PLAYOFFS ROUND 1
What a beautiful day Sunday was. Not too hot, not too cold, grass was cut, fields were lined, bathroom was present, and all the teams had some solid, intense playoff football. So with Round 1 in the books, here were the results.
MLS CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
Foot Works (1) vs. Moat Monsters (8) - 1 PM Field 1
While most of the CLUBWAKA MLS focus group last week targeted this game as THE one to watch, attendance played a large part in this not living up to the hype. Foot Works was playing with the minimum and without a natural goalkeeper. Meanwhile, like last season's playoff run, Moat Monsters had a full house. Sarah Watson led Moat Monsters with a hat trick. As we expected last week, pitting two of the most competitive teams against each other on back-to-back weeks made the game a little chippy with a couple of cards handed out. Ultimately, last season's champions prevailed and will look to continue their run next week.
Amazing first season by Foot Works as two friend groups merged together to go undefeated until the last week of the regular season. Solid captaining by Joseph McCalla and a hell of a season by Anderzon Rojas who finished the season with 13 goals.
GOALS:
Moat Monsters - Sarah Watson (3), Kory Kulzer (1), Lily Payne (1), Sam Sauber (1), Mike Dorsey (1)
Foot Works - Anderzon Rojas (1)
Kick in a Box (4) vs. Look Ma, No Hands (5) - 1 PM Field 2
Going into this game, I was expecting Look Ma to come out for revenge after the 5-2 shellacking Kick in a Box gave them earlier this season. Turns out I was right. With some key players being out for KiaB, this proved to be one of the more lopsided affairs of the day with Look Ma winning 8-1. When Look Ma is clicking, they are almost impossible to beat as they are one of the most well rounded teams in the MLS. Excited to see how they fair next week.
One thing should be said. The loss by Kick in a Box should in no way diminish the season they had this Fall. They went 1-5-1 in their inaugural season (8 out of 10 teams) and won their one game on a forfeit. Fast forward to this season and they jumped to 5-2 and finished 4 out of 14 teams. What an amazing turnaround. So to Ryan O'Donnell and his crew...
via GIPHY
GOALS:
Look Ma No Hands - Zack Martin (2), Herick Lopez (2), Calli Sherrill (1), Lindsay Ingraham (1), Chad Martin (1), Emily Laucks (1)
Kick in a Box - Correy Borrelli (1)
Ronaldo McDonaldo (3) vs. Oozlekicks (6) - 2 PM Field 1
For two seasons in a row, Ronaldo McDonaldo had to square off against Oozlekicks in the playoffs. This game was just bleeding with intrigue -- the two top goalscorers in the league facing off (Michael Machie of RM and Tom Weniger of Oozlekicks) with the golden boot on the line, the offense of Ronaldo McDonaldo facing off against one of the best goalkeepers in the league (Jay Coble), and there was a lot of question about how Ronaldo would bounce back after their second loss of the year. If you liked offense, this was the game for you.
The best way I can describe this game would be like this... you know when you're playing full court pick-up basketball and after about 15 minutes, people get tired and just stop playing defense so you end up with a whole bunch of fast breaks and layups? Yeah, that's what it ended up being. Typing the goalscorers is going to give me carpal tunnel. If you were following the golden boot race, you would have been on the edge of your seat. The back and forth between Machie and Weniger was like two frogs on a teeter totter. Wait.. is that a thing? Yep. Apparently it is.
via GIPHY
In the end, with the energy a 10 piece McNuggets provides, Ronaldo McDonaldo outlasted Oozlekicks 10-6.
GOALS:
Ronaldo McDonaldo - Michael Machie (4), Dara Emami (4), Kristina Cors (2)
Oozlekicks - Tom Weniger (3), Aaraam Gragossian (2), Djon Trower (1),
Hangover 86 FC (2) vs. Biercelona (7) - 2 PM Field 2
Unfortunately, I was playing during this one so I don't have a whole lot to go on regarding how this game was actually played. Judging by the final score, Hangover as the #2 seed won handily in what was an anticipated matchup of players who know each other quite well. Blake Thompson led Hangover by putting up 4 in this one, which pushed had him end the season with a total of 13 goals. With the win, Hangover sets up an intriguing matchup with the 3 seed, Ronaldo McDonaldo, next season. Hangover was the first team to give Ronaldo McDonaldo a regular season loss earlier this season and it will surely be a fun one to watch.
With this being Biercelona's first season in the league, they ended up having a hell of a season finishing 3-2-2. Hope they plan on coming back and building on that in the Spring.
Final Score - Hangover 6 - 1 Biercelona
GOALS:
Hangover 86 FC - Blake Thompson (4), Josh Rhamy (2)
Biercelona - Carlos Murillo (1)
MLS CONSOLATION BRACKET
Here for the Beer (11) vs. Catch Me Offsides (14)
Like a lot of the season for Here for the Beer, this one came down to attendance. And unfortunately for Jay Coble's favorites to win the consolation bracket, they didn't have the female attendance to play this one. They were understandably disappointed after having made a solid run over the last couple of weeks.
However, it was great to see a couple of things: (1) Catch Me Offsides getting their first win of the season. (2) the teams choosing to stay around and scrimmage so they could still get their soccer fix for the day.
This sets up a matchup between Hot and Messi and Catch Me Offsides next Sunday in the semis of the consolation tourney. Can Catch Me Offsides make it two wins in a row or will Hot and Messi build off their drastic improvement from last year to make a run to the finals?
Final Score: Catch Me Offsides 5 - 0 Here for the Beer (FORFEIT)
Ibra Kadibra (12) vs. Misfits (13)
Oooo.. a battle royale between two teams with the hardest schedules this year. Both teams looking to prove that the schedule led to them finishing at the bottom of the table. Was a relatively low scoring affair compared to some of the other games in the first round of the playoffs with Misfits coming out on top 4-2. Rumor has it that Blake Sexton blacked out, pulled 3 or 4 moves out that he'll never be able to do again, and provided a sweet finish for Misfits. This leads to a great matchup with the 9 seed Netkicks and Chill on Sunday. Will Netkicks come out rusty after the bye week? Will Misfits put together another solid performance to raise the MLS Division 2 Trophy? My blood pressure won't be able to take it!
Shout out to Naeem Huque who took a team of free agents, had them gel as a team, and put together a solid run in Ibra Kadibra's first season. Not to mention, there were multiple players from Ibra that came up to me over the course of the season. Takes a great leader to bring people together and ensure they all have fun. Great job, Naeem!
END OF SEASON AWARDS
I haven't talked about this too much this season (outside of the Golden Boot), but we do have some awards to give out now that the regular season and the first round of playoffs games has come to a close. So let me give you an overview of the awards and a quick disclaimer before we do a deeper dive into the winners.
DISCLAIMER(S):
My wife, Amber, made all of the awards except the Hands of God which was created by the Oozlekicks and donated to the league (thanks guys!). Because these trophies are made by me and because I'm the commissioner, I decide on who gets the awards. I do not take this lightly. I have pinged on many of you leading up to this announcement and I've agonized over each one. I spend 4 hours every Sunday watching the games, paying attention to who's doing what, and trying to get a sense of everyone's playing style and how the team is built. I'm saying this not to get a congratulations, but to explain how I come to the decisions, how much I care about the league, and mainly as a disclaimer that when I inevitably screw this up, you'll give me a break. Also, that these trophies are homemade, spray painted, and one involves one of my own cleats, so don't expect a Super Bowl ring!
The Golden Boot - currently, this is for the player with the most goals in the season. If players start to run up the score on lesser teams in order to get their goals up, I reserve the right to change this to League MVP and call you a tool. A team's first 8 games are what is included in the denominator. Individual attendance is not factored in unless we need a tiebreaker. While I will include Netkicks and Chill and Hot and Messi's game from this coming up week in the goal scoring total, I feel safe enough with the totals to declare a winner now. If Daryl Kuligowski scores 8 goals against Misfits, then I'll have to reconsider my position. (PREVIOUS WINNER - TOM WENIGER OF OOZLEKICKS - SPRING 2018 - 14 Goals)
The Golden Gal - Best Overall Female. Tough on this one as the original intent of the award was essentially the Female MVP. But over the past couple of seasons, I think it's important to not only weigh the talent of the individual, but the engagement with the league, sportsmanship, and the value to their team. I think we got it right in the Spring. (PREVIOUS WINNER - MICKEY AMARO OF HANGOVER 86 FC - SPRING 2018)
The Hands of God - Best Goalkeeper. This one's easy. The best goalkeeper in the league. Again, while talent is important - engagement with the league, sportsmanship, and value to their team is also weighed. While we had some amazing keepers in the league in both seasons, I think the entire league pretty much agreed with our Spring 2018 choice (PREVIOUS WINNER - JAY COBLE OF OOZLEKICKS - SPRING 2018).
The Sign-Up Simon - Outstanding sign-up period. This one is a little bit odd, but will serve as a tradition each season. In the Spring, one of our players (Scott Tinsley) recruited and signed up two full teams. I told him he deserved a trophy. So we took a wrestling action figure and made one. That's it in a nutshell. But if you win this, you should be proud. DAMN PROUD. (PREVIOUS WINNER - SCOTT TINSLEY OF UTTOTPHJ)
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
Aaron Hackett of Ronaldo McDonaldo looks on as his team beats Oozlekicks to advance to the semis.
Kayson Bell of Kick in a Box looks to beat Joe Ingraham of Look Ma No Hands near post while Courtney McKoy recovers on defense.
FINAL WEEK AT OOZLEFINCH
Hoping we'll get a good turnout from the league to watch the games on Sunday and then come over for a league wide hangout at Oozlefinch. They'll have Flame and Pie out there for some post-game pizza and they'll have some old school video games as part of Halloween Hangover 2018 presented by PLAYBACK EGX. See you out there!
OK OK... Seriously this time... to the awards.
via GIPHY
The Sign-Up Simon:
This year's award goes to David Chappell of Hot and Messi for a whole bunch of reasons. First off, Hot and Messi was all free agents in the Spring. David took over the reigns to captain, molded it into a true team, and earned a bye in the Division 2 bracket. Not only that, after having a low turnout for some games in the Spring, he recruited and filled his team extremely early. He even had to request us to extend the roster size to 19! Great great job, Dave and congratulations on securing the Sign-Up Simon!
The Hands of God:
Going into this season, I didn't think anyone would be able to dethrone Jay Coble of Oozlekicks. But I realized in doing this a second season that there are amazing players out there. Joe Ingraham, Jay Coble, Jason Campbell, Buck Waldrop -- a bunch of people could have won it. But the keeper that impacted his team's performance the most in the games I watched was Christopher Garcia of Hangover 86 FC. He made save after save and was a big part of Hangover finishing the season as a number 2 seed. Congratulations Chris!
The Golden Gal:
This was the toughest of all the decisions, but after getting a lot of opinions and weighing all the intangibles of a short list of 10 amazing female soccer players, I want to congratulate Calli Sherrill of Look Ma, No Hands in winning this season's Golden Gal Award. When I asked a variety of players who stands out as the Golden Gal, Calli was generally the first person mentioned. A great shot, physical but not overly physical to the point of being unaligned with the vision of the league, and a key member of the great season Look Ma has had. 5 goals on the season is nothing to ignore either. Congratulations, Calli!
Not to take away from Calli's recognition, but there were so many potential winners here that I did want to recognize one other player. As I said, I had a short list of 10 females, but one other player was consistently mentioned by folks around the league -- Erin Rock of Hot and Messi was highlighted not only for her play on the field, but also for her sportsmanship (sportswomanship?) and her value to the Hot & Messi team atmosphere.
The Golden Boot:
The final tally (outside of H&M and N&C) has been solidified. 364 goals were scored. Some familiar faces sit at the top of the leader board, but some new faces have hit the top 10, so why don't we count them down?
10. Chad Martin of Look Ma No Hands - 8 Goals
9. Matthew Kennedy of Here for the Beer - 8 Goals
8. Djon Trower of Oozlekicks - 9 Goals
7. Dara Emami of Ronaldo McDonaldo - 10 Goals
6. Taven McDonald of Biercelona - 10 Goals
5. Daryl Kuligowski of NetKicks and Chill - 11 Goals (still has 1 game left so can climb the leaderboard!)
4. Anderzon Rojas of Foot Works - 13 Goals
3. Blake Thompson of Hangover 86 FC - 13 Goals
2. Tom Weniger of Oozlekicks - 16 Goals
And your Golden Boot Winner for Fall 2018...
MICHAEL MACHIE OF RONALDO MCDONALDO WITH 18 GOALS
OK... I seem to be having some problems with Machie and Calli's photos, but I'll get those added at some point in the future. I'm tapped out at 4 hours, folks. Love you and hope you've enjoyed the blog this season. UNTIL THE SPRING!
via GIPHY
No comments:
Post a Comment