SSL SWOOPS TO YET ANOTHER TITLE

3RD TITLE IN LAST 4 SESSIONS

 Another nail-biter! In this hard fought game vs Imo's, you couldn't relax until the clock read zero. A great team like Imo's is not to be underestimated. With the score 4-1 late in the game, you didn't dare relax or take them lightly. They are the kind of team that can score quickly & often. Even though there was a 3 goal lead, late in the 2nd half, SSL didn't stop playing hard or creatively. If you give Imo's anything, they score a goal, it's 4-2, then another quick goal would make it 4-3, & we've all been there before. You don't want to do that. Particularly with a great offensive squad like Imo's.

So, SSL kept the pressure on thruout the game, holding the high-powered Imo's side to one goal, & closed out their 3rd championship in the last 4 sessions, with a tight, 4-1 win in last Thursdays finals at Concord.

The SSL side had to use a different approach in this match. The last time SSL met Imo's, on 8/21, Imo's walked away with an impressive, one sided  7-3 win, stopping the SSL winning streak @ 5 games. So, obviously, something had to change for this match, or it would have resulted in a repeat of the previous encounter. In the previous meeting, the SSL side seemed lethargic. For those of you that don't know what lethargic means, it can be loosely described as slow & disinterested.

They weren't running, marking or playing aggressively or physically. This match was different. It was end to end action from beginning to end. They ran, they marked, they challenged every ball. They created a lot of offense & it was only due to the strong Imo's defense that SSL didn't score more goals.

SSL started quickly, just as they had in their previous meeting, with Eden Coralic, & a great effort in the box, pushing the ball past the Imo's keeper for an early 1-0 lead. A bit later in the half, Ronnie Rowden connected on another chance in the box when, with the keeper out of position, knocked the ball into the net, thru the legs of a startled keeper for a 2-0 lead.

This was erie because in the previous match, SSL went up 2-0 only to end up losing. Each SSL player was aware of that fact & they were determined not to have a repeat of that performance. They didn't!  Even when Imo's scored on a breakaway to halve the score to 2-1, SSL didn't break stride, continuing to pour on the pressure, & that pressure again had positive results. Guillermo Cortez pushed the lead back to a 2 goal cushion with another of his patented bad angle bombs, giving the SSL side a 3-1 half-time lead. A lead they wouldn't relinquish.

The SSL defense stiffened even more in the 2nd half, withstanding a 5 minute period in which they couldn't get control of the ball nor get it out of their end. Excellent goal keeping, again, by Dave Shelton & an excellent defensive effort by the whole team, in getting back to pick up the opponents, thwarted any Imo's efforts & ultimately lead to a 2nd goal by Guillermo Cortez, upping the score to 4-1 & that was the way the game ended, with SSL holding Imo's scoreless for the entire half. As someone once told me, you can never have too much ice or too many championships. This will add another to the ever expanding SSL trophy case. Congrats to the SSL side. See you next session!

Scoring: Guillermo Cortez, 2 goals; Ronnie Rowden & Edin Coralic with 1 goal each; Casey Walsh, Bernard Anic, Mike Hogan & goalie Dave Shelton, each with 1 helper.

Congratulations to David Hipperson, leading the scoring for the entire SSL side with 30 points, followed closely by Guillermo Cortez with 29. The entire final standings & stats follow the pics.

 Kudos also to the SSL defensive side of the ball. For the 8th session in a row, they lead the league in fewest goals allowed. They scored 52 goals in 8 games, allowing only 23, for a differential of an amazing 29. To put that in perspective, their closest competitor scored 34, allowed 28 & had a differential of 6. Another great job by the "D".

BACK ROW: Tony Meadows; Edin Coralic; Guillermo Cortez; Casey Walsh & Otto Etzel.

2nd ROW:  Ronnie Rowden; Jayson Adelsberger; David Shelton; Mike Hogan & Sladan Kurtovic.

MISSING FROM PHOTO: Bernard Anic, David Hipperson, Johnny Pens & Noel Pacheco

SOCCER ST. LOUIS STATS
NAME			GOALS	ASSISTS	POINTS
DAVID HIPPERSON			10	10	30
GUILLERMO CORTEZ			12	5	29
EDIN CORALIC			8	2	18
RONNIE ROWDEN			6	1	13
CASEY WALSH			1	10	12
JASON ADELSBERGER			5	1	11
TONY MEADOWS			3	5	11
BERNARD ANIC			4	3	11
JOHNNY PENS			1	6	8
DAVE SHELTON			0	4	4
NOEL PACHECO			1	1	3
MIKE HOGAN			1	1	3
SLADAN KURTOVIC			1	0	2

 

League Standings: Thurs Men 30+ C North 7/10
Team	W	T	L	Pts	GF	GA	GD	PCT	GP
Soccer St. Louis	7	0	1	21	52	23	29	0.875	8
Imos Men	5	0	3	15	34	28	6	0.625	8
PLS Zoom Motors	4	1	3	13	38	33	5	0.563	8
Freaky Shakra	3	1	4	10	28	32	-4	0.438	8
Buckshots	3	0	5	9	32	44	-12	0.375	8
Fossils	2	2	3	8	27	31	-4	0.429	7
Vee Jay	1	0	6	3	19	39	-20	0.143	7

Schedule			Location
Thu 7/17 7:05 PM	W 5-2	Freaky Shakra	Concord, Field 3
Thu 7/24 7:45 PM	W 7-2	Buckshots	Concord, Field 1
Thu 7/31 6:20 PM	W 11-1	Vee Jay	Concord, Field 2
Thu 8/7 8:55 PM	W 5-4	at PLS Zoom Motors	Concord, Field 3
Thu 8/14 10:30 PM	W 9-3	at Fossils	Concord, Field 1
Thu 8/21 10:00 PM	L 3-7	at Imos Men	Concord, Field 2
Thu 8/28 5:55 PM	W 8-3	at Buckshots	Concord, Field 1
Thu 9/4 8:40 PM	W 4-1	Imos Men	Concord, Field 1

TONI'S TIGERS DO IT AGAIN

WIN OT THRILLER TO SECURE CHAMPIONSHIP

What a game it was! And what is truly amazing is how they got to the finals to begin with. Following the finish of the regular season, the Tigers found themselves in a 2nd place tie, not only with one team, but two teams. Based on goals allowed (this is THE most important part of a game), the Tigers advanced past the two others & secured a berth in the finals against the undefeated, Tie One On side.

The game was a classic chess match, with each team getting offensive opportunities often. The Tigers scored 1st. Then Tie One On, & back & forth & so on & so forth. The score went from 1-0, to 1-1. Then 2-1 Tigers, then 2-2. Then 3-2 Tigers, then 3-3. Then, Tie One On took the lead for the 1st time in the game at 4-3, but the resilient Tigers came back, tied it up @ 4-4.

This is when it really got interesting. Lot's of folks in the stands were watching this one. Late in the game, Tie One On took a 5-4 lead, & it looked grim for the Tigers. However, with time ticking off the clock, & down to about 40 seconds to go, the Tigers tied the game & forced overtime.

In the 5 minute overtime, with about 2 minutes left, one of the Tiger forwards broke down the left sideline with the ball, veered toward the goal, let go with a bomb that whistled past the startled Tie One On keeper, for a thrilling, 6-5 overtime win. A fun & entertaining game to watch, the Tigers were rewarded with a hardfought, exciting victory for yet another League Championship, just the latest one in a long history of Championships for Toni's Tigers. Congrats to all.

 

League Standings: Thurs Wom 30+ starts 7/10
Team	W	T	L	Pts	GF	GA	GD	PCT	GP
Tie One On(RED)	7	0	1	21	48	21	27	0.875	8
Just 4 Fun(BLUE)	5	1	2	16	43	27	16	0.688	8
Toni's Tigers(YELLOW)	5	1	2	16	31	26	5	0.688	8
The Other Team(WHITE)	4	1	3	13	26	28	-2	0.563	8
Yesterdays kids(ORANGE)	3	4	1	13	52	28	24	0.625	8
Recruits(BLUE)	3	1	4	10	40	28	12	0.438	8
Coyote Ugly(PINK)	3	1	4	10	20	25	-5	0.438	8
Bulldog Moms(BLUE)	3	0	5	9	29	33	-4	0.375	8
St. Catherine Ladies(GRAY)	2	1	5	7	27	40	-13	0.313	8
Beer Wenches(BLUE)	0	0	8	0	9	69	-60	0.000	8

Schedule			Location
Thu 7/10 8:10 PM	W 3-1	The Other Team(WHITE)	Concord, Field 2
Thu 7/24 7:05 PM	W 3-0	Coyote Ugly(PINK)	Concord, Field 3
Thu 7/31 5:55 PM	L 2-4	at Tie One On(RED)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 8/7 7:45 PM	W 5-2	at Recruits(BLUE)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 8/14 8:40 PM	W 5-3	Bulldog Moms(BLUE)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 8/21 10:45 PM	T 4-4	at Yesterdays kids(ORANGE)	Concord, Field 3
Thu 8/28 6:50 PM	L 3-7	Just 4 Fun(BLUE)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 9/4 7:15 PM	W 6-5	at Tie One On(RED)	Concord, Field 2