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| From BCS XI |
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
End of Season, BSSL Awards Ceremony
Well, the season is over and the dust has settled and we ended up in the 5th spot, mid-table. It's not quite the result we wanted, but we can't feel too badly about how we've done after our first year in the league. The team came together as a bunch of strangers with pockets of friends and colleagues here and there, and ended the season a much more cohesive unit. It's been a lot of fun playing together, and next year will be even better.
A few of the XI headed to the Landsdowne Pub in Boston for the awards ceremony that coincided with the Manchester United v Everton game. It ended up being a fairly entertaining match, and we enjoyed some free food.
We got to see in person the silverware that we'll be aiming for next season which is helpful motivation and one of the best parts of the ceremony had to do with the newly named McKenzie cup. Some folks talked about Ucal McKenzie and his influence on the game here in Eastern Mass and it was great to see his wife and family there supporting his old team Carico FC and being part of the presentation for the league cup. Ucal was a player in the league who also coached local youth teams and high school, along with being a high school counselor. He seemed to be an outstanding individual and he tragically died during a league game this past year.
The league partnered with folks including Ucal's family to get a foundation started to promote the things that Ucal believed in. You can find out more at the Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation site. It was touching to see his former team go up to recieve the league cup that they had earned in the final and pull his wife on stage to recieve it. It seemed to right that his team should win the cup that was recently named after him.
The awards seemed a little rushed, and hopefully they'll be a little better and more of a party next year, but I'm sure it will feel that way to us, since we plan on hoisting the Division 4 trophy!
A few of the XI headed to the Landsdowne Pub in Boston for the awards ceremony that coincided with the Manchester United v Everton game. It ended up being a fairly entertaining match, and we enjoyed some free food.
We got to see in person the silverware that we'll be aiming for next season which is helpful motivation and one of the best parts of the ceremony had to do with the newly named McKenzie cup. Some folks talked about Ucal McKenzie and his influence on the game here in Eastern Mass and it was great to see his wife and family there supporting his old team Carico FC and being part of the presentation for the league cup. Ucal was a player in the league who also coached local youth teams and high school, along with being a high school counselor. He seemed to be an outstanding individual and he tragically died during a league game this past year.
The league partnered with folks including Ucal's family to get a foundation started to promote the things that Ucal believed in. You can find out more at the Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation site. It was touching to see his former team go up to recieve the league cup that they had earned in the final and pull his wife on stage to recieve it. It seemed to right that his team should win the cup that was recently named after him.
The awards seemed a little rushed, and hopefully they'll be a little better and more of a party next year, but I'm sure it will feel that way to us, since we plan on hoisting the Division 4 trophy!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
BKFC: 0 BCS XI: 3
This make up game against BKFC had all the drama you could ask for in a derby match. These East Cambridge clubs know each other well, and gave us quite the spectacle with more than a few talking points. Penalty kicks, red cards, this game had it all.
Neither side seemed to be playing particularly at their best and both squandered opportunities, though BCS XI definitely let some easy ones slip away. We did finally manage to sneak the ball in through the keepers hands on a low driven free kick from just outside the 18 yard box. Jan lined up in the wall and helped open up space for Darren to send the ball through the mess of bodies and across the line for his first goal of the season.
Our next goal came from Mark putting one in from the penalty spot. BKFC made some poor challenges inside the box, and this particular one left us with an opportunity to double our lead.
The third goal came in similar fashion as Joe was taken down hard when he looked certain to score. It's amazing this didn't produce the first red card of the match, and the player got off easy with a yellow. Once again Mark steps to the spot for his second penalty kick of the match, would he go the same direction, would it matter? With ice in his veins he tucks away the final goal of the match. He looked to grab another 1 or 2 during the run of play, but once again Danehy Field 3 does him no favors and he has to settle for a couple of "gimmes" on this day.
After a spell or two of pressure from the Korean side things really started to heat up. A player had been hassling Ye all game long and this finally came to a head when multiple BKFC players surrounded Ye and were yelling and shoving when some of the XI stepped in to break things up. The ceter ref sure should have stopped things sooner, but despite the BCS captain trying to get the ref to do something it took the linesman waving his flag to finally get the referee beginning to sort things out. Unfortunately the linesman also thought he saw Rich punch one of the Koreans in the back, which honest, gentelmen Richard William Naylor PhD would never do. So, the referee flashes red to Rich and one of theirs and the full time whistle blows just minutes later.
We left the match with a bad taste in our mouths, and the decision to book Rich really did a number on us for the match to come. Derby day in Cambridge saw a lot of tempers and a handful of goals, it was an exciting match, though probably not the prettiest.
Neither side seemed to be playing particularly at their best and both squandered opportunities, though BCS XI definitely let some easy ones slip away. We did finally manage to sneak the ball in through the keepers hands on a low driven free kick from just outside the 18 yard box. Jan lined up in the wall and helped open up space for Darren to send the ball through the mess of bodies and across the line for his first goal of the season.
Our next goal came from Mark putting one in from the penalty spot. BKFC made some poor challenges inside the box, and this particular one left us with an opportunity to double our lead.
The third goal came in similar fashion as Joe was taken down hard when he looked certain to score. It's amazing this didn't produce the first red card of the match, and the player got off easy with a yellow. Once again Mark steps to the spot for his second penalty kick of the match, would he go the same direction, would it matter? With ice in his veins he tucks away the final goal of the match. He looked to grab another 1 or 2 during the run of play, but once again Danehy Field 3 does him no favors and he has to settle for a couple of "gimmes" on this day.
After a spell or two of pressure from the Korean side things really started to heat up. A player had been hassling Ye all game long and this finally came to a head when multiple BKFC players surrounded Ye and were yelling and shoving when some of the XI stepped in to break things up. The ceter ref sure should have stopped things sooner, but despite the BCS captain trying to get the ref to do something it took the linesman waving his flag to finally get the referee beginning to sort things out. Unfortunately the linesman also thought he saw Rich punch one of the Koreans in the back, which honest, gentelmen Richard William Naylor PhD would never do. So, the referee flashes red to Rich and one of theirs and the full time whistle blows just minutes later.
We left the match with a bad taste in our mouths, and the decision to book Rich really did a number on us for the match to come. Derby day in Cambridge saw a lot of tempers and a handful of goals, it was an exciting match, though probably not the prettiest.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
BCS XI: 2 Chimpo Dragons: 2
We knew coming into this game is was going to be a battle. Last time we met, Chimpo was top of the league and we were up 2-0 at the half, then ended up conceding late goals to lose the game. We did not want that to happen again.
Much like most of our games we conceded a sloppy early goal that just made us all mad. Darren was away for this game, and not having that strong presence as our holding center mid really affects the way we play. To top things off Mark was having quite the off day and managed to miss a few sitters; something about this "field" just gets under his skin.
After a lot of back and forth and some very physical play we managed to have a quick one two down the right side after a thrown in that saw Joe send in a beautiful cross to an on-running Jan who sent a flying header across goal, past the keeper and into the back of the net!
More physical play continued, including some nasty, intentional stuff on the side of the opponents. They also didn't stop mouthing off and it finally cost them when one of their whiners got booked for decent after a particularly nasty, studs up challenge took Logan's ankle out.
No matter, we had them on the counter attack, Will sent a beautiful ball over to Mark who looked poised to break his curse on this pitch, but wisely laid it off back to Will who had a simple finish for his first goal of the season. XI up 2-1 with only a few minutes to go, and this one looked to be finished.
However, they managed to push a little more and got a man down the right flank sending in a cross. Tom stayed on his line in goal, but Logan got in front of the man and had an unlucky mis-kick which made the ball land practically on the foot of the attacker who had no trouble putting it in the net to equalize. Shortly after that the final whistle blew and despite coming from behind we felt hard done by not picking up all 3 points. Though, as we all know a draw is better than a loss, so we had to take what we were given.
Much like most of our games we conceded a sloppy early goal that just made us all mad. Darren was away for this game, and not having that strong presence as our holding center mid really affects the way we play. To top things off Mark was having quite the off day and managed to miss a few sitters; something about this "field" just gets under his skin.
After a lot of back and forth and some very physical play we managed to have a quick one two down the right side after a thrown in that saw Joe send in a beautiful cross to an on-running Jan who sent a flying header across goal, past the keeper and into the back of the net!
More physical play continued, including some nasty, intentional stuff on the side of the opponents. They also didn't stop mouthing off and it finally cost them when one of their whiners got booked for decent after a particularly nasty, studs up challenge took Logan's ankle out.
No matter, we had them on the counter attack, Will sent a beautiful ball over to Mark who looked poised to break his curse on this pitch, but wisely laid it off back to Will who had a simple finish for his first goal of the season. XI up 2-1 with only a few minutes to go, and this one looked to be finished.
However, they managed to push a little more and got a man down the right flank sending in a cross. Tom stayed on his line in goal, but Logan got in front of the man and had an unlucky mis-kick which made the ball land practically on the foot of the attacker who had no trouble putting it in the net to equalize. Shortly after that the final whistle blew and despite coming from behind we felt hard done by not picking up all 3 points. Though, as we all know a draw is better than a loss, so we had to take what we were given.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Game vs Ballers FC CANCELED! - Rescheduled for Nov. 14
Another 8am game rained out by the ridiculous weather. We managed to play a 45 minute half against Ballers which saw us concede our usual early goal then equalize just before the half with all the momentum going our way.
The youth girls teams that were supposed to be playing on the turf field showed up and kicked us off at 9am which meant Ballers did just that and cried about having to drive to Cambridge without knowing this might happen, despite me explaining everything quite clearly to their captains. After some fierce words exchanged we parted ways planning to play again soon, and we even offered to drive out to their neck of the woods if they found a better field than the one we planned on for Nov. 14, Danehy 3, which nobody wanted to play on.
The youth girls teams that were supposed to be playing on the turf field showed up and kicked us off at 9am which meant Ballers did just that and cried about having to drive to Cambridge without knowing this might happen, despite me explaining everything quite clearly to their captains. After some fierce words exchanged we parted ways planning to play again soon, and we even offered to drive out to their neck of the woods if they found a better field than the one we planned on for Nov. 14, Danehy 3, which nobody wanted to play on.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
OHP Gunners: 1 BCS XI: 0
The forecast once again showed rain, but we lucked out and managed to have clear skies for our game at Danehy Park. This 8am game was supposed to be played on the dirt patch known as field 1, but luckily nobody showed up to claim field 2 which is significantly greener, though a little smaller.
We knew this game was going to be tough. Our cross town rivals had also picked up some decent players over the summer [and it was a transfer window battle for our newest Brits on the squad.] We've played the Gunners in a number of friendlies and know where the danger is on the team. Brad Rawson decided he was fit enough to play but after only 30 minutes one of our strongest defenders hobbled off the pitch for the rest of the season.
Despite the setback we battled hard. It was a close match with a lot of back and forth. Neither side saw very many chances on goal, and it seemed we were in for a nil-nil draw. However, Gunners managed to get a lucky ball into the net. They put pressure on us and Sam, playing keeper, came out and cleared the ball as best he could; but only managed to get it as far as a group of players on both sides. It looked like the ball came off of the knee of someone on the Gunners team and flew into the air towards the goal; Sam was heading back to the goal mouth and despite jumping couldn't get a strong enough hand on it to clear it away.
We pushed back and put a lot of pressure on their goal right after they went up 1-0, but despite playing the final 10 minutes on their side of the pitch we couldn't get the equalizer in there. We didn't play great, but didn't play too poorly either. It was a fairly even game, and probably should have ended scoreless.
We knew this game was going to be tough. Our cross town rivals had also picked up some decent players over the summer [and it was a transfer window battle for our newest Brits on the squad.] We've played the Gunners in a number of friendlies and know where the danger is on the team. Brad Rawson decided he was fit enough to play but after only 30 minutes one of our strongest defenders hobbled off the pitch for the rest of the season.
Despite the setback we battled hard. It was a close match with a lot of back and forth. Neither side saw very many chances on goal, and it seemed we were in for a nil-nil draw. However, Gunners managed to get a lucky ball into the net. They put pressure on us and Sam, playing keeper, came out and cleared the ball as best he could; but only managed to get it as far as a group of players on both sides. It looked like the ball came off of the knee of someone on the Gunners team and flew into the air towards the goal; Sam was heading back to the goal mouth and despite jumping couldn't get a strong enough hand on it to clear it away.
We pushed back and put a lot of pressure on their goal right after they went up 1-0, but despite playing the final 10 minutes on their side of the pitch we couldn't get the equalizer in there. We didn't play great, but didn't play too poorly either. It was a fairly even game, and probably should have ended scoreless.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
BCS XI: 2 Commoners: 1
An early game out in Marlboro. Unfortunately a few members of the team decided drinking too much too late at night was more important than a game against the worst team in the league that just happened to beat us last time out; a game that I wanted to not just win but destroy the opposition.
A rainy night gave way to somewhat clear but soggy morning, luckily the pitch was artificial. It was also a short one and we play better with more space. The game started and we looked terrible, like we'd never played together before. Even with Commoners scoring first it took us a while to wake up and get going.
There was some yelling and frustration during the first half but it was the half time talk that was really severe. We were all honest and knew we were playing extremely poorly. We discussed what we needed to do and in the second half we actually did it. We came out playing more together and more as a team.
About 10-20 minutes into the half we got a couple of goals in quick succession. Mark finally put away one of his many chances, and he also set up the second by taking a quick corner catching everyone on the field off guard except for Joe who managed to blast a shot across goal, past the keeper and in the top corner.
The rest of the game we looked the more likely to score again, though they still had some chances as well. It was definitely a hard fought game, and Mike Gove picked up an injury from rough collision right in front of goal in some strong defending, though this left him out for the rest of the season. It wasn't pretty but it was a win. It felt good to come back from a goal down and grind out the result. [though I would have felt better scoring double digits and not conceding any as I was really hoping!]
A rainy night gave way to somewhat clear but soggy morning, luckily the pitch was artificial. It was also a short one and we play better with more space. The game started and we looked terrible, like we'd never played together before. Even with Commoners scoring first it took us a while to wake up and get going.
There was some yelling and frustration during the first half but it was the half time talk that was really severe. We were all honest and knew we were playing extremely poorly. We discussed what we needed to do and in the second half we actually did it. We came out playing more together and more as a team.
About 10-20 minutes into the half we got a couple of goals in quick succession. Mark finally put away one of his many chances, and he also set up the second by taking a quick corner catching everyone on the field off guard except for Joe who managed to blast a shot across goal, past the keeper and in the top corner.
The rest of the game we looked the more likely to score again, though they still had some chances as well. It was definitely a hard fought game, and Mike Gove picked up an injury from rough collision right in front of goal in some strong defending, though this left him out for the rest of the season. It wasn't pretty but it was a win. It felt good to come back from a goal down and grind out the result. [though I would have felt better scoring double digits and not conceding any as I was really hoping!]
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