BACK TO THE FUTURE

O-30 RETURNS TO FINALS

In what might be called a strange & quirky game, the SSL O-30 side salvaged a berth in the finals with a late surge, while at the same time, hanging on to post a 5-5 tie versus Freaky Shakra. It was one of those nights. It started out poorly.

The first issue of the evening was the fact that game number seven of the session, the game in which SSL needed either a win or a tie to advance to the championship match next week, was to be played on field #3. Everyone certainly is aware of its quirky dimensions which allows games on that field to be played as if it were a pinball machine.

The second issue was that, Freaky Shakra, traditionally a power house team, entered this game winless on the season. That's a bad combination. Field #3 & a winless opponent. That steep hill just kept getting steeper.

The third & more pressing issue was that SSL fell behind quickly, 1-0. Shortly thereafter, they fell behind even further, 2-0. What is odd about that score is, in four of their first six games this session, SSL had fallen behind by identical 2-0 scores, but managed to salvage four victorys in that span. This nights game would prove to be another uphill battle.

To complicate things even further, later in the first half, SSL gave up yet another tally to Freaky, to fall behind 3-0, & that was the score at the interval. That championship berth kept looking further & further away. It goes without saying that the second half would be a struggle. As it was, the SSL was having difficulty under the circumstances keeping their focus. It's a tough task to come back from 3 down.

But an unlikly hero emerged in the form of defender Tony Meadows. Meadows got SSL back in the match, by carrying the ball out of the back & unleashing a rocket from just inside the half line & roofed it for the first goal of the game, narrowing Freaky's lead to 3-1. They at least were back in the hunt with a lot of time left in the match. Still, a formidible task.

SSL continued to press the attack, now with a new vigor, & was playing well defensively.  Edin Coralic got an important 2nd goal for the club, on a nice individual effort, stepping around a defender & hitting a left-footed shot from the top of the box, that found the back of the net. Now, back to Mr. Meadows. As SSL continued to press the attack & secure multiple offensive chances, Meadows collected the ball out of the back & spied Jason Adelsberger flying down the sidelines. Sending a perfect thru-ball to Adelsberger, he deftly stepped around a defender & deposited a bomb in the back of the net for the 3rd & tying goal. What a comeback by the SSL side after being 3 down. To come back & tie the game was a huge reward for all their work. However, their work was far from over.

Now tied at 3 all, & back in the game, the SSL side continued their surge, wanting to post a win, & a spot in the championship. At that point, the momentum was all SSL. Taking advantage of that was Adelsberger, who had been playing like a man possessed, or a whirling dirvish, you name it, all night long. He had been making runs, taking shots & generally was a thorn in the Freaky side all evening. His efforts would not go unrewarded.

Making another run down the left side, both around & thru Freaky defenders, he launched another bomb, finding the back of the net, giving the SSL side the first lead of the evening. It is also worth mentioning, that, not only did Adelsberger create a lot of scoring opportunities, but so did virtually the entire SSL side thruout the evening. They just could not find the back of the net. However, their perseverance ultimately paid some handsome dividends.

Then, shortly after Adelsberger's 2nd goal of the evening, Meadows again made his presence felt. Again, coming out of his defensive position, supporting the attack, Adelsberger laid a ball back to Meadows who then deposited it into the back of the net, launching another laser that found a goal at the end of it, upping the SSL lead to 5-3. Five straight unanswered goals. At that point, it appeared everything was well in hand. It wasn't!

Two SSL 2 minute penalties & 2 Freaky Shakra goals later, the game was tied 5-5 & the match ended in a draw. This match was not without its thrills & its chills. Had SSL squandered the two goal lead & allowed a 6th Freaky goal, they would have missed their chance at a return to the finals & would have had no one to blame but themselves. But, as it was, they played well defensively, with keeper David Shelton coming up with two dazziling saves late in the match & on the offensive end, created a lot of possession & ball control which resulted in many scoring chances. Perseverance definitely paid dividends.

So, the unlikely hero Tony Meadows chipped in with two goals & a helper, scoring the first & last goals of the game, & Jason Adelsberger's contribution, scoring back to back tallys, all contributed to a most valuable single point, locking them into a 2nd place finish in the division & a berth in next weeks finals. In fact, this will be SSL first trip back to the finals in two sessions & their eigth trip to the finals in the last eleven sessions. Folks, those are remarkable numbers. A true credit to their consistency & abilities.

Next weeks finals match will pit them against first place finisher, Sinclair & Rush, whom SSL defeated earlier in the session, 3-2 on a penalty kick. It appears that this will be a very entertaining game. Let's just hope SSL doesn't fall behind 2-0 again. You can only dodge so many bullets. Hope to see you there. Thanks for reading.

 

	SOCCER ST. LOUIS STATS O-30
	NAME		GAMES	GOALS	ASSISTS	POINTS
	JAYSON ADELSBERGER		6	8	2	18
	DAVID HIPPERSON		6	4	4	12
	IVAN BODUL		4	5	0	10
	GUILLERMO CORTEZ		7	3	2	8
	TONY MEADOWS		7	3	1	7
	BERNARD ANIC		7	2	1	5
	EDIN CORALIC		6	2	1	5
	RONNIE ROWDEN		6	1	1	3
	JOHNNY PENS		7	1	1	3
	DAVID SHELTON		7	0	2	2
	CASEY WALSH		7	0	2	2
	WILL SUK		5	0	1	1
	MIKE HOGAN		4	0	0	0
	SLADAN KURTOVIC		5	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	L 2-5	at Soco Utd (BLUE)	Concord, Field 3
Thu 9/3 11:20 PM	W 6-4	Freaky Shakra(WHITE/BLUE)	Concord, Field 2
Thu 9/10 7:50 PM	W 4-3	CD Cobras(BLUE)	Concord, Field 1
Thu 9/17 8:50 PM	L 2-5	at Zoom Motors	Concord, Field 2
Thu 9/24 7:00 PM	T 5-5	at Freaky Shakra(WHITE/BLUE)	Concord, Field 3
Thu 10/1 9:30 PM	50 minutes	CD Cobras(BLUE)	Concord, Field 1

O-40 POST 7-5 WIN

PLAY LAMPERT FOR 2ND NEXT WEEK

In what has been & up & down session for the SSL O-40 side, with multiple player injuries & three 2 goal losses, a victory this past week over Vintage Utd., evened their record at 3 & 3 & provided them with a chance to salvage the session versus Lampert next week.

The match versus Vintage was not without its ups & downs, as well, as SSL jumped to a 7-3 lead, only to allow Vintage back into the match with a couple late goals. However, with strong goaltending from John Kozuscek & goal scoring from five different players, SSL hung on to post a much needed win.

Vintage came out firing on all cylinders. Pressing the attack & answering each SSL goal with a goal of their own, the teams were tied at 3 at the interval. With two more SSL goals early in the second half & a 5-3 lead, it appeared that SSL would ride this lead to the end. Not so fast.

Vintage, continuing to possess the ball, create offense & attack the goal, scored another two goals, offsetting the two scored by SSL. Even though the winning margin was two goals, this game was not settled until the final whistle. The Vintage side continued to be aggressive on both sides of the ball, continuing to create offensive chances, & had it not been for a strong offensive performace from Tim Kelley, contributing 3 goals & Gianni Pens with 4 assists,  the outcome might well have been different.

As it was, this slugfest of 12 total goals, was much like whoever was the last one standing, won the game. If nothing else, it certainly was entertaining. Next up for SSL is the 2nd place team, Lampert. Lodged in 3rd place, SSL can only hope to salvage some pride from this match. Having played Lampert twice already this session, SSL suffered two goal losses in each, at 4-2 & 5-3. So, being able to post a win in this match may not put SSL in the finals, but will certainly provide some satisfaction & some momentum going into next session. The match is scheduled for 7:45. Hope to see you there. Thanks for reading.

 

SOCCER ST. LOUIS STATS O-40
	NAME		GAMES	GOALS	ASSISTS	POINTS
	JOHNNY PENS		6	12	7	31
	STEVE RANKIN		5	4	2	10
	BOB JANKO		5	2	5	9
	JOE BAER		3	3	1	7
	TIM KELLEY		3	3	0	6
	MIKE HARTSOOK		4	2	1	5
	CHRIS CARPENTER		4	2	0	4
	JIM AHEARN		4	1	0	2
	WALLY STOKES		5	0	2	2
	DOMINIC ANIC		2	0	1	1
	JOHN KOZUSCEK		4	0	0	0
	KEN BRIGDEN		1	0	0	0
	MARTY ISSA		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	W 10-2	Vintage Utd 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 9/1 7:45 PM	L 2-4	at Vetta 40+ RED TEAM	Concord, Field 3
Tue 9/8 8:35 PM	W 4-2	at Vetta 40+ BLUE	Concord, Field 3
Wed 9/16 7:00 PM	L 3-5	Lampert 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 9/22 8:35 PM	W 7-5	at Vintage Utd 40+	Concord, Field 3
Tue 9/29 7:45 PM	50 minutes	at Lampert 40+	Concord, Field 3