Cucuy FC - Queretaro 3:0 (1:0)
Nothing speaks to a clean game and good sportsmanship like facing off against the team that you got in a brawl with 5 years prior. Playing Queretaro will always bring back fond memories of Nate charging the field and hitting the referee, Karol folding a guy in half with his right foot, and Jesse getting chased down by a Mexican hit mob. Fortunately (or unfortunately?) over the years Queretaro has basically changed their entire roster and the past few times we’ve played them things have stayed relatively clean. This past Sunday followed suit.
The game wasn’t too one sided from the start, but we definitely had more chances and certainly had the stronger defense. Despite a few close opportunities for Cucuy the first point wasn’t scored until about 30 minutes into the first half. Paris made his Cucuy debut with a stunning goal. He took a shot first touch with the outside of his left foot from what must have been 30 yards out from the far right side of the field almost to the side line. From the get go it looked like it could go in, but it was such an improbable angle that I don’t think anyone expected it would actually drop. Sure enough the keeper jumped but only got finger tips to it as it bounced in off the inside of the left post and back into the netting. Unbelievable goal, welcome to the team.
The scales only tipped further in our favor in the second half, as the ball didn’t spend much time on our half of the field. The second goal came from a penetrating through the Queretaro defense intended for Patrick. A defender got to it first as he put his body in between Pat and the ball. However, the defender was unsure of what to do as he ran it back toward his keeper. Pat didn’t give up on the play and wound up getting possession back with no one in between him and the net. He passed it in for the 2-0 lead.
Last goal of the game came from Justin, who after a nice string of passes through the Cucuy midfield, received the ball deep in Queretaro territory almost at the baseline. He played a ball toward the center that no one knew if it was a shot or a cross. The keeper, coming off his line in expectation of a cross had to dive backwards to try to control the ball. It ricocheted off of the keeper and into the net as Justin said “Hey, I’ll take it”.
A salute to the Cucuy defense, who shut down everything Queretaro threw our way, limiting them to only long shots all game. Although it was Kyle who truly earned the clean sheet for the team by keeping a few challenging shots out of the net, especially one direct kick from the center of the field a few yards outside the 18.
-Hintzy
Goals: Paris, Patrick, Justin
MVP: Kyle
Monday, February 24, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Atlas Beats Cucuy in Season Opener
Cucuy FC - Atlas 1:4 (1:2)
From the get-go it was clear that these guys could play. I wouldn't say we played bad, these guys just played better. Our passing just got intercepted time after time. We started with several attempts at long passes. A couple of those, especially the straight forward ones, made it to Pat and Scott, but everything played from the sides across didn't go anywhere. Slowly we started to shorten our passing game, but even then Atlas didn't give us any room for error. Pretty frustrating. Atlas had several chances, and we tried our luck mostly with distance shots. Atlas scored twice and things could have been worse if it wasn't for Carl in goal. Then Steve took a shot maybe 30 yards out and suddenly we closed the game up again. The keeper had a hand on it but couldn't keep it out, a beautiful goal.
Second half we tried hard to tie the game, but Atlas wouldn't have any of it. Brent probably had the best chance with a header after a corner, but the goalie kept it out. Then Atlas scored the 3rd after a corner, a header from a pretty short guy who was simply left unmarked. We tried to come back into the game but Atlas scored the 4th and that was the end of that.
Goal: Steve
MVP: Karol
From the get-go it was clear that these guys could play. I wouldn't say we played bad, these guys just played better. Our passing just got intercepted time after time. We started with several attempts at long passes. A couple of those, especially the straight forward ones, made it to Pat and Scott, but everything played from the sides across didn't go anywhere. Slowly we started to shorten our passing game, but even then Atlas didn't give us any room for error. Pretty frustrating. Atlas had several chances, and we tried our luck mostly with distance shots. Atlas scored twice and things could have been worse if it wasn't for Carl in goal. Then Steve took a shot maybe 30 yards out and suddenly we closed the game up again. The keeper had a hand on it but couldn't keep it out, a beautiful goal.
Second half we tried hard to tie the game, but Atlas wouldn't have any of it. Brent probably had the best chance with a header after a corner, but the goalie kept it out. Then Atlas scored the 3rd after a corner, a header from a pretty short guy who was simply left unmarked. We tried to come back into the game but Atlas scored the 4th and that was the end of that.
Goal: Steve
MVP: Karol
Monday, February 3, 2014
Cucuy Takes Revenge on Corinthians
Cucuy FC – 2nd Corinthians 3:1 (1:0)
This game was a good slump breaker after a couple of weeks of frustrating losses. 2nd Corinthians had edged us out last time we played them in a game where we were missing a lot of starting players. However, this Sunday we had a full squad and we showed up ready to play despite the almost freezing temperature, consistent wind, and intermittent freezing rain.
As usual, we played our characteristic counter attack style to Corinthian’s more possession based style. We scored the first goal about 15 minutes into the game after a nice cross from Todd from the left midfield came to Hintz in the center a few yards outside the 18. Hintz took a shot that was helped by the wet ground conditions as it skipped its way past the feet of the Corinthian’s keeper, refusing to use his hands, and into the left side of the net.
Corinthian’s played a solid first half of midfield possession, but were unable to break the Cucuy defense as we shut down every play that came into our 18, limiting them to long shots from the outside which they were unable to put on frame. Great stuff from Schluny, Brent, Nick, Jason, and Josh in back to that effect. First half ended 1:0 in favor of Cucuy.
The second goal came on a pass from the top left side of the 18, from Hintz to Cary. Cary looked for a pass but all Cucuy offense men were marked up. So instead Cary took a left foot shot from just outside the 18, and the Corinthian’s keeper still refusing to use his hands, was unable to keep that one out of the net. 2:0 Cucuy.
Things slowed down a bit after our second goal, and Corinthian’s eventually got a lucky one. A ball that was supposed to be a cross turned into a B-line for the upper right corner when it was miskicked. Carl got hands to it, but there was some miscommunication when Huczek was right there to head the ball at the same time and it wound up deflecting into the upper right side netting.
You could tell Corinthian’s thought they were back in the game after that, but a set piece kick from the left side of the field earned Cucuy the two goal buffer again. Brent delivered a great curling ball into the box and Cucuy fought for the header, which deflected the ball straight to Patrick’s feet 1 on 1 with the keeper. He calmly put the ball away for the increased lead.
Other notable events were a 4th goal being taken away from Cucuy after an offside call where we stole the ball from their defense (figure that one out), and a blatant red card was not given when Josh was clearly destroyed by a Corinthian player’s telekinetic push from the back.
-Hintz
Goals: Hintz, Cary, Patrick
MVP: Hintz
This game was a good slump breaker after a couple of weeks of frustrating losses. 2nd Corinthians had edged us out last time we played them in a game where we were missing a lot of starting players. However, this Sunday we had a full squad and we showed up ready to play despite the almost freezing temperature, consistent wind, and intermittent freezing rain.
As usual, we played our characteristic counter attack style to Corinthian’s more possession based style. We scored the first goal about 15 minutes into the game after a nice cross from Todd from the left midfield came to Hintz in the center a few yards outside the 18. Hintz took a shot that was helped by the wet ground conditions as it skipped its way past the feet of the Corinthian’s keeper, refusing to use his hands, and into the left side of the net.
Corinthian’s played a solid first half of midfield possession, but were unable to break the Cucuy defense as we shut down every play that came into our 18, limiting them to long shots from the outside which they were unable to put on frame. Great stuff from Schluny, Brent, Nick, Jason, and Josh in back to that effect. First half ended 1:0 in favor of Cucuy.
The second goal came on a pass from the top left side of the 18, from Hintz to Cary. Cary looked for a pass but all Cucuy offense men were marked up. So instead Cary took a left foot shot from just outside the 18, and the Corinthian’s keeper still refusing to use his hands, was unable to keep that one out of the net. 2:0 Cucuy.
Things slowed down a bit after our second goal, and Corinthian’s eventually got a lucky one. A ball that was supposed to be a cross turned into a B-line for the upper right corner when it was miskicked. Carl got hands to it, but there was some miscommunication when Huczek was right there to head the ball at the same time and it wound up deflecting into the upper right side netting.
You could tell Corinthian’s thought they were back in the game after that, but a set piece kick from the left side of the field earned Cucuy the two goal buffer again. Brent delivered a great curling ball into the box and Cucuy fought for the header, which deflected the ball straight to Patrick’s feet 1 on 1 with the keeper. He calmly put the ball away for the increased lead.
Other notable events were a 4th goal being taken away from Cucuy after an offside call where we stole the ball from their defense (figure that one out), and a blatant red card was not given when Josh was clearly destroyed by a Corinthian player’s telekinetic push from the back.
-Hintz
Goals: Hintz, Cary, Patrick
MVP: Hintz
Cucuy Gets the SAC
Cucuy FC – San Antonio College 1:2 (0:0)
I wasn’t there to play this one, so I’ll give this report based on my assumptions of the events that transpired.
Cucuy was clearly the superior team as going into this game as SAC was 1-6 coming in, and Cucuy was 4-2-1. We showed our dominance early as an unbelievable play was up by Huczek to Nick for maybe the best goal Cucuy has ever graced the field with. A cross came in slightly above head height that everyone thought would pass right over the 18. Not so! Nick came in from left fullback in a full sprint where he did a jumping 180 bicycle kick that was hit so hard that it actually dislodged the net from the ground, but went off the inside of the right post and still wound up in the net. Bravo Nick, Bravo!
Everyone was so stunned by this surreal display of offensive prowess that we all stood around high fiving and ass-slapping while the ref blew the whistle to resume play. We were so preoccupied by reveling in the awesomeness of Nick’s goal that we didn’t even realize SAC had dribbled straight down the field and passed it into our net. Oh well, 1:1, but well worth it.
We then scored 5 goals that were all disallowed for various reasons by the referee, some of which we’re pretty sure aren’t even actual fouls in soccer (i.e. “being Slovakian”, “not having long enough hair”, and “agreeing with the referee”).
With only a few minutes left, and the game in a dead lock tie, an unfortunate hand ball by Nate in our box gave the other team a PK. Nate wasn’t actually playing in the game, he didn’t even show up to the game, except for a brief 30 seconds where he ran onto the field, picked up the ball, and threw it at the referee. We all just kind of shrugged as none of us were really surprised, except that a PK was given, and SAC scored the winning goal. The whistle blew shortly after the PK, thus closing out the most bizarre Sunday game Cucuy has ever played.
So what really happened? Well, Cucuy showed up short (surprisingly, as we should had 4 subs based on the prior-to-game head count). We managed to pick up an extra player, as he was conveniently standing around our team while gearing up, probably selling tacos or trying to steal our stuff while we were preoccupied with the match. So, Karol pulled the safest play of the day and allowed ‘Gordo’ a chance to suit up with Cucuy. (not sure if he actually returned the jersey after the game…)
SAC possessed the ball in the midfield very well and gave our defense enough work to keep them occupied for the next two weeks. Our strategy was clear, sit back and counter attack as we knew we could not keep up with them for the whole 90 minutes. We held well, unfortunately, we could not take advantage of several good (some great) opportunities to score, as Javier’s shots hit the keeper in the chest time after time. With that, we felt somewhat short-changed at half time with 0:0, as SAC did not produce a clear goal scoring situation… yet.
In the second half, we grew more confident, but after a miscommunication on our left flank, a SAC winger presented a beautiful 45° pass to his teammate. Unmarked on the top of PK spot, he slotted it for 0:1. Javier had to leave, as he had promised us only one half, and now it felt like we were down 2 guys (Gordo was not cutting it…). We moved Steve up to striker, re-align our ranks, and remained patient. Trying to make the best of limited chances, Steve managed to pull a long pass down surrounded by two defenders, and sent a shot into the far side netting for 1:1. Slightly relieved, and feeling that we have pocketed a point from this frustrating game, we were up for a surprise. A long cross into our 18 seemed a non-threat as Kyle managed to collect those all year long, BUT Kyle slipped, and the shortest player on the field headed in the ball just over our keepers extended arm. Final 1:2.
-Hintz & Karol
Actual Goals: Steve
Actual MVP: Schluni
I wasn’t there to play this one, so I’ll give this report based on my assumptions of the events that transpired.
Cucuy was clearly the superior team as going into this game as SAC was 1-6 coming in, and Cucuy was 4-2-1. We showed our dominance early as an unbelievable play was up by Huczek to Nick for maybe the best goal Cucuy has ever graced the field with. A cross came in slightly above head height that everyone thought would pass right over the 18. Not so! Nick came in from left fullback in a full sprint where he did a jumping 180 bicycle kick that was hit so hard that it actually dislodged the net from the ground, but went off the inside of the right post and still wound up in the net. Bravo Nick, Bravo!
Everyone was so stunned by this surreal display of offensive prowess that we all stood around high fiving and ass-slapping while the ref blew the whistle to resume play. We were so preoccupied by reveling in the awesomeness of Nick’s goal that we didn’t even realize SAC had dribbled straight down the field and passed it into our net. Oh well, 1:1, but well worth it.
We then scored 5 goals that were all disallowed for various reasons by the referee, some of which we’re pretty sure aren’t even actual fouls in soccer (i.e. “being Slovakian”, “not having long enough hair”, and “agreeing with the referee”).
With only a few minutes left, and the game in a dead lock tie, an unfortunate hand ball by Nate in our box gave the other team a PK. Nate wasn’t actually playing in the game, he didn’t even show up to the game, except for a brief 30 seconds where he ran onto the field, picked up the ball, and threw it at the referee. We all just kind of shrugged as none of us were really surprised, except that a PK was given, and SAC scored the winning goal. The whistle blew shortly after the PK, thus closing out the most bizarre Sunday game Cucuy has ever played.
So what really happened? Well, Cucuy showed up short (surprisingly, as we should had 4 subs based on the prior-to-game head count). We managed to pick up an extra player, as he was conveniently standing around our team while gearing up, probably selling tacos or trying to steal our stuff while we were preoccupied with the match. So, Karol pulled the safest play of the day and allowed ‘Gordo’ a chance to suit up with Cucuy. (not sure if he actually returned the jersey after the game…)
SAC possessed the ball in the midfield very well and gave our defense enough work to keep them occupied for the next two weeks. Our strategy was clear, sit back and counter attack as we knew we could not keep up with them for the whole 90 minutes. We held well, unfortunately, we could not take advantage of several good (some great) opportunities to score, as Javier’s shots hit the keeper in the chest time after time. With that, we felt somewhat short-changed at half time with 0:0, as SAC did not produce a clear goal scoring situation… yet.
In the second half, we grew more confident, but after a miscommunication on our left flank, a SAC winger presented a beautiful 45° pass to his teammate. Unmarked on the top of PK spot, he slotted it for 0:1. Javier had to leave, as he had promised us only one half, and now it felt like we were down 2 guys (Gordo was not cutting it…). We moved Steve up to striker, re-align our ranks, and remained patient. Trying to make the best of limited chances, Steve managed to pull a long pass down surrounded by two defenders, and sent a shot into the far side netting for 1:1. Slightly relieved, and feeling that we have pocketed a point from this frustrating game, we were up for a surprise. A long cross into our 18 seemed a non-threat as Kyle managed to collect those all year long, BUT Kyle slipped, and the shortest player on the field headed in the ball just over our keepers extended arm. Final 1:2.
-Hintz & Karol
Actual Goals: Steve
Actual MVP: Schluni
SASA Pulls a Houdini on Cucuy
Cucuy FC - Mulligan's FC 1:2 (1:1)
So we were all heading to the game that Sunday morning thinking we were going to play San Antonio College who had a record of 1-6 to that point. Instead we showed up to the field and Mulligan's FC, a competitive premier team, were gearing up on the opposing sideline. We checked the schedule and Gary had changed the matchup on us at the last second. Karol texted Gary saying "wtf?" and Gary's response was "dude, they're moving down." Karol shared his response with me "Moving down on who? You?" Gotta love our Slovakian ambassador; always showing the league management the utmost respect. Despite Karol's attempts at wooing Gary, we had to play the cards we were dealt, even though this game was like trying to bluff a pot with mid pair when someone was holding the nut flush.
We managed to draw first blood even though Mulligan's was clearly the superior squad. A play developing down the right side wound up in Karol crushing a Mulligan's defender, stealing the ball, and crossing it into the middle to Steve. Steve got a shot off that was saved by the keeper, but collected a rebound and put it away for 1:0.
Mulligan’s scored an equalizer a little later in the first half with a play that developed down their right flank. A striker received a ball and pulled all of our defenders to the right side. He got a cross off to his two players who were now unmarked on the back side of the net and they didn’t have much trouble scoring the equalizer.
Early in the second half a risky double team by the Cucuy defense resulted in a Mulligan’s player making an overlapping run behind our defense running onto a nice back heel by the player being double teamed. He marched in unchallenged and took the lead for Mulligan’s. It was an uphill battle the rest of the game that we were unable to overcome. Unfortunately, the better team won that day.
-Hintz
Goals: Steve
MVP: Brent
So we were all heading to the game that Sunday morning thinking we were going to play San Antonio College who had a record of 1-6 to that point. Instead we showed up to the field and Mulligan's FC, a competitive premier team, were gearing up on the opposing sideline. We checked the schedule and Gary had changed the matchup on us at the last second. Karol texted Gary saying "wtf?" and Gary's response was "dude, they're moving down." Karol shared his response with me "Moving down on who? You?" Gotta love our Slovakian ambassador; always showing the league management the utmost respect. Despite Karol's attempts at wooing Gary, we had to play the cards we were dealt, even though this game was like trying to bluff a pot with mid pair when someone was holding the nut flush.
We managed to draw first blood even though Mulligan's was clearly the superior squad. A play developing down the right side wound up in Karol crushing a Mulligan's defender, stealing the ball, and crossing it into the middle to Steve. Steve got a shot off that was saved by the keeper, but collected a rebound and put it away for 1:0.
Mulligan’s scored an equalizer a little later in the first half with a play that developed down their right flank. A striker received a ball and pulled all of our defenders to the right side. He got a cross off to his two players who were now unmarked on the back side of the net and they didn’t have much trouble scoring the equalizer.
Early in the second half a risky double team by the Cucuy defense resulted in a Mulligan’s player making an overlapping run behind our defense running onto a nice back heel by the player being double teamed. He marched in unchallenged and took the lead for Mulligan’s. It was an uphill battle the rest of the game that we were unable to overcome. Unfortunately, the better team won that day.
-Hintz
Goals: Steve
MVP: Brent
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