The Game That Wasn't - Orangemen vs Internationales Feb 2014

A strange thing happened on the way to an intra-squad scrimmage on 22 February.  The bottom line is that last night's event was an unofficial, unscheduled, ad-hoc, 90 minute pick-up game with an opposing team that happened to show-up and take the pitch with the Orangemen.  Mauricio's brought four  friends because our numbers looked way down and this was just a pick-up game after all.  All four were excellent players who brought skill and talent to the game and made the Orangemen competitive challengers.  (Having made no contact with the Internationales manager during the week, Mooch declared the game a bust and Gooch organized the pick-up match)

The highlight of the evening was beer at Glory Days with Dave Nanney and Karl.  We learned several interesting tid-bits such as: the conference Mooch attended last week was a Japanese-style comic book convention, D.C. United is having a full squad, first-team practice with the Pentagon Soccer Club in May; Dave's daughter is getting married next month; a second generation Orangemen (Luke Tickner's USAFA classmate) should be joining the Orangemen soon; Sam A. and Julia moved to Dallas; Jose Olivera is returning from Afghanistan; Jose's son retired from pro basketball, got married, and is following his Dad in the Army; Ann and Gooch will be moving to New York in July; and Tedd is recovering from shoulder surgery (wear and tear from swimming).  I think we should make "Dave's Dish" a regular feature on the blog.

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And now for  the rest of the story…..

We had 9 regulars and Mauricio brought 4 outstanding guests.  We were setting up cones to scrimmage 6v6 when the Internationals showed up with approx 20 players, families, and loud fans.  We went up 1-0 and were dominating thanks to Mauricio's guests - Sebastian, Mikey, Firmin, and Mr X.  John A. sent John H on a tear up the left side; after winning the 50 yard dash on the touchline, John H drove a superb cross to the back post where guest Mikey was keeping pace with the run and perfectly positioned to drill the ball into the back of the net.

The Internationals played a familiar style - using their forearms, elbows, and bodies to screen, possess, and dispossess.  Our midfield and attack was matching them blow-for-blow and the referee seemed content with allowing the physical play.  The Internationals clearly were not pleased that we refused to back down and they hacked and grabbed at Orangemen as we dribbles around them.  Mind you: all this was occurring during sequences of play - both sides were playing physical soccer.  On numerous occasions, the referee engaged in  loud discussions/debates with dissenting International players.  The ref had an unusually high-pitched voice as there was this ear-piercing sequence of screeches from the Internationals penalty area.  Turns out, it was the ref squeaking with Internationals during the typical scrum and jostling which occurs in an out-of-control physical match amongst passionate players.  

As the ball was cleared from the Internationals back quadrant, the pushing/shoving continued in the middle/center part of the field and there was upper body contact (looked shoulder to shoulder to me) between Orangemen guest Mr X and Internationals.  The ref blew his whistle and Orangemen Guest X continued to jog away from the Internationals and towards the Orangemen half.  The ref was frantically screeching, and one of the Internationals literally launched himself through the air and delivered a flying kick to the back of Mr X.  So Mr X turned and went back into the on-rushing fray of Internationals, while addressing them.  At no time did any Orangeman strike, kick, trip, tackle, spit at, etc. any International.  Nonetheless, the ref pulled the red card on both Mr X and the International Flying-kickster.

In Mooch's absence, I discussed the matter with the ref, who said Mr X had kicked the Flying Wallenda's son earlier so Flyboy was retaliating.  I told the ref that I did not see Mr X or any Orangemen commit any of the 7 sending-off offenses.  The ref repeated that he saw Mr X kick Wallenda J. first. I asked why he didn't caution or send-off Mr X at that point, and the ref said he "told" the Internationals that he would handle it, he gave them a free kick, and he "told" them not to retaliate.  That's what all the earlier squawking was about. I guess the Internationals decided not to obey him.  Unfortunately it made the game more ugly than necessary. 

The Internationals equalized the score with a loose ball that bounced around our penalty area after a corner kick - weak goal.  We failed to convert on many opportunities.  My other criticism is that the Orangemen did not maintain possession and string together series of passes.  There was only 1 pass backward and we failed to get the ball out the wings enough.  We tried to dribble through 2-4 opponents when a wall pass would have been more effective.  We did have good communication and excellent running off the ball to get into open space.  Defense was excellent - only allowing one instance where a full-back was beaten and a supporting mid-fielder was a half step away from clearing.  As this midfielder stated, that was my fault for terminating slide-tackles at halftime (after the red card fiasco).  During an uncontrolled game, I'll risk a 2-1 loss if we can mitigate the chances that one of our guys might get carried to the ER - again.  I'll take the blame; however, if presented with the same circumstances, I will make the same decision every time.  

After the final whistle blew, the ref told me that he did not want to report the red cards at the International manager's request. I engaged the ref in another discussion that from my vantage point (I played goalie), the Flying Walleneda karate kick was the only dangerous or violent act.  The ref said that he saw Mr X fouling Wallenda Jr and the Orangemen were the instigators - so I should believe him and not my lying eyes.  Any officially licensed referee would have penalized a dangerous foul if they saw one.  Furthermore, a legitimate official would have documented and reported a violent retaliation such a deliberate flying kick (intended to injure) to the back of a player.  Recognizing that my protest would be countered by the other team and the referee, I agreed to treat the red cards as a matter that stayed on the pitch.  The only logical conclusion is that this bizarre event was not an official, league-sanctioned match.  

A few beers and good stories were definitely necessary to cleanse the mind and soul after witnessing such a felonious assault perpetrated against the beautiful game.

Orangemen - Special Thanks to Gooch for the write-up last week.  It definitely appears that something strange was going on between the Ref and the Internationales...I’m glad no one was injured and that everybody, considering the circumstances, kept their heads together.  As far at resetting the Red Card clock to zero...I’m not sure what to do about it.  We’ve gone 480 days without a Red Card...and the player involved wasn’t an Orangemen...and the Red Card wasn’t reported.  I will have to talk to the other Team Manager...to understand more about the ref involved.  But to me, it seems like the red card was issued to avoid a major altercation.  He red carded both players to keep the peace…  In the end though, if red is shown, sportsmanship has broken down, whether it was our fault or not.  My sense is we’ve got to reset the clock to zero.

Orangemen vs Fairfax FC Feb 2014

Orangemen Don’t Lose!
Orangemen Don’t Lose!
Orangemen Don’t Lose!

On a very cold night, on the weekend of the start of the Winter Olympics in Sochi Russia, the Orangemen begin an undefeated run to prepare for the Spring/Summer Season.  Last night the Orangemen netted six goals against Fairfax.  Unfortunately Fairfax scored five and one of our goals was given back, graciously I might add, because the ref awarded the goals and under extreme protest from the other team, one player in particular who was not in a position to judge whether or not the ball inched over the end-line.  Style points go to Will’s friend, who scored the goal, for agreeing to overturn the refs decision at the center circle.  Two, maybe three, players on the field were in position to see if the ball went out of play.  Those players were not involved in the protest.  Instead, rather, the more vocal of the Fairfax players, influenced the game with their mouth.  The Orangemen should be proud of the way they kept their composure last night.  During the first half a large number of calls were going Fairfax’s way...a lot of the decisions made by the Fairfax players before the ref made the call.  Too many for me to consider it a coincidence.   Nevertheless, even with giving up a goal, we also gave up five more.  Despite the number of goals we scored we still gave the game away defensively, and then failed to score even more offensively.  We had plenty of opportunities and we we controlling the ball extremely well.  We could win the ball and then move forward quickly.    On offense, we had way too many offsides to be happy about the outcome.  I’ve talked about his before...once we get a couple offsides calls, we shouldn’t get any more.  Last night the ball got called back at least 7 or 8 times.  That’s way too many.  Yes, some were because Fairfax was assisting the ref vocally, but they also played a tight trap.  They were pulling the trap at mid field.  It’s up to the strikers to know when the trap is being set and pay attention.  It’s simple to beat.  Stay onsides.  Come back for the ball, instead of maying the break, and do a give and go with the passer instead of expecting the through ball every time.  The give and go will then give the passing player all the momentum as he is running through the trap and the defenders are moving forward.  Simple stuff.

Strikers:  Wil, Kendall, B, John H,
Midfield: Fredo, George, Daniel, Mooch, Cris, Wil’s friend, Cris’s friend
Defense: Mauricio, Richard, John H, Greg, Cris’s friend, George, Fredo, Daniel
Keepr: Gene

Final Score was five to five.  I can’t remember all the scoring...but here is what I can remember.

Wil’s friend scored in the first seconds of the game…Mooch was turning the lights on so he didn’t see the goal.

Kendall scored second off an unselfish assist from Mooch running through the top of the box after a classy steal at mid-field that lead to the break

Cris’s friend had the goal of the match hitting at high curler into the top right corner beating their 6’7” keeper flat footed.

Wil’s friend had a second goal...and sadly his hat trick was removed as a result of the goal being removed.

Kendall’s friend, Richard, played very good defense for us and had some powerful runs up field late in the second half.

George had an great and aggressive game, playing some full-back and midfield, but getting involved in a lot of challenges for the ball and winning most of them.

Mauricio #2’s brought his son Daniel to play with us for the second week in a row.  Mooch moved Daniel around to different positions having him play left and right mid and some left full-back.  He had a shot late in the second half from the top of the box that rattled the cross bar.

Wil also rattled the upright on a devilishly hard shot from the right side of the box.

We really did control the match and passed well to hold the ball. If not for a few break-downs in defense, due mostly to rotating many players through defense, we really would have run away with the game.

Great match Orangemen and thanks for the guests who showed up to play in Orange.

Hat Trick for Big K, Orangemen vs Turtles Feb 2014

Orangemen Win!

Orangemen Win! 

Orangemen Win!  

It’s so infrequent that I get to type those words I just wanted to do it more than once.  We waited for two weeks, since the agonizing defeat to Chantilly, in the frigid temperatures to get out of the house, for at minimum a run to shake off the cabin fever, but also for a shot at redemption.  The weather was not cooperating… the weather watchers blew it in Atlanta and we were not seeing any signs that the snow on the fields would melt before our game, even though they said it would warm up on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  It was barely warming on Friday and the expected high of 55 for Saturday never materialized.  Instead the mercury approached 48 but had settled back down to 45 by game time.  Nevertheless it the fields at South Run were clear and it was game on.  We had the same Ref from two weeks ago, and he asked if we wanted to play by his same rules, he would let aggressive play, play on if it wasn't dangerous.  However, early on, it was apparent he was going to call a tighter game.  I for one, was appreciative of his early calls...although he did let a few play on that resulted in to our advantage.

Well played Orange, we were passing and dominating a good Turtles side...with the added talent of the two players we gave to them.  Fredrick, who has amazing ball skills on the ground, and Daniel (Maurico #2’s boy) who has the speed of an 18 year old, because he is 18.  We cannot say we gave the Turtles less than top quality on this night.The Turtles, did feel a bit slighted that he was calling the fouls primarily in our favor...I don’t know if that’s true or not...but if it is, occasionally you get a bit of field justice in soccer. Things were just going our way...you only need to ask Kendall how well things were going for us.

So the big news of the night is that Kendall scored a hat trick...1 header, one far post, one crossing ball that lofted the keeper (Jeff) who misjudged the flight of the ball and apologized to his team directly after.  Kendall later admitted to trying to put the cross into the box, but that’s no matter when it stretches the net.

In other news, Mooch completely forgot that he doesn’t know how to play soccer.  For his efforts on the field Mooch is awarded  three assists  -- all crosses in from the right when he was playing up top or in the right halfback position.

On his first cross which Cris gave him a nicely weighted ball for him to run onto, he had to beat the right fullback to the ball, and nearing the endline, get the ball up and into the center of the box.  Five minutes earlier he had the identical run, crossed the ball in, but failed to get it up in the air so it was easily defended.  On this cross he had to hurry but made sure he sunk his entire foot into the ball to lift it up.  The ball crossed over the defenders curling down on the far side of the goal box, right onto Kendall’s head.  Kendal only had to make contact to send it back across the goal and into the net.  

On Mooch’s second assist, again, he came from a pass Cris made to him as he ran up the right side.  Cris called for it back at the top of the 18.  Mooch was only happy to pass the ball back to him as he had no idea what to do with it.  Hearing Cris call out for it gave him a life line.  He hit it low into the center, just beating a defender out streched toe, to hit Cris in the feet.  Cris made his signature feigh to go forward and left, but drew the ball back and move it right, right on to his right foot whereupon he neatly tucked the ball into the goal near the right post.

For Mooch’s third assist of the night, he made another run up the right side, as Kendall was smashed in the foot trying to move the ball back across center. Everyone expected a foul on the Turtles, but the ball squirted out and rolled directly to Mooch who collected it and carried it forward up the wing.  He made a move wide and to the outside, fully expecting the speed of the the fullback to catch him. Instead Mooch beat him on the outside and continued to race up the pitch and into the box.  He felt he had time for another touch and even more time to try to strike the ball low and to the far post.  He hit the ball as low and as hard as he could, but alas, without the accuracy he wanted.  The ball was going to carry wide of the far post.  However, in the resulting seconds, Kendall, who just seconds before, was grimacing over the stomp to his foot, collected himself and made a blistering  run up the pitch to get on the end of Mooch’s ball that was not heading wide of the post.  Kendall hit it back across goals, and thinking to himself that he hit it wide of the other far post, was delighted to see it just curl inside to stretch the net for our third goal and his second of the match.  

In a set piece, Mooch took a free kick on the outside box on the right.  He got a low kick into Will who made space for himself on the right and shot a perfect ball to the right post.  Everyone was ready to yell goal when Daniel, playing for the Turtles, and as a youngin still abides by the rules of set pieces, meaning, if you guarding the post, never step away until the ball is clear, stepped out of the shadow of the post to block Will’s perfect shot denying him his goal.

Then Kendal scored one on a run up the left flank...he was crossing it in. but it lofted toward the goal and Jeff misjudged it and it went in

Alfredo, Scott F, Mauricio, and George put in a solid day in midfield, enabling us to shut down the Turtles advance, and giving us a possession game which we so sorely lacked against Chantilly only two weeks ago.  When we can defend at midfield like that, it really changes the game, and we don’t have to depend on our defense, which gives them a break, and when the do have to engage, they are sweeping up, rather than making the one critical touch that makes or breaks the play.  Early in the game George mixed it up with Fredrick (our player in green) and game out of it with a bloody nose.  It’s always good to see a little blood on the pitch, reminds us that we are playing an aggressive sport at times.  As we continue to watch Fredrick, who has great skills, for permanent inclusion on the Orangemen, it was interesting to see him playing against us.  He’s a challenging playing and strong as an Ox.  Mauricio found himself on the ground no less than three times after mixing it up with Fredrick...He’s a good friend of Will so we’ve ask Will to talk with Fredrick to make sure he is aware that the Coaches league is a fun game...it’s not the World Cup and we all want to return to work on Monday.  And speaking of the World Cup...be thinking of Venues where we can get the team together to watch some games this Summer.  That will be fun. First game is Thursday, June 12th, at 4 pm...Brazil vs Croatia.

Karl and Gorilla Greg played well as fullbacks, Greg, coming back after sustaining a broken toe several months ago, but still showing his speed to break up play.  Karl, charged into a few skirmishes and came up the winner on more than one.

And I can't forget to mention Gene our keeper.  Today he was throwing himself to ground and making the stops he needed to make.  He was taking his time on distributions and more often than not finding Orange, rather than green.  Special mention to Ben who was taking the goal kicks, and also finding Orange on the fly.

All of this great play up top would not have been possible without the dedicated and selfless play of Jan, Ben, and Johnny H and their speed in the back, shoring up our defense, and passing the ball between themselves and out of trouble, allowing for a controlled pass into midfield, typically to Cris, who could then either make his signature run at the defense, or who had options left or right to pass the ball.  Mooch was the beneficiary of most of those distributions coming to the right side on this night.

So Mooch puts in the performance of a lifetime but alas after he completes three separate assists, to two different goal scorers, and makes an  amazing run into the box with a three touch juggle and then volley as he raced through the turtles defense, and his free kick to Will that was so closes to a goal, woulda coulda shoulda, he does not get man of the match honors.  Kendall, with his hat-trick, is man of the match.  Had Mooch found the net on his juggling exhibition, however, it could have been a different story.

Well played Orangemen.  It’s nice to see we really do know how to play the beautiful game!!

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.