August 31, 2002 (Holiday)
Game canceled due to Labor Day weekend conflicts.
August 24, 2002 (W5-2)
The opponent started short so we loaned them a player. Vince knocked in
a rebound off an assist from Mike J. for the first goal of the match. The
opponent was up to full strength so we took back our player. A few minutes
later Mike J. punched one in with Ice getting the assist. We did not stop
there. Powell scored on a header to make it 3-0 after his first header
came right back to him. Taking advantage of a short field, Buzz sent a
goal kick deep into the opponent's territory where Mike J. flicked a header
to Mike F. who made a nice run for the easy goal. Near the end of the first
half Buzz sent a long goal kick to Powell who flicked a header to Totan
who made a nice run for the easy goal. It was dejavu all over again. Although
we had the lead 5-0 at halftime, the second half was a different story.
The opponent came at us strong and was putting quite a bit of pressure
on the defense. Mo made a nice diving save off a free kick early in the
second half. He also made a courageous one-on-one save to keep the score
5-0. The opponent finally scored on a nice shot about midway through the
second half to make it 5-1. A mistake by a defender led to the opponent's
second goal late in the game.
August 17, 2002 (L4-2)
We played most of the game one short. The defense had a rough start. We
had trouble closing the back door. We found ourselves down 3-0 very early.
The defense, anchored by Steve, played better the rest of the half.
Matt scored our first goal on an assist from Mike J. late in the first
half to make it 3-1. The opponent went up 4-1 early in the second half
as we left the back door open again. Pete scored on an assist from Mike
P. about midway through the second half to make it 4-2. We had numerous
shots just off the mark. We even had a goal called back late in the game.
We were putting pressure on the opponent near the end, but ran out of time.
August 10, 2002 (W5-0)
The combined effort of Buzz and Mo in goal generated the first shutout
of the season. The defense, anchored by Gary, was superb. That was only
half the story. Mike F. returned from Paternity leave and scored a hat
trick by half time with two assists from Frank and one from Alan. Frank
and Rick controlled the midfield in the second half with good short passes
on the ground. This was key to maintaining our lead on a small pitch. Mo,
playing defender in the second half, sent a well placed shot from the left
side about 35 yards out over the opposing keeper's outstretched arms
into the far corner of the net to make it 4-0. It was sweet revenge for
Mo. Mike F. finished the scoring with his fourth goal of the day.
August 3, 2002 (L3-2)
It was a code red day, but we survived. Mike J. scored two goals in the
first half. Izzy assisted on the first. It was a close match against a
strong opponent. The opponent tied it up right before half. The midfield
supported the front line and defense well with good ball control. Frank
suffered a seriously bruised thigh when he took a knee to the quadriceps
late in the second half. Even though we had no subs, we hung together and
had some chances to take the lead late in the game. Unfortunately, the
opponent scored on a shot that deflected off a defender to take the lead
3-2 with just a few minutes to play.
July 27, 2002 (L4-1)
The game started late due to a last minute field change. The opponent took
a 1-0 lead about midway through the first half. The opponent was awarded,
but missed a penalty kick about midway through the second half. However,
a few minutes later, they scored a second goal which we argued should have
been offside. Izzy scored our only goal after the opponent failed to clear
the ball out of their end to make it 2-1. We were putting pressure on the
opponent and had some chances to tie the game but the opposing keeper would
have none of that. A meltdown occurred during the last 5 minutes and the
opponent scored twice, including a deflected shot that went in right before
the final whistle.
July 20, 2002 (W5-3)
The opponent started short so we loaned them a couple of players. We went
up 2-0 early in the first half off goals from Izzy and Mike J. One of the
players we loaned the opponent scored to make it 2-1. Later in first half,
Mo made a nice diving save, deflecting a hard shot wide right. As time
ran down in the first half the opponent had several chances at a corner
kick as we failed to clear the ball and scored right before the whistle
to tie it up. Mike J. fed Rob, who scored early in the second half. The
opponent tied it up again after another round of consecutive corner kicks.
Izzy scored what proved to be the game winner a few minutes later. Totan
scored the insurance goal late in the game to make it 5-3. We showed much
better ball control in the second half made good on our chances.
July 13, 2002 (L2-1)
The opponent started short so we loaned them a couple of players until
they got up to full strength. The opponent was putting pressure on our
defense from the start. Mo made a one-on-one save early in the game. A
few minutes later, when forced to play the ball with his feet, Mo misplayed
the ball and the opponent scored to make it 1-0. A short time later we
were down 2-0. Ice blasted a shot from about 40 yards out that knuckled
into the left back of the net, right before the first half whistle, to
make it 2-1. The defense, anchored by Rick at sweeper, played solidly and
helped Buzz shutout the opponent in the second half. Unfortunately, we
were unable to score in the second half either.
July 6, 2002 (L4-2)
We started with eleven players including a guest named Trevor. Izzy scored
the first goal to give us a 1-0 lead. Gary went to the sideline with an
injury but returned. Izzy left the game with what appeared to be a hamstring
injury but did not return. The opponent scored two goals to go ahead 2-1.
Having no subs, we played short the rest of the game. The opponent went
up 3-1 early in the second half. Pete scored on a header off a corner kick
by Trevor to make it 3-2 and it appeared we had some momentum as Buzz had
made several one-on-one saves. But, the opponent took advantage of the
numbers and finished us off with a late goal to make it 4-2.
June 29, 2002 (T2-2)
We started short and borrowed a couple of players from the opponent and
added a walk-on. We took a 2-0 halftime lead with goals from the guest
players. The opponent took back the players in the second half but we picked
up another walk-on and played with 9 the second half. Buzz was getting
hammered with shots but made many unbelievable saves, including a couple
of point blank shots. His luck ran out when he bobbled a save on a corner
kick and it bounced into the net. The opponent was awarded a penalty kick
later in the second half and tied the game. Bryan had a well placed shot
near the end of the game but the opposing keeper made a finger tip save.
June 22, 2002 (W4-2)
We were down 2-0 early but we were not out. Rick came up from the defense
to score a goal. Later in the first half Bryan tied it up on a header off
an excellent cross sent by Mark from the right wing. Pete put a penalty
kick away to give us a 3-2 halftime lead. Buzz made a one-on-one save in
the beginning of the second half. Later in the second half Buzz earned
an assist when he sent a half volley over the opposing sweeper's head and
Izzy raced by to put the ball past the keeper on the near post. Frank and
the rest of the midfield provided excellent support on defense in the second
half as great ball control was demonstrated during transition.
June 15, 2002 (W6-1)
The opponent started short so we loaned them a player until they got up
to full strength. We pretty much controlled the whole game. The only real
threat in the first half by the opponent came on a breakaway up the middle
which Mo stopped as the opponent came into the box one-on-one. We took
a 3-0 lead into halftime. We came out strong in the second half and continued
scoring as both Mike J. and Dean recorded hat tricks for the game. The
opponent scored their only goal when they had a quick restart on a free
kick as we disputed the call with the ref. Later in the half, Buzz injured
his thumb attempting to stop a shot from close range, but was backed up
by Rick who made a great save by back healing the ball off the line and
entangling himself in the net. The highlight of the game came a few minutes
later when Buzz dove to make a spectacular save on a free kick that had
cleared the wall and was curling toward the upper right corner up the net.
June 8, 2002 (W6-5)
The opponent started short so we loaned them a few players until they got
up to full strength. We led at halftime 3-1. Mike F. sent a cross from
the right side and Steve was there at the far post and put the header in
the net. Izzy had two goals, one of which was a penalty kick late in the
half. The opponent scored on a corner kick midway through the first half.
The second half was a different story. The opponent started to catch-up.
Dean, Steve, and Mike F. all scored in the second half It was a see-saw
battle to the final whistle. The defense, which normally is strong in the
second half, had some breakdowns. Someone once said , "If you score more
goals than the opponent you win the game".
June 1, 2002 (W2-1)
We started the game short and borrowed a couple of guest players from the
opponent. We scored first when Pete sent a nice cross from the left side
to Izzy who place his header into the upper right corner of the net. We
went up 2-0 when one of our guest players sent a cross from the right side
and found Alan racing in. Alan was just inside the box on the left side
as he hit a first time volley off the cross into the back of the net. It
was a "World Cup" shot. We were at full strength about halfway through
the first half. Totan did a fine job at sweeper as the defense helped Buzz
shutout the opponent in the first half. The opponent scored in the second
half after a misplay in the box allowed the ball to squirt through to the
far post where the opponent knocked it in to make it 2-1. The game had
some last minute excitement when the ref made a controversial hand ball
call and awarded the opponent a penalty kick with less than a minute to
play. Keith was talking trash to the opponent as he lined up to take the
kick and Mo was staring him down from the goal. The opponent blew the kick
over the crossbar and the whistle ended the game a few seconds after the
goal kick put the ball back in play.
May 25, 2002 (W2-1)
The opponent scored first on a free kick just outside the box. The shot
was not that hard but Buzz slipped as he dove to make the save and was
only able to get a finger tip on the ball and it ended up in the left side
of the net. The defense, anchored by Gary, played well the remainder of
the game and Buzz made some key saves. Dean tied the game in the second
half on an assist from Ice. Later in the second half, Alan sent a nice
cross to Pete M., racing in on the far post, who headed the ball into the
back of the net for the game winner. The midfield played tough late in
the game, coming back to help the defense thwart a last minute barrage
from the opponent. An example of toughness was demonstrated by Frank, who
suffered a toe injury with ten minutes left, but stayed in the game. He
displayed evidence of his toenail injury, a bloody sock, after the game.
Although everyone had sympathy for his injury, it made for good post game
entertainment.
May 18, 2002 (Canceled)
Game canceled by opponent due to extremely wet field conditions.
May 11, 2002 (W4-3)
We started the game short and borrowed a couple of guest players from an
earlier game. We were down 2-0 at the half. Rick came back to play sweeper
in the second half and used his speed to cut off the through balls that
killed us in the first half. We scored four unanswered goals to take the
lead 4-2. Mark had two, Bryan had one, and a guest player had one. Mike
J. had an assist on our first goal. The opponent scored a goal late in
the game off a header on a corner kick. The defense was able to hold off
a last minute flurry by the opponent.
May 4, 2002 (W2-1)
Buzz came out to cut off the angle on the left as the opponent came in
one-on-one inside the box. The opponent was able to feed his teammate who
raced to the far post for the easy score. Mike J. tied it up later in the
first half on an assist from Ice. Ice was on fire in the second half as
his shot started to heat up. He scored the game winner on a blistering
shot that gave the opposing keeper no chance. The defense played extremely
well in the second half to preserve the win.
April 27, 2002 (W4-2)
The opponent was short so several of our players played for them in the
first half until they got a full side. Mo graciously played the whole game
in goal for the opponent since their keeper never showed. He kept them
in the game despite lack of support on defense. The opponent scored first
on a cross from the right side just outside the box.. Buzz misjudged the
ball and it ended up in the far left corner of the net. The opponent scored
a few minutes later off a header on a corner kick to make it 2-0. Mike
J. scored our first goal which seemed to give us some momentum. Izzy scored
on penalty kick late in the first half to tie the game 2-2. In the second
half, Alan gave an assist to Frank who scored what turned out to be the
game winner on a shot he had practiced during warm-ups on our new home
field. He struck the ball low from outside the box and the ball hit the
"mound" which redirected it into the upper part of the net. Mike F. scored
an insurance goal late in the second half. Once again the defense played
a strong second half.
April 20, 2002 (W5-2)
The opponent's field was short, narrow and had a severe slope. It looked
like it was going to be a see-saw battle as the score was quickly 2-2.
Phil and Izzy scored the first two goals. Buzz was credited with a goal
when, from his own box he sent a half volley that left the opponent's defender
back peddling into the box on the other end of the field. The defender
misplayed the header sending the ball backwards over the his keeper's head
who had come off his line to get the ball. Everybody shook their heads
in disbelief that a keeper could score from the other end of the field.
Rob scored late in the first half to make it 4-2. Mo played keeper the
second half and turned in a gutsy performance, allowing no goals. Gary
was solid leading the defense in the second half. Rick used his speed to
cut off several breakaways by an opponent's speedy forward. Pete finished
the scoring on a nice shot from the right side outside the box that found
its way into the right upper corner of the net.
April 13, 2002 (L2-0)
We found ourselves quickly down 2-0 in the first half. We had several chances
to score but failed to capitalize on any including a missed penalty kick.
The defense played well in the second half but the 2-0 deficit proved too
much.
April 6, 2002 (T1-1)
Mike J. scored in the first half on an assist off a corner kick from Frank.
It seemed like everybody had stopped to wait for Mike to take that shot
but he calmly put it into the left side of the net. Mo stopped a penalty
shot early in the second half that kept us in the lead. We scored an own
goal later in the second half when one of our defenders headed the ball
into the net while trying to head it out of the box on a low dangerous
cross by the opponent. |
