West Chester United Soccer Club

Cape May Tournament 2008

PRIDE VS FREEHOLD LIGHTNING

The boys opened up the Cape May Tournament under a beautiful fall morning sun. The air was crisp and the boys were ready for a fun day of soccer, sun, ocean and golf.

The Pride’s first foe was the Freehold Lightning. The pride started out the scoring with a great hustle play by K who played like the mayor of the town. He was in the right place at the right time showing the hustle that he is known for. Freehold answered with the next two goals and going into the second half the Pride trailed 2-1. The Pride was able to even the tally midway through the second half on a great shot by the Candy Man. Unfortunately, this tying goal was answered less than 2 minutes later and the scoring ended with the Pride on the short end of the stick 3-2.

The boys could have rolled over and taken the rest of the tournament off. They showed their fortitude and kept their heads up.

PRIDE VS LTRC GREEN MACHINE

The second game pitted the Pride against LTRC Green Machine. The boys played their hearts out. The defense was sharp and the goaltending was strong. Like much of the season the offense could not get on track against a larger defensive squad. They must put something in the milk in Maryland to grow these kids so large. I became suspicious when I saw a couple of the boys driving pick-ups into the parking lot.

The game ended in a 0-0 tie.

PRIDE VS RADNOR RAIDERS

After a fun evening (we’ll discuss this later) the boys had another early morning game against the Radnor Raiders. The Raiders are a Division 1 team that are very physical and they came ready to play.

If you were watching the game you had to wonder if all the pulling on the Pride’s jerseys would stretch them out of shape. I also wondered if the elbow imprints could be removed. The Pride being the gentlemen that they are did not take to all this physicality. As the game grew out of hand the referee finally pulled a yellow card on our competition. It appeared to me as a proud father that "the Enforcer" had seen enough and decided to get a yellow card of his own.

As for the scoring the Raiders tallied four in the first half and another two in the second before the Candy man could squeak one past the Raiders goaltender. The game ended 6-1.

The boys kept their heads up throughout and they could be proud of their effort.

SOME UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

1. There were some allegations of cheating on the golf course, anyone know the real truth? Could this have just been the Enforcer getting under the Excitable Boys skin?

2. There was a sighting of a walrus and a string bean in the surf. Was this the libations speaking or just some really bad knees.

3. Was Mr. Sullivan faking an illness so he could watch Sponge Bob reruns on the tube?

4. Mr. K needed the GPS to find the ocean?

5. Did Mr. K and Mr. Candy Man’s father create a new breakfast dish of banana and blueberry pancakes? If so when will it go to market? (from the webmaster: "What about the agreement that what happens in Uncle Bill’s stays in Uncle Bill’s?")

I hope everyone had a great time. Thanks to the organizers and the boys for providing the parent’s with some laughs and times to be remembered. Now back to the season.

2008/2009 Game Recaps

KICKED IN KIRKWOOD (11/08/08)

The Pride played their last league game on Saturday. Unfortunately, the result was the way most of the season went. The boys lost 2-0. The score could have been much worse if not for the brilliant play of our goaltender. He was everywhere stopping shots left, right and down the middle.

The team lacked a scoring punch but kept their heads up despite going down 1-0 early in the first quarter. Kirkwood added another score in the scond half for the final tally.

Let’s hope the boys bring their A-games for the big grudge match against the parents.

Lower Merion (11/01/08)

THE SWEET SMELL OF VICTORY

Like the Phillies before them the Pride did something that had not been done in a long time. They won a league game.

Playing against another new comer to Division 2, the Pride took on Lower Merion . This Lower Merion team had played us very close last year and this week was no exception.

The Pride broke through to the scoreboard first with a goal that has been contested as to who actually scored it. There were three black players around the goal and no one bothered to check out the scorer. Coach Rich said that it really did not matter as long as we scored. This goal was matched by two from Lower Merion .

The Pride took to the field in the second half behind 2-1. The play was even until the Candy Man coming off a Halloween high put in a goal from an impossible angle. This got the Pride fans to their feet. With about four minutes left in the game "The Enforcer" also known as "The Garbage Man" took a pass off his chest, did a 360 and buried it from the 4 yard line. Coach Rich said, "he’s been known to miss it from that distance."

The Pride went up 3-2 and that is how the game ended. While walking to the car I was told by "The Garbage Man" that it was a shame that we had not won. After informing him that the Pride in fact won he actually smiled.

Green Acres (10/25/08)

For those of you who did not make the trip to beautiful Elkton, Maryland to play the Cecil Falcons picture a cow pasture with a soccer field plunked onto its gently rolling land. To say the ball took some odd hops would be an understatement. All this and to play during a wet and soggy afternoon where the wind was a definite factor.

The Falcons opened the scoring early with a shot that eluded our keeper. The Pride tallied the next two with fine footwork and shots by our favorite Foreign Exchange Student. Cecil was not to be denied and scored the next two goals. So there we were going into the final minutes of the game when the Candy Man got tripped up in the box and was awarded a penalty kick. He placed a shot along the ground to the keeper’s right that hit off his hand but had enough umph (this is a soccer technical term) to slide past.

The whistle blew and the Pride came away with a 3-3 tie. The game was exciting to watch and and it looked like the boys had a great time.

PRIDE NEEDS SOME PUNCH (101808)

After a week of getting up around 7:00 it seems criminal to get our boys out of bed for an early morning start. In the past they have not responded well, probably due to their very busy Friday Night Social lives. It seems that Saturday was no exception.

Playing the Garnet Valley Evolution the Pride fell 2-1 in a game we coulda, shoulda and woulda had if maybe played differently. The Evolution broke the tie early in the first half. The Pride responded in the second period with a tying goal from our Foreign Exchange Student. Unfortunately, late in the game the Evolution broke the tie to take the win.

When interviewing an unnamed coach this reporter was told, "we’ve been stressing to the boys to feed the flag. They seem to have a different idea as to where the flag is than where it actually is." At least the boys kept their heads high.

Saturday Night Lights (100408)

The Pride took to the new West Chester Soccer Club turf field on Saturday night. They gave us a terrific performance but still came up on the short end of the stick.

Playing on a faster track did not seem to wear them down. They played a tough King of Prussia squad to a 0-0 tie in the first half. King of Prussia came out early in the second half and put a ball past our keeper. The boys did not go into a funk and kept their heads up. They had ample opportunities but were kicking more field goals than soccer goals for the rest of the game.

The Pride took the play to K of P all evening. This shows that we are very evenly matched with those teams that rose from Division 3 with us. Having tied Westmont last week and losing 1-0 this week gives us something to be proud of. We knew that Division 2 soccer would be faster and more physical and the boys are starting to respond.

Next week brings fun in the surf as we take to the beach for the Cape May Tournament. This should be a special weekend as it will be the last for the boys at this venue.

MARKED IMPROVEMENT FOR THE PRIDE

The Pride had another tough match on Saturday. Despite being down four players they held their own against a very tough Lionville Scorpion team. This was a team that we have already played twice and had been bested once and tied the other time.

The Pride held fast during the first half only letting up one goal. The second half did not go as well as the keeper was peppered with shots. The score would have been much worse if not for his fine goal keeping. The score finished at four to nil.

The score did not indicate how well the Pride played. If the ball had bounced the right way they would have scored a couple of times. The boys need to keep feeding the flag and marking up on defense. Next week we’ll try our luck against a tough Westmont Lazers Team.

A Tale of Two Halves

On a muggy but pleasant Saturday morning the Pride took the field against the White Clay Jaguars. This was truly a game of two halves.

The scoring began with a tally from White Clay. Great defense kept the game close until the kid from Downingtown was able to squeak one past the goaltender. The Pride had many more chances in the first half.

The second half was another story. White Clay took the play to our Pride and most of the play was in our end. Number 10 proved to be a mismatch for our players and he tallied. By the time the half was over the Jaguars had scored four times for a final score of 5-1.

The boys need to build on these first two games and remember that the flags are hungry. They need to feed them. They need to go to the balls and think of crossing.

SINGING IN THE RAIN?

The Pride had their first Division 2 League game this morning. They came up very much on the short end of the stick. If we have to place blame I would put it on the weathermen.

Let’s face it, if they had gotten the forecast correct we may have never played and thus the boys would have never suffered a 6-0 defeat. The Pride played a very tough 15 minutes of the first half and then things took a decided bad turn. The balls were not bouncing their way. Aggressive play was lacking. The good news is that there is plenty more season ahead of them. We face White Clay next week on our home turf.

2008 Summer tournament schedule:

August 17 - KOP Memorial - Second place winners!
King of Prussia Tournament (8/17/08)

The Pride is starting to make a habit of winning hardware. For the second straight week they brought home the bling. That’s right more dust collectors for those of you that dust your rooms.

The Pride started off the day against a very difficult Lower Merion squad. This was the same team that we played in the Delco League last year. They have also moved up to Division 2 with the Pride. The boys really took the play to them all game but did not have any goals to show for it. After two 20 minute halves the scored ended at 0-0. The goal tending was fantastic. The fans are starting to get a bit spoiled.

Our next game pitted us against the Rose Tree team that had beaten us 4-1 in the West Chester Tournament. This is a Division 1 team. The boys had very short memories of their recent loss and took the play to Rose Tree immediately. Flash scored about two minutes into the game. This tally was followed by a blast from our European giant. This was followed by a pretty goal by M & M and the kid from Downingtown was not to be denied. Finally, our fine Pride Silver guest player buried one in the back of the net. Final score: Pride 5, Rose Tree 0.

The third game was to determine the championship. It pitted the Pride against the Lionville Scorpions. This is another team that we played last weekend to a 1-1 tie. They also will be played during league play so we will have a lot of experience against them. Unfortunately, after having to play back to back games the boys came up a bit flat. The first half was played mostly in the Pride end and at halftime we had a 1-0 deficit. Play was much more spirited in the second half. However, Lionville tallied once again and the score ended 2-0.

Due to the fine goaltending and point differential the Pride still managed to bring home the second place trophy. This was second place with six teams in our bracket.

Next week brings a tune-up scrimmage and then on to League play.

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August 9 - Ridley Invitational - Second place winners!
What a difference a week makes!

Our Pride took second place honors at the Ridley Tournament this weekend. Under a wonderful summer sky the boys took the field for three games and came out of them undefeated. Though they did not take 1st place honors they played their hearts out.

The first game pitted the Pride against the Bucs of Interboro. The Pride took it to the Bucs early and often. They tallied four goals in the first half and another three in the second. El Grande making a guest appearance had the first and third goals of the game. The kid from Downington added one as well another fine guest player who was lent to us by the Pride Silver. M & M also got his scoring shoes on. The second half was followed by two goals by the Little Bull who played a fine defensive position as well. The final score was 7-1.

The second game pitted us against a Lionville team that we will be seeing plenty of during the year. They are also a Division 2 team and we were very evenly matched. The scoring was all Lionville in the first half. Going into the second half the score was 1-0. The Pride took advantage of a kick out of the corner about a third of the way into the second half. It was decidedly Moore fun to score using our head and that is what we did. Goaltending was outstanding all afternoon and hopefully the Pride will being see a lot more of this goaltender. The score ended in a 1-1 tie.

The third game was against the Hulmeville Hawks. This is a team that plays out of Bucks County and we knew very little about them. The Pride needed a shutout in order to take the first place trophy. Unfortunately, Hulmeville did not cooperate and the final score was 4-2. The scoring was evenly distributed. Once again our friend from the Pride Silver rose to the occasion to score. He was joined by M & M, the Z attack as well as A to Z.

A special thanks should go out to Samson for once again guest appearing for the Pride as well as all of our wonderful guest players. Let’s hope the momentum keeps us going into the King of Prussia Tournament next Sunday.

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August 2 & 3 - WCUSC Summer Classic

West Chester Tournament

Panthers take the field under a new name: Pride

Pride Breaks the Ice

In the concluding game of the West Chester Tournament our Pride was able to do something they had not in their previous two games. They scored. Unfortunately, the Rose Tree Metrostars scored 4 for themeselves and the Pride lost a hard fought game 4-1.

The boys need to build on their early game success. Passes were crisper than the previous games this weekend. Spacing appeared to be a bit of the problem all weekend but these are areas where the boys can and will proceed. Last year the team was successful bringing the ball down the sidelines (feeding the flags) and during the tournament they were in the middle of the field all to often.

For those of you who do not know the boys will be playing in a Division 2 rather than Division 3 of last year. Play will be faster and more physical. They need to pass to the open men and move towards the ball. Sometimes starting off slow helps us see where we’ve been and where we need to go.

Pride Doused by Buckingham

The dog days of summer arrived at Delacy on Saturday afternoon. The Buckingham United Fire faced off against our Pride. The outcome was one sided yet the boys put forth a very good effort. The final tally was 6-0 and could have been worse if not for the play of our fearless keeper.

The team will need to improve on going back to the ball, winning the 50/50’s and being more aggressive. All of these skills will be gone over during camp and I would imagine we will see a different team emerge as we play in our next two tournaments at Ridley and King of Prussia.

The effort was there but the Pride ran into a more talented team. This sets our sights to strive higher. With one more game to play in the West Chester Tournament let’s hope we see continued improvement.


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