This week’s Game of the Week saw Green River CC and Near Miss FC compete in our men’s outdoor 8v8 league. The game promised to be an exciting one to watch, as both teams looked determined to take away three points.

Green River CC started off on full throttle, commanding possession, passing the ball around and making good runs down the flanks during the opening minutes. Their first chance came early when a Green River CC player worked the ball well in the corner, cut into the box and took a shot which was easily saved by the goalkeeper. Soon after, the squad was awarded a free kick right outside of the box. The kick taker opted to lay it off to his teammate who ripped a powerful shot that went wide of goal. Their third scoring opportunity came as Muhhammud took his shot off an excellent trough ball, which was parried by the keeper. Muhhammud was in the thick of the action once again when he received another through ball moments later, took a few touches, cut it inside and struck the ball well only to have the goalkeeper come up big once again. Near Miss FC remained on the back foot as Green River CC continued to press. Green River CC had another chance go begging after they put a string of neat passes together at the top of the box only to shoot it wide. Green River CC’s moment finally came with a third remaining in the first half when a shot took a massive deflection and rolled into the net. Near Miss FC’s most promising chance came from a corner kick soon after. The ball was placed in the middle of the box, which was cleared, but only as far as an oncoming Near Miss FC player who launched a shot that the Green River keeper saved pretty handily. Green River’s final chance of the half came from a moment of mastery by Cameron who turned a clearance into a beautiful long pass over the top to Muhhammud whose shot hit the post.

The second half resumed with very much the same rhythm as the first with Green River CC taking control to produce an early goal via another deflection. They added another when a ball was played in the box and the advancing goalkeeper failed to get to it before the striker easily slotted into the corner. Green River CC upped their goal count to four before Near Miss FC produced one of their own. Some intricate passing in the box set up a Near Miss who took a powerful shot that sailed beyond the outstretched arm of the Green River goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

Near Miss continued to press and create chances by working the ball around well, but were unable to convert any more opportunities. Green River CC would take the match 4-1.

This week’s Game of the Week featured FC Drinkers and Here 4 Beer of our Men’s C league on Wednesday nights. With two talented teams facing off, we were guaranteed a hard fought battle.

The game started off with high intensity and Here 4 Beer scoring quickly into the first period. With momentum and their adrenaline pumping they put another goal in the back of the net to have a solid lead. Fortunately for FC Drinkers, they found some energy and rhythm amongst themselves and found the back of the net in the fifth minute to bring the game back within reach. Both teams were able to hold possession of the ball nicely and create chances on goal. In the ninth minute of the game Tsutomu Ando had a lovely cut around a Here 4 Beer defender and slotted the ball to the back post to tie the game up for his team. A short two minutes later a FC Drinker player had a glorious step over to beat the Here 4 Beer defense and keeper to take the lead for his team. A quick counter attack and goal lead by Here 4 Beer brought the game back into a tie for the second time that night. In the eighteenth minute Tsutomu Ando chipped the ball over the defense and had a beautiful header goal to take the game to 4-3 in FC Drinkers favor. The game went into half time in favor of FC Drinker 4-3 over Here 4 Beer.

The second half started out with high intensity from both teams. Here 4 Beer wanted to get another goal to bring the game back within reach and FC Drinkers wanted to maintain their lead. FC Drinkers had many chances on goal throughout the second period. Marcus Chromy of Here 4 Beer kept them in the game with tremendous saves. In the ninth minute of the second period FC Drinkers hit a stinging shot low and hard to the corner, but Marcus Chromy sprawled out in a full dive to get finger tips on the ball and knock it wide, denying FC Drinkers of scoring. A short minute later Here 4 Beer had a free kick and they swung the ball nicely into the box, where FC Drinkers keeper had to come up with a big save to keep his team in the lead. There were no goals scored until the eighteenth minute of the second period when Colin Gierzak of Here 4 Beer dribbled the ball nicely, cut around a FC Drinker defensive player, and slotted the ball in the back of the net, bringing the ball back into a tie once again with a score of 4-4. But the game is not over until the referee blows the whistle and that was certainly the case tonight. With thirty seconds left Tsutomu Ando of FC Drinkers worked together with his team and ended up with the ball back at his feet, a sharp cut around Here 4 Beer, and a ripped shot that squeezed by the diving keeper put his team back in the lead with a score of 5-4. The last minute goal from FC Drinkers ended being the game-winning goal as shortly thereafter the whistle was blown to end the game. The match was heated and well contested throughout the whole game. Keep a watch on the league standings as we approach playoffs, one can expect these teams will continue their success into the playoff period.

Our game of the week saw Scrappy Dogs and RazzMaTazz face off in Indoor Women’s O30 play.

It was clear from the get go that both teams were here to play. In the early minutes, strong defense on both sides kept the ball primarily in the middle of the field, preventing either team from any real scoring threat. As time went on, Scrappy Dogs found their rhythm, moving the ball around well, and slowly began to dominate possession.

The first goal-scoring opportunity came when the RazzMaTazz goalkeeper fumbled a save that was picked up by Scrappy Dogs, but the forward would kick the ball wide of the goal. Not too long after, the Scrappy Dogs continued pressure paid off when Patti latched onto a ball kicked off the wall by her teammate to score. This goal started off a Scrappy Dogs run. They added a second moments after their first, and then a third resulting from some excellent passing between Stephanie and Vivian who eventually slotted it home. Scrappy Dogs added another from a long ball, which was played from defense, and then one more as Edie made an excellent run down the middle, passing if off to a teammate on her left who placed a neat cross to the center, which was then tapped into the net.

RazzMatazz never allowed the score to thwart their efforts, and they started to build a rhythm towards the end of the half. Their determination bore fruit when Sarah dribbled past a Scrappy Dogs player and found the back of the net. They finished off the half with another when the RazzMaTazz goalkeeper instructed her players to move forward, subsequently kicking a beautiful long pass to Sarah who turned on her inside and landed a shot.

The first half ended 5-2.

As the second half commenced, Scrappy Dogs took control of the game once again, scoring early. But, RazzMaTazz eventually picked up the intensity. The team held possessions and were composed on the ball, launching a barrage of shots on goal. The opposing goalkeeper however, made one diving save after the other, denying them at seemingly every turn.

Mid-way through the second half the game was equally balanced, with both teams having possession and moving the ball around well, resulting in end to end action.  In the last third of the game, a Scrappy Dogs player was able to dribble past two defenders, used the wall for a teammate and calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net to extend their lead. Edie added another as a result of some good passing and an excellent turn and shot. Despite being down by a considerable score, RazzMaTazz continued to press on. They were awarded a free kick in the opponents half of the field. The ball was kicked off the wall to land perfectly in front of the RazzMaTazz striker who blasted it into the roof of the net. RazzMaTazz added another before the final whistle, thanks to a brilliant move by their striker who lobbed the ball over the defender while it was in the air, controlled it and took a powerful shot, which was initially saved but a failed stop allowed the ball to eventually crawl into the net.

The game ended 8-4 in favor of Scrappy Dogs.

The Game of the Week comes from our 8v8 Co-ed league and features T-Birdz and Blacked Out.

Immediately you could see the skillfulness and competiveness from both sides, which always makes for a fun game to watch. Early on, neither team dominated possession, and there were back and forth individual battles all across the field.

Blacked Out opened up scoring midway through the first half. The forward coolly collected a bouncing ball into the box and put it away with ease. T-Birdz equalized minutes later when some nice passing around the top of the box led to a solid shot into the bottom corner of the net. Blacked out would take back the lead as their midfielder played a beautiful ball in to his forward who then created space for himself and hit it across his body into the far post’s side netting. Blacked Out would score once more to end the half up 3-1.

In the second half it would be T-Birdz who would score first off a great counter-attack starting with their goalie. After this goal, T-Birdz began to dominate and maintain possession in Blacked Out’s half of the field, connecting passes beautifully. However, with both keepers having amazing games, T-Birdz struggled to convert on their chances. With around 10 minutes left in the game, T-Birdz possession paid off as they found the back of the net to tie things up. Shortly after the tying goal, T-Birdz’ Vinny Nyguen took the ball up the field with a touch like Messi and ripped a shot off the outside of his foot and into the back of the net. With T-Birdz now up 4-3 with only a few minutes left, it was a tense ending as Blacked Out pushed to equalize. But in the end T-Birdz defense held strong to keep the lead.

After being down 3-1, the T-Birdz came back to win 4-3 in impressive fashion. The game was tense, full of talent, and an overall fun game to watch. We’re excited to see what the rest of our 8v8 league season has to offer.

The game of the week comes to you from the Coed D indoor league.  With the Spring session in full swing, both teams came prepared for battle.

Early in the seventh minute the action started with the Old Folks Home working the ball up from the defensive third and challenging the Panthers Goalkeeper.  A ricocheted shot off the back wall led to a nicely executed volley, but the Panther defense denied them of a goal.  The first goal came from a quick counter-attack; Robley Jama of the Panthers found the back of the net after his teammate played him a perfectly weighted through ball to him in the eighth minute.  Old Folks Home responded well to the goal, and a short one minute later Jason Soper found the back of the net after skillfully dribbling around two defenders and slicing it past the last line of defense, the Panthers goalkeeper.  Old Folks home began to pick up the intensity, which lead to them scoring two more goals before halftime.  The game went into halftime with a score of 3-1 in favor of Old Folks Home.

The second half started off with passion and the Panthers were solid in the defensive third.  The Panthers goalkeeper had multiple phenomenal saves.  He acted as an unbreakable brick wall in front of the net stopping three shots in a row.  In the twelfth minute Old Folks Home had a free kick 18 yards out, the first attempt on goal was denied, but the rebound was slotted back post to take the score to 4-1.  A short thirty seconds later, the Panthers found themselves in a quick counter-attack.  A lovely shot, slotted to the back post, sixteen yards out brought the game back within reach for the Panthers.  With four minutes remaining the Old Folks had two successful wall passes to move the ball up the field and beautifully put the ball in the back of the net to clench, what would be the game winner.  With a lot of time left in the season, one can be sure that the Panthers will find chemistry within their team and that the Old Folks Home will see continued success.