(s) need work…the first pass was good but when the other player  got the ball pass every time without looking and to the a terrible angle, so the ball never got back to the first player that pass the ball in the first ball in the first place. Each time the other team was able to read the play and intercepted the ball. 

The offensive attacks that get stuck in the corner of the field while dribbling needs to look as they are dribbling down the sideline for a teammate at the 20 yard line(top of the box)  to get the better shot on goal. A player shooting on goal from the goal line and near the corners can make a goal easier if they would pass the ball to a player that is open at the 12 yard to around the 20 yard line. 

As the first half proceeded we yielded two or three goals before mounting more frequent and penetrating counter attacks finally scored.  As with most of our scoring opportunities, their excellent keeper and backs stymied us on the initial shot and multiple rebound shots.  This brought us to 3-1 shortly followed by another score against us.  As time expired, Bob brought the score to 4-2 with a short range header on a Ben(?) cross/shot.  We were scoreless the remainder of the game, although with multiple opportunities, while we let in 2 more.

Noteworthy play was the endurance of Karl, playing with a bum back, Doug, Tyler O, and Jean repelled continuous assault, while Ben led multiple counter attacks, but failed attempts to finish (Tedd's legs seemed to never seemed to warm as shots went high, wide, or softly to the keeper) left us trailing the entire game.  Andres and Nate, bolstered the midfield running both ends for the full 90.

During an offensive attacks, any player controlling (providing there is enough time) the ball needs to look at both sides of the field to see which is the best  odds of progressing to score. If the midfielder has the ball and can reach the pass to the opposite where there is lack of other team players then make the switch. Instead of passing the ball on the side of the field where is a mismatch of skills or and overload of players.

We only had eleven guys, played against very talented team, but everyone of our guys played their hearts out. I for one am proud the way they played.We lost even though played maybe the best game of the season. Bob scored and that felt great.

Special thanks to Ben's sister who braved the elements to lead the cheering section.

Always the Beautiful Game!

The manager of Fairfax Arsenal sent me an email on Saturday at 10:31 am. to cancel the game.  The other team is supposed to cancel before noon on Friday, otherwise they still may have to pay the referee. That is if they really scheduled one.

I sent the email to cancel at 4 pm. Although there was a bit of confusion  for the most part the word got out there. This reminds me that I still don’t have a good list of everyone’s cell phone numbers. I’ll be collecting those once again...then I can send out a txt message when these last minute details pop up.

But more if we have enough time to cancel properly, we probably have enough time to reschedule with another team. Or we have time to better prepare for a practice session, since the field will be open, as it was last night.

So, the field was ours, and per my request, some of us still gathered to play. For those of you who wanted to preserve your Saturday nights for other pursuits, big mistake. Those of us who showed up had an awesome time. We had 10 players in all and we divided up and set up a small field at the center line with two cones marking the goals on either end line. With the blue lines marking the width of our field at 40 yards.

Mooch, Karl, Gene, Maurico (from Arsenal), and Ronald (a walk on) played on one side with Tedd, Emile, John (Tedd’s friend), Greg Z, and another walk-on who plays in the grey league lining up against us.

The play was end to end. We had enough space for wide open passing as well as close touches in the final third to perfect a fancy finish. This is the way I was forced to play soccer for three years in Florida. We rarely played full field, albeit we had upwards of 15 players a side at some points. These smaller touch games are fun, with low numbers they are grueling.

It was great practice for all of us as we each had the ball over and over again...many times all five players touched the ball on each possession.

Emile worked on bringing the ball down with his back to goal, then turning on it and beating the first defender with his speed and long legs.

Gene, who I’ve never seen play the field before, was spectacular. He was always making the right charge to break-up and attack, and then, would bring the ball out of the back sometime dribbling to midfield, tough to do without beating at least two of the opposition on his advance.

Greg Z showed why when I played with him in Florida, he carried the nickname, Gorilla Greg. Playing his tight man marking and not being afraid to get physical, although one wonders why in a friendly pick-up match. Turns out Greg is a competitor...he’s all in, all day, everyday. Occasionally when we were playing in Florida at lunch, and no one showed up to play, Greg and I would go one on one. He was just as competitive. Imagine a lunch-time one-on-one where you have to ice your body after the game. Greg was close to the action when I found myself on the ground at least twice...although it’s hard to pin anything on him other than elevating the level of play.

Karl was playing his signature defense, which included his impeccable timing, as he stepped in to break up a pass. But also, he was not satisfied to play defense. He made countless runs forward and had multiple shots on goal, for which he was rewarded, I think more than once.

Tedd was manning the midfield for his side, reaching in with his long legs to break up passes and bringing the ball down for distribution to the flanks. He was also seen juggling the ball, and reversing direction by looping the ball over his head, something he rarely will do during an actual game. Tedd was also responsible, if memory serves, for passing the ball into Gene’s gonads, and on another pass, for pasting my junk to my abdomen. It was an aggressive game.

John, who Tedd brought this evening to try out for the Orangemen, was a favorite target. We gave him the nickname, “Cow Bell”, because it sounded like he had a can full of marbles in his pocket as he ran. John hasn't played in a while but showed real skill on the field.

Mooch was very happy with his game last night...he had enough time on the ball to practice some of his ball handling he rarely uses during a game, and worked on his pinpoint passing to strikers breaking toward goal...in fact he put the ball on the foot of these runners too many times to count.

The other players last night were walk-ons. However, Mauricio expressed interest in continuing with the Orangemen. He has wonderful field presence and will be a welcome addition to our team if he chooses to come out with us.

To all those who didn't come out or didn't stay, let that be a lesson to you. If you love the beautiful game, a formal fixture is never necessary. Where there is a ball there is a match. Sandlots, dirt fields, grassy parks, beaches, parking lots, or an immaculate abandoned turf fields under the lights in Springfield Virginia. It was a wonderful time to play and it is always the beautiful game!

Mooch & Gooch See Red

A perfect fall night for a soccer game...it was cool and clear and as the Orangemen assembled at Bryant Alternative School to play Alianza...one of the Grey Divisions teams coming back from a suspension after fight and an altercation with the ref. Their manager game me this description of what happened the night that led to their suspension.  Here are his own words

“We've got a history of rough (in all senses of the word) games with [the team we played] -- and this one fit that pattern and we strongly and vocally disagreed with the ref's calls almost from the beginning of the game and would not quiet down about it. He showed at least 4 of our players cards for dissent -- including 2 of them who got red cards. We apparently weren't interested in getting his message that he wasn't interested in our opinion of his calls. I don't think there were any cards for anything else other than dissent, but a large majority of our players thought that there should have been -- for rough and late tackles by [the other team]. Game ended in some sort of scrum that involved a lot of vocal disagreement both between our players and [the other] players and between us and the ref. Scrum started after one of our players was tackled -- our guys thought deliberately and from behind. Ref saw it differently and intended to restart with a drop ball. Game never restarted. Apparently quite a few folks puffed and feuded, the ref left, and then everyone else went home. No one got hurt, but apparently punches were thrown and there was a whole lot of fussing.

Having played in our games against [this team] before I'm very sympathetic to the ref. He was probably in over his head and our persistent, vocal dissent only made things tougher since it sounds like it made him increasingly upset (and perhaps even less prone to make some calls -- not sure since I didn't see it).

Certainly nonstandard, but I think the best available option would have been to simply walk away from the game. We didn't.

Ref's report showed lots of cards to Alianza, none to [the other team]. [They] reported that the scrum at the end was driven by them needing to defend the ref from our players. I think that was both a distortion and exaggeration of what actually happened, but that's what they reported. Bottom line, ref's report included the fact that he felt threatened. Hard for me to imagine anything went (or would have ever gone) beyond verbal with the ref -- for the record it didn't, but the fact that he felt threatened made the league's choice to suspended us from play for 3 weeks quite understandable.”

I’m not wanting to take sides here but typically where there is smoke there is fire...we are playing in a league where we all have to go to work on Monday. We have to play physically and mentally in control. I am proud of everyone on the team who has heeded my warnings and kept themselves in check and not escalated the tension on the field, despite questionable calls by the ref and actions of questionable sportsmanship on the other team. We haven’t had an incident many weeks...until tonight which unfortunately sets our Number of Days, without a Sportsman Incident back to zero.

But first the game...tonight we brought our A team for sure. We had plenty of defense, midfield and firepower. And it showed. Although we lost the match the score was 0 to 1. Our best showing in many weeks. Because we were loaded with talent, some of our organization broke down...as we didn’t need a back line of 5 defenders. Many times during the game our two sweeper were actually playing forward of our three stoppers., essentially leaving out two outside stoppers, back to sweep. This is not the formation...sweeper sweep. Stopper stop. As it turned out, Alianza only goal came as a direct result of this confusion. Since our new formation is primarily a defensive formation, when we bring a extremely talent defense to the pitch, we might revert back to one sweeper to avoid any confusion, and keep the sweeper back to sweep. We shall see. 

Overall the game was a tremendous battle. And very fun to play and watch. Mooch spent most of his time watching as for the second time in 40 years he got hit in the eye with the ball. The first time was a few short weeks ago. This proves statistically that the probability of getting struck in the eye with a soccer ball while on the field of play is exponentially distributed.

As we all know, toward the end of the game we suffered a “Red Card”. Gooch aggressively pursued one of the big Alianza player out of bounds. It didn’t look all that dangerous as Gooch wrapped his leg around the other players right on the sideline. Gooch actually suffered more from the incident by losing his balance and tumbling out of bounds. The ref showed him a yellow card, which seemed appropriate for his last second lunge, and nothing more. The yellow card means he would have to sit out for 5 minutes. As Gooch was walking off the field the Alianza player who he fouled, reached up and touched Gooch on the side of the head with an open palm. Misinterpreting the player’s motion as a slap or a smack, versus a brotherly open hand touch on the face, Gooch turned and aggressively advanced on the player attempting to slap him on the head with his open palm. The ref immediately ran over. The altercation ended immediately and the ref issued Gooch a red card and sent the Alianza player to the bench to cool down as well. The Alianza player immediately came to our bench to explain that Gooch misinterpreted his gesture. This should be a lesson all around. It’s best just to keep your hands to yourself, until we shake hands at the end of the match.

Because of the Red Card, Gooch, will suffer a single game suspension.

Gents...as the season draws to an end...I appreciate everything you’ve done to keep in under control...please continue.

Shake Hands and Come Out Cheating

If you've been keeping up with recent commentary and op ed pieces in the press and on the internet you know there has been a serious debate regarding the fall from grace of the Lance Armstrong.  The discussion has run the gamut from the use of performance enhancing drugs, to the strong arm tactics of Armstrong to enforce the “omerta” or code of silence.  Interleaved been these primary headline making topics has been a more open discussion of cheating.  A serious debate has erupted not just over drug use but,  more applicable to every athletic competition, the gaining an unfair competitive advantage...what drives it and how can seeking a competitive advantage go too far and become cheating.

What does this have to do with a fun soccer game between the Fairfax Rowdies and the Orangemen?  A game that the Orangemen hosted at their home field under the lights of Bryant Alternative school on a brisk fall evening?  As it turns out, the referee during last nights game played a critical role in determining how and if either of the sides would push to seek a competitive advantage.  During the game it became clear that the necessity to report this referee to the league for abysmal performance on the field would be necessary.  When the officiating is poor and either team feels like they have been dealt an injustice on the field, tensions flare.  Not only that, there is a natural tendency to look for justice in the next call.  Sometimes it comes.   Sometimes field justice replaces the referees whistle.  Sometimes, calls are seen differently than might have actually occurred.   About two months ago, we had the same ref.  I wrote the blog, “And Field Justice for All”.  He hasn't improved and the same tendencies emerged.

The first goal of the game came on the kick-off.  The ref blew the starting whistle, the Rowdies kicked off.  In fact they really kicked off.  Gene, our keeper, wasn't ready to play.  He was standing at the top of the penalty area.  The whistle came as a surprise to most of the team.  Mooch had actually been on the sidelines having just been to the center circle with the ball pump that he returned to the bench.  He was running onto the field.  He wasn't even facing forward when the whistle blew.  He turned to look over his shoulder and saw a very high ball arching toward the goal.  Gene who had no idea that the game had even started took a step back and could only watch the ball sail over his head and into the net.  Now it was an exquisite kick to travel that distance and arch into the goal from the kickoff but the referee never confirmed with either goalkeeper if they were ready to begin.  Having just run onto the field Mooch asked the ref if he asked the keeper if he was ready before he blew the starting whistle.  The ref’s response what that it wasn’t necessary for him to check with the keeper before starting. Really?  In forty years of playing soccer this was the first game I've ever been in when the ref didn't ask the keepers if they were ready to play.   FIFA is silent on any requirement to determine if the teams are ready aside from the technical necessity that all players be on their side of the field, the ball be stationary in the center spot, and the opposing team be at least 10 meters from the center spot.  But clearly something happened that seemed unfair.  The Rowdies scored a goal by taking advantage of a referee willing to allow the them the opportunity to exploit confusion at the start of the game.  

Here Mooch describes what happened in his own words, “I would be upset if it happened when we were passively not ready.  I’m even more upset because I was the captain of the team who was asked by the other team to bring them a ball pump to inflate their ball for the opening kickoff and wasn’t even allowed to return onto the pitch to have a  look around before the whistle blew...which I suggest is actively not ready.  By the letter of the law it was a fair goal.  By the rules of sportsmanship and fair play not a chance...  In this case I don’t fault the Rowdies for exploiting the seam in the rules.  In this case I fault the referee for promoting something less than fair play at the opening kickoff.  At the center circle the ref was basically saying as he flips his coin, heads or tails, shake hands, and come out cheating.”

We have had at least three games this season with this ref and all of them have been dysfunctional.  This particular ref officiates from the center circle.  Maybe he walks +/- 10 yards from the center-line   He rarely blows his whistle...whereas some might consider this to be a good thing because he is letting play go on, it's not.  Because he doesn't blow his whistle because he's not paying attention to the game and doesn't know it's time to blow his whistle.  I noticed this behavior the first game this season, when incidents occurred not only was he not in

position to see the incident, on several occasions he wasn't even looking in the direction of play.  So when something happens...even as innocuous as the ball rolling out of bounds, he doesn't blow his whistle and he doesn't indicate who should take possession of the ball...literally the players have to ask him.  Almost every time. This is just one symptom...there are many more.  He also speaks in whispers, so even when he does give direction only one or two players

closest to him have the vaguest idea of what he is saying. By the way on one of these questionable out of bounds calls I heard Sam Ashpole  announce to everyone on the field that it touched him last thereby surrendering the ball to the Rowdies deep in our territory.  My hat’s off to Sam for the exact display of sportsmanship we are looking for at these matches.

With that long introduction, let’s get on to a shorter recap of the game. The final score was 1 to 3.  The Rowdies played their signature passing game.  Scoring their second goal early in the first half as we sunk into our defense.  At that point it seemed like the Rowdies would begin running away with the game, however, Jan and Phil, who have never played in our new dual sweeper role together before began clicking.  Play after play they divided up the defense and one or the other took turns breaking up the attack.  The Rowdies were helpless coming through the middle and were force to attack from the outside.

Even though our new formation forces us to sink back and put nine orange shirts behind the ball, only Bob remained up top on at the center circle, we were not without an offense.  On at least four early occasions we were able to break out of the back and with Mauricio sending Emile sprinting from his outside left position to collect the ball and make a run on goal.  On two of these occasions Emile carried so much speed that he beat the defense and made a one v one challenge on the Rowdies keeper, Doug.  Unfortunately Emile hasn’t been out to play with us in over a year so his finishes went wide.  But the Rowdies were put on notice that the Orangemen were not going to sit back and let them attack.

With only one substitute on the bench Mooch made the decision to invite two players from the pick-up game that ended before they took the field.  The Rowdies had at least one underage player on their team and Mooch offered them additional players to they would have at least one or two substitutes.  Chris Harvan was the last Orangemen to arrive bringing us up to four substitutes...a very good number to have at any game.  When Chris and prepared to enter the pitch Mooch put him up top.  His impact on the game was immediate, joining Emile on the attack, always with Mauricio breaking out of the midfield and distributing a ball for Chris or Emile to run onto.  At the half-time the Orangemen defense had held solid and didn't allow any more goals keeping the  score locked at nil -2.

The second half started and we played very similar to the first half.  The defense was working well however it seemed like a good idea to let Jan and Phil get involved in the attack by making runs out of the back.  One of them could go forward as long as the other stayed at home.  This helped take pressure off the back and we also continued to attack with from the front.  Again the combination of Bob, Emile, Mauricio, and Chris running forward afforded a few more opportunities.  On one forward attack Phil came out of the back controlling the ball on his own and moving through the Rowdies like a hot knife through butter.  He dumped to ball to one of invited players who ran forward on the right.  Emile and Chris ran up the left side calling for the ball to be crossed in.  Finally the guest player crossed it in high and it arched high over the box, dropping perfectly onto Chris’ s foot which he was able to loop back across into the far side netting.  A wonderful goal for the Orangemen.  We were back in the game.

The Rowdies scored their 3rd goal when are back-line was a bit disorganized following one of our advances.  Four Orangemen we still above midfield when the attack game and our signature “W” line of five defenders was more or less in a straight line with one of the stoppers playing deeper than the sweepers, which also defeated the offside call, not that the ref would have called it anyway.  The last Orangemen defender allowed the attacker to get goal side which when he received the pass and turned on it allowed him an unobstructed shot on goal, which he took and finished putting us under a great deal of pressure to come back.And we were not without opportunities.

We continued to have breaking attacks with Emile leading the charge.  He had at least four more runs in the second half.  He is tall and fast.  Time after time with the ball at his feet he was able to push the ball past the defense and run on to it.  Each time as he sprinted forward you could see the gap open between him and the defenders as he simply outpaced them.   Alas as he tried to make the very last touch on the ball, his speed, his new shoes, and his lack of playing in over a year caught up with him and his coordination at top speed failed him.  Nevertheless, it was these consistent runs forward...at least eight of them during the course of the game, that gave us our best opportunities to score and clearly relieved the Rowdies constant attacking pressure.  Therefore Emile emerged as our man of the match.  

Also during the game there was a controversial call involving Jan.  Has he ran forward he lost control of the ball and lunged to keep it off the foot of one of the Rowdy forwards.  He played the ball clear and a second later the Rowdy attacker made contact with Jan foot.  He fell to the ground shouting in pain.  It took several more moments for the ref to blow his whistle.  The injury was bad enough for the game to stop for several minutes as he was taken to the sidelines and attended to.  Just before returning to action the ref issued Jan a yellow card and sent him off for 5 minutes.  This incident set off a number of other tension building tackles and tempers began to flair.  Once again the ref’s inability to control the game was leading to a degrade in sportsmanship between the two sides.  However I applaud both sides for ultimately cooling down and keeping their heads and getting on with the game.  All in all if was a good match and we should look forward to playing the Rowdies next season with a different Ref.

Halloween Weekend Defeat for Orange

With Hurricane Sandy making headlines this week, threatening to wipe out all of the weekend activities, and while waiting with anxiety until the 11th hour to formally secure a field for our competition, all stress was removed as the Orangemen took the pitch at Robinson Secondary School at 3 pm, on a B-E-A-utiful Saturday afternoon in Fairfax, Virginia.  Alas, the Orangemen were defeated, not by the storm, or by zombies, but by a well organized Braddock Road side that stayed tenacious and kept a well organized defense.

As it turns out the upper field at JW Robinson has just been resurfaced and is both a colossal and wonderful pitch.  As seemingly big as the field is at Washington & Lee High it provides a extremely large amount of space to work and move the ball around...provided you have the energy.  Our opposition, dressed in blue, were the long time Braddock Road rivals who typically use the Lake Braddock High School facilities (Home of Mia Hamm) but therefore must rely on the BRSC for field assignments...which clearly came late and does not favor the adult leagues.

The afternoon game afforded an opportunity for some of our long time teammates to make a showing, as opposed to the 8 pm games we’ve been locked into for many years.  Jim Lister, Chris Brody, and Scott Fearing among those who prefer the earlier match times...it was good to have them out.  Failing to show for the match was the Orangemen equipment...does anyone know who has possession of the Orangemen equipment trunk?

After suffering through some colorful commentary about the worthless nature of the new Orangemen system of play, Mooch shook off the criticism and lined the Orangemen up with more confidence than ever in our new formation.  Without Sam or Andy showing up today, Doug and Karl started as sweepers.  Jim Lister and Chris Brody lined up as our outside stoppers with Ben playing central stopper.  Andres and Tedd Ogren lined up to control the midfield in front of Ben.  Floppy and B played our wing half-backs with Jim Landoll lining up to control the center circle.

This is a defensive minded formation, with the five full-backs and three halfbacks always behind the ball and only the midfield wingers allowed to get forward on the attack.  During the first minutes of the game, B and Floppy made good runs forward as we had multiple opportunities forward.  Braddock Road was not without an attacking presence and they also penetrated forward on multiple occasions, always from the flanks.  However, this brilliant defensive formation blocked their advances again and again.  Karl, Chris, and Jim, career veterans of this sport, instinctively knew how to disrupt an attack with the size of Doug and speed of Ben clogging the middle.  As an example of why Jim L has to get out on the pitch more, he seemingly completely forgot how to throw in a ball, lifting both feet off the ground forcing the referee to blow the whistle.  There is hope for Greg Z who got to witness a veteran of the sport making the same rookie error that he has committed in two previous games and was forced by Mooch to watch remedial videos.  Mooch will not make Jim L suffer the same indignity, particularly since Jim handed Mooch cash at the start of the game.

The first break came for Braddock Road off a nicely crossed ball from the right wing arching in high to the penalty area..  Doug had a clear opportunity to head the ball back in it’s direction of travel.  However, without any pressure being applied,  Gene also had a clear opportunity to step forward and catch the ball.  As he stepped forward he called for the ball.  Unfortunately, if a defender is already committed to the play when he hears the keepers call, it’s awkward to break off the play.  Therefore, Doug half-heartedly raised his head up to meet the ball.  Instead of making solid contact, the ball skimmed off the top his head, eluding Gene’s reach. As it was angling down it continued to the ground in front of the net and hit Nate in the feet.  As this type of awkward play goes, with the ball traveling so fast. it could have bounced forward or backward.  Sadly Nate’s feet deflected it backward into the net for an own goal.  Unlucky, highly unavoidable, and a good example of what can always happen when a quality ball arrives right in the middle of the penalty area.

Play continued in an open fashion.  The Orangemen had multiple runs forward.  Later  in the second half Chris Harven arrived and took up the midfield wing position for Floppy, who decided to skip the remainder of the game due to his appointment with the Marine Corps Marathon this morning.  It’s his tenth marathon and we wish him luck...it should be an awesome morning to run.  Chris had run after run forward and had several opportunities to strike the ball at the net and to cross the ball into a marauding B, who tried no less than four time to head the ball on target.  Earlier Chris and precisely placed ball to the outside top of the box that he was able to run onto and strike with his signature right footed blast.  He hit it low and on target  it lifted enough to carry it over the far post, but not by much.

Ben, advanced out of the back, working with B and Chris, on several runs, beating defenders, into space, and creating room to strike the ball for a shot.  When Braddock witnessed Ben moving forward they immediately tracked back and flooded the box with Blue.  Yet with Ben’s speed and maneuverability he kept creating space and threatened again and again.

Later in the second half, the Orangemen figured out the key to the Braddock retreat was to work the ball through midfield, playing the ball to Jim L, or Dave N in the center circle, who would then play it back to the midfielder who could then hit Chris or B.  Several times this worked, several times Dave Nanney controlled the ball with his hand breaking up this play.  Every time, Chris or B would come inside and could get the ball played to their feet, this allowed them to either play it back to an advancing midfielder or try to hit their opposite winger on the run forward.  On one of these scoring opportunities, Mooch played the ball to Nanney who was withdrawn from the center circle, Nanney played the ball square to him as he advanced on a diagonal run the center.  Chris Haven ran in from the flank, forward of the center line calling for the at midfield. Mooch angled the ball through to him, as Chris continued his lateral run.  He played it heavy and called out to an advancing Mooch that he was intending to continue his run.  Mooch felt Chris had lost sufficient control that he could step in.  He clipped the ball out of Chris’s charging path thereby changing the direction of play as he moved forward center of the final third. He then passed the ball back out left where B was running forward and calling for it.  B ran onto the ball putting Braddock back on it’s heels.  Mooch continued his diagonal run into right side of the box.  B saw the run in time to play the ball back through the off balanced defense diagonally across the box giving Mooch years of time to run onto it and strike the ball.  Mooch knowing he had the scoring opportunity of a lifetime beat the last defender to the diagonal ball, and had time to do everything right.  His feet were in sync, his head was down, and his intent was to strike the ball back across the net.  He hit the ball ball well, it started low, and hard, but he couldn't bring it back across net.  His strike only straightened out the roll of the ball and was therefore destined to go wide.  The build up proved, however, that the Orangemen can actually play the beautiful game, even it the strike wasn't quite so beautiful.

Defensively, we held Braddock to the outside.  Rarely, if ever, did they pose an attack from the center of the field.  All of their opportunities came from outside crosses.  Their second goal came on a low cross right in front of the net, which was tapped in by a lone striker at the far post.  On a similar play, they were denied a third goal because the striker advanced into an offside position just prior to the cross.  But their play from the flanks was superb in this regard.

In the last 20 minutes of the game we lost Tedd to injury and Ben to a social commitment.  Yet we were able to hold on to the score line and retire the fixture with only a 2 nil defeat.  Doug played those last 20 minutes like a man possessed.  He was all over box.  Time and time again breaking up ball after ball that was
delivered in as we were under siege by Braddock.   As a result I award Doug "Man of the Match" and honor I've been slow to bestow on anyone this season. The Orangemen should be proud of this  result... we've suffered some lopsided results in recent weeks, losing a handle on the game in the second half.  Yesterday we proved we can ride out the storm and create goal scoring opportunities at the same time.  Well played match to all.

Not all Orangemen are Orange...or Men

Please extend congratulations to one of our very own Orangewomen! Ann participated in the inaugural Ms. Veteran America Competition. The purpose of this event is to showcase “The Woman Beyond the Uniform”.  And paraphrasing from their website, "As a Female Veteran, some of their femininity becomes lost when they wear the uniform, because the  have to blend in with the boys.  Their grace, poise, beauty and talents become camouflaged during their military service"

 Ann made it into the top 10 but more importantly was crowned Mother of the Year...a category that recognizes her honorable service but all the sacrifices she makes not only for her country but for her children as well.The event was held to raise money for Final Salute Inc which provides transitional housing for female veterans and their children for up to two years. They are now listed in the CFC catalog as a charity you may donate to. They are opening their third home on Veterans' Day Weekend in Alexandria.  We expect Ann to fully commit to Orangemen soccer so she will stop missing games for these great causes in the near future.

The Eye of Mooch

Gents...thank you for all your concern for my well being.  And sorry if I scared anyone for leaving the field without telling anyone.  New rule for all Orangemen...if you are injured, don't just up an leave.  Tell someone first.

OK, so basically I've got two bruises on my retina, ruptured some of the ligaments that hold the lens in place, and have some bleeding inside my eye...which is what caused me to lose sight for a period of time. 

What happens is your eye doesn't have to fill with blood, any amount will begin to cloud the fluid in your eye. I thought I was looking through a dirty contact lens...but no I was looking through my own blood. WHat was really weird was by the time I got to the ER I was completely blind in my left eye. Over time the body absorbs the blood back out and the fluid turns clear again...and that didn't take too long.  By the morning I could see almost clearly again.

I'm on bed rest through Weds...with a trip to the Ophthalmologist every day.  Any activity can cause the eye to rebleed and since you can't stop the bleeding with pressure you just have to hope it heels and stays healed.

The rupture to the ligaments that hold the lens in place will never heal and shouldn't really effect much unless I require eye surgery sometime later in my old age.

I'm not in any pain...worst part is the eye drops.  They have to paralyze the eye muscles so they don't move...so the eye can heal.  Those eye drops hurt...sting and burn.  The drops have Boric and Hydrochloric acid in them.

Not much for me to do...just sit around...can't lift or bend or do much that could shake the eye etc.  Which is probably just as well since I've got a mild concussion that will just heal on its own.

This one's really got me thinking about how quickly an injury can be career ending...  However, it looks like I'm gonna make it through this one.  I will not be at the game this weekend...but I'll send out the Evite shortly.

v/r

Mooch

You Don't Have to Be a Pirate to Lose an Eye

Due to my premature departure from the pitch on Saturday night, on account of handling the ball with my eye,  Gooch stepped in as official sports reporter and composed this summary.  Thanks Gooch.

The night began with much promise.  As we arrived at the field, under the lights, on a cold October night, we assembled as 14 Orangemen and one Orangewoman.  Among the sea of orange stood the strongest mid-field seen in years with Ted, Ben, and a returning John Hamner returning to the pitch with us while TDY to D.C. from Ft Riley, KS.  Our attack seemed assured with Jose Smith back from a spate of injuries and travel.  The defense looked strong as well with Doug and guest player Andy anchoring the perennial stalwarts Sam, Karl, and Nate.  The reserves also portended a steady stream of fresh legs and skill mix.  The brilliant formation Mooch envisaged seemed custom made for the impending contest.  Nothing could stop the Orangemen tonight – victory will be ours was the premonition.

The Orangemen controlled the game from the beginning.  Holding possession of the ball and moving with beautiful flourishes of precise passes.  The opponents reverted to kick-and-run tactics which resulted in numerous goal kicks to the Orangemen.  In one of these hopeful long-balls, Doug dropped back deep on our left side while his teammates urged him to “let it go”.  Uncannily, the ball’s spin resulted in a high backward bounce and into the path of an on-rushing attacker.  Doug was in position to defend any well-taken shot; however, the attacker sent a wobbly pass attempt across the face of our goal.  Since Gene had come off his line to support Doug, there was no defender to clear the careening, wounded duck that bent in from an impossibly acute angle and into the net for the opponent’s first goal.  A few minutes later another goal came to the opposition in less notable fashion.  That’s when the trouble started.

Jim Muccio entered the game and immediately began to dominate the midfield.  Within 5 minutes of his entry, a stocky opponent shouldered into Mooch at just past the half-way line.  As Mooch kept possession and dribbled right, he leveraged his body position and shrugged the opponent off with a left-handed forearm shiver that would make mean Joe Green happy.  The opponent careened backwards and somehow recovered precisely in the path of Mooch’s through-ball to an on-rushing Orangeman.  This off-balance opponent slammed the ball hard and high, catching Mooch directly in the left eye at point-blank range.  It was difficult to tell if the blast was deliberately malicious or clumsily unlucky; nonetheless, the ref had no offense to call as Mooch doubled over on the pitch, seeing stars, the label of the ball on his retina, and wondering what the hell just happened.  Appling John Wayne’s style of injury care, Mooch made his way off the pitch, drove himself to store one-eyed, bought saline solution, then returned during the second half sporting a swollen, blood-shot, and bruised left eye.  The whereabouts of his contact lens remains unknown.  The vision was deteriorating in his eye and at that point Nanney convined him it was time to go to the ER.   But Mooch was not the only casualty of the game.

During one of many, trademark, blazing runs that shreds opponents defenses like hot shrapnel, Jose S sprinted well-past the fastest of the opposition players.  As he was nearing the goal line, he contorted his body to send a goal-ward pass to his teammates.  His considerable momentum created a violent meeting with the synthetic surface and Jose was slow to get up.  He left the game holding his side and did not return with possible bruised or cracked rib(s).  With the score 2-nil, two Orangemen down, and time running out in the first half of play, perseverance and superior skill finally paid off for the Orangemen.

The ball sailed through the crisp night air toward goal from a throw-in, Ben jockeyed for position through an ocean of white jerseys.  As the ball lost all velocity at the zenith of its parabolic trajectory, Ben soared above the fray and aggressively snapped his neck and torso forward with enough force to send the ball bouncing past the defenders and a very skilled goalkeeper.  The ball rocked the net for the Orangeman’s hopeful climb back to parity.  The half ended 2-1.

The second half was a new game.   Unfortunately the Orangemen succumbed to fatigue, the two key injuries, and a dearth of fit substitutes while the opponents threw a mix of youthful runners and crafty veterans.  The opponents scored three well-deserved goals, and another cheap fluke or two to finish with 6 or 7 (it’s easy to lose count).  The resounding defeat was punctuated with a few sparks of brilliantly beautiful soccer.  The most notable came right through the heart of the opponent’s defense.  Ted and Ben where surgically dissecting the center midfield and Ted called so all could hear “Ben, give-and-go”.  Even though English was the second language of the opposite team, I’m sure they knew exactly what was coming.  Undeterred, Ted and Ben executed a maneuver typically seen when Real Madrid plays Barcelona resulting a legitimate goal-scoring opportunity thwarted only by an extraordinary goalkeeper.

Ted and Ben’s mastery of the game was matched by Doug’s strong-hearted defense as he repelled countless attacks from a determined and talented side.  Karl also had a great game: it seemed he was always in the perfect position and his passes were crisp and deadly accurate which started many attacking opportunities.  If you subtract the “luck-riddled” goals against, our defensive performance was good.  The defense set the tempo for a possession-themed, short-pass, game of control.  I attribute this to the new formation.  It is perfect for the Orangemen game and I think will always give us a fighting chance.  The defense is more organized and composed.  Multiple, vertical lines allows short passes into a successive wave of Orangemen.  The depth also allows overlapping runs so that fresher legs can charge forward while others cover-down on the defensive third. 

The first missing ingredient was a consistent, legitimate attack -- a goal-scoring forward (after Jose left).  The second missing ingredient was fit and fast mid-fielders to supplement Ted and Ben’s possession game.  The third missing link was quality substitutes.  Ted, Ben, Greg, John, and Doug played almost all 90+ minutes and it showed in the second half.  We were a few players (and in-game injuries) away from making this a close game.  Another positive note last night was referee interaction.

There were many calls that could have gone either way (hand-balls, off-side, ball over touchline, etc..).  The ref was fair and consistent.  More importantly, when calls did not go our way, we maintained composure and the kept the game from getting ugly despite a disappointing score line.  As a reminder from those of us who have refereed soccer, it is nearly impossible for one man in the center of the field to see every off-side angle, ball completely over touch line, and the myriad subtleties of our beautiful game and her sometimes subjectively-interpreted laws.  So let’s continue to ‘shut up and play’ since our own efforts will be the only decisive factor we can ever control.    

We also showed a never-give-up attitude late in the game as well when a scrappy Orangemen midfield won possession and Greg and/or Ben fired a great shot toward goal.  Bob battled for position and hammered the deflection in what appeared to be guaranteed second goal.  Alas Bob was denied by the woodwork as his rocketing volley ricocheted off the cross bar. 

In closing I hope all Orangemen readers keep their heads high, wish our teammates speedy recovery, and believe that we will continue to play good soccer.  We will not will all games; however, quality soccer, determined effort, and a family-like camaraderie will continue to be hallmark Orangemen soccer traits and the reason we all come out to play week-after-week and year-after-year. 

Enjoy v/r Gooch

Orangemen vs de Agosto FC

Too bad all soccer games don’t last only 45 minutes.  As halftime approached the Orangemen kept pace with  DE AGOSTO FC on Saturday night to a score of 1 to 1.  The Football Club of August was frustrated to say the least.  The ref even approached Mooch and commented that the Orangemen were doing a fine job shutting down their attack.  For everyone present to witness the new formation, 2-3-2-2-1, became a believer.  It wasn’t until the second half, that DE AGOSTO took off with the game and left management and players alike, scratching their heads as to whether the new formation was of value. By the end, the Orangemen conceded 5 more goals during the last 45.  And despite the standing ovation that Jim Landoll received from the visitors, based on his tenacious pursuit in the midfield, the Orangemen scarcely mounting an additional attack.

Nevertheless, the new formation showed enough promise, particularly in the defensive third, to warrant a few more games.  In fact,  had the Orangemen be able to sustain the energy of play they had in the first half, by having a few more sets of fresh legs on the bench, who’s to say they wouldn’t have done better.  The Orangemen started with 1 sub and by half-time, when Floppy arrived, they were up to 2 subs. 

The defense seemed to work.  The formation calls for 2 sweepers.  Andy and Sam were instructed to start as sweepers and to work out their communication, each backing up the defenders on their half of the field.  Also, Andy instructed Sam that they would not try to play a strong offside trap, at least until they go comfortable.  Ahead of the sweepers, Karl started on the right side, with Nate on the left, and Mauricio playing in the center, stepping in for a position custom made for Ben, who had to take the evening off.  Luke was expected to show by half-time but unfortunately was a no show.  Greg Z arrived and would sub in for Nate and Karl as the game moved forward.

Tedd and Mooch started in the midfield leaving B to play center forward, with Bob and Jim  on the flanks playing the point positions to the left and right.  Mooch has borrowed the point position from his time playing ice hockey.  When the offense advances the two defenders grab the outside lanes near mid-ice to intercept the puck if it is slung out along the boards.  In similar fashion this position can be used to pick up a loose ball angling out of bounds or break up an attack starting from one of the flanks.  When the play switches to defense the outside forwards play in a similar position to fight for the puck at midfield if, again, it is played out along the base of the boards.  Stepping just inside allows for these players to be key to linking the ball forward.  It is vitally important,  however, that these player come to the ball when in position and not run forward on the attack.

In the end, the formation seems to have merit so stay tuned this week as Mooch provides more explicit instruction on how each position should be played.

New Formations

Orangemen --

Here is the new 2-3-2-2-1 formation I've been considering.  Option 1 includes the strong single striker in the central forward position.

Option 2 includes two strong attacking midfielders on the flanks. 

In both cases the system demands that the team play in position and move as a unit on and off the ball.  Please provide your thoughts.  If you click on each map you should be able to expand your view.

Orange...Men in Black

The Orangemen changed their colors on Saturday afternoon for the first time in modern history.  Wearing all black to their match against the yellow clad Sterling Sting, they played on a natural grass field, at Paul Hencken Fields, near Algonquin Park in Loudon County.  Alas the change in color, necessary for some of the aging Orangemen--including their manager--to differentiate between yellow and orange in the bright sun, didn't change the game outcome.  The Orangemen were defeated by a score of 6 to 2.  The defeat wasn't without an opportunity to learn a few things.  

First, the change to black, definitely eliminated any excuses for errant passes to the opposition.  And, aside from looking incredibly gallant in all black, we learned that some members of the Orangemen still haven’t added all black socks to their kits.  When wearing orange jerseys the splattering of white and orange soccer socks doesn't stand out.  When wearing all black, the white socks and the orange socks, are immediately visible.  So if you don’t have black socks, please make the investment this week.  Wearing the same uniform helps defeat any accusations for opposing teams that we are bringing on “ringers” when we go on our winning streak latter in the season.

Second, it turns out that several players didn't read the Evite properly and didn't process that the game time was 4 pm vs our standard 8 pm kickoff. Whereas it wasn't a manager mistake in this case sending out bad and confusion information, I still feel I could have sent out a secondary reminder that there was a change to what we consider normal.  My bad for those who missed it.  I’ll do better when highlighting that there is this sort of change.  Strangely, the entire team carried a black shirt with them to the field, indicating that everybody was paying attention to the email.  Ironically Mooch didn't bring his black shirt, indicating the age old adage, do what I say not what I do,  is still valid.

Third, we learned that good officiating is extremely helpful to the game and eliminates most of the need to talk with the referee.  Prior to the match the referee actually came to me and forced me to talk to him.  He asked me directly if I had any concerns or issues that I wanted to bring up.  During the match I asked him for clarification on several calls.  I addressed with him the need for the teams to show integrity when the ball rolls out of bounds...and he agreed.  Several questionable calls went against us and it was the other team yelling at the ref for us playing too aggressively.  I think it was clear that when we are the team stepping out of the fray and not engaging in the squabble, we look much better.  All confusion is eliminated if only one member of the other team is yelling at the ref...as was the case.  One voice in protest can be sorted out and sized up for what it was, and in this case, ignored.  The ref simply knew who to keep his eye on.  So I would like to thank all of you for keeping your heads and staying out of the business of calling the game!!

So we did score two goals.  The first one, if we could capture it on video, will be replayed again and again on the evening news.  Chris H brought the ball down at the top of the box with his back to the goal.  He pushed it to his right and turn on it as the keeper was rushing out to cut the angle.  As he turned on it he struck the ball with his left foot directing it left of the inside post.  The arc on the ball carried it wide of the charging keeper but it curled behind him just in time to slip inside the post.  It was a magic goal and kept us nicely in the match during the first half.  In fact the score at half time was 2 to 1.  So we were really still in it...and had a good chance of doing better in the second half.

Due to changes in the lineup for the second half, and the necessity to rotate the substitutes onto the field.  The Sting found holes in our defense and punished us with two early goals.  Now ahead by three, and with fatigue setting in, we were scrappy and just trying to hold on.  A late scramble in the box led to a pass into Bob A who was able to poke it from the center of the box wide to a charging Michelangelo G, who struck it hard and low past the keeper for our second goal.  The cheers that erupted from the sidelines on that goal were fantastic.  It sounded like we were in a stadium.  It’s not at all clear who all was involved in the cheering but we had a couple of visitors,  Jim L’s wife, Mooch’s dad, Jan’s ever present wife Crissy, Mauricio's better half, and of course Michelangelo’s new clan.  Thank you Orangemen fan’s for making that kind of noise!

We still have some issues with our system of play.  I’m not ready to make whole scale changes to our system...but I can tell you I've been analyzing the 4, 4, 2 formation that we've been playing for many years and have come to the conclusion it is the worst system of play in the history of soccer.  Much more to follow on that front.