CRAZY GAME

DISSAPPOINTING RESULTS

BACK TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP.....AGAIN!

Where do I start with this one. It was an exciting game to watch, but frustrating as well. It started out well. Very well. SSL was in the process of playing one of their best games in some time. Moving smartly, both on and off the ball, creating chances, playing stubborn defense. They created many early chances that they didn't finish on, which later in the match would cost them. Then a crazy thing happened. Freaky scored!

On an innocent lookiing play, from outside the box a Freaky player looked up, took a shot, & it was a good one, & it blazed into the upper righthand corner past a startled keeper, David Shelton, for an early 1-0 score. After all the well-played minutes of this match by SSL, all of of sudden to find themselves behind, must have been a shock to the nervous system. Following that Freaky goal, SSL was never quite the same.

They played well, make no mistake, it just was not with the same precision & confidence that they featured early in the match. Nonetheless, shortly after the Freaky goal, SSL came right back on a big goal by & a huge night from, Edin Coralic. That goal tied the game at 1-1. Next, on a long throw by David Shelton, Will Suk corralled the ball, put on a move & finished quickly for a 2-1 lead. Next on the hit list was Jayson Adelsberger with the next goal of the evening for SSL, putting them up 3-1. But, they couldn't hold that lead.

Freaky came right back to score on a dead-ball foul, the first of two dead-ball conversions by Freaky on the evening, narrowing the score to 3-2. Then, just before half, Freaky scored their 3rd of the contest, to knot it all up at 3 heading into the interval. A game that SSL had dominated early was slowly slipping away from them. They needed a strong finish in the 2nd half if they were going to put away the pesky Freaky Shakra side.

The 2nd half started out better for SSL than the first half ended. David Hipperson regained the lead for SSL with another of his patented bombs, putting them up 4-3. Adding to that 4-3 lead was Edin Coralic with his 2nd goal of the match, regaining for SSL their coveted 2 goal lead. The lead was all to brief. Up 5-3 with 6 minutes left, SSL was feeling comfortable about their chances. That changed quickly.

With just under 6 minutes left in the match, Freaky scored to narrow the lead once again to a single tally at 5-4. It was helter skelter the rest of the way. SSL trying valiantly to lock down the win with one more tally & Freaky pressing the attack for that tying goal. This was an incredible finish. With time running out & SSL playing possession, knocking the ball around, Freaky was pressing the attack & forced the defenders to play the ball back to Shelton. With 9 ticks left on the clock, he kicked the ball the length of the floor, inadvertantly hitting the ceiling netting, resulting in a deadball foul at the dot for Freaky.

One of the Freaky players took a good shot just to the left of Shelton that hit the wall & bounced directly to a Freaky player, unmarked due to the SSL side being in a wall, where he one-touched the ball past the keeper & into the back of the net for the tying goal with 9 seconds left on the clock. All that remained at that point was the centeroff & time expired on a truly frustrating match for SSL.

Twice they had two goal leads they couldn't hold & twice, the opponent scored on dead-ball fouls. Certainly, heading into next weeks championship match they have much to think about & correct. All in all, it was an exciting & thrilling match to watch. Just too bad SSL couldn't close this one out.

Next week, SSL will find themselves in the championship match for the 7th consecutive session. However, it won't be against Freaky Shakra. Unfortunately for them, they lost two matches & tied two matches (both against SSL) during the regular season & won't be in the finals. Instead, it will be Sinclair & Rush who put together a very good session, suffering just two losses. SSL will meet them next Thursday @ 9:35 on field #1. It should be a great match, as the finals always are. Hope you can join us. Thanks for reading.

Scoring: Edin Coralic, 2 goals; Will Suk, David Hipperson & Jayson Adelsberger, 1 goal each & Tony Meadows & Casey Walsh with 1 helper each. 

LOUISVILLE!!!

It's coming! April 25th & 26th, SSL will take both its O-30 & O-40 teams to scenic Louisville, Ky., for their annual 6 v 6 outdoor tourney. Those of you that are interested in playing need to notify me quickly as the spots are filling up. Rosters are limited to 10 & cost is $30.  It's an inexpensive weekend with a lot of great soccer & an equal share of fun. Hope you can make it!

HOTEL INFO:

Holiday Inn Fair Expo, 4110 Dixie Highway, Louisville, Ky. Phone: 502 448 2020. Deadline to reserve rooms is April 10th. When you call, tell them you're with Soccer St. Louis, We get a special rate, thanks to Jeannie Curry. Additionally, they are also proviging us with a Hospitality Room for Saturday evening. A great time should be had by all. Hope to see you there!

Following is a direct link to the Holiday Inn website, set up exclusively for Soccer St. Louis. Click on it and register.

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/cwshome/DPRD-7Q4PFW/SDFSW/website/

ROSTERS THUS FAR:

 OVER 30                                                    OVER 40

1. TONY MEADOWS                                  1. STEVE RANKIN

2. CASEY WALSH                                      2. TIM KELLEY

3. EDIN CORALIC                                      3. BOBBY JANKO

4. SLADAN KURTOVIC                             4. RICH JERVIS

5. DAVID HIPPERSON                               5. TODD LORETTA

6. MIKE HOGAN                                         6. DANNY MAURER

7. DAVID SHELTON                                   7. JOHNNY PENS

8. IGNACIO PLANCARTE                          8. WALLY STOKES

9.                                                                    9. DAN KRAUS

10.                                                               10.

	SOCCER ST. LOUIS STATS O-30
	NAME		GAMES	GOALS	ASSISTS	POINTS
	DAVID HIPPERSON		5	8	1	17
	EDIN CORALIC		6	7	2	16
	WILL SUK		7	5	1	11
	RONNIE ROWDEN		5	3	2	8
	JAYSON ADELSBERGER		2	3	1	7
	BERNARD ANIC		7	2	1	5
	SLADAN KURTOVIC		7	1	2	4
	JOHNNY PENS		6	1	2	4
	MICHAEL POROPAT		5	1	1	3
	MIKE HOGAN		6	1	1	3
	CASEY WALSH		7	0	1	3
	DAVID SHELTON		7	0	1	1
	TONY MEADOWS		6	0	1	1

Date			Location
Thu 2/12 9:50 PM	W 3-1	Sinclair & Rush	Concord, Field 3
Thu 2/19 11:25 PM	T 3-3	Freaky Shakra	Concord, Field 1
Thu 2/26 7:05 PM	W 4-0	PLS Zoom Motors	Concord, Field 3
Thu 3/5 7:45 PM	W 3-1	at CD Cobras(BLUE)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 3/12 9:35 PM	W 8-4	at Phillips Insurance (Super Mario)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 3/19 10:30 PM	W 6-2	Phillips Insurance (Super Mario)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 3/26 6:20 PM	T 5-5	at Freaky Shakra	Concord, Field 2
Thu 4/2 9:35 PM	55 minutes	Sinclair & Rush	Concord, Field 1

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN

DEFEAT SUPER MARIO 2ND STRAIGHT WEEK

In an odd scheduling quirk, in which all teams in the O-30 division play the same opponent in weeks 5 & 6, SSL played Phillips Insurance (Super Mario) for the 2nd time in two weeks. The result was fairly close to last weeks final.

Last week SSL notched an 8-4 win in workmanlike fashion. This week, SSL scored 2 fewer goals, but also allowed 2 fewer to ring up a 6-2 win in a solid, even better than last weeks, performance. It seemed that SSL players were all on the same page in this match. They played strong team defense, moved the ball smartly, maintained possession & dominated on offense. The only thing that kept the score from being lopsided was the play of the Phillips keeper.

SSL far outshot their opponent, creating multiple chances on many nifty plays. Midfielders David Hipperson & super-sub, Bernard Anic, filling in for injured mid-fielder Michael Poropat for the 2nd week in a row, were the lynch-pins between the offense & defense allowing both to synch seamlessly with the other. The defense would move the ball smartly up the field, feeding the mid-fielders who in turn, would lay off beautiful balls for the onrushing forwards. It was truly entertaining soccer. But, it was not without its faults.

SSL had most of the possession & created a lot of early opportunities. But, they weren't scoring. Many times they would have the shot, pass on it & instead, lay it off to yet another forward that would do the same. Too many passes, too few shots. Then Hipperson took things into his own hands. SSL was in the Phillips end, knocking the ball around, too much as it turned out, with no shots, when Hip, trailing the play, called for the ball & one-timed a rocket that found the back of the net, putting an exclaimation point on the effort, putting SSL up 1-0.

Unfortunately for SSL, they must have been giddy about the goal, because they fell asleep. On the ensuing center-off, Phillips carried the ball the length of the field, weaving in & out among startled SSL players & scored a lazy shot to knot the score at 1-1. What the heck just happened? Well, SSL answered with their 2nd goal almost immediately after the Phillips score, deflating any joy that Phillips had as a result of their goal, when SSL marched smartly down the field, knocking the ball around, finding Will Suk at the corner of the goal, where he touched it home for a SSL 2-1 lead.

Shortly after that score, Edin Coralic chipped in with his 1st of two goals on the evening, stretching the lead to 3-1 when he split two defenders & deposited the ball in the back of the net. Phillips was able to notch their 2nd (& final) goal of the contest a short time later, but mid-fielder Bernard Anic restored the SSL 2 goal lead with a one-time bomb from just outside the penalty area for a 4-2 lead that they took to the interval.

The 2nd half was much like the first, with a lot of possession, quick passes, great defense & strong offense. The big difference was not allowing a single goal to Phillips in the half, due to stellar goal-tending by David Shelton, & great marking by defenders Casey Walsh, Tony Meadows, Mike Hogan & Sladan Kurtovic. Additionally, the defenders were not bashful about getting into the attack, many times moving the ball into the offensive end & creating their own shots. It was truly a team effort.

Two more goals by SSL in the 2nd, a 2nd goal by both David Hipperson & Edin Coralic upped the score to 6-2, & that was the final. Once again, SSL leads the league in goals against with a measly 11 in 6 games. Defense is fast becoming a trademark of this SSL side. In fact, SSL has lead the league in goals against, at least the last 4 sessions in a row. I don't have statistics that go further back than that, but, I think it's safe to say, they've been at the top or near the top virtually every session they've competed. With what they'll be facing the next couple of weeks, goals against will be most important.

This coming week, they have a re-match with another league heavyweight, Freaky Shakra @ 6:20 on field # 2. Earlier this session, they tied Freaky 2-2, & SSL holds a 2-1-1 edge in total games played. So, it could possibly be a preview of this sessions finals. Depending on what Sinclair & Rush & PLS Zoom do next week in their games, & if Freaky were to somehow defeat SSL, it could possibly be the same two teams in the finals in two weeks. This coming weeks games will prove to be very interesting. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading.

LOUISVILLE!!!

It's coming! April 25th & 26th, SSL will take both its O-30 & O-40 teams to scenic Louisville, Ky., for their annual 6 v 6 outdoor tourney. Those of you that are interested in playing need to notify me quickly as the spots are filling up. Rosters are limited to 10 & cost is $30.  It's an inexpensive weekend with a lot of great soccer & an equal share of fun. Hope you can make it!

HOTEL INFO:

Holiday Inn Fair Expo, 4110 Dixie Highway, Louisville, Ky. Phone: 502 448 2020. Deadline to reserve rooms is April 10th. When you call, tell them you're with Soccer St. Louis, We get a special rate, thanks to Jeannie Curry. Additionally, they are also proviging us with a Hospitality Room for Saturday evening. A great time should be had by all. Hope to see you there!

Following is a direct link to the Holiday Inn website, set up exclusively for Soccer St. Louis. Click on it and register.

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/cwshome/DPRD-7Q4PFW/SDFSW/website/

ROSTERS THUS FAR:

OVER 30                                                  OVER 40

1. TONY MEADOWS                               1. STEVE RANKIN

2. CASEY WALSH                                   2. TIM KELLEY

3. EDIN CORALIC                                   3. PHIL MALONEY

4. SLADAN KURTOVIC                          4. RICH JERVIS

5. DAVID HIPPERSON                            5. TODD LORETTA

6. MIKE HOGAN                                      6. DANNY MAUER

7. DAVID SHELTON                                7. JOHNNY PENS

8. IGNACIO PLANCARTE                       8. WALLY STOKES

9.                                                              9. SCOTT NESBITT

10.                                                            10.

  

	SOCCER ST. LOUIS STATS O-30
	NAME		GAMES	GOALS	ASSISTS	POINTS
	DAVID HIPPERSON		4	7	1	15
	EDIN CORALIC		5	5	2	12
	WILL SUK		6	4	1	9
	RONNIE ROWDEN		4	3	2	8
	BERNARD ANIC		6	2	1	5
	JAYSON ADELSBERGER		1	2	1	5
	SLADAN KURTOVIC		6	1	2	4
	JOHNNY PENS		5	1	2	4
	MICHAEL POROPAT		4	1	1	3
	MIKE HOGAN		5	1	1	3
	CASEY WALSH		6	0	2	2
	DAVID SHELTON		6	0	1	1
	TONY MEADOWS		5	0	0	0

  Schedule

Date			Location
Thu 2/12 9:50 PM	W 3-1	Sinclair & Rush	Concord, Field 3
Thu 2/19 11:25 PM	T 3-3	Freaky Shakra	Concord, Field 1
Thu 2/26 7:05 PM	W 4-0	PLS Zoom Motors	Concord, Field 3
Thu 3/5 7:45 PM	W 3-1	at CD Cobras(BLUE)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 3/12 9:35 PM	W 8-4	at Phillips Insurance (Super Mario)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 3/19 10:30 PM	W 6-2	Phillips Insurance (Super Mario)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 3/26 6:20 PM	55 minutes	at Freaky Shakra	Concord, Field 2

SSL O-40 SECURE 1ST SHUTOUT OF SESSION

BLANK VETTA RED 6-0

In what could be described as a tidy little game, SSL O-40 methodically went about their business, & shut down the refreshed Vetta Red attack. The goals came slowly for the SSL side, but efficiently. The defense played stubbornly, bending but not breaking, buying time for the offense to provide some goals.

It was 0-0 for much of the first half. Then, Tim Kelley got things started with the first goal of the evening for SSL. A short time after that, Joe Behr chipped in with the 2nd goal of the game, giving SSL a little breathing room. Just before half, Steve Rankin stretched the lead to 3-0 with the first of his two goals on the evening & that's where the score remained at the interval.

In the 2nd half, it was the Scott Nesbitt show. An attacking defender, on both of his goals his hustle paid dividends. Crashing the goal on both opportunities, following up the play, he finished on two beautiful chances. Finishing out the scoring for the evening was Steve Rankin, netting his 2nd & final tally of the match.

It wasn't a very flashy contest but rather workmanlike. They marked, they passed, they attacked & they did all of that consistently. That usually results in goals, & this match was no different. Even though the pomp & circumstance was missing, their resilience was not. They worked hard throughout the match & were rewarded with their third win & first shutout of the session. A stellar night in goal by banged up keeper David Shelton kept  the Vetta Red side at bay all evening. It was truly a team win.

Next up is a rematch vs The Shamrocks, the last team SSL posted a shutout against. No doubt the Shamrocks will be looking for some revenge in this one. It could easily be described as a "trap" game. That's a game that has all the earmarks of a win for SSL, but if they come out soft or passively, the Shamrocks could trip them up & SSL would be asking what happened after that game.

So, join us for that one, it should certainly be entertaining. Game time is 9:25 on field #3. Hope to see you then.

Scoring on the evening: Steve Rankin & Scott Nesbit, 2 goals each; Joe Behr & Tim Kelley, a goal & a helper each; Steve Schlichtig, 3 helpers; Johnny Pens, 2 helpers & goalie David Shelton, one helper.

LOUISVILLE!!!

It's coming! April 28th & 29th, SSL will take both its O-30 & O-40 teams to scenic Louisville, Ky., for their annual 6 v 6 outdoor tourney. Those of you that are interested in playing need to notify me quickly as the spots are filling up. Rosters are limited to 10 & cost is $30.  It's an inexpensive weekend with a lot of great soccer & an equal share of fun. Hope you can make it!

ROSTERS THUS FAR:

 OVER 30                                                     OVER 40

1. TONY MEADOWS                                  1. STEVE RANKIN

2. CASEY WALSH                                      2. TIM KELLEY

3. EDIN CORALIC                                      3. PHIL MALONEY

4. SLADAN KURTOVIC                             4. RICH JERVIS

5. DAVID HIPPERSON                               5. TODD LORETTA

6. MIKE HOGAN                                        6. DANNY MAUER

7.                                                                 7. JOHNNY PENS

8.                                                                 8. WALLY STOKES

9.                                                                 9.

10.                                                              10.

HOTEL INFO:

Holiday Inn Fair Expo, 4110 Dixie Highway, Louisville, Ky. Phone: 502 448 2020. Deadline to reserve rooms is April 10th. When you call, tell them you're with Soccer St. Louis, We get a special rate, thanks to Jeannie Curry. Additionally, they are also proviging us with a Hospitality Room for Saturday evening. A great time should be had by all. Hope to see you there!

SOCCER ST. LOUIS STATS O-40
	NAME		GAMES	GOALS	ASSISTS	POINTS
	STEVE RANKIN		4	7	3	17
	TIM KELLEY		3	4	2	10
	JOE BEHR		3	3	1	7
	STEVE SCHLICHTIG		4	1	4	6
	MARTY ISSA		2	3	0	6
	JOHNNY PENS		4	0	5	5
	SCOTT NESBITT		2	2	0	4
	WALLY STOKES		4	1	2	4
	JOHN BOKERN		4	1	1	3
	DAVID SHELTON		4	0	1	1
	DUCKY MAURER		2	0	0	0
	TODD LORETTA		0	0	0	0
	JOHN KOZUSCEK		0	0	0	0
	BOB JANKO		0	0	0	0
	PHIL MALONEY		0	0	0	0

 Schedule

Date			Location
Tue 2/17 7:35 PM	W 7-2	at Vetta 40+ BLUE TEAM	Concord, Field 3
Tue 2/24 8:30 PM	L 2-7	at Maddox 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 3/3 9:25 PM	W 5-3	at Lampert 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 3/17 9:25 PM	W 6-0	Vetta 40+ RED TEAM	Concord, Field 3
Tue 3/24 9:25 PM	55 minutes	Shamrocks 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 3/31 7:35 PM	55 minutes	JS Logistics(tues 40+)	Concord, Field 3
Tue 4/7 8:30 PM	55 minutes	Vetta 40+ BLUE TEAM	Concord, Field 3

LOUISVILLE ‘09  

OVER

STRANGE, STRANGE GAME

O-30 PREVAIL IN LACKLUSTER PERFORMANCE

In what was not one of their better games, the SSL side managed to hang on just enough to put away a very pesky Phillips Insurance team. The final score is a bit misleading. With about 10 minutes remaining in the contest, it was all tied @ 4 each. How it got to that point, & the crazy finish all contributed to the make-up of this contest.

SSL started strong, creating chances, taking shots, but, not finishing. The Phillips keeper was on his game this night, playing no favorites & robbing whatever SSL player happened to be shooting at the Phillips goal. As a result of coming up empty on the offensive end, as happens often, Phillips was on the attack when a ball they shot, caromed off the back-boards, hit a couple SSL defenders, popped up in the air & a Phillips attacker somewhat inadvertantly chipped the ball over the heads of everyone & into the SSL goal. 1-0 Phillips! Gonna be one of those kinds of nights.

Shortly thereafter, Johnny Pens drew the teams even at 1 on a nice finish in the box off an assist by Edin Coralic. Ok, we're back in the game, it's all good. Not so fast! Phillips came right back on what looked like an innocent play and a poor shot from a bad angle that  just barely skipped past keeper David Shelton & into the bottom right corner for a 2-1 lead. SSL was behind again, in a game that they were dominating. Strange!

Shortly thereafter, Ronnie Rowden, in the process of having a stellar performance for the evening, evened the score @ 2 with his first of 3 goals on the night. So, once again, the teams were level & SSL felt like momentum was theirs & they should have the game in hand. But again, it was one of those nights. Strange.

Will Suk scored a short time later, giving SSL their first lead of the game @ 3-2, contributing his 3rd goal of the session. They took that lead to the interval feeling confident. It's not too often that SSL relinquishes a lead & this would be no exception. Or, so they thought.

Just after the interval, Rowden cashed in again with his 2nd of 3 goals, upping the SSL lead to 4-2. At that point, in the 2nd half, SSL felt like they were on cruise control. Nothing could be further from the truth. Phillips came right back with their 3rd goal of the evening to norrow the score. But, not to worry. 2nd half, 4-3 lead, SSL should be able to ride this one home. Wrong!

A Phillips forward, on a crazy play, collected the ball with two SSL defenders on him. But, somehow, he managed to split the defenders, found himself alone in the box, took a quirky shot that skimmed off Shelton's hands & into the very top of the goal & that tied the game @ 4 with about ten minutes remaining in the game. What the heck just happened! Well, back to the drawing board. It was a new game.

One of the reasons this team has had such success is their consistency. Sometimes they play great, other times not so great. But always with a solid effort, never quitting & allowing their natural talent to dictate the game. That's exactly what happened this evening. Even though some unfortunate things had happened, & they really hadn't played thier best game, they still continued to persevere. They never stopped running, & they never stopped working. It paid dividends.

A perfect example was their 5th & go-ahead, game-winning goal. None other than the hardest working man in the SSL line-up, Mike Hogan, doing what he does best & that's hustle, collected the ball in the corner out of a scramble. He slipped past two defenders &, just outside the box on the right-hand side, blasted a toe-ball that the Phillips keeper had no chance on. Just like that, SSL was up 5-4, & they never looked back.

Going for the knock-out, they quickly poured in 3 more, back-to-back-to-back, unanswered goals. Two straight by Jayson Adelsberger & the 3rd & final goal of the evening for Ronnie Rowden. So, just like that, after a pretty forgettable performance, they continued to play smart, scoring a bunch & breaking open a previously tight game. That's why this SSL side has been undefeated in their last 13 contests, dating back to November 6th. Remarkable!

In a scheduling quirk, SSL will find themselves playing this same Phillips opponent next week @ 10:30 on field #1. They'll be trying to strengthen their grip on 1st place, attempting to distance themselves from the rest of the pack, trying to lock up their 7th straight berth in the Championship Finals. That's more than a year of playing in championship games. A phenomanal record & a true reflection of their consistency. Hope to see you all next week. Thanks for reading. 

LOUISVILLE!!!

It's coming! April 25th & 26th, SSL will take both its O-30 & O-40 teams to scenic Louisville, Ky., for their annual 6 v 6 outdoor tourney. Those of you that are interested in playing need to notify me quickly as the spots are filling up. Rosters are limited to 10 & cost is $30.  It's an inexpensive weekend with a lot of great soccer & an equal share of fun. Hope you can make it!

HOTEL INFO:

Holiday Inn Fair Expo, 4110 Dixie Highway, Louisville, Ky. Phone: 502 448 2020. Deadline to reserve rooms is April 10th. When you call, tell them you're with Soccer St. Louis, We get a special rate, thanks to Jeannie Curry.

	SOCCER ST. LOUIS STATS O-30
	NAME		GAMES	GOALS	ASSISTS	POINTS
	DAVID HIPPERSON		4	5	0	10
	EDIN CORALIC		4	3	2	8
	SLADAN KURTOVIC		5	1	2	4
	MICHAEL POROPAT		4	1	1	3
	WILL SUK		5	3	1	7
	BERNARD ANIC		5	1	1	3
	CASEY WALSH		5	0	1	1
	TONY MEADOWS		4	0	0	0
	DAVID SHELTON		5	0	1	1
	JOHNNY PENS		4	1	1	3
	MIKE HOGAN		4	1	1	3
	RONNIE ROWDEN		3	3	1	7
	JAYSON ADELSBERGER		1	2	1	5

Date			Location
Thu 2/12 9:50 PM	W 3-1	Sinclair & Rush	Concord, Field 3
Thu 2/19 11:25 PM	T 3-3	Freaky Shakra	Concord, Field 1
Thu 2/26 7:05 PM	W 4-0	PLS Zoom Motors	Concord, Field 3
Thu 3/5 7:45 PM	W 3-1	at CD Cobras(BLUE)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 3/12 9:35 PM	W 8-4	at Phillips Insurance (Super Mario)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 3/19 10:30 PM	55 minutes	Phillips Insurance (Super Mario)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 3/26 6:20 PM	55 minutes	at Freaky Shakra	Concord, Field 2

SSL O-30 BACK IN FIRST

STRETCH UNBEATEN STREAK TO 12

Over? Who said it was over. It's not over til the clock is all zero's. That's exactly how the game against the very difficult Cobra's played out last night. SSL squeaked by after playing one of their more forgettable games, posting a 3-1 well-earned victory. The first half of the game was one for the books. But until the clock was all zeros, it was anybody's game.

Held to only a single shot on goal for the entire first half by the swarming Cobra's, at that point, the future looked less than bright. The Cobra's came out flying. Up & down the field, stringing together passes, creating opportunity after opportunity, the Cobra's pressed the attack the entire half. Had it not been for the stellar defensive play of the SSL side, the early 1-0 Cobra lead could have been much, much more.

But, late in the first half, with the SSL defense bending but not breaking, salvation came in the form of David Hipperson. On one of the SSL offensive sorties, they turned the ball over to the Cobras who in turn, played the ball back to the keeper. However, the keeper, under relentless pressure from Little Hip, coughed up the ball, whereupon Hip jumped on it, turned on the keeper & buried a bomb in the back of the net, knotting the game at 1 all, & bringing a huge sigh of relief to the beleagured SSL side. Now it was back to even. Time to start over, & that's exactly what they did in the 2nd half.

Benefitting from the lift that Little Hip gave to his teammates, SSL started to create more offensive pressure. However, it was still a huge, uphill struggle. Many bad passes, miscommunication & just plain bad luck, plagued SSL. But, they were not put off by the misfortune they were subject to & instead, continued to press the attack. As a result of their hard work & never-say-die attitude, a truly beautiful play resulted in the go-ahead goal.

After derailing a Cobra attack, Mike Hogan collected the ball & immediately, as he always does, with his unique ability to see the whole field, saw Will Suk streaking past a Cobra defender. Hoags quickly serviced a lead ball almost to Will's feet which he corraled in stride. Heading at full speed toward the goal  with the beaten Cobra defender being left in his dust, Will let go with a whistling shot that zipped by the startled keeper, giving SSL the lead for the first time in the contest. They would never relinquish that lead.

Continuing to press the attack, & trying to increase their slim 2-1 lead, SSL started to play much better with greater ball movement as well as player movement. When teams play like that, good things usually happen. And happen they did.

After thwarting yet another Cobra advance, SSL moved the ball quickly upfield, stringing together some nice passes that eventually found Ronnie Rowden in the corner with a defender marking him. But, with 1 on 1 space, Ronnie put a little move on him, & found Edin Coralic in the box with a nice crossing ball. Then Edin, playing with a bad hamstring, touched the ball into the back of the net for that all important two goal lead. An audible sign of relief could be heard from the SSL bench.

SSL rode home that two goal lead &, combined with terrific team defense, lead by keeper David Shelton, who on the evening was required to make many big stops, closed out a very tough, fast, physical game, with a 3-1 win. Regarding this defensive side, an unbelievable statistic just jumps out at you. In four games, they've allowed only a measly FIVE goals. Their closest pursuer has allowed 14. Remarkable!

By virtue of their victory, SSL  is tied for first place following Freaky Shakra's loss to PLS Zoom later in the evening. Although tied, SSL is undefeated with a game in hand. Should they take care of their own business, as expected, they should find themselves in the finals once again.

All in all it was a thrilling game, with more than enough action & lot's of physical play. In spite of SSL's less than stellar play on the evening, the solid play & veteran leadership, reafirmed the idea that no matter how poorly they played, they would win the game. That's what good teams do, and they did. With as many things as went wrong, they never lost sight of the prize. It reflected how good this team is & that they don't lose games. You have to beat them! Thanks for reading. See you next week. 

LOUISVILLE!!!

It's coming! April 25th & 26th, SSL will take both its O-30 & O-40 teams to scenic Louisville, Ky., for their annual 6 v 6 outdoor tourney. Those of you that are interested in playing need to notify me quickly as the spots are filling up. Rosters are limited to 10 & cost is $30. I should have hotel info this week & when I do, it'll be posted here.  It's an inexpensive weekend with a lot of great soccer & an equal share of fun. Hope you can make it!

	SOCCER ST. LOUIS STATS O-30
	NAME		GAMES	GOALS	ASSISTS	POINTS
	DAVID HIPPERSON		4	5	0	10
	EDIN CORALIC		3	3	0	6
	SLADAN KURTOVIC		4	1	2	4
	MICHAEL POROPAT		4	1	1	3
	WILL SUK		4	2	1	5
	BERNARD ANIC		4	1	0	2
	CASEY WALSH		4	0	0	0
	TONY MEADOWS		4	0	0	0
	DAVID SHELTON		4	0	0	0
	JOHNNY PENS		3	0	0	0
	MIKE HOGAN		3	0	0	0
	RONNIE ROWDEN		2	0	0	0
	JAYSON ADELSBERGER		0	0	0	0

Date			Location
Thu 2/12 9:50 PM	W 3-1	Sinclair & Rush	Concord, Field 3
Thu 2/19 11:25 PM	T 3-3	Freaky Shakra	Concord, Field 1
Thu 2/26 7:05 PM	W 4-0	PLS Zoom Motors	Concord, Field 3
Thu 3/5 7:45 PM	W 3-1	at CD Cobras(BLUE)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 3/12 9:35 PM	55 minutes	at Phillips Insurance (Super Mario)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 3/19 10:30 PM	55 minutes	Phillips Insurance (Super Mario)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 3/26 6:20 PM	55 minutes	at Freaky Shakra	Concord, Field 2

DOWN 2-0 EARLY

SSL ROARS BACK FOR WIN

Finding themselves down quickly, early in the first half, the SSL O-40 side roared back, scoring 5 goals to only 1more by the Lampert side, to post a hard-fought 5-3 win. A faltering start by SSL resulted in some early chances by the Lampert team, & they finished on two of them.

SSL staggered out of the gate, unable to play possession, string together passes or get the ball to open players in space. As a result, they couldn't get off any uncontested shots & as a result, turned the ball over too often. Those turn-overs resulted in a variety of chances by Lampert, & they may well have scored more had the SSL defense not risen to the occasion as well as the keeper, David Shelton, making some difficult saves.

The good news is, the SSL side never stopped attacking, slowly gaining momentum, getting more chances, & ended up getting 3 first half goals themselves. By virtue of not giving up any more goals to their opponent in the half, they were able to ride that 3-2 score to the interval.

In the 2nd half, SSL was able to impose more of their will on the game. They continued to attack, peppering the Lampert keeper with a multitude of shots, netting 2 more & allowing only 1 to Lampert, posting a 5-3 win in what turned out to be a very difficult game.

The game was physical from the out-set, but, the deeper into the game it went, the chippier it got. Several 2 minute penalties were handed out to both sides, and as it was, penalties were handed out that shouldn't have been & there were times when they shoud have & they weren't. It got very ugly at the end.

But, SSL persevered, played smart, didn't lose composure, kept their head in the game & pulled out a difficult win vs a very good, veteran team. Scoring on the evening was spread around, with Joe Baer notching 2, & one each by Steve Schlichtig, Steve Rankin & John Bokern.

Next up on the schedule for the SSL O-40 side is the Vetta Red team @ 9:25 this coming Tueday, 3/17/09. Hope you'll be able to join us for that game. Thanks for reading.

LUNCH AT THE "SPORTS ATTIC"

This Saturday, March 7th, the SSL O-40 side will be meeting at the "Attic" @ 2 PM. The "Sports Attic" is one of the fine sponsors of the O-40 team, & they try to meet there at least a couple Saturdays a month for some food & fun. Everyone is invited to join the team for the festivities, so hopefully you'll be able to make it. Hope to see you Saturday!

LOUISVILLE!!!

It's coming! April 25th & 26th, SSL will take both its O-30 & O-40 teams to scenic Louisville, Ky., for their annual 6 v 6 outdoor tourney. Those of you that are interested in playing need to notify me quickly as the spots are filling up. Rosters are limited to 10 & cost is $30. I should have hotel info this week & when I do, it'll be posted here.  It's an inexpensive weekend with a lot of great soccer & an equal share of fun. Hope you can make it!

 

SOCCER ST. LOUIS STATS O-40
	NAME			GOALS	ASSISTS	POINTS	GAMES
	STEVE RANKIN			4	3	11	3
	MARTY ISSA			3	0	6	2
	TIM KELLEY			3	0	6	2
	WALLY STOKES			1	2	4	3
	JOHNNY PENS			0	3	3	3
	JOHN BOKERN			1	1	3	3
	STEVE SCHLICHTIG			1	1	3	3
	TODD LORETTA			0	0	0	0
	JOE BEHR			2	0	4	2
	BOB JANKO			0	0	0	0
	DUCKY MAURER			0	0	0	1
	JOHN KOZUSCEK			0	0	0	0
	PHIL MALONEY			0	0	0	0

Date			Location
Tue 2/17 7:35 PM	W 7-2	at Vetta 40+ BLUE TEAM	Concord, Field 3
Tue 2/24 8:30 PM	L 2-7	at Maddox 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 3/3 9:25 PM	W 5-3	at Lampert 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 3/17 9:25 PM	55 minutes	Vetta 40+ RED TEAM	Concord, Field 3
Tue 3/24 9:25 PM	55 minutes	Shamrocks 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 3/31 7:35 PM	55 minutes	JS Logistics(tues 40+)	Concord, Field 3
Tue 4/7 8:30 PM	55 minutes	Vetta 40+ BLUE TEAM	Concord, Field 3

SSL O-30 POST HUGE WIN VS PLS ZOOM

11TH STRAIGHT WITHOUT A LOSS

In what was advertised as a tight, closely played, braggin' rights contest between two powerful teams, in fact was not. SSL dominated from the outset, & dispatched a formidible opponent in PLS Zoom, sending them to the lockeroom wearing a shutout.  Although the halftime score was only 1-0, SSL had carried the attack relentlessly to the Zoom, who had no answer.

The Zoom keeper was on his game, however, allowing the Zoom to stay in the game when the statistics said otherwise. SSL, on their behalf, just couldn't find the back of the net, albeit benefitting from a multitude of chances. They were either high, wide or right at the keeper. But David (Little Hip) Hipperson, on one of his patented dead-ball fouls, put the SSL side ahead with his first of two on the night.

As the second half started, with SSL holding onto a precarious 1-0 lead, they picked up where they left off in the first half, peppering the beleagured Zoom goalie with many chances. Hipperson then contributed his second goal of the game, followed closely thereafter with goals from Will Suk & Sladan Kurtovic. That rounded out the scoring, resulting in the final 4-0 score, for yet another win, &  2nd shutout in their last 5 games, for the SSL side.

Keeper David Shelton faced only 10 or so shots for the game, & only had difficult saves on two or three, as a result of a suffocationg defense applied by Bernard Anic, Casey Walsh & Tony Meadows. What was interesting was that these two sides have met many times before & those games were always close....til this game. There was always a bit of trash-talking between the two sides & each player knew that the other side would be up for this contest & bring their best game. That's why the outcome was so surprising. Both of these teams get up for this game & leave it all on the field. No doubt, both sides expected this to be a closer contest.

Now, having dispatched PLS Zoom, they now look forward to a rematch with the CD Cobra's, their opponent from last sessions championship game. In that match, SSL was victorious, edging  the Cobra's 3-2, in a match that featured physical play & end to end action. They'll meet the Cobra's at 7:45 on field #1 next Thursday looking to extend their unbeaten string to 12. Hope you can join us. Thanks for reading.

 

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

Date			Location
Thu 2/12 9:50 PM	W 3-1	Sinclair & Rush	Concord, Field 3
Thu 2/19 11:25 PM	T 3-3	Freaky Shakra	Concord, Field 1
Thu 2/26 7:05 PM	W 4-0	PLS Zoom Motors	Concord, Field 3
Thu 3/5 7:45 PM	55 minutes	at CD Cobras(BLUE)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 3/12 9:35 PM	55 minutes	at Phillips Insurance (Super Mario)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 3/19 10:30 PM	55 minutes	Phillips Insurance (Super Mario)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 3/26 6:20 PM	55 minutes	at Freaky Shakra	Concord, Field 2