Soccer
Triumphs, tribulations... and injuries from my soccer adventures.
Team Lightning is finally back in action for the summer sessions. Actually we never stopped playing, I was just too lazy to post updates. At any rate, I'm going to try to post more often to keep you all abreast of our success, or lack thereof.
The Schedule
The Summer Session will be played out at the Westerville Sports Complex and all games are on Friday nights.
- June 22nd @ 7:30pm, vs. Kickstand Pub [field #5]
- June 29th @ 7:30pm, vs. Reccos [field #6]
- July 6th @ 7:30pm, vs. RBFC [field #5]
- July 13th @ 7:00pm, vs. Black Watch [field #1]
- July 20th @ 7:30pm, vs. mmm... Beer [field #4]
- July 27th @ 7:00pm, vs. B2 [field #1]
- Aug 3rd @ 7:30pm, vs. BWFC [field #6]
- Aug 10th - Rain make-up games
- Aug 17th - Championship & Consolidation games
You can also see the schedule here.
Game 1 - Lightning vs. Kickstand Pub
We started off a bit slow with a 0-0 score at the half. And the second half didn't start off much better with Kickstand Pub striking first.
Lucky for us Trisha came right back with a goal for the good guys. Go, go bionic leg!
About 10 minutes later we were able to put together a run down the right side line. I picked up the ball behind midfield and passed up to Greg Carlo who took it down the line and right into the 18yd box. He then chipped a pass over to me around the penalty kick mark. I managed to string together some kind of acrobatic dive and flicked the ball into the goal. And now my hip hurts. :)
The final score was 2-1 in favor of Team Lightning. Great start to the session now lets keep it up!
Due to popular demand Jesse has put together a 3rd (and 4th) option for our new team uniforms. These are a bit more expensive, but they are made by Adidas - and are made with Adidas' ClimaCool® fabric.
Anyhow, take a look and let us know what you think.
Oh... and there are not sock options with these kits, yet - but Jesse says he's working on them.
For the first time in a few years, or at least since Carli and I joined the team, Lightning is ordering new uniforms. Lucky for us one of our teammates is a graphic designer and he was able to put together a few mockups for the new threads.
We're going to depart from our classic blue and white to a blue and gold color scheme. I think it's a good move - new colors for a new/rejuvenated team! So, without further adieu, here are the two possible unis that Lightning could soon be wearing:
I think I'm leaning toward Option #1 (on the left) and Carli likes the one on the right - go figure!
A big thanks to Jesse to coordinating all of this and for putting the two new designs/mockups together!
Sorry for the lack of updates lately... I've been a bit busy with other stuff. Anyhow, Riley got on my case during last week's game so I figured I better get some updates out here.
Lightning vs Got Beer
Two weeks ago we faced off with Got Beer and maybe their name was just too much for us to handle, or perhaps we were lazy after our comeback win the week before? Who knows - but we lost!
I think the final score was 3-4 in favor of the bad guys. I did have goal #3 in that game and I believe Christy and... some other member of Lightning had the other goals (possibly Steve Riley?). Hey, it's been nearly three weeks since the game so my memory is a bit fuzzy.
At any rate, I forgot to take pictures during the game... however, Sara did remember her camera and she was able to snap a few choice pictures. We were wearing white this game...
Lightning vs K.O.A.
Last week we faced of with K.O.A. in the final regular season game for this session. As luck would have it, Team Lightning came out victorious!
It seems to be some type of pattern for me - I have a game with a goal, and then a game with a much of biffed shots! That's right, I had at least three chances to put the ball in the net and I fouled up every one. Well, I suppose I should credit the K.O.A. keeper with solid stop on one of the three shots I had, but the other two were clearly me just sucking!
I know that Mike Oster had at least 2 goals in the game, but I don't remember who else scored. Please leave a comment if you remember and I'll update this post.
I thought I brought the camera and took some pictures during the game, but I just checked the memory card and all I can find is pictures from St. Patty's day. So just for fun, here are a few of them.
You heard right, after an embarrassing 4-2 loss to The Hood the venerable Team Lightning came back to life with a 1-0 win over Got Beer FC Thurman.
I can't remember who had the big goal in the game (sorry team) but I do know that we should have scored at least 4 more. I had two easy shots that I totally choked on... or as Carli would say, I have "pee-pants in the box syndrome".
In my opinion the game ball (if we had such a token) should go to our goal keeper, Greg Carlo. In such a low scoring game the keeper always plays a huge part - as in, he's the biggest reason it was so low-scoring for the other team. (If anyone disagrees with me I'll meet you in parking lot during lunch and settle up.)
I forgot to bring the camera again, so no game pictures this week either. Sorry Riley!
So instead, here is a picture of my buddy Phil during one of his games out in L.A. Why can't we have sweet-ass outdoor fields like that? Probably due to the fact that we live in Ohio, huh?
I will try to remember the camera this week. Also, I know several other members of the team also have nice digi-cams so why don't some of you take pictures too and then you can just email them to me... you bunch of techno-tards.
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That's right sports fan, after a fantastic 5 - 0 start to the winter indoor season, Team Lightning suffer a tough loss in last week's match play. Game 6 pitted the undefeated (and league leading Lightning) against a The Hood - who came into the game with a scant 1-4 record.
We started the game off really well. We had decent ball control, lots of passing, and good communication. I was even able to answer Phil's taunts and score a goal around the 5 minute mark (Christy had the assist).
Later in the 1st half Christy came up with a big goal to put us up 2-0 over The Hood. But that was the last score we'd have for the day as The Hood went on a 4 goal unanswered scoring drive.
I know that no one like excuses, but I really feel like we have some valid ones:
- Our starting goal keeper and his backup were unable to make it, and the guy we usually call up to fill was busy with Happy Hour. So one of our forwards stepped up and played 'keeper for us - with no gloves.
- The two biggest communicators on the team (Carli and Soter) were unable to play due to massive amounts of school work and being lazy... respectively.
- It was the night of the Great Guinness Toast, so some of us (or was it just me) had icy-cold pints o' goodness on our minds.
I forgot to bust out the camera and take pictures of the poor display of soccer skills, sorry. I promise I'll remember next time (when we're winning)!
We are on a bye this week, but we'll be back in action next Friday (March 2nd) when we take on Got Beer. Now there is a team name I can get behind!
This past week's match pitted us against Deacon Blues (I don't know their current standings as the league web site is down). It was a hard fought game by both teams, but the good guys were able to prevail!
Game 5 - Lightning vs. Deacon Blues
The final score was 3 - 2. I tried to keep track of the scoring a little better this week, but this weekend was a rough one so my memory is a bit grey... so correct me if I get this wrong. Scoring for Team Lightning:
- Mike Oster
- Steve Riley
- Mike Oster
We need to work on our conditioning a little as we really started to drag ass near the end of the game. But I suppose that is to be expected in an adult co-rec league. :)
Our next game is this Friday when we take on The Hood. We really need to keep our focus this week because Friday is also the Great Guinness Toast and I'm sure many of us will have ice-cold pints o' the dark stuff on our minds. At least I will!
Speaking of which... the best place in central Ohio to enjoy this momentous occasion is Byrne's Pub - home of all things dealing with booze and the Irish.
Gametime Action
Oh, I did manage to snap a few quick shots during the game... so as always, enjoy!
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Four game and four wins - that makes for a pretty nice season so far! I know I'm a bit late in giving an update this week... hell, kick off for game 5 is in less than 3 hours.
Game 4 - Lighting vs. Panthers
It was another great showing by Team Lighting as we overtook the Panthers by a score of 5 to 1. Seeing as it's been nearly a week since the victory I forget exactly who scored, but I think it went something like this:
- Pete
- Mike Oster
- Steve Riley
- Me (w/ Christy on the assist)
- Mike Soter (spelled with a T not a D)
The only two I'm 100% sure of are numbers 1 and 4 - so if any one from the team is reading this, please leave a comment with any corrections. I'll try to do a better job of keeping stats this week... and I'll try to talk Carli into grabbing some snapshots while she's taking a breather.
The Schedule
Just for my own sanity (and so I can quickly find it in the future) the remainder of our schedule is:
- Feb 8th (Thurs) - Deacon Blues vs. Lightning
- Feb 16th (Fri) - The Hood vs. Lightning
- March 2nd (Fri) - FC Thurman vs. Lightning
- March 8th (Thurs) - Lightning vs. Got Beer
- March 16th (Fri) - K.O.A vs Lightning
- March 22nd (Thurs) - Playoffs begin...
Oh, I should mention that the Home Team looks like this.
Action Shots
Speaking of pictures from the field and/or sideline, I didn't remember to take any pictures until the last 90 seconds of the game, so I only have a few for you this week.
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Another good showing by team Lightning tonight. We rolled to a 3-0 record with a 5-0 shutout over K.O.A. I didn't have any goals nor assists tonight, but I did have to leave the field due to injury... twice.
In the first period my teammate (Steve Riley) had a line drive shot on goal that I blocked with my... umm... nether regions. Ouch! A little rest and Gatorade on the sideline and I was good as new.
During the second period I was down in the corner, scrapping for the ball when an opposing player took a powerful swing at the ball. He missed and made solid contact with my ankle. The same ankle that I tore up during the summer out door season. Not to worry - after it swelled up a little bit and the adrenaline kicked in and I was back on the field.
Anyhow, congrats to the team. We played well tonight!
Oh, and I managed to snap a few pics from the sideline - but I forgot to have Carli grab some shots while I was on the field. One of these days we'll remember to get some. Until then, enjoy!
By the way... if anyone from the team is reading this, who did score tonight?
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Lightning, the co-ed soccer team that Carli and I play for, is off to a great start for the 2007 Indoor season. For those who don't know, we play year round here in Columbus. During the spring and summer seasons we play in a couple of outdoor at various parks around the city, and in the fall and winter we play indoor at All-Stars Family Sports (up at The Continent).
We've started off our '07 (winter) indoor season with a bang. Last week we defeated Got Beer by a score of 7 - 3.This week we squeaked by TFS Thunder... Thunder and Lightning - get it? ... winning 4 - 3. Yours truly had a goal and two assists in the game.
I also got to play bouncer as a couple of fights nearly broke out due to some poor sportsman ship and hot tempers on both teams. We all made amends after the game, so hopefully the next time we face Thunder things will be a bit for friendly.
At any rate, I was able to snap a few quick shots before the game and during a quick water break (for me). The pictures aren't all that exciting, but they do help illustrate nice facilities are.
I freaking love the turf at ASFS. They have some version (or maybe it's even the real thing) of the popular FieldTurf that a lot of the pro baseball and football stadiums are using here in the States. This stuff is pretty soft and feels like really well kept natural turf - and it really helps cut down on the pulls and sprains.
Anyhow, check out the pics and stay tuned for more pictures and updates through out the season!
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