After a short
hiatus from holidays, vacations and
honeymoons I welcome you all back to the
wild and great world of SJ Firecracker
Soccer. Here we are at week 6 of the season
and we find those great 'Heros in Yellow"
undefeated.
Now before I
really get into my log I must dispel a few
rumors. As most of you know a few 'Crackers
from our team were recently married and
embarked on honeymoons with their new
spouses. Not wanting to draw attention from
their special events I kept under wraps my
planned vacation to Hawaii. (BTW
Congratulations to Devin and Dave on getting
married!!!!)
After my
vacation I returned to a swirl of
controversy, tears and allegations.
Here's a
list of some of the questions that are out
there which I will try to answer for you.
Did you go to
Hawaii with a guy? Yes
Did you share
the same room? Yes
Did you have a
good time? Yes
Was there more
than one bed in the room? Yes and a
couch too
Did we split
meals? Only once b/c it was a $20
hamburger
Did we finish
each other's sentences? No and we
didn't order for the other person when they
went to the restroom.
As the
chosen captain of the Firecrackers, I work
hard to portray the virtues and qualities on
and off the field that make us a special
band of players. Good looks, strength, speed
and Love for women.
I assure you
guys I went on this trip because it was
free, very high end (we stayed at the Four
Seasons), and I had never been to Hawaii. In
no way did I have romantic nor 'Brokeback'
intentions. In fact I am engaged (to a
woman) and will be married in August.
So I can assure
you that when you hear me say, "I got your
back" you don't have to think twice.
By the way
here's a picture I took of my Hawaii
roommate when we were by the beach.
Jason Pinto enjoys the rope swing
Now back to
issues relating to soccer. Our game was a
tough match and challenge at the midway
point of our season. Here we are coming off
a two week break playing a tough opponent
and having our starting keeper out with
injuries. Now I agree with Dave in that
Deporto Agave is becoming a rival but I must
point out the circumstances as to why they
have had success against us.
#1.
Butcher Park - Our last two
matches against Depoto Agave have been on
probably the worst playing field in all of
the United States. Hard dirt, no grass,
puddles plus divits and holes make it look
like we're playing on a cow pasture and not
a soccer field. Each time the ball is played
it can take an unpredictable bounce
resulting in wild turnovers and awkward
transitions
#2.
Size of Field - Most of our
games against them have been on fields that
are small and confined. This team likes to
bring a few up top and stack a bunch in the
backfield. They'll swarm the ball constantly
and wait for their moment to pick up a bad
ball or transition something into a goal.
They like low scoring games and physical
play. On an open field like Watson Bowl this
would not work so well.
#3.
Garbage goals - In the last two
games they've scored off of turnovers. Both
times we turned the ball over in our own box
at the worst time. Bald Bull 2 just
sits there all game and waits for his chance
for a ball to squirt loose and so he can
unleash his shot. He's good at it and that's
why they rely on him as their only offensive
threat.
I think this
team is tough but I don't think they match
up that well with us. We have run up big
scores on them in the past but lately with
the right setting they seem to do well. If
we continue to play them at fields like
Butcher we will have to adjust but we have a
lot of talent and can mix things up when
needed. I think the game will look different
if we took them on at the Bowl.
Speaking of
talent we did have some bright moments
during the match. John did a great job of
filling in for the injured Travis. He was
fired up and managed a lot of dangerous
balls that would bounce his way off of the
Butcher turf. My hat goes off to the guys up
top for never giving up and continuing to
push the offense as we trailed the last half
of the game. As a defender this is the type
of game you dread. The bad field and wind
provided tough balls to control and
transition back to the offense.
The back
four did a great job. In fact our Man of the
Match played a big part in our defensive
scheme. He had the task of marking a forward
each time they made a run down his side. He
battled tough balls swirling in the wind
that he would have to back peddle to track
down. He was fouled constantly trying to win
a ball in the air. He threw himself at the
ball with no care or reservation for his
body. And he stole the ball and lofted a
pass on the play that would earn us a PK
which tied the game.
Devin Nelson you were our Man
of the Match.
Gentlemen we're
closing in on the playoffs and we haven't
lost yet. Let's keep the momentum rolling.
Plus we have a tournament coming up so let's
keep working hard.
Antonio
