Coach P Is Getting Married!

Dec. 8, 2009 -- Debbie wanted me to mention her on my blog, so I'll officially announce what all my soccer (and other) friends already know: sometime in 2010 - sooner rather than later - my long-time friend, Debbie Denslow, and I are getting married. We officially made the decision on the front porch of the Castine Inn, Castine, Maine on the evening of August 20 and I gave her a ring in St. Paul, MN on October 23.

This is an exciting time for me, since my favorite female soccer player, my daughter Kirsten, gave birth to my first grandchild, Oliver Chesla, back on Sept, 29 in Stillwater, MN. My favorite male player, my son, Scott, has been having a good fall teaching 5th grade in neighboring Haddon Twp., NJ. And now I will have someone with whom to share my life. I can't wait!!

It's been three years since the tragic death of Kirsten and Scott's mother, my favorite soccer mom, my wife, Louise Harbach. She died just 16 days before our 37th anniversary. But she would be happy to know that I am marrying Debbie, whom she knew well.

Debbie and I first met at the Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Gwynedd, PA (just outside Philadelphia) not quite 50 years ago and our families knew each other there. Debbie and I went out on occasion in high school, went to some of the same parties, had some friends in common and we stayed in touch over the years. She was married long ago and it didn't work out, but she had a wonderful daughter who is now married to a great guy and she has two lovely grandchildren ages 5 and 3.

Debbie has two masters degrees and is an elementary school teacher of remedial math who is devoted to her teaching, but also to her own family and to our expanding family. She has a great sense of humor, loves theater and loves to travel. Already we've been to England, Canada, Minnesota three times and New England four times.

We hope to hold the wedding at Messiah and to have the ceremony performed by my brother, Gary, another former soccer player (at Penn Charter) and coach at Northfield-Mount Hermon School, who also happens to be an Episcopal priest. He had practice for a family wedding by doing Kirsten's in 2008.

Friends have asked me if Debbie is a soccer fan. She is now. I think her first exposure to the sport was going to a farewell party for Carli Lloyd before the '08 World Cup. She has been to dinner with many of my Haddonfield soccer friends - including Coach Gess - and attended the wedding of a former player of mine last year. She and I watched the U.S. play Argentina at the Meadowlands, and Debbie came to two of our Haddonfield H.S. games this fall, including the exciting state championship match at TCNJ a few weeks back. Plus she flew up to Portland with me for the Bowdoin-Wheaton women's game back in September. So she is building her soccer credentials. There are a lot of games left in this story.

We Lucked Out

Dec. 5, 2009 -- The early word is the U.S. got off easy in yesterday's World Cup draw, so easy in fact, that a berth in the second round is all but guaranteed.

That may be an overstatement, and of course there is a reason they play the games. But let's face it, we could have done worse than England, Slovenia and Algeria. And don't forget - the top two team go through. So a loss to England does not end the hopes of advancement.

So here is the schedule for Group C: June 12 - England; June 18 - Slovenia; June 23 - Algeria. Mark your calendars.

Soccer journalists always pick a "Group of Death," that considered the toughest of the eight groups of four. This year that honor goes to Group G with Brazil, Ivory Coast, North Korea and Portugal.

The last time the U.S. played England in the World Cup was 1950 when the Americans pulled off a stunning 1-0 upset in Belo Horizonte, Brazil as Joey Gaetjens headed in a cross from Philadelphia's Walt Bahr. The game was the subject of the 1995 film, "The Game of Their Lives."

For Jere Longman's excellent coverage of the draw in the New York Times, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/05/sports/soccer/05draw.html?ref=sports

Jordan's Perserverance Gives HMHS Group 2 Title

EWING, Nov. 21, 2009 – When senior Kathleen Jordan blew a chance to win the state championship in the 2nd minute of the first “golden goal” overtime, Haddonfield fans weren’t worried. They knew it would just make her more determined.

Jordan broke free and took a clear shot on the goal from about 15 yards out. A goal and Haddonfield wins the State Cup. But Jordan’s shot clanked off the left post and play continued. No problem. Less than five minutes later Jordan used her speed and strength to win a ball after a shot was blocked, and crossed it to sophomore Kate Johnston who was wide open in front of the net.

Johnston had plenty of time to set for the ball – and probably to check her e-mail while she was at it – and easily put it in the back of the net for a thrilling 2-1 win and Haddonfield's fourth state championship since 1997.

"I didn't know why they didn't mark me,” Johnston said to the Courier-Post, “but I had missed a shot like that beforehand. I was like, ‘This time I have to put it in.' I just did it calmly and didn't rush it. The goalie was coming at me, but I didn't want to hit it over, so I had to set myself to get it down."

“That was awful. I should have put it away,” Jordan said after the game to the Inquirer’s Marc Narducci of her first miss.

The match was played before a nice crowd on a cool night in The College of New Jerse's football stadium. Haddonfield generally had the better of the play against a good Mahwah team in the first half, but could have been on the short end of the score at half had keeper Tina Davis not tipped a long shot over the crossbar.

Just 1:26 into the second half, midfielder Sarah Dudek beat her defender and took a shot from the left that bounced off Mahwah keeper Emily Secor and Jordan took advantage to put the Bulldawgs up, 1-0. But nine minutes later the Thunderbirds followed up two corner kicks and a throw-in with a cross from the right side by Nicole Lee that Kristyn Tremblay headed in for the equalizer.

Haddonfield had one last chance to win it in regulation, but Secor fell on an Emily Grabiak corner kick from the left with 6 seconds to play before anyone could put it in the net.

Haddonfield used 14 players in winning the Cup. Mahwah went the whole way with its starting 11.

The Bulldawgs have not lost since the second game of the season when they were defeated, 2-1, by Williamstown. They have won 21 straight since a scoreless tie with Haddon Heights on Sept. 17. The program was co-champions in 1997 after a scoreless tie with Morris Catholic in Group 1, and co-champions again in 2005, this time in Group 2 with Pascack Valley. They won the title outright in Group 2 in 2007 with a 1-0 victory over Pascack Hills. In 2006 River Dell edged Haddonfield in the Group 2 final.

The championship was followed by a Haddonfield tradition – a parade through town and over Kings Highway to the high school with fire engines and a police car escorting the team bus. It sounds hokie and small-town, but having ridden in the parade two of the last three years, I can tell you it’s pure magic. I was amazed at people standing outside their homes on Warwick Road, and along Kings Highway waving to us as the sirens wailed and parents blew their horns. And I saw some young girls in soccer uniforms watching, thinking no doubt, “that will be me some day.”

Some day it will be.

NCAA's on Web-TV

Pretty cool, watching girls from the Xtreme playing in the NCAA Sweet 16 on a webcast from Williams College.

Earlier today, Brenna Rubino played for TCNJ as it upset host Williams, 1-0. Now I'm watching Rowan battle Ithaca. No score as the first half is nearing an end. Then I have to head up to TCNJ Stadium for the Haddonfield game - state Group 2 final.

This is not exactly ESPN, but the video quality, despite an occasional freeze-up, is surprisingly good, although the audio is not. The announcer is presumably a college student and not doing a bad job, although when TCNJ scored, he did not bother to tell us which team scored, what the score was or the time left. (It came in the 65th minute.)

There is one camera, on the teams' side, at midfield, so I'm seeing alot of my former players, Nina Fragoso and Linda Sierra, but they're in the play alot.

Halftime and it's 0-0. Gotta run up to the HS game.

"Hand of Gaul" - FIFA Made the Right Decision Denying Replay

Ireland probably won’t invade France, but there’s quite an international incident over a non-call in the World Cup qualifier between France and Ireland Nov. 18 in France.

Despite Ireland’s wails that it was robbed by a referee’s non-call – and it was – FIFA got it right by refusing to order a replay.

The stakes were high: the winner of the two-game aggregate would go to the World Cup. France had won, 1-0 in Ireland, but now Ireland had a 1-0 lead in the 113th minute. France scored when star Thierry Henry flicked the ball with the outside of his right foot to William Gallas, who headed it in for a 1-1 tie, but a 2-1 aggregate win for the French. (Had the goal not been scored and the game ended 1-0 for the Irish, a shootout would have taken place to determine the World Cup berth.)

What none of the game officials saw was that Henry, charging inside the 6 from the left, patted the ball with his left hand about waist high, knocking it to his foot. No two ways about it, hand ball. Henry admitted it. "I have never denied the ball was controlled with my hand,” he said. “I told the Irish players, the referee and the media this after the game." But the referees didn’t call it.

The Irish were incensed and demanded a replay. Even Henry agreed it would be fair. "Naturally I feel embarrassed at the way we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa," he said in a statement issued on his behalf on Friday.

"Of course, the fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control. There is little more I can do apart from admit the ball had contact with my hand leading up to our equalising goal and I feel very sorry for the Irish."

Irish captain Robbie Keane, who scored his team's goal in Paris, responded by issuing his own statement.

"On behalf of the Republic of Ireland players, I would like to thank Thierry Henry for his statement," he said.

"As captain of the French team, to make such a statement took courage and honor, and all of us recognize that. As captain of the Republic of Ireland team, I would also be happy for a replay to happen in the interest of fair play so that whichever team qualifies, can do so with their heads held high.

"We can only hope that the French Football Federation might accept the wishes of both captains in the best interests of the game."

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) board met on Friday and issued a statement saying said it had called on the French federation to "join with it and the captains of the French and Irish teams... to request a replay from FIFA that would protect the integrity of the game worldwide and the pride of the French national team."
Ireland cited a match from 2005, when Uzbekistan and Bahrain were competing for a spot in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. FIFA ordered the match replayed after the referee incorrectly Bahrain an indirect free kick after a player encroached the penalty area before Uzbekistan, leading 1-0, successfully took a penalty kick. The referee should have ordered the penalty kick to be retaken.

Former French star Arsene Wenger, Henry's former manager at Arsenal, jumped into the debate and agreed that a replay would be the fairest solution.

"France has to say 'yes it was a handball and we offer a replay'," he said. "It is embarrassing to qualify the way we qualified. We want to beat Ireland properly and that didn't happen."

Wenger, who agreed to replay an FA Cup tie against Sheffield United in 1999 over an issue of fair play added:

"Thierry Henry is not the problem. He played here for 10 years and has always been super fair. He has come out and said 'I made a mistake, I touched the ball with my hand'.

"Football and sport in general is full of heroes who have cheated 10 times more than Thierry. "A player of his stature has a massive pressure on his shoulders and if somebody has to do something for Thierry, it is French football and France as a country, not to leave him out there alone against the whole world."

The replay is not going to happen and it shouldn’t. Despite pleas from the government of Ireland as well as the FAI, FIFA said today the result would stand.

''The result of the match cannot be changed and the match cannot be replayed,'' FIFA said in a statement. ''As is clearly mentioned in the Laws of the Game, during matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final.''

FAI in Dublin responded by petitioning its French counterpart to ask FIFA to change its mind, but the FFF said the decision by soccer's governing body's is final.

''The result of the match can therefore not be modified, nor the match be replayed,'' the federation said in a statement, adding that it ''understands the disappointment and the bitterness of the Irish players, leaders and supporters.''

Soccer’s Law 5 states, “The decisions of the referee regarding facts connected with play, including whether or not a goal is scored and the result of the match, are final.” If the official realizes he is incorrect after consultation with his assistant referees or the fourth official on the sideline, he can change his mind only if play has not been restarted or the game is over.

While a replay would seem to be fair in light of Henry’s own admission, it is a different situation than the 2005 Uzbekistan-Bahrain game or the Arsenal-Sheffield 1999 FA Cup replay. In the Uzbekistan-Bahrain match, the mistake was a misapplication of the Laws of the game rather than a judgment call (or non call). Wenger offered the Sheffield replay when one of his players scored the winning goal after he intercepted a teammate’s throw to United after the ball had been kicked out to stop play for an injury, violating unwritten soccer etiquette.

In this instance, the mistake was the referee’s judgment, or lack thereof, during the course of play.

At least one Irish fan appears to have accepted the ruling. Roy Keane, a former star of Ireland’s national team who is now the manager at Ipswich Town in England, was critical of the Irish federation and the Irish team on Friday.

“I’ve been amazed at the commotion that’s been going for the last few days,” the often cantankerous and frank Keane told reporters at a news conference before his club’s weekend match. “I think we’re on about Henry’s handball — of course he handled it — but I’d focus on why Ireland’s defenders didn’t clear it.

“I’d be more annoyed with my defenders and my goalkeeper than Thierry Henry. How can you let a ball bounce in the six-yard box? How can you let Thierry Henry get goalside of you? And as the ball bounced in the six-yard box, I’d be saying ‘where the hell’s my goalkeeper?’ “

Ireland were robbed. No doubt about it. But it happens. And as long as humans referee the sport, it will continue to happen. To allow replays of games for mistakes of judgment would set a dangerous precedent. Would players be pressured into “admitting” calls in their favor were wrong? How certain would it need to be that the botched call changed the result? (If Henry’s hand ball had been called and the game ended 1-0 for Ireland, there would have been a shootout. How can we know that Ireland would have won that.)

Soccer’s flow and its human element sets it apart from other sports. Let’s keep it that way.

(Quotes from different articles in the New York Times.)

32 are In: World Cup Field Set

More than two years after they began, the long qualifying rounds have ended and 32 nations are ready to vie for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa. I'd like to say Coach P's Blog will be there covering it next summer, but our budget won't go quite that far, so I'll be watching on TV.

The brackets will be set in a drawing on December 4.

Here are the qualifying countries, alphabetical order:

Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Brazil
Cameroon
Chile
Cote de Ivoire
Denmark
England
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Hondurs
Italy
Japan
Korea DPR
Korea Republic
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Paraguay
Portugal
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Switzerland
United States
Uruguay

Here's the address for the official World Cup web site: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/tournament/index.html

Elizabeth Lambert's Side of the Story

While she says she has "so much regret," notorious collegiate soccer hatchet woman Elizabeth Lambert of University of New Mexico also claims that some of her actions were in the heat of the moment and/or shown out of context in the widely-viewed You Tube videos.
Today's New York Times carries the first interview with Lambert since her activities came to worldwide attention. As most people know by now, Lambert was seen kicking, tripping, pulling down and punching opponents throughout a 1-0 loss to Brigham Young in a Mountain West Conference tournament game on Nov. 5.

The interview with Jere Longman, is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/sports/soccer/18soccer.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Lambert&st=cse. As always, Longman presents a superb and balanced account of the incident and gives Lambert every opportunity to tell her side of the story. Her coach, Kit Veltra, and the referee who allowed the mayhem to continue unabated, Joe Pimentel, have not been heard from, and I still would like to know what they were thinking. Interestingly, Lambert does not think Pimentel lost control of the game but said that if he had shown more yellow cards or a red car, it would have been a different game.

(Photo above by Rick Sobelli, Jr. for the New York Times)

State semi-final not even close: HMHS 4, Cinnaminson 0

"Either way this looks like a one-goal game," wrote Marc Narducci in this morning's Inquirer. Not.

The Haddonfield girls totally dominated, outplayed and whitewashed a good Cinnaminson team, 4-0, in in tonight's state semi-final at Washington Twp. H.S. This is the same field where the Bulldogs outplayed Rumson last year only to be stoned by the hottest goalie in the state (and one of the best HS keepers I have ever seen) and lose on the last round of a shootout. Tonight they found the net and then some.

In fairness to my friend Marc, no one expected a blow-out. "And to think I had them practicing penalties," said an exuberant coach Glenn Gess afterwards.

Even before midfield Sarah Barrett put Haddonfield on the board midway through the first half, the Bulldogs controlled play. While the Cinnaminson keeper was not forced to make one tough save after another, as is often the case in a blow-out, Haddonfield kept the ball in the Pirates' end most of the time. Less than four minutes after Barrett's goal, Emily Grabiak made it 2-0 with 15:40 to go.

Cinnaminson picked it up a bit early in the second half but still mounted no serious threat. Their best chance came on a strong shot that curved wide right with 28 minutes left. Had they scored there they would have been down only a goal. Instead the Bulldogs roared back and two minutes later went up, 3-0, on a nice shot from the left by Kristen Ferguson.

It was over, but Kathleen Jordan added the exclamation point when she flicked a ball over her should past a startled Cinnaminson keeper with 14:10 left in the game.

On to the state final Saturday at TCNJ against Mahwah.

More On the Lambert Incident

Good article in today's New York Times by Jere Longman, one of the country's best soccer writers in my opinion, about the infamous Liz Lambert of the University of Mexico in a play-off game against BYU. (See, post below.) To refresh your recollection, Lambert punched several opponents, tripped others and yanked one to the ground by her ponytail. Despite this uncontrolled mayhem, she received only a yellow card late in the game.

I was glad to see the comment by Tony DiCicco, who coached the U.S. women when they won the World Cup in '99 and now coaches the Boston Breakers of WPS, wondering where the referees were and what Lambert's coach was thinking. I raised the same questions. “I’m put off by what she did, I’m put off that the refereeing didn’t seem to recognize this, and I’m put off a little by the coaching,” said DiCicco in the article.

Longman's thoughtful piece explores deeper issues than the competence of the game officials or the New Mexico coach. It raises questions about women's soccer and women's sports in general and states that the Lambert incident and its Internet aftermath "has spurred a national debate about sportsmanship, gender roles, double standards regarding aggressiveness and news media coverage and the sexualized portrayal of female athletes."

UNM game: Where Were the Refs?

By now 95 % of the world has seen the video of University of New Mexico roughneck soccer player, Elizabeth Lambert run around the field like an out-of-control truck, taking down opponents with feet, legs and fists in full view of the referees in a conference tournament semifinal against BYU on November 5 in Provo, UT.

Just in case you missed it, here is one video clip of Ms. Lambert punching one opponent in the back (after getting an elbow from her) and taking down another by the ponytail.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMAtxuCpsMU&feature=popular

But there’s more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHPWDQw3J4Y

Once the mayhem hit the Internet – and this morning the networks as well on the Today Show - the principals did what anyone would expect: they clammed up and ducked behind flacks and press releases.

"I am deeply and wholeheartedly regretful for my actions," said Lambert. "My actions were uncalled for. I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation. I take full responsibility for my actions and accept any punishment felt necessary from the coaching staff and UNM administration. This is in no way indicative of my character or the soccer player that I am. I am sorry to my coaches and teammates for any and all damages I have brought upon them. I am especially sorry to BYU and the BYU women's soccer players that were personally affected by my actions. I have the utmost respect for the BYU women's soccer program and its players."

"Liz is a quality student-athlete, but in this instance her actions clearly crossed the line of fair play and good sportsmanship," said Coach Kit Vela, who still left her in the game for the full 90. Vela then took the courageous and tough action of suspending Lambert for the year – after the season had ended with the Lobos’ 1-0 loss to BYU.

Then we learned that Coach Vela, who is paid to lead young student athletes, would also hide behind the paper of a press release. Mark Smith reported in the Journal that UNM sports information director Greg Remington said Vela was unavailable for further interviews. When asked why Vela didn't address Lambert's actions after the game - which was telecast on the Mtn. on Thursday - Remington said "I don't believe she was aware (of the incidents) … It was only when the video was brought to her attention (that she became aware of it)."

Hmm … I thought coaches were supposed to be watching the game they were coaching. If Vela had been doing so, she would have seen at least one of the five hard fouls committed by Lambert. Any one of them could have brought a red card.

The top Lobo, the athletic director, joined the rush to hide from the media.

"Liz's conduct on the field against BYU was completely inappropriate," said UNM Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs. "There is no way to defend her actions."

Of course not. But that was all we heard from Mr. Krebs. The Albuquerque Journal reported on Nov. 7 that he refused to comment. Of course he did. A reporter can ask questions. A press release can’t be questioned. Besides, apparently Krebs was busy mishandling a scandal involving the school’s head football coach.

After watching the ESPN story (link above) and seeing the flagrant fouls, my thought was, “Where on earth were the referees?” Lambert was finally shown a yellow card late in the game. How one of the three officials could not have seen these fouls, most of which were in the midst of play (as opposed to off the ball).

The best coverage of the incident I read was from Randy Hollis of the Deseret News in Salt Lake city, excerpts of which are quoted below:

So who's the meanest, dirtiest, nastiest, cheap-shot-waitin'-to-happen athlete you ever saw? Former NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman, who once kicked a sideline cameraman, had a well-deserved reputation for committing all sorts of on-the-court (and occasionally off-the-court) crimes. His one-time Detroit Pistons partner in crime, Bill Laimbeer, was a renowned thug at times, too.
There have been some truly bad characters in the NFL, guys like Bill Romanowski, Conrad Dobler and Jack "The Assassin" Tatum, whose vicious hit paralyzed Patriots' receiver Darryl Stingley — a hit which Tatum never apologized for — and turned Stingley into a quadriplegic. Pro hockey has its share of tough-guy-wannabe goons like Marty McSorley and Todd Bertuzzi, who were each suspended for assaulting opposing players.
But this week, my vote goes to ... yes, you guessed it ... Elizabeth Lambert.
Who? You know, Lizzy "Tizzy" Lambert, that mean little University of New Mexico soccer player who put on such a distasteful display during the Lobos' loss to BYU in the Mountain West women's championship tournament a few days ago.
Lambert's overly aggressive antics have been all over the airwaves and watched by thousands on YouTube the last couple of days, and for good reason.
During the course of the game, Lambert yanked BYU's Kassidy Shumway down from behind by the hair, violently elbowed another BYU player in the back — in all fairness, that one was in retaliation for the Cougar player's own elbow contact moments earlier — and proceeded to kick, slap, shove, push, trip, tackle, punch and generally wreak havoc and commit all kinds of mayhem on her opponents throughout the game.
This is not to say that BYU's players were completely blameless in all this. After all, soccer is an intense sport in which there's plenty of physical contact, so players' emotions often come to the surface. But they have to know where to draw that line.
Lambert, though, crossed the line — by, oh, about a hundred miles or more — and did so repeatedly.
Amazingly, despite all her dirty deeds, all Lambert got for her efforts was a yellow card, which begs the question: What in the world were the officials watching during this fierce match? How did she get away with all this unnecessary roughness?

Feed Your Head

Logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead. Grace Slick turned 70 last week. Pele hit 69 the week before. Just goes to show we all age. Go ask Alice. I think she’ll know.

Platini's Effort to Reform European Soccer

Interesting article in the New York Times on Oct. 31 about Michele Platini, the former French international who is now head of UEFA, the Union of European Footbnall Associations. According to the article, by Rob Hughes, "His ambition is to level the playing field between rich teams, those with television contracts and billionaire owners, and the small fry who rely mostly on fan support."

Read the full story here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/world/europe/31platini.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=Soccer&st=cse

Tough One For Rowan

GLASSBORO, Nov. 3, 2009 – A #4 national ranking and half of the starting team being named first team all conference did not help Rowan tonight as it dropped a tough 1-0 decision to Stockton in the semi-finals of the NJAC tournament.
The Profs outshot Stockton, 25-5, and dominated corner kicks, 9-1, with 8 in the 2nd half. But the only stat that matter was goals scored and that went to the Ospreys on a low shot inside the right post by Laura O’Shea in the 59th minute.
It was a great night for soccer: crisp fall evening with a full moon and a nice crowd. Most of the first 15 minutes was played in the midfield and neither team had a real goal-scoring opportunity. In the 2nd half Rowan began to dominate and just three minutes in Stockton keeper Maria Dorris dove to her left to make a save. She couldn’t hold the ball, but no one from Rowan followed the shot and Dorris easily recovered.
After the Ospreys scored, Rowan picked it up, but couldn’t solve Stockton’s tactic of packing the box. There were a number of opportunities in the air but the Rowan women kept heading the ball up instead of down. Dorris was forced to make a number of tough saves, tipping over a shot by Linda Sierra with 24:45 to play and making a diving grab on a shot by Evynn Wright with 1:48 left. Perhaps the best chance was by Rowan’s top scorer, Jess Babice, who worked her way from the touchline into the box and took a clear shot from about 15 yards but over the bar.
Stockton moves on to play TCNJ in the conference final Friday night. Rowan waits until Monday to learn if it will receive an at-large NCAA bid, almost a certainty given its national ranking.
Tonight Rowan won every statistical category except the one that counts the most.

Carli Comes Back to NJ

Coach P with Carli at Strikers Reunion Labor Day Weekend

Skye Blue of WPS announced it has signed former Rutgers, Delran H.S. and Medford Strikers star Carli Lloyd for the 2010 season. Read the release here: http://www.womensprosoccer.com/Home/ny/news/press_releases/091019-carli-lloyd.aspx


Looking forward to seeing her play more than the one game I saw last year when she was with Chicago Red Stars.

Fans Don't mind

HADDONFIELD, NJ, Oct. 13, 2009 -- I like to put on the best show possible for the fans and especially the players, during the Haddonfield High School girls soccer night games. Tonight, too many things went wrong, but who cares? The Bulldogs dominated a good Haddon Heights team and walked away with a convincing 4-0 victory. Considering the two teams had played to a scoreless tie earlier in the season made the result even more impressive.

Off the field, a lot of little things went wrong: the restrooms were still locked when the visiting team showed up. At 6:30 the concession stand hadn't yet been set up. Worse, the CD player in the stadium's sound system would not work, telling me there was no CD in the slot when there was. The girls had their warm-up music on tape, but the national anthem was not, so for the first time in many years we went without it. (At least four people suggested to me that I should sing it. I didn't want the fans to leave, so I politely declined.) Towards the end of the game, the cordless microphone went dead -- apparently needed new batteries. And we never could figure out who scored the final goal for Haddonfield.

We'll be ready for seniors night on the 21st. I'll have a back-up CD player or a the Star Spangled Banner on tape and I'll make sure there are new batteries in the mike.

Despite the miscues, it was a good game and a lot of people enjoyed watching it.

Exciting Game on Hawk Hill: St. Joe's Edge's Bonnies

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 11, 2009 -- When I was in high school we would often go to watch Big Five basketball at the Palestra and I always loved the spirit of the St. Joe's fans, who would sing:

Glory, glory what a helluva way to fly
The Hawk will never die.

It's many years later and a different sport, but they were still singing after today's women's soccer victory over St. Bonaventure, 1-0, in an exciting and well-played game.

The St. Joe's campus on City Line Avenue is a great place to watch a soccer game: the bleachers are high up overlooking a nice turf field with a backdrop of stately stone buildings. On this fall day in front of a nice crowd, I watched former Medford Strikers Xtreme player, Kayleigh Summers and her teammates defeat the first place team.

Kayleigh plays a central defender and they did such a good job that keeper Kat Kelble did not make a single save. At the other end of the field, Nicole Markert, played an excellent game with 11 saves, including one in which she dove and tipped what appeared to be a goal over the crossbar. The Hawks outshot St. Bonnie, 21-4.

Jen Pfeiffer, whom I saw play often during the club soccer wars when she was with Mt. Laurel United, scored the only goal St. Joe's needed in the 24th minute when she headed in a ball from Kaitlyn Grimes after a corner kick.

St. Joe's in was even more impressive when one considers they were missing five starters, including leading scorer, Maggie Lupinski from Haddonfield. Maggie suffered a concussion against GW but told me she will be back in action next weekend. Coach Jess Reynolds was happy with her team's play, and with good reason. She felt the team showed it had depth by stepping up with so many players injured.

The win kept the Hawks in the play-off mix: tied for the sixth and final tournament spot with five games to go.

We're In! U.S. Clinches World Cup Slot

Two goals from Conor Casey and one in the 71st minute by Landon Donovan gave the U.S. men a 3-1 lead over Honduras in San Pedro Sula last night and the Americans held on for a 3-2 win and a ticket to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The game was not without its nerve-wracking moments after Donovan's goal. Honduras had a goal called back for offsides in the 75th minute, then drew within one in the 78th. Three minutes from time the referee awarded the home team a penalty kick for a hand ball in the box, but Carlos Pavon,. the all-time leading scorer for Honduras, sent the kick over the bar.

The United States and Mexico have qualified for the World Cup from the CONCACAF region. Costa Rica and Honduras are in the running for the third automatic bid. The fourth place team will have a play-off with South America's fifth place team for a spot.

The U.S. is the 19th country to qualify for one of 32 places in the 2010 World Cup. In addition to host nation South Africa, qualifiers are: Cote de Ivoire, Ghana, Australia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Denmark, Germany (Coach P's other favorite team), Netherlands, Spain, England, Italy, Serbia, Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay and Chile.

HMHS Blanks Moorestown, 2-0

MOORESTOWN, NJ, Oct. 2, 2009 -- Is this a recipe for disaster or what? Playing an inexperienced goalie against the #8 team in South Jersey while missing a top field player as well? Not for Haddonfield tonight it wasn't.

Despite Emily Grabiak being away at a basketball showcase (with the coach's blessing) and Lindsay Brophy filling in at keeper for the injured Kellie Riley, the Bulldawgs dominated Moorestown on their own field and walked off with a hard-earned 2-0 win. I nominated Lauren Fell for woman of the match - not because she scored a goal - but for her defensive play at stopper as well - and got no argument from the coaching staff.

Haddonfield dominated the first half and came within an inch of scoring early in the game, only to see a Moorestown defender alertly clear the ball off the line. The half ended, 0-0.

Six minutes into the second half midfielder Katie Johnston drilled one into the net, followed by Fell's goal 1:20 later. It was all the Bulldawgs needed, but Moorestown kept coming. With less than 7 minutes to play the gold and black took three consecutive corners from the left and on each moved their keeper up to an attacking position just 10 yards outside the 18. Didn't work.

In the last 4 minutes Haddonfield had some good fortune when a Moorestown shot went just wide right, the referee seemed to miss a foul in the box and a Moorestown forward could not get full power on a shot close in allowing Brophy to scoop it up.

An entertaining and well-played game. Brophy made the plays she had to in goal, and every girl played with intensity every minute she was out there.

Said an HMHS parent afterwards, "I think they're starting to jell." No argument with that either.

Stockton No Match for Profs

GLASSBORO, NJ, Sept. 30, 2009 -- Former MS Xtreme player Evynn Wright nailed the door shut on any hope of a Stockton comeback when she drilled a rebound home with 24:35 left to play to give Rowan a 3-0 lead. A Stockton goal as time expired made no difference - a 3-1 win counts the same as 3-0 and the Profs had made an impressive statement against a good conference opponent for the second time in a week.

It was a crisp night with a nice crowd in the stands. The boxscore said 212. I would have guessed more than that. Some Rowan men serenaded the fans during the match and they weren't bad.

If Coach Scott Leacott worried about a letdown after his team shot up to # 11 in the national rankings this week following shut-outs of then #6 TCNJ a week ago followed by William Patterson last Saturday, he needn't have worried. Rowan was already on the board when I arrived at the parking lot, thanks to a goal in the 6th minute by high scoring Jess Babice, with an assist from former MSX player, Ronnie Rhea. Fourteen minutes later, as I was settling into a seat next to my former coaching colleague Joe Dadura, and his daughter Kacy (a former Rowan player), Babice set up Krista Verzi for a 2-0 led at the half.

The Ospreys settled down after that but did not seriously challenge. But a 2-0 lead is dangerous -- the other team scores and they have a one goal deficit and momentum. But they give up a goal and the three point hole looks insurmountable. Wright's goal dug that hole and Rowan is 7-1-1 and 4-0 in the conference.

Coach P is a Grandfather!!!

Future player, Oliver Scott Partenheimer Chesla, at 14 hours

Believe it or not, there are some things more important than soccer, and this is one of them. I am proud to announce that my daughter, Kirsten Partenheimer, gave birth at 1:13 a.m. today (2:13 a.m. Eastern time) to a healthy baby boy in Stillwater, MN: Oliver Chesla, 6 pounds, 13 ounces, 20 inches.

Following report from Dad, Chris Chesla: "Kirsten was admitted to the Labor and Delivery section of the hospital at 7:30 am. Her water was broken and she was progressing nicely until about 2pm. From 2pm until 7pm, there was no significant progress made, so the doctors did everything they could to get the baby to come. At about 11pm, Kirsten started active labor. Kirsten and the hospital staff did everything they could to deliver the baby naturally, but after an hour of hard labor, it was determined that she needed a C-section.The C-section went great and after what seemed like only a few moments Kirsten and I could hear a crying baby. After an initial check of the baby's vitals, I got to go over and hold our little....boy!

"The C-section went great and after what seemed like only a few moments Kirsten and I could hear a crying baby. After an initial check of the baby's vitals, I got to go over and hold our little....boy!

"Kirsten is doing well and actually has dozed off while I have been typing this. She was basically in shock when she saw little Oliver, I believe at one point in the emergency room she actually exclaimed "that came out of me!?" We are both very tired and exhuasted but also in complete happiness that we have a new member to our family."

Photos and details to come, but I have no doubt Oliver will be able to kick with either foot.

Profs on a Roll

GLASSBORO, Sept. 26, 2009 – The P.A. can be heard as I walk from the parking lot towards the stadium entrance: “Starting for Rowan, Linda Sierra at fullback, Nina Fragoso at midfield, Ronnie Rhea at midfield, Evynn Wright at midfield.”

Add to those four Leah Carney, who’s just coming back from a nagging injury and gives a rugged presence in the back or up top, and there are five players from the Medford Strikers Xtreme playing significant roles for 23rd-ranked Rowan University.

Today was the first chance I had to see the Profs in action this year as they faced William Paterson at home. It was sunny but windy, not unlike last week up in Brunswick, ME.

There may have been a bit of a let-down after Wednesday’s huge 4-0 win over #6 ranked TCNJ (“a whuppin’” as Ronnie’s dad, George Rhea called it) and Rowan seemed a bit out of sync in the first half.

I could see early on that Christie Fink, a sophomore transfer from DePaul who played against the Xtreme for Hibernians, was a positive addition to the roster. Elsewhere around the field, no on was playing poorly, they just couldn’t sustain an attack. And Paterson almost took the lead with a low hard shot in the 21st minute, but Sierra was standing on the line and saved a goal.

Rowan had more chances by far in the first half, including a break-away by high scoring Jess Babice, whose point blank shot was blocked with 12:40 to play, but the half ended scoreless.

Whatever Coach Scott Leacott said at halftime must have worked and it took Babich all of 32 seconds to break down the Paterson defense and put Rowan on the board. In the next 15 minutes Fragoso was denied twice – once when a defender knocked one of her shots off the line and then by a diving save by the keeper. But Rhea scored on a rebound of a shot by Babich with 29:22 left and it was 2-0.

With two wins, including one over a top-10 team, look for the Profs to move up in this week’s rankings.

Nighttime in the High School Stadium

HADDONFIELD, Sept. 23, 2009 – The high school football team was still practicing when I arrived at the Haddonfield Memorial High School Stadium for the opening home night game of another season. It is my 16th year of announcing, writing programs, running the scoreboard, keeping time and generally trying to make everything run smoothly.

Ever since a graduating senior player told me I was a part of her high school experience, I’ve realized that these games are an event that the girls remember.

For me the home night games are like a big party in which I host a lot of friends. No matter how often I’ve done it, I’m always a little nervous because there are so many things that can go wrong – many of which the average fan wouldn’t notice. The worst was two years ago when I was about to announce the starting line-ups and suddenly realized that I had not gotten the starters from Haddonfield Coach Glenn Gess.  So I announced the starters from the previous game and hoped Glenn hadn’t changed his line-up.  He had, but I was close and no one seemed to mind - if they even noticed.

Sometimes I have fun with visiting players I’ve coached. In ’07 when we played Haddon Heights, their star player was Bridget Roney who happened to play for my Medford Strikers club team.  I usually announce the starters from goalie out to forward, so Bridget as a midfielder was the 6th player in line, but I skipped over her until the end.  After the game she told me, “I thought they forgot me but then I remembered who was announcing.”

Coach Gess doesn’t like playing in the stadium because the field is horrible – too small and ground up by football, the latter fact evidenced by the practice winding down as the soccer players arrived. But the trade-off for the bad field is the ambiance of playing in a stadium in front of a crowd under the lights, with the announcing and the music and the scoreboard on the wall of the high school.

There are more details in organizing a night game than most people realize: last night I got an e-mail identifying the U11 team that would be our ballgirls tonight – just in time for me to get it in the program and e-mail instructions to the coaches. There is the national anthem, pre-game and half-time music, ball-girls, line-ups, briefing the referees on our schedule and more mundane things like greeting the visiting team and making sure the stadium restrooms are open.

Today I left work in Center City at 4:45, stopped at Kinko’s on 16th Street to print the programs and headed home for a few minutes before showing up at the stadium at a little before 6:00. The West Deptford team was already there and I chatted with long-time coach, John Cobb, a Woodbury insurance agent. He tells me business is good. John was coaching back in ‘94 when my daughter, Kirsten, was playing and I tell him she is 30, married, and expecting her first baby the day after our next West Deptford game.

As the girls begin warm-ups Haddonfield athletic director Lefty Banos tells me about running last Sunday’s Philadelphia Distance Run, which my son Scott also did, and that he is training for the Philadelphia Marathon.

Haddonfield senior Kristen Ferguson, still on the D/L with a knee injury, gives me the CD to play when the girls come out on the field as a team for final warm-ups. She says she hopes to be able to play in the Moorestown game on October 2. Has to be tough missing half your senior year.

Referee Gary Rambo shows up. I coached Gary’s daughter Danielle, on SJ Select about 15 years back, and his niece, Amanda, on my ’81-’82 Strikers team.  Gary got into officiating late in life (as soccer goes) and became a very good official. Now he works games with Amanda.  Mike Marino, the other ref, is already here.

The Rolling Stones are playing on the PA as the players knock the ball around.  Our ball girls and their coach arrive and I have a minute to brief them.  The coach had received my instructions via e-mail the night before, expediting the process.  We’re still waiting for the concession stand to be set up.

The girls retreat to the gym for a last-minute talk with the coaches, after which they will make an entrance to the music on their own CD.  Assistant Coach Frank Ottinger gives me the signal and I start the CD.  Two minutes later Ott signals me to cut it.  The girls decided at the last minute they weren’t ready.  Another two minutes we try it again and they charge onto the field to applause of a few fans who are there early.

Glenn gives me his starting line-up.  Things are picking up and people are arriving.  Barbara Borden is setting up the concession stand in the first row of the stands at the 30-yard line.  Amy Leso, long-time West Deptford assistant coach, gives me their line-up.  I remind her it is our turn to win after they took both games last year.

I knew it was a big game when Marc Narducci from the Inquirer showed up.  He carries a Nikon camera with a large lens.  I asked him if the Newspaper Guild allowed writers to take photos and he said things are different now than a few years back when my late wife was an Inquirer reporter.

Bob Parsons, our Haddonfield varsity football announcer and an institution around town, is in the press box to videotape the game as he does most games.  Bob is trying to tell me a joke while I’m testing the sound levels and making sure the national anthem will play.  I didn’t hear a word of the joke, but knowing Bob it was probably pretty funny.

Seven minutes before seven and we’re behind schedule as the referees haven’t met with the captains yet.  It’s an awful humid night and there are swarms of mosquitoes around the lights over the press box window.

The captains finish with the refs and head back to the benches and it’s showtime: “Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 2009 season at Haddonfield Memorial High School Stadium.”  The CD of the Bowdoin College a capella group, the Meddiebemsters, singing the Star Spangled Banner plays without a hitch and we go into the starting line-ups.

Play is underway and Haddonfield takes control early on. Seven minutes into the contest, Sarah Dudek uses her height to head in a throw from Steph Marcozzi and we’re up, 1-0. Steph’s parents, Dara and Tony, are celebrating their 20th anniversary by attending the game tonight.

I could not see who scored to announce the goal. I start calling around, but no one, including Sarah’s Dad, Jim, is answering their cellphones. I finally got a tentative ID from John Fell that it was Sarah, and caught Jim’s eye a moment later so I could put it on the air.

With four minutes until halftime Kathleen Jordan uses her speed and runs half the field down the left side only to be fouled in the box. Sweeper Jenna Gosnay nails the PK and it’s 2-0 at the half.

By now the crowd has grown to about 200 and the Rolling Stones are back on the PA. The ballgirls are introduced and wave to the fans – in four or five years many of them will be out on the field as high school players. At the near goal social studies teacher Jeff Boogaard is in the net for the celebrity goalie penalty kick shootout in which kids pay $1 to take a shot at a teacher in the goal.

The teams amble back to the benches and we’re ready to start the second half. I have to pay attention to the game because I’m running the clock, but there’s not a lot to announce in soccer. I don’t announce the subs simply because I can’t always see that far across the field to tell who’s in and who’s out. Unlike football, there’s not a play to announce every 10 seconds. I also remind myself that people came to watch a soccer game, not to hear me talk.

Midway through the second half Jordan makes a nice cross from the right and Brianna Mulava vollies it in for a 3-0 lead. Turns out we needed it because West Deptford scored two goals in the last seven minutes. The first was by #12, who was not on their roster, so she didn’t hear her name announced. With 2:22 left one of our defenders knocked it into our net and it was suddenly a very interesting game.

We hung on and the game ended 3-2. As Haddonfield parent John Marquess once said, it was more interesting than it had to be. A win is a win.

Marc is up in the pressbox finishing his story for tomorrow’s Inquirer. I turn off the scoreboard and Lefty shuts down the pressbox, leaving the door unlocked for Marc. I head down to the field, but on this night most people leave quickly.

Another night game in the books. We have three weeks to get ready for the next one.

Coach P with Wheaton Coach Luis Reis after Bowdoin match

BRUNSWICK, ME, Sept. 19, 2009 -- It was one of those picture perfect fall days in Maine - breezy, crystal clear sky - and everyone knew that winter is not too far off. But on this day all that mattered was that there was a good college soccer game going on. The Bowdoin women were playing nationally-ranked Wheaton of Massachusetts and Wheaton had their hands full.

Not long before the game started, the Bowdoin men knocked off cross-state conference rival, Bates, 4-0 on the adjacent field, and now the Polar Bear women were trying to make their own statement by knocking off a perennial NCAA team. And they almost did.

"We could've been down, 3-0 at the half," said Wheaton coach, Luis Reis, after a goal by Jessica Stuart in the 82nd minute enabled the Lyons to escape with a 1-0 victory and remain undefeated at 7-0-0.

Wheaton had the wind at its back the first half, but it was Bowdoin who seemed to have more chances - a shot wide right in the 8th minute, one over the crossbar in the 41st, another wide left in 43rd and yet another over the bar just 44 seconds before intermission. Yet it was 0-0 when the halftime whistle blew.

Bowdoin had applied the pressure in the last five minutes of the first half, but the intensity did not carry over to the second and the Lyons picked up the play. Midway through the half it took a diving save by the keeper to prevent Wheaton from taking the lead. But the Lyons kept coming and Stuart scored with 8:31 to play when she eluded a tackle and shot from 15 yards out.

It was an entertaining game, well-played by both sides. There are worse ways to spend a fall afternoon. (Raking leaves would be one of them.)

College Soccer in Maine

Two of my favorite activities are watching soccer (hence this blog) and being in Maine, so what could be better than soccer in Maine, especially in the fall? And no, there is no snow on the ground in Maine just yet.

In just a few hours Debbie and I will be flying to Portland and then tomorrow traveling to Brunswick to watch two of my favorite colleges, Wheaton and Bowdoin, play women's soccer for the first time since 1994. These are the two schools for which I have done some scouting over the years.

My daughter, Kirsten, graduated from Bowdoin in 2001. She did not play varsity soccer there, but during her time in Brunswick I became friendly with long-time coach, John Cullen, who has since retired. My ties to Wheaton date back to the fall of 2004 when a dear friend whom I often call an "honorary daughter," Lauren Konopka, began at Wheaton.

A former player for my friend Dave Rauer's Medford Strikers Freedom team, Lauren was the NEWMAC (New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference) rookie of the year in 2004 as the Lyons advanced to the national quarterfinals before losing to the "other" Wheaton from Illinois, 3-1. Lauren graduated in 2008 and at the beginning of this year was tied for fouth on the college's career list for games played with 96, fifth for points with 118 (42 goals and 34 assists), tied for fifth in career goals, and 6th in career assists. I had the opportunity to see Lauren play several times each season and became acquainted with Wheaton head coach, Luis Reis, and have kept in touch.

Bowdoin holds a 14-1 edge in the series, but the Wheaton Lyons come in undefeated at 6-0 and ranked 24th in the country among D-III schools. The Polar Bears, meanwhile, split their first two games, losing to nationally-ranked Amherst, 3-0, and shutting out Bates (my son Scott's alma mater), 4-0, Both were conference matches in NESCAC, New England Small College Athletic Conference.

People ask for whom I'll be rooting. Let's just say I'm packing a Wheaton hat and a Bowdoin hat. But I am looking forward to some good soccer from two colleges who give real meaning to the term "student athlete" (as do all the other colleges in both conferences) in all their sports. And the lobster should be pretty good, as well.

Words of Wisdom For Youth Soccer Parents

Looking back in the archives, I found a post more of more than three years ago on the NJ Youth Soccer Forum. I have printed it verbatim (with exception of cleaning up some typos, spelling and grammatical errors). I don't know who wrote it, but every parent of a high level club soccer player shoud read it.

14001. SOME ADVICE FOR PARENTS by dallas71, 1/26/06 13:14 ET

Having played the game, coached and having kids in college, I can tell you this:

1) Great talent is God given;

2) determination and hard work get results for everyone else;

3) Pick up games in any sport develop skill;

4) Paid coaches HAVE AGENDAS other than your kid’s best interest;

5) PDA’s, Matchfits, etc are a waste of money until age 16. Friendships last a lifetime, play local.

6) Don't expect quality coaching in HS

7) Colleges do NOT have a lot of money for MALE soccer players. The sport will help your kid get into a school, but unless you are of LOW income, don't expect sports to "pay the way"

8) GRADES, GRADES, GRADES. If you are willing to spend thousands on 6, 8,10years of soccer prep, tournaments, etc, why would you not spend that money nurturing the brain! Speed reading courses, tutors, whatever it takes to achieve success in the classroom FIRST.

9) College coaches are no better than the local paid coaches. They BS recruits, parents etc. Very few are sincere.

10) It’s a great GAME. Let your kids love it as just that.

I agree with everything the writer says, although #9 may be an over-generalization and is unfair to many fine college coaches out there. #8 is of interest as I have seen parents spend a ton of money beyond the usual cost of travel soccer for personal trainers, yet some of these same parents won't spend a few dollars for an SAT prep course or math tutoring. And pay particular attention to #4, parents!

High School Soccer is Here

The first ball kicked into space with no purpose and no teammate in sight reminded me that high school soccer season is upon us.

A number of years ago, Len Imielinski, a good friend of mine who coached quite successfully at upper levels of club ball for many years, was watching a high school game when someone commented that the field was in poor condition. "Doesn't matter," Len said. "The ball never touches the ground." It was a reference to the "boot it as far as you can" mentality of many high school players, i.e. the further you kick the ball the better player you are.

But as much as many of us who played and coached or just watched the club game criticize the high school game, in a town like Haddonfield it’s still fun. Many of the girls (and boys) play for club teams where the competition is intense and the quality of play – at least at the top levels – high and college scholarships can be at stake. But on the high school field they’re playing for their friends, their school and even the town.

I have been following the Haddonfield girls team (the Bulldogs, or "Dawgs") since the fall of 1993, when my daughter, Kirsten, was a freshman at Haddonfield High School. She made her varsity debut the following fall at a night game in our stadium, having been called up from JV earlier in the day. Along the way she earned two varsity letters (she was an exchange student in Switzerland her senior year) and two Colonial Conference championship plaques. And I’ve been going to the games ever since.

The names on the Haddonfield roster change from year to year, but the team keeps winning. Two years ago we won the State Cup and graduated six starters, including the goalie and the South Jersey Player of the Year. No problem. Last fall we came back, won South Jersey and came within a few inches of returning to the State Final.

So we lost only two starters from last year’s team, but have some injuries as we faced off with Kingsway at the Williamstown Tournament.

There are some things to work on. Very few short passes connected. A few girls carried the ball too long. Some midfielders did not support the forwards. And yet we were on the board in the 9th minute on a head ball off a cross from the left. Nine minutes later, a nice shot into the upper right corner made it 2-0. Some sloppy defense led to a Kingsway goal early in the 2nd half but a breakaway goal with 23 minutes left sealed the win. Not pretty, but a win is a win.

Today, with the Eagles and Phillies games on many spectators’ radios, the quality of play against 18th-ranked Williamstown was better, but there’s still a long way to go.

We knew it would be a tough day when one of our better players pulled a muscle in pre-game warm-ups and another had to come out in the opening minute. Too much individual play, not enough passing but still 0-0 at half. With 17:35 the Braves struck, scoring on a rebound and with 4:39 a misplayed ball gave them a seemingly insurmountable 2-0 edge.

But Haddonfield teams don’t quit. Less than a minute after yielding the second goal, the Bulldogs scored off a free kick from the right. And they came very close to tying it in the last minute – only to have a high shot bounce slightly wide.

High school season is here.

Twelve Years After the State Cup

More than 12 years after Joyelle Clark nailed a penalty kick to clinch the U15 State Cup, some of the '81-'82 Medford Strikers team gathered for a reunion at the home of Coach Joe Dadura and his wife, Bobbi on Sept. 5.



As is always the case with the passage of a decade, much has happened in the lives of the players and coaches from this very special team. College graduations, marriages, babies. An Olympic gold medal for Carli Lloyd. A doctorate in pharmacy for Lindsay Pote. Mr. D surviving a horrific accident and now coaching a very successful U13 team with the assistance of daughter Kacy Cross and former team member Maureen Carvelli. Coach P getting engaged a few years after the death of his wife of 36 years. Adrienne Dugandzik living in Belgium, Brynn Saunders in California, Lauren Calone in Singapore. Erica DeFruscia back from playing in Germany. Joyelle is a nurse in North Carolina.



Of the 10 women who attended Saturday, eight were with us when we won our first State Cup in dramatic fashion on the final kick of a shootout in the final at Ft. Dix back in May 1997. We won it again a year later at U16, but won only one game at regionals those two years. (Venice Williams' father, Bob, and I were reminiscing over sitting in the hotel bar at the Sheraton on Lake Erie in Dunkirk, NY during the U16 regionals and Bob telling the bartender that our whole group had come from South Jersey to vacation in this town in the middle of nowhere.) After U16 the team continued to get better and won the Dallas Cup, JAGS and other tournaments along the way, but no more State Cups.

Now of course it's exciting to see one of our own, Carli, having such success at the highest level. Never dreamed back then that a girl on our team would go on to play in the World Cup and score the goal against Brazil that won the Olympic gold medal for the United States.

As people began to leave Saturday, as is always the case at reunions, there were promises to keep in better touch (which many do through Facebook) and to not wait more than a decade for the next get-together. We'll see if that is the case, but for now it was good to catch up in person.

Colleges Off and Running

Another college season is upon us as Division 1 teams kicked off this past weekend. Among the Medford Strikers Xtreme alumnae, Dana Grimes scored in St. Peter's 2-0 win over Wagner, Kasey Makowski started both games for Canisius as the Golden Griffs went 1-0-1 on the opening weekend and Kayleigh Summers also started both matches for the St. Joe's Hawks, a 2-1 loss to Providence and 1-0 win over Bunghamton. In Division 3, Virginia Wesleyan is ranked #12 in the pre-season poll, Rowan #14 and TCNJ #22.

WPS Coverage - a Long Way to Go

The New York Times, which usually provides thorough soccer coverage, and in fact ran a story about Arsenal's victory in the English Premier League, devoted all of four sentences to the play-off victory of Sky Blue, which is based in North Jersey. Sky Blue won the first ever WPS play-off match, 2-1 over the Washington Freedom before 4,217 at the Maryland Soccerplex. Seems like the league has a ways to go in media coverage.

Achtung! German Soccer Announcing

My copy of the German soccer magazine, Kicker-Sonderheft, arrived today, courtesty of my good friend Georg Jarzembowski in Hamburg, who has been mailing me the magazine thistime of year for longer than I can remember.

Reading about the German Bundesliga reminded me of a game my son, Scott, and I attended between Bayern München and SC Freiburg in the Olympic Stadium in Munich back in '99. It was there that I heard the greatest P.A. announcement at a sporting event ever. It came right after Bayern scored to go up, 1-0 and went like this:

Annnoucer: Neues Spielstand (New score)
Bayern
Crowd: Eins! (One)
Announcer: Freiburg
Crowd: Null! (Nothing)
Announcer: danke schön. (Thank you very much.)
Crowd: Bitte schön. (You're welcome.)

They should try that at the next Eagles game,

A First Look at WPS

I always enjoy seeing one of my former players in action, and last Sunday at Toyota Park outside Chicago I had that opportunity and at the same time take my first look at the new Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league.

It was a meaningless game between the Chicago Red Stars, who have been eliminated from the play-offs, and the first place Los Angeles Sol, but it had to be encouraging to the Red Stars and the league to have a season-high crowd of 7,959 at 20,000 seat Toyota Park. For me it was an added bonus to see former Medford Striker Carli Lloyd score the Stars’ first goal enroute to a 3-1 win.

In the 24th minute Lloyd controlled the ball in the center of the field, sent a ball to fellow National Team player Lindsay Tarpley, then ran ballside of her defender and took a perfect return pass from Tarpley and drilled it inside the left post. Tarpley gave Chicago a two goal advantage two minutes after halftime but L.A. made things interesting when Han Duan scored in the 9th minute with three minutes of stoppage time to come. But a minute later Cristiane sealed the result with a shot from the 18.

The post-game press conference was a non-event with both coaches calling it an “entertaining game” but saying nothing of substance and the media not asking any questions of substance. Each team has one more regular season match, then L.A. was off to the play-offs and Chicago was finished

But the story here was not the Los Angeles – Chicago game, but rather the bigger picture, the start of what I hope to be a year long fact-finding mission to see if women’s soccer can make it as a professional sport in this country. Or for that matter if men’s soccer can.

Sunday’s game offered some hope.

The match itself was in fact entertaining and generally well-played, but not as fast or as skilled as I recalled the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA). Too many missed traps and errant passes. back with the WUSA I watched the Philadelphia Charge play three seasons at Villanova Stadium before the league folded in 2003. It took until 2009 for WPS to rise from the ashes of WUSA.

Chicago has the advantage, as will the Philadelphia Independence next year, of playing in a beautiful soccer-specific stadium. Unlike Philadelphia’s venue, which will be off I-95 and easily accessible from Center City as well as the New Jersey and Pennsylvania suburbs, Toyota Park in Bridgeview south of the city is difficult to reach and nowhere near public transit.

Media coverage will be important and the Red Stars do a first rate job there – media relations coordinator Rob Coons is a personable host to the members of the media, be it bloggers like me, broadcasters or the daily press. The media guide and game day stat sheet are excellent. But the day following the game one Chicago paper I checked had nothing and another a small staff-written story.

Chicago averaged 4,591 through its first nine home dates, a figure that shot up to about 4,900 after Sunday’s crowd. Coons said the numbers had improved each of the last five games and attributed the large attendance for the last game to several factors, including good weather, but perhaps more importantly, the presence of Brazil’s Marta on the L.A. roster. Although she did not score in this game, Marta always has the potential to break open a game.

I’m hoping the powers that be in WPS are in this for the long haul. With good marketing and media relations to go with the soccer-only venues, the league can grow, but it will take time.

Stay tuned.

Is a Dunkin Donuts Bitch Worse Than a Starbucks Bitch?

The names in this one will definitely not be revealed in order to protect the guilty.

Last night Debbie and I had dinner with some dear friends from the MSX (Medford Strikers Xtreme) and at one point the talk turned to girls soccer rivalries of years past and trash talk between parents of opposing teams. As the story goes, a mother on an opposing team apparently annoyed some Xtreme parents and one of the MSX mothers called her a "Dunkin Donuts bitch." I had never heard this before and am tempted to call the woman who coined the term and ask her how a Dunkin Donuts bitch compares to, say, a Starbucks bitch, or a Tim Hortons bitch, and if a Dunkin Donuts bitch is better or worse than a Wawa bitch.

Speaking of trash talk among parents, back when my son, Scott, played for the '81-'82 Medford Strikers, our parents had a habit of getting into chirping with the parents of the Cape Express. Our U14 year we won the State Cup, and then had to play our last conference game at Cape May. It was a cold, wind-swept December day in Cape May Court House when we played and we were missing one starter due to a suspension for yellow cards and another for basketball. During the game, one of our parents made a comment about a call by the referee. "Now I see why they call you the 'Medford Crybabies,'" said a Cape mother. "I thought they called us the state champions," replied one of our mothers. Best comeback I ever heard. Even some of the Express fathers smiled and nodded their approval. And we won the game - and the conference.