Great Pretenders History

Great Pretenders Record

Season          
Wins
 Losses
 Draws
Fall 1993 (Open Division)
 1
 7
 3
Spring/Summer 1994
 11
 7
 3
Fall 1994
 4
 4
 4
Spring/Summer 1995
 13
 10
 3
Fall 1995
 5
 5
 0
Spring/Summer 1996
 13
 5
 2
Fall 1996
 4
 3
 2
Spring/Summer 1997
 10
 6
 3
Fall 1997
 10
 3
 1
Spring/Summer 1998
 7
 9
 1
Fall 1998
 5
 7
 3
Spring/Summer 1999
 13
 5
 3
Fall 1999
 7
 1
 5
Spring/Summer 2000
 6
 6
 6
Fall 2000
 9
 4
 0
Spring/Summer 2001
 14
 2
 2
Fall 2001
 7
 5
 2
Spring/Summer 2002
 12
 6
 2
Fall 2002
 6
 3
 3
Spring/Summer 2003
 8
 2
 1
Fall 2003
 9
 2
 1
Spring/Summer 2004
 8
 5
 4
Fall 2004
 7
 3
 3
Spring/Summer 2005 7
 6
 2
Fall 2005
 4
 2
 3
Spring/Summer 2006 10
 4
 0
Fall 2006
 5
 1
 1
TOTALS
 215
 123
 63

The Great Pretenders Story

How we got started ...

Back in 1990-91, A group of guys came out of the SYSA Co-Ed soccer league and started playing scrimmages against a couple teams in the Sterling/Leesburg area.  In the Fall of 1992 the Great Pretenders Soccer Club was formed and entered a men's indoor league in Sterling. The team  was then made up of: Uncle Vince (Italian Stallion) DiMarzio, Steve (Sly) Slovikoski, Howard Mitnick, Dave (Terminator) Craner, Wild Irish Ed Cook, Mike (Hotair) Jorden, Big Bob Barnett, Mike (Rob) Lowe, Harold Barfield, Abe Bidarian and a few others.

It was ugly in the early days, as the team went 1 - 15 after 2 indoor sessions.  The team then entered the Northern VA Coaches league in Fall of 93 and were put in the open age competitive league.  Although we had added a few new players, the team went just 1-7-3. Our only victory was against a Reston team that played down 3 players. Team Captain Jorden refused to give them more than one player to secure our win.  However this group  of guys didn't let their record get them down after their first year together.  Off the pitch the team had regular "Team" parties, and after matches would hit the local Sports Bars for after game beers and cheers.  Our fan base, "The Great Spectators" would come to the games for support and also the free beer.  It was great times back then, even though the soccer was not that good.

The next season - Spring of 94, the team was put in the Over 30 Coaches league where we belonged. Over the next 11 years the team had good success, and our record shows it - 174 wins, 102 losses and 50 draws through 2003.  New players joined the team and the level of play stepped up every year.   Players like Phil McDonald, Mo Omar, Mark Lantzy, Reza, Eddie Garica, Iceman, Bill Thomas, Tony Robinson, Tony Donatoni, Chris Fabbrini, Mike Fortin, Kossi,  Frankie Finch,  Mark Jorden, Pete McCabe and many others helped put together great seasons in the 90's and others like Totan Roy, Rick Horton, Mark "Buzz" Buzzy, Gary Wightman, Steve Truckenmiller, Dave Budd, Dean Kraft, Rob Wilson, Brian Lutz, Pat Mulkey, and Izzy have helped us be successful over the last 5 years or so.

Here's some of our highlights & memories over the years: 
  • 9/11/93     We draw our 1st match ever (1-1 Open Coaches League)
  • 9/25/93     Uncle Vince shows up with a huggy, but no beer
  • 11/13/93   Win our 1st Coaches League match 5-1 vs Reston
  • 03/26/94    A female opponent scores on a free kick over Mo as he yells as us (3-7 defeat at Brad Rd.)
  • 05/14/94    Beat Sting 4-2 in first ever meeting - the rivalry starts!
  • 06/3/95      Tony Donatoni scores a goal in his last match for the GP's
  • 12/21/96    Half Time tradition starts!  :>)
  • 08/31/96    Beat Sting 3-2 on Garica hat trick - this was our 100th match as a club
  • 05/31/97     Ice scores from 60 yards in 5-2 win over Herndon Attack at Community Center
  • 12/20/97   Beat Arlington 6-2 for team record 10th win in Fall season (10-3-1)
  • 08/1/98      Vince shows up with huggy only (again), but scores goal in 4-1 win over Orangeman
  • 11/6/99     Play our 200th match as a team - 3-3 Draw with Vienna Metros
  • 11/13/99    Beat Falls Church 3-1 for 100th victory as a club, Garcia farewell party that night
  • 08/24/01    Win 8 - 2 behind Iceman hat trick vs Ft. Hunt to finish Spring/Summer 14-2-2 (Club Record)
  • 10/06/01    In his 1st appearance with the GP's, Mike Popko gets the 1st goal of the match and then proceeds to crap his pants in injury time (9-4 loss). He sprints off the field and then leaves his boxers on the hook of the stall door of the Herndon Community Center.
  • 12/22/01    Fortin gets game winner in 3-2 win over Arlington, team kills bottle of Bushmills afterward
  • 04/01/02    Buzz launches Great Pretender web site! 
  • 09/08/02    Phil "Ironman" McDonald is the first Great Pretender to turn 50!
  • 10/19/02    Win 4-2 vs McLean behind Lutz's hat trick in 300th club match
  • 07/26/03    Hammer Sting 5-2 led by 2 Izzy goals.  Sting leads our long rivalry 14-10-5
  • Fall/03      The Pretenders score 32 goals in their first 4 matches and go 9-2-1 for the season
  • 11/22/03    Finch and Fortin both proclaim, "The older we get, the better we get!"  Both end season on IR
  • 04/16/05    Phil "Ironman" McDonald becomes oldest player in Great Pretender history to  score goal
  • 11/12/2005  Pretenders get 200th win
  • 07/08/2006  Dave inducted into the Great Pretenders Hall of Shame
  • 11/04/2006  Pretenders play 400th match and survive with a draw against Falls Church Turtles.
  • 04/21/2007  Pretenders remember VA Tech shooting victims and their families with moment of silence at half time.
  • 11/15/2007  Phil "Ironman" McDonald announces retirement after playing over a decade, spanning two mileniums, with the club.

Jorden, who captains the club and claims to have scored over 200 goals for the Pretenders says the team has changed over the years, but has always been competitive.  "We've had many different guys playing over the years, and it's been tough but I feel we've always been able to be competitive along the way.  Since the late 90's we've had a fairly consistent core.  This core group are great guys and we all have 2 common interests - we have a passion for the game and a passion for beer.  Just knowing the cooler is waiting makes us play harder!"