O-40 POST HUGE REBOUND FROM GAME ONE LOSS

REACH DOUBLE DIGITS IN GOALS SCORED

After a lackluster performance in last weeks first game of the session, a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the reigning league champ, Lampert, the SSL O-40 side rebounded in style, leveling the Vintage Utd side with a 10 goal outburst en route to a 10-2 win. If you have to rebound from a disappointing loss, scoring in double digits is certainly a great remedy.

In spite of  5 goals by Gianni Pens, the SSL side found themselves down early 1-0. Then they went on an 8-0 tear, before Vintage scored their 2nd & final goal of the evening. Then, to add insult to injury, SSL then scored the next & final goal of the match, their 10th, to cap the scoring for the evening. But, even though SSL featured an extremely potent offense, the defense was the highlight of the evening.

With James Ahearn, Michael Hartzook & Joe Baer patrolling the defensive zone, & outstanding goalkeeping by John Kozuscek, who was playing his first match in several weeks after being out with an injury, they virtually shut down the Vintage attack, save for a single tally in each half, & moved the ball smartly out of the back providing the midfield & forwards with ample goal scoring opportunities. Obviously, the forwards made no mistake with these multiple chances, posting thier highest goal scoring output in several sessions.

At the interval, SSL held a comfortable 5-1 margin. However, they didn't stop there. With a huge advantage in possession, they created multiple scoring chances. Their red-zone passing was pinpoint perfect, creating several tap-in finishes. That just does not happen in the in-door game.

Now that the hoopla regarding this decisive win is over, SSL must now concentrate on getting back in the hunt for the championship. Next up on the schedule is a difficult match in Vetta Red next Tuesday @ 7:45. In their last two matches versus Red last session, all SSL has to show for their efforts are two losses, by scores of 5-4 & 9-4. So obviously, SSL has something to prove. Perhaps they'll be able to build on this offensive outburst. They'll certainly need to.

Scoring for the match: Gianni Pens, 5 goals & 2 helpers; Chris Carpenter, 2 goals; bob Janko, 1 & 3; Joe Baer & Michael Hartzook, one & one; Steve Rankin & Dominik Anic one helper each. Thanks for reading.

 

SOCCER ST. LOUIS STATS O-40
	NAME		GAMES	GOALS	ASSISTS	POINTS
	JOHNNY PENS		2	6	2	14
	BOB JANKO		2	1	3	5
	CHRIS CARPENTER		2	2	0	4
	STEVE RANKIN		2	1	1	3
	MIKE HARTSOOK		2	1	1	3
	JOE BAER		1	1	1	3
	DOMINIC ANIC		2	0	1	1
	KEN BRIGDEN		1	0	0	0
	WALLY STOKES		1	0	0	0
	JIM AHEARN		2	0	0	0
	TIM KELLEY		1	0	0	0
	MARTY ISSA		0	0	0	0
	JOHN KOZUSCEK		1	0	0	0
	STEVE SCHLICHTIG		0	0	0	0
	TODD LORETTA		0	0	0	0

Date			Location
Tue 8/18 8:35 PM	L 2-4	Lampert 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 8/25 7:45 PM	W 10-2	Vintage Utd 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 9/1 7:45 PM	50 minutes	at Vetta 40+ RED TEAM	Concord, Field 3
Tue 9/8 8:35 PM	50 minutes	at Vetta 40+ BLUE	Concord, Field 3
Wed 9/16 7:00 PM	50 minutes	Lampert 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 9/22 8:35 PM	50 minutes	at Vintage Utd 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 9/29 7:45 PM	50 minutes	at Lampert 40+	Concord, Field 3

LAMPERT, 4, SSL O-40, 2

FIRST GAME OF SESSION FAR DIFFERENT

FROM PLAYOFF GAME OF LAST SESSION

Last session for the SSL O-40 side ended on a high note when they rolled out the offensive firepower to overwhelm their opponent, Vintage Utd, 8-1. That same firepower was sorely lacking in their opening game of the current session. In this match, they could manage only 2 tallys while allowing 4, & ended up with the loss in a 4-2 decision in favor of the Lampert side.

Last week they were aggressive, possessed the ball, created multiple scoring opportunities & finished with 8 goals. That offense was AWOL this night. What few opportunities they were able to muster, were turned away by good goal-keeping by the Lampert keeper. But there was just a total lack of cohesion & fluidity between the offensive & defensive ends.  Although SSL possessed the ball much more than their opponents, they just could not make that final pass that would result in a good offensive opportunity. You won't win many games in this league scoring only 2 goals.

It started off well for SSL, scoring the first goal, on a long, curving ball off the foot of Steve Rankin, that squirted past a startled keeper who had just been screened by Chris Carpenter. It spun crazily into the bottom left corner for an early 1-0 lead. The lead remained 1-0 for the majority of the opening half, but SSL, even though it possessed the ball the majority of the time, just could not get any add-on goals. As luck would have it, just before half, Lampert tied it.

The 2nd half was a bit bizarre. A Lampert forward took a shot that was wide right. However, in chasing the player & the ball, a SSL player was struck in the arm with the carom off the boards & Lampert was awarded a penalty shot, which they promptly converted for a 2-1 lead. Later in the half, a SSL player was sent off for two minutes, but, they were able to kill off the penalty. Then, as the craziness continued, Lampert took a 3-1 lead when a ball in the SSL penalty area was bouncing off players like a pinball machine, & took an unfortunate bounce into the back of the SSL goal.

SSL got a goal back on a great individual effort by Gianni Pens, closing the gap to 3-2 Lampert with just under 4 minutes left. But still the craziness continued. 30 seconds later Lampert scored on yet another pinball goal that bounced into the SSL net out of a scramble in front of the goal, resulting in a 4-2 lead for Lampert, which they would never relinquish.

So, now SSL heads into the the 2nd game of the session 0-1, needing a win very badly. Next up on the schedule is Vintage Utd @ 7:45. However, winning the game will be a moot point unless SSL rediscovers their missing offense. In this league, no goals means no wins. We'll see if the offense reappears. I'll keep you posted. See you next Tuesday. Thanks for reading.

SOCCER ST. LOUIS STATS O-40
	NAME		GAMES	GOALS	ASSISTS	POINTS
	JOHNNY PENS		1	1	0	2
	STEVE RANKIN		1	1	0	2
	BOB JANKO		1	0	0	0
	CHRIS CARPENTER		1	0	0	0
	KEN BRIGDEN		1	0	0	0
	DOMINIC ANIC		1	0	0	0
	WALLY STOKES		1	0	0	0
	MIKE HARTSOOK		1	0	0	0
	TIM RILEY		1	0	0	0
	JIM AHEARN		1	0	0	0
	TIM KELLEY		1	0	0	0
	MARTY ISSA		0	0	0	0
	JOE BAER		0	0	0	0
	JOHN KOZUSCEK		0	0	0	0
	STEVE SCHLICHTIG		0	0	0	0
	TODD LORETTA		0	0	0	0

Date			Location
Tue 8/18 8:35 PM	L 2-4	Lampert 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 8/25 7:45 PM	50 minutes	Vintage Utd 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 9/1 7:45 PM	50 minutes	at Vetta 40+ RED TEAM	Concord, Field 3
Tue 9/8 8:35 PM	50 minutes	at Vetta 40+ BLUE	Concord, Field 3
Wed 9/16 7:00 PM	50 minutes	Lampert 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 9/22 8:35 PM	50 minutes	at Vintage Utd 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 9/29 7:45 PM	50 minutes	at Lampert 40+	Concord, Field 3

SSL O-30, 3, SINCLAIR & RUSH, 2

O-30 RECOVER FROM 2-0 DEFICIT

2ND WEEK IN A ROW

This is obviously not the way you want to start any game. Last Thursday & this Thursday, the SSL O-30 side found themselves trailing 2-0 early in each of the two games. Last week they had a spectacular comeback, winning going away, 7-4 over the reigning league champion PLS Zoom. This was a much different, & far more difficult match.

Unlike last weeks game where everything flowed smoothly & effectively, in this match the reverse was true. It appeared they were fighting it all night, almost like bucking a headwind the whole game. The harder they tried, the behinder they got.

Early in the match, just as in the previous weeks match, they fell behind 1-0. Not to worry, just 1-0 & a lot of game left. Wrong! After an offensive sortie by SSL, the ball came flying out of the offensive end & directly onto the foot of a waiting, unmarked, S&R forward. He turned & headed upfield with a breakaway. The SSL keeper, David Shelton, had no chance. Just as the S&R forward reached the penalty area, he waited no longer, & launched a rocket that found the bottom right corner of the goal. Just that quickly, SSL found themselves looking up at a 2-0 deficit. I'm sure the thought occured to many. Could they come back two weeks in a row? Lot's of time left, but, could they do it? Although you couldn't tell by the play of the SSL side at the time, the answer was yes. But it was a nailbiter!

A deadly connection that has materialized recently for SSL is Jayson Adelsberger to David Hipperson....& vice versa. The first goal for SSL came off this combination where Hipperson fed Adelsberger the ball, whereupon he made no mistake from an extremely bad angle, finishing the ball, & getting SSL back in the match. At this point, all the SSL players spirits were definitely lifted. With the remainder of the first half & all of the 2nd half still to be played, they knew they had plenty of time & the goals would come. Well, as it turned out, they had plenty of time, but tallies were hard to come by.

Both teams rode the 2-1 Sinclair & Rush lead to the interval. The 2nd half featured more of an up-tempo game by SSL, but not the likes of the previous weeks match. Shelton was called on to make easily a half-dozen difficult stops in the first half alone, not the least of which were two more break-away's, keeping SSL in the match & buying the offense more time. They would need every minute of that time.

Although not mustering as much offense as they did the previous week, they still managed to maintain the majority of possession & created multiple offensive opportunities, many more than their opponent. However, the S&R keeper was up to the task, turning away a multitude of SSL shots, maintaining the S&R lead. But the continued offensive pressure ultimately paid dividends.

On yet another offensive sortie by SSL, the ball was heading for the back of the net when an S&R defender swatted it out with his hand, resulting in a penalty shot for SSL. Hipperson stepped up & calmly, with the help of a freaky little dance step, stroked the ball into the back of the net for a 2-2 tie. All the SSL players thought the avalanche of goals would surely now start, providing them with yet another runaway win. S&R, however, was much stingyer then anticipated, & held SSL to but a single additional tally for the match. However, it was an important one. It was the game-winner!

The continuing offensive pressure applied by the SSL resulted in another of many dead-ball fouls. This particular one was just outside & to the left of the box. It appeared that, with the wall set up by S&R, there was nowhere to go with the shot, the better opportunity being perhaps laying it off to a teammate. Not so fast. Hipperson approached the ball, & as he did earlier in the match, calmly struck the ball that found the tiniest of openings & flew into the back of the net for their first lead of the game at 3-2. It was the only lead they would need.

Not to be overleooked in a match of this pace & intensity, was the defense of both sides, but particularly, the SSL side, protecting, successfully, a one goal lead, & riding it to a win. Save for a few breakdowns, the defensive marking, all over the field, not just in the defensive end, created turn-overs that SSL pounced on, thwarting yet another of the S&R attacks. This helped keep thier offense in check, & resulted in only a couple shots in the second half, & completely shutting them out in the last 20 plus minutes.

So, tucking away this hard-fought victory & savoring their win & first place tie for a few moments, the thoughts quickly were on the battle that continues next week. The SSL opponent, SoCo Utd., @ 10:15 is coming off a tremendous 5-3 win over perenial powerhouse, Freaky Shakra. Compounding the problems facing SSL in this match is the fact it will be played on field #3, not their favorite place to do battle. It has been said that, all that field does is level the playing field, making a bad team better & a good team worse. We shall see. Again, thanks for reading.

 

	SOCCER ST. LOUIS STATS O-30
	NAME		GAMES	GOALS	ASSISTS	POINTS
	DAVID HIPPERSON		2	4	3	11
	JAYSON ADELSBERGER		2	4	0	8
	RONNIE ROWDEN		2	1	1	3
	BERNARD ANIC		2	1	1	3
	GUILLERMO CORTEZ		2	0	2	2
	JOHNNY PENS		2	0	1	1
	EDIN CORALIC		2	0	0	0
	TONY MEADOWS		2	0	0	0
	DAVID SHELTON		2	0	0	0
	MIKE HOGAN		2	0	0	0
	CASEY WALSH		2	0	0	0
	WILL SUK		1	0	0	0
	IVAN BODUL		1	0	0	0
	SLADAN KURTOVIC		0	0	0	0

Date			Location
Thu 8/13 8:00 PM	W 7-4	Zoom Motors	Concord, Field 2
Thu 8/20 10:00 PM	W 3-2	at Sinclair & Rush	Concord, Field 1
Thu 8/27 10:15 PM	50 minutes	at Soco Utd (BLUE)	Concord, Field 3
Thu 9/3 11:20 PM	50 minutes	Freaky Shakra(WHITE/BLUE)	Concord, Field 2
Thu 9/10 7:50 PM	50 minutes	CD Cobras(BLUE)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 9/17 8:50 PM	50 minutes	at Zoom Motors	Concord, Field 2
Thu 9/24 7:00 PM	50 minutes	at Freaky Shakra(WHITE/BLUE)	Concord, Field 3