The time has come again, to crown this year’s winner of the MacKenzie Cup (it’s a sippy cup…because you’re little kids, and I like the joke)
Final Standings
Team
W
D
L
PPG
GFA
GAA
Montana
13
3
3
2.21
1.58
0.47
Rosenborg
36
12
21
1.74
1.84
1.17
Minnesota
28
13
16
1.70
2.16
1.30
Grenoble
35
12
22
1.63
1.47
0.99
Punjab
13
8
11
1.47
1.50
1.06
Emelec
18
17
15
1.42
2.02
0.96
Legon Cities
16
10
15
1.41
1.15
1.27
Freiburg
26
13
31
1.30
1.41
1.64
Ross County
14
10
21
1.16
1.33
1.53
Vozdovac
10
10
15
1.14
1.03
1.25
Alebrijes
8
9
15
1.03
1.25
1.84
Table Updated 12/30/23 b–Team is between seasons
None of our favorite teams won any hardware this year, but while no one hit the heights of last year, there was some impressive consistency up and down the table. Again the Grizzlies take the cup, meaning this hallowed chalice firmly belongs to northern teams with incredible women’s sides (that’s your cue Aurora).
Beyond what has become a fairly familiar top three, Grenoble emerged with strong showings from both men and women to claim fourth place while Punjab rounded out the top half of the table thanks to their dominance of the I-League (giving up the lead in the table after the jumped up to the bigger pond of the Superleague)
Emelec is our pivot team this year, smack dab in the center as befits a year with both some great moments, and some lousy ones. They’re followed by the frustratingly incosistent Legon Cities and Freiburg (whose great fall of 2022 faded hard and fast in 2023).
At the foot of the table, Ross County could not find any confidence in their campaigns, barely squeaking their way through matches to keep themselves afloat in Scotland. Vozdovac continues to show good runs to start the year and difficulties keeping up at the end of it. But Alebrijes’ scuffles and eventual collapse out of the playoffs earned them their second wooden spoon in our history.
Beyond the great showings of the clubs in general this year, we have to point out that our favorite teams won four trophies this year! The I-League trophy made Roundglass Punjab the first team to be promoted a division on our watch, but the Electricas win in the Campeonato Regional gave them a good chance too. And the most consistently strong sides: the Griz and the Trolljenta each took home hardware, though not as much as they might have hoped (Montana won the league, but not the tournament…ending their season early, Rosenborg lost the league, but won the cup…ending their season in confetti).
Players of the Year
We saw a lot of turnover among our best XI line up. But that’s to be expected when five starters play well enough to be transferred to other teams and bigger salaries, and three players graduate from their club/school teams. But while plenty of things change, one thing that stays inviolable is Vincenzo Grifo. There’s the sun in the morning, the moon at night, and Vincenzo Grifo putting in a shift in between.
Around Grifo we’re bringing in an all American-based midfield, with Cat Rapp pairing for the attack and Delaney Lou Schorr is taking on the wing position which I will still refer to as the Julie-Blakstad-Endowed-Chair for Wingers. Finally we’re adding in the player who has brought out a new found love and interest for both Alex and Owen, Bongokhule Hlongwane who paired a great year on the field with infectious positivity off of it.
That attack will be targeting goal machines Maya Hansen and Luka Macjen, two new comers who helped their teams to epic unbeaten runs. And they’ll be backed up behind them with some aggressive wingbacks in Mathys Tourraine of Grenoble and Ava Samuelson of Montana.
The defensive anchors are Nicholas Mensah for Legon Cities who helped to keep the Royals in plenty of games they might have otherwise capitulated for, Sarah Horte who paired a great league season with a strong showing at the women’s World Cup, and old stand by Pedro Ortiz of Emelec, who kept the most clean sheets in an otherwise unheralded campaign.
We had so much attacking depth that we have several players out of position on our bench, Janina Minge of Freiburg and Borisav Burmaz of Vozdovac are strictly up top players, but Cinthia Bone of Emelec, and Jayden Nelson of Rosenborg are being played as flexible wingers who can sub in for any of the outside players.
Grenoble puts two players on our midfield bench with Jade Decilap and Jessy Bennet earning the nods, and while Ernesto Reyes gets the obligatory spot for Alebrijes, we were left with just one defensive spot on the bench, so with apologies to Tianna Harris and Michael Boxall, we went with Anna Josensdal of Rosenborg (again a defensive midfielder being asked to play out of position). Finally, our reserve keeper is the only Ross County player to make the squad this year in Ross Laidlaw (the penalty saves Ross, we are eternally in your debt)
Nobel FC Most Enjoyable Outstanding Writer
A new award (the MEOW, as our house of cat lovers should appreciate) this year will go to the Nobel FC subject that I rated most highly. This year, I’m giving the nod to William Golding, whose work was familiar, but whose breadth of creativity was truly impressive. In addition to this award, I bought another of his books to read in the new year.
What’s Next
Less will be more this next year. I will write one essay a month (as ever), I will write one club news recap a month (though that’s already been tested), and one Nobel FC every two months.
I will say what I have said seemingly every post this year: if you have any thoughts I would love to hear them. (The highlight of this year is definitely the excellent journalist Manny Djazmi tweeting a link to this blog.) This is a project for my sons, the oldest of whom is now sounding out simple sentences and easy readers, but it will still be a while before they can read all this. So if you ARE reading this, then please: comment below and let’s share ideas.
Ten days of parenting and teaching leaves precious little time to work up solid write ups on individual matches. So I’m officially giving up the ghost on weekly updates. I will send out one update a month (usually at the end as these are the lowest traffic posts because…nobody comes to me for scores and highlights–especially since most leagues no longer allow external sites to embed highlights). They’ll cover the results for teams and any notable news, plus the usual plaudits for players.
Recap
Griz Biz
Record: 0-0-1 GF: 0 GA: 1
The Grizzlies went unbeaten throughout the season, but arguably their hardest match came in a 2-1 win against Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, with the team capitalizing on a late opportunity to win. So when the draw lead them to face Northern Arizona…in Flagstaff…again…the gauntlet was thrown down, and as is the habit in Big Sky conference tournaments…whoever is undefeated going in…gets defeated coming out.
Despite having the best poll ranking and toughest schedule in recent history, that one loss is enough to end the Griz’s hopes for the NCAA tournament….because…well…more people will randomly tune into Ohio State than Montana (even though Montana showed they could do just as well as the Buckeyes.
Beyond that, the Griz welcomed in 8 new recruits, including Kalispell Montana’s Reagan Brisendine, celebrated four all-region players (named the best in the Western US by Soccer coaches) and (most importantly for our purposes celebrated six Academic All-District players (with great grades and play): Ava Samuelson, Sydney Haustein, Molly Quarry, Kathleen Aitchinson, Charley Boone, and Skyleigh Thompson. Cherry on top: Skyleigh Thompson was named to the first 11 in the West (not too shabby!)
Up next: I suppose we’ll have to watch a lesser sport, but hey, the men’s gridiron team play for the national championship against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits…so I suppose that will do.
It’s always a big game against fellow legends of Norwegian Soccer Molde, but Rosenborg showed up in a big way, especially sixteen year old Sverre Halseth Nypan who notched what turned out to be the winner with just ten minutes left.
After that high, the men promptly capitulated the rest of their season away: leaving only one match to be played against fellow strugglers Viking. With nothing left to play for, Rosenborg came out firing on all cylinders. Kaine Kessler scored twice and Sverre Nypan knocked in another one right at the end. With their lowest finish since 2005, RBK has plenty of work to do going forward to be ready for next year. (Likely selling Nypan for as much as they can get.)
Meanwhile the women had a chance to claim both the League and the Cup this season, coming into November in full control of their own destiny. But a surprising draw against relegation battling Asvaldnes let them fall behind rivals Valerenga. Another draw against Lillestrom sealed their fate and gifted Valerenga the League. So with two matches to play, both against the newly minted league champions it felt like a rather bitter end for the Trolljenta.
Instead they triumphed. A three nil home win made clear that the trophy might have another team’s name on it, but the best team may be someone else. To underline that fact, the women of Rosenborg went out and won the Women’s cup with a 1-0 triumph in Oslo that led to rampant celebrations all through Oslo.
Next: It’s a long cold winter before Rosenborg is back at it.
Minnesota a la Mode…ah
November/December Record: Did Not Play.
The Loons watched the postseason from home for the first time in years, and they also moved local legend (and guy who graduated from St Paul Academy High School when your mom was in 3rd grade) Manny Lagos to an advisor role with less say over soccer operations. In his place comes a Wisconsin university (Milwaukee) alumnus who has been working in English soccer (perhaps the most competitive league in the world): Khaled El-Ahmad.
El-Ahmed’s biggest decision was to pick a coach, and it seems that he punted on that call opting to retain interim coach Sean McCauley…but also keep calling him an interim manager…so…that’s confusing.
At the same time Minnesota Aurora opened up it’s try out camps for next summer, hopefully they continue to build the dominant squad we’ve all come to know and love.
On Break (But we’ll update with news as it arises)
Punjab Zindabad
November Record: 0-2-1 GF: 5 GA: 6
December Record: 1-1-2 GF: 1 GA: 2
It was a fairly frustrating month for Punjab in the Indian Super League. A road match against Mumbai City certainly didn’t evoke a lot of hope, but an early goal from Luka Macjen and a lead into the half gave me some hope. Tracking the scores while teaching, I got very excited as I watched the clock tick past sixty, seventy and eighty minutes. And then…within one minute…Mumbai City equalized…and took the lead…prolonging Punjab’s winless streak.
After that experience I was determined not to get over excited when Punjab hosted fellow low level side Hydrebad FC. But I’ll admit it, when Juan Mera broke through with his first goal in the Super League in the 80th minute, I permitted myself to be more excited…..And then…they gave up an equalizer in the eighth minute of stoppage time, and only go to a draw.
After three weeks off, I was back into blind hopefulness. But it seemed to be justified, within 30 minutes, the Shers had a 3-1 edge! Everything was firing. Rising midfield star Madih Talal was outstanding. Luka Macjen got a goal. The first win was in the air!…You can guess what happened next…Bengaluru got two goals to equalize and keep Punjab searching…seemingly endlessly for a victory.
Finally, on December 12th the team found the combination of attack and defense that was necessary to grab their first win as part of the Super League. Though they had dropped their previous match against Chennayain 1-5, this time they held on with a white knuckle grip to Mehdi Talal’s 1 goal advantage, and were able to have a long awaited celebration. The Shers defense has overcome some early struggles, but it’s reasonable to look around wondering where Chencho Geltsyen might be.
Up Next: The season resumes in 2024, and hopefully so do the winning ways.
Grenoble’s Games
Men’s Record: 5-2-2 GF: 12 GA: 9
Women’s Record: 3-0-1 GF: 11 GA: 4
Les Grenobloises have bounced back admirably in their quest to climb to the next summit on their journeys.
The men have shown plenty of quality through the first half of their season. The team could even be considered unlucky to be short two goals of what the statistics say they should have. Again they have boasted one of the best defenses in the division, and remain one stellar striking force away from controlling their own fates. If they can keep Brice Mableu and Matthys Tourraine playing at their current levels they’ll certainly have a chance to move up to Ligue 1.
The women are in much the same position, which is to say 3rd in their group. They’re just one point away from the top of their group (making the 1-0 defeat they suffered to Toulouse at the end of November a painful loss that could have vaulted them into first). Still les Iseroises own the best defense in the group and can certainly match up well with every team at this level.
I also was able to order and receive a Grenoble jersey, despite the fact that they don’t normally ship to the US. Merci a Jeramie et tous les autres personnes avec le club!
Up Next: Keep the mojo going and push on to promotion for both men and women! Les Femmes face fellow contender AS Cannes on January 21st, while the Men start the year against Dunquerke, Quevilly and…fellow contender Auxerre.
Live from Legon!
End of Year Record: 4-1-5 GF: 10 GA: 14
Cities had a rough November, losing four of five games, and also enduring a terrifying ordeal when the team bus was stopped by robbersafter a match at the start of the month against Samartex. The situation sounds terrible, and the possibility that they were betrayed by police is deeply troubling.
Next to that, results on the pitch seem to matter very little, and yet, when the calendar turned to December the Royals marched into the future with heads held high, rattling off four straight wins to come within 5 points of league leaders Samartex. Captain and talisman Nicholas Mensah earned multiple team of the week honors as the squad conceded 1 goal in 360 minutes. But in the final game of the year, they had no answer for Prince Owusu giving up four goals to one man (and wasting Kwabena Boateng’s strong outing)
Up Next Legon gets to take January (and most of Feburary) off, we’ll see them restart the season in Karela on February 23rd
Take a Sec with Emelec
Men’s Record: 2-2-0 GF: 4 GA: 1
Women’s Record: 2-0-2 GF: 23 GA: 7
While the men started off with a pair of draws in Guayquil derbies (against both Guayquil City and Barcelona), they ended well with a pair of wins to boost the team into the top half of the table (a far cry better than the 14th place they got during the spring season). The team also seems to have found an offensive attack whose name doesn’t start with an M and end with a iller Bolanos. (did it…every Emelec post this year has referenced him)
Las Electricas also made their way into the promotion playoffs for the women’s league this year: a sixteen team tournament to decide who would move up to the Superliga next year. The first round went swimmingly as the ladies beat Gualaceo by a cumulative 22-3 over two legs. The second round was not as strong: losing to Torreros by a cumulative 4-1. The loss means that they’ll continue to play in the second tier of women’s soccer in 2024, but with a regional championship under their belt, hopefully there’s more enthusiasm and confidence about getting promoted again.
Up Next: Both teams are on a holiday until their new campaigns begin, but the men’s team is already making major moves to shake up the roster and (hopefully) return to title contention.
What’s the Word in ol’ Freiburg?
Men’s Record: 5-2-4 GF: 22 GA: 15
Women’s Record: 2-1-2 GF: 7 GA: 10
Die Frauen continue to be a reliable if unremarkable mid-table team in the Women’s Bundesliga. Capable of matching up well with most teams and completely outgunned by the dominant big three of the women’s game (Wolfsburg, Munich, and Frankfurt). To wit, they notched seven goals in three games against most teams and none in the two games against Wolfsburg and Frankfurt.
The men have been a strong contender in all competitions recently, but they have had to deal with a lot of fixture congestion. Fixture congestion is a lot like sinus congestion. You may not notice at first, but eventually it limits your ability to be at your best.
Playing 11 matches in 3 competitions over 50 days means that they were playing roughly every 5 days…often twice in a week, flying between Serbia, Germany and England as needed. The men were knocked out of the DfB Pokal tournament in the second round (after reaching the semifinals or later in the past two seasons), which frankly might have made their lives a little easier.
While they couldn’t beat the Premier League’s West Ham United, they did well against other opponents Olympiakos and Backa Topala (cumulative 10-0) to finish second in their Europa League group, and advance to the knockout stage against Champions League 3rd place side Lens, but they have slipped down to 8th in the league.
Next: The ladies have a Pokal match against Frankfurt, while the men focus in on the league in January, with some winnable games that can put them back up in contention for the top spots.
County’s Bounty
November Record: 2-2-4 GF: 6 GA: 9
The Staggies roller coaster ride with Malkay McKay reached it’s unsatisfying end after the team said goodbye to the coach whose signing seemed like a coup at first…and turned into a rehabilitation project for a man with a spotty record. There were still some highlights, but a hard fought draw against Motherwell was McKay’s last shining moment from October, but a pair of ugly losses ended his run in November.
Then the team turned to prior manager Derek Adams,. who had parlayed success getting the Staggies up into a career with strong English teams. The second match of his return brought the team’s first outright win since September 2nd boosted them up the 8th place in the league. Another 3-0 win a week later had the Staggies flying like Blitzen and company.
Then…ugh…the Stags lost two in a row. Derek Adams belittled everyone involved with the club (saying that an English team in League 2 was vastly better than your current team didn’t really seem endearing) and a set of winter storms cancelled two matches. The Stags finished their year earlier today against Hearts, and after a great 2-0 start, they conceded twice in the last 20 minutes to give up the win. (Heavy Sighs)
There was one other bit of news we’d like to point out…apparently Scotland is looking at opening the door to outside investment from big club conglomorates. In the same way that Minnesota and Punjab have to face teams from “The City Group” (New York City and Mumbai City…junior partners to big bad Manchester City) there’s a chance for these groups to bring their training regimens and professionalism (and big sums of cash) to Scottish soccer. I’m not advocating for Ross County City…but Roundglass Ross County doesn’t sound too bad…nor does “The MacKenzie Football Corps–MacKFC”…if only I had billions of dollars and actual talent in organization…
Next: We’ll see if Derek Adams gets his wish of creating a team as good as Morcambe, and the Stags will get two league matches and one a fourth round match against Patrick Thistle in the league cup.
Gotta see this, Alebrijes!
Record: 0-0-1 GF: 0 GA: 3
Alebrijes lost their last match of their fall campaign 3-0 to Atalante to against doom them to missing the playoffs. They’ll get a chance to try again in the spring. It’s worth noting the last time Alebrijes missed the playoffs they rebounded to finish first in the league (and then get knocked out in the first round of the playoffs).
Next it’s the in between season before the clausura, hopefully there’s some offense to be found somewhere in Mexico.
What’s the haps at Vozdovac?
November Record: 3-2-2 GF: 14 GA: 12
The Red Dragons scuffled in November, going winless in three games. But they flew through the December skies like jolly old Saint Nicholas (if St. Nick used a team of dragons, and occasionally breathed fire/played soccer), notching 10 points over four unbeaten games.
Borisav Burmaz showed a greatly improved strike rate, and the team has deeply benefited from the arrival of Toulouse loanee/Jamaican international Junior Flemmings. We haven’t seen too many international stars playing on the rooftop stadium, so it’s a treat to watch Flemmings.
Next: Vozdovac gets to take January off, but we’ll look forward to seeing them again in February.
Players Of the Month (so far)
Keeping track of this has been helacious, so while we won’t have our full complement of 52 players of the week, we will acknowledge that the players are great and resolve to track their performances better in future.
Standings
We’ll publish the end of year standings tomorrow with the full roster of our team of the year
It was supposed by the 10th, it’s the 15th, this is life.
Recap
Griz Biz
I’m certainly not interested in a trip to Moscow (either Russia or Idaho) but Delanely Lou Schorr handled the Big Sky match with such grace and success maybe she could handle the Kremlin too (2-0).
On their return to the South Campus Stadium, the Griz kept the same determined focus. With Ashlyn Dvorak saving a penalty, Abby Gearheart, Sydney Haustein and Maddie Ditta finding the net and a welcome return for defender Ally Henricksen to notch wins against Weber State (2-1) and Idaho State (1-0)
But the real test came on the road with a visit to reigning conference champions Northern Arizona, and Northern Colorado. The NAU game did not disappoint, with the other top team in the Big Sky hitting the net within 15 minutes to take the lead. But the Griz answered with a sterling individual run from Skyleigh Thompson and a tremendous connection between Ava Samuelson and Delaney Lou Schorr before big time goalkeeping from Ashlyn Dvorak sealed the win (2-1). While the trip to Colorado could have been anti-climactic with a winless team trapping overconfident favorites, the Griz didn’t blink against their fellow Ursine warriors beating Northern Colorado handily (3-0)
Up next: v. Sacramento State, v. Portland State
Punjab Zindabad
Our favorite team in North India (who for some reason is playing in Delhi…NOT Punjab) is still yet to get a point in the highest level of subcontinent soccer. The defense left too many gaps and got punished by Goa (1-0). On their return “home” the Warriors had a great individual moment when goalie Ravi Kumar saved a penalty, only to see Northeast United scramble the ball in. But Punjab did not wilt and Juan Mera’s assist in the second half found defender Melroy Assissi to get the goal, and get the Shers their first Superleague point (1-1).
Up Next: @ Jamshedpur, @ Chennayin FC
What’s in Store at Rosenborg?
The women were able to grind out a win against Asane thanks to a goal from Camila Linberg in only her 5th start since joining the team from Italian side FCF Como 2000 (1-0). That win put the Trolljenta at the top of the Eliteserien. But that lofty perch was almost immediately at risk when the women dropped points for the first time since June, as Stabaek had them on the back foot from the start en route to a 1-1 draw.
The Midsummer boost for the men is fully forgotten as they gave up 5 goals to two players against Sarpsborg. Oh, defensive lapses, why must you lapse! (L 5-2)
Next: The Menn face Valerenga; the Kvinner face Brann
Minnesota a la Mode…ah
Hasani Dotson opened the game against LAFC with a shock goal that followed a shock playoff victory for another Minnesota Sports team (the Twins). But that was the last bit of good news the Loons got en route to a 5-1 shellacking (with Miguel Tapias netting a rare own goal).
The Loons responded to this hardship with something I honestly wasn’t sure they’d ever do. They fired manager Adrian Heath. Frankly, I don’t root for people to lose jobs, but my sympathy really only extended to Heath here. I think the players, club, and fans will all be well served with someone else in charge, as evidenced by the 5-2 smackdown executed by Teemu Puuki against the other LA team in the first match without Heath.
Up Next: @ Sporting Kansas City (Season finale…unless there’s some miracle playoff game)
Grenoble’s Games
It’s four in a row for the women with a 3-0 win over As Lattes including another goal from Candice Charbonnier, and then the biggest result so far, as Melanie Chabrier and wily veteran Claudia Fabre hit the net to beat rivals Clermont Foot 2-0 and take sole possession of first place in Poule B. Rather than rest there, they went back out and hit Marignier for a mercy rule (10-0) to move on to the 4th round of the League Cup
Meanwhile, Jessy Benet continued his resurgence with a goal against Guigngamp, in a 2-2 draw that required a fortunate bounce off of a Guingamp defender to rescue a point for the men and keep them as the only unbeaten side in Ligue 2 (though they do have fewer points than teams who have been beaten)
Next: Valenciennes and Pau for les hommes; Olympique Valence for les femmes
Live from Legon!
Nicholas Mensah stepped up again to help ground the defense against Aduana Stars, and score a goal to help them to a 2-1 win, and the defense held up for a draw against new foes Nations FC, before a couple of red cards and a Frank Antwi showcase got the same result against Bechem United (1-1).
Next @ Nsoatreman, v. Dreams FC
Take a Sec with Emelec
We have another champion in the year 2023! While Las Electricas were not able to beat 9 de Octubre during the regular season, there was one more match for the championship, and that’s the one they won (2-1) with Alison Ocho and Cinthia Bone finding the net, and total jubiliation surrounding your 2023 Guayas Region Champions!
The men managed to score not once, not twice, but THREE WHOLE TIMES against Cumbaya! The outburst almost doubled their goals for the season and grabbed them a much needed win (3-0). It’s not quite as cool as a trophy over your rivals, but…it’s not shabby.
Next: high profile Ecuador sides LDU Quito and Universidad Catolica are next for men, (The ladies should be bound for a playoff to make the women’s Premier Liga, but no word on timing for that yet).
What’s the Word in ol’ Freiburg?
Freiburg hasn’t quite been as fluid or high flying as recent season starts, but a comfortable and effective win against Augsburg (2-0) can go a long way. Vincenzo Grifo and Phillip Lienhart led the way and Lienhart’s defensive unit was back in form again.
Or it was until they had to run the gauntlet of Europa League Champions West Ham (losing 2-1), and perennial spoilsports Bayern Munich (losing 3-0). The team wrapped up a hectic week with a friendly against FC Basel…but they’re hopping right back in the frying pan next week.
Meanwhile Die Frauen will feel disappointed in giving up a very late equalizer to Duisburg (2-2), but should feel great about capitalizing on a few errors by Werder Bremen to snag 3 points (2-1)…and then can return to ruing their performances after a 3-0 thumping against Bayer Leverkusen
Next: Men v. VfL Bochum, (Europa League v. Serbia’s Backa Topola) and v. Leverkusen; Women v. Nurnburg
County’s Bounty
Actually there wasn’t any because lousy weather cancelled their game against Dundee. But at least they get to play St. Mirren, Dundee and Motherwell in a one week span.
Next: (See above…ooof boy this is gonna be a doozy)
Gotta see this, Alebrijes!
The Oaxacans were pumped up before their game against Atletico Morelia which made the draw (0-0) a little disappointing. But it’s worth remembering that the draw was only possible thanks to a stellar kick save by Octavio Paz on a Morelia penalty. So…as ever, thanks Octavio!
Unfortunately Octavio wasn’t able to hold down the fort against Cancun the very next match, with five goals pouring in and the Oxacans getting cited for 7 yellow cards (0-5). So, the frustrating dance of a step forward and three back remains
Next v. Tepatitalan and then Halloween special v. Atlante
What’s the haps at Vozdovac?
The dragons have been maddeningly inconsistent this year, but the inconsistency pays off when they follow lackluster defeats with solid wins. That was the result when Bogdan Vastsuk got the goal to beat Novi Pazar (1-0). The dragons followed that up with a valuable point on the raod against regular challengers Cukaricki (1-1) with Borisav Burmaz doing the honors.
Next: v. Backa Topolo (softening them up for Freiburg, I hope), v Partizan Belgrade (hopefully beating more facists)
News & Notes
Alex the Blackhawk
One of the biggest downsides to this rush of a new work life I have is that I didn’t get to talk much about Alex’s new soccer season with his first club team: the St. Paul Blackhawks. It was our first experience playing with MANY much bigger kids, and well, 2017 born kids are not all the same. (Our end of November kid was a little dwarfed by early January kids, which made for some mis-matches, some frustrating moments and more than a few tears).
But hard as it was to see those moments, it was great to see Alex get back up and try again. To watch him celebrate and cheer when teammates played well, and it was very nice to hear coaches take a beat to comfort him when he needed it. (As long as he’s having fun, I’m good)
Players Of the Month (so far)
It’s all too common to get sucked up in the thrill of scoring goals and forget that stopping them is a huge part of the game too. So with much sympathy to Teemu Puuki’s hat trick plus, we’re going with Griz goalie (fake gasp) Ashlyn Dvorak and Legon’s defender Nicholas Mensah.
Standings
Minnesota may be our first team to wrap up for the year unless they get some miraculous news this next weekend, but the drama is still building on our own table. The Griz are close to running away with their second title in four years, and Rosenborg has moved up into second place as Punjab falters in the Super League….add to that, a couple wins by the Loons and continued good runs by Grenoble might make North India’s finest slip all the way from first to the mid-table.
The Oaxacans continue to struggle to catch anything remotely resembling a break. Even after another Julio Cesar Cruz equalizer and a Lizandro Echeverria goal to take the lead, they couldn’t hold on. In 360 minutes this season, they’ve lead for 18 of them (5% of the season). Clearly there’s still work to be done in the back.
FC Minsk 1 – 2 Rosenborg [F-Europe]
Rosenborg got to host playoff games en route to the Women’s Champion’s League and they kicked off with a big win over FC Minsk (courtesy of your favorite tandem and mine: Julie Blakstad and Lisa-Marie Utland)
Rennes 2 – 0 Rosenborg [M-Europe]
It’s not terribly surprising that Rosenborg struggled against a team from the top tier of French football. And needing two or more goals at home is something they can manage…if they’re on point. (Sidebar: Baptiste Santamaria made his Rennes debut after leaving Freiburg last week…so, the revolving door of Rennes and our favorite teams remains).
Creighton Bluejays 2 – 1 Montana Grizzlies
The Griz had an adventure getting to Omaha (good thing they’re elite athletes, it made running across Denver Airport a little easier), but once there they gave the bigger program all the could handle. Caitlin Rogers put in an iron woman shift on the back line (going all 108 minutes), and Montana’s own Josie Windaur got her first career goal in the garnet and silver, but in the end the Griz fell on a late winner from Creighton. Still a positive start for the team looking to punch above expectations for the Big Sky Conference.
Nikola Vujnovic kept up his strong form with another goal on a stellar little run. Better still, the Dragons’ defense delivered their first clean sheet of the season.
Freiburg 2 – 1 Dortmund [M]
One of the German giants came to Breisgau and left disappointed. Freiburg got ahead early (thanks Vincenzo) and didn’t let up (that second goal…wowza…Roland Sallai did just about everything). But after epic victories, it’s important not just to talk about the goals that won it, but also the defense that made it possible. So kudos to the defensive core of Phillip Leinhart, Nico Schlotterback, and Christian Gunter for stopping a star studded offense.
Grenoble 2 – 0 Quevilly [M]
The sun lifted les grenoblois off the bottom of the table, and for the first time in forever, everybody seemed to be on point. Mableu, Nestor and Monfray held down the back while Yoric Ravet lead the line with both a goal and an assist. Plus Charles Pickel did his best Jessy Bennet. (It was so convincing that right after the game he got to leave Grenoble!)
Minnesota United 0 – 0 Sporting KC
I was very excited to watch this game with you boys. Covid’s return meant I couldn’t take you. Technology issues meant we missed the first 15 minutes. 10 minutes later you decided you wanted a snack and then forgot about the game to go play in the backyard.
We made the right choice.
Stats suggest the Loons should have scored three goals, instead they got zero. The inability to put the biscuit in the basket is starting to drive even the most loyal fans up a wall…
Levante 4 – 3 Rosenborg [F-Europe]
Rosenborg wasn’t able to launch themselves into the group stages of the women’s champion’s league despite home field advantage as Levante prevailed in an epic encounter. The Troll Jenter were chasing the game for the much of the match and this might be the first time we’ve ever seen Kristine Nostmo so wrong footed and out of her element. (It was also by far the most goals scored against the black and white in our time writing about the team). Again Blakstand and Utland delivered vital goals, but it wasn’t enough and Rosenborg will have to wait a year for a shot at the biggest stage in Europe.
Nueve de Octubre 2 – 2 Emelec [M]
It was definitely a point win for Los bombillos, who looked to be facing their second loss in 2021 Liga Pro (the last one also to Nueve). Down two goals and one player with ten minutes to go, Joao Rojas scored twice on a pair of…close…offsides calls. It was all they needed to salvage a point and keep them in 2nd place.
Ross County 2 – 4 Rangers
I try to be optimistic, but I really doubted County’s ability to keep up with Rangers. Granted, the didn’t really keep up, but they scored twice and weren’t played off their own field so…yeah, I guess…moral victory?
Rosenborg 5 – 0 Odd [M]
The troll boys handled Odd with ease, with Stefano Vecchia notching two goals, Verbjørn Hoff getting two assists and Emil Konradsen Ceide getting one of each. (That even leaves out Noah Holm’s blistering run to score) We hope they still feel fresh for the match with Rennes next week (maybe Vecchia and Ceide merit another runout together…just saying))
Montana Grizzlies 0 – 1 Portland Pilots
While the Pilots have a storied history, their recent past gave the Griz some hope, but it wasn’t to be as both back lines stood tough until a beauty of a curler beat blue haired Elizabeth Todd for a gorgeous winner. Again the Griz were tough against a high profile opponent, and Owen got to watch with me as Taylor Hansen flexed her leadership, Ava Samuelson showcased her fresh flair, and McKenzie Kilpatrick did our name proud.
News & Notes
Gre-NOOOOOOOOO-ble
The French side mired at the bottom of Ligue 2 in desperate need of some good news went and found the opposite this week by sending Charles Pickel to Portugal (immediately after his man of the match performance) and releasing captain and strong defender Jerome Mombris. The comments are a special blend of sports fan frustration and French ennui. We thank Charles and Jerome for their work, and would like to Jerome that Madagascar defenders [like his teammate/pal Romain Metanire] are welcome at Minnesota United…just saying…
The only goal in The Griz’s game this weekend was scored when we were vacuuming (well, I was vacuuming, Owen, you were running away and flopping on any soft surface you could find). The lesson is clear: never vacuum. [Another valuable lesson watching the game, be like the bros who rocked overalls, bare chests, and cowboy hats to a soccer game…that’s how we do soccer in the big MT]
Way to Advertise Women in Europe!
I knew there was some news about Rosenborg facing reigning European women’s champs Barcelona (they meet in a friendly Saturday), but in doing that research I uncovered an utterly unremarked upon entry in the local team history, namely that our favorite lady trolls vied for qualification in Europe this week. Some reviews and the kind public service provided by femfootball let us cover it, but a little too late.
Player of the Week
For 10 weeks, Emelec and Rosenborg have dominated the player of the week conversation. Even when other teams were in action their performances never quite measured up. This week there were great showings from all of Rosenborg and Joao Rojas. But there was also Nikola Vjunovic and Yoric Ravet bringing back some struggling sides. But we’ll go with Christian Gunter who both bottled up Dortmund darling Erling Haaland, delivered some delicious passes, and set a new Freiburg record for appearances en route to their win.
Standings Update
And for the first time in a long time, we have a new leader in the standings!! The pair of defeats dropped the Griz from the top to…well..very nearly the top, as Rosenborg was there to capitalize despite their own inconsistent week. It’s going to be a battle for the top as we enter the final four months of the campaign.
Team
W
D
L
PPG
GFA
GAA
Rosenborg BK
24
4
8
2.11
2.6
1.1
University of Montana
9
0
4
2.08
1.7
0.8
Emelec
21
9
10
1.8
1.6
1.2
Punjab FC–b
7
4
6
1.471
1.2
0.9
Freiburg
14
5
13
1.469
1.6
1.5
Minnesota United
7
7
6
1.40
1.1
1.2
Legon Cities–b
11
6
11
1.39
1.2
1.0
Grenoble Foot
11
8
11
1.37
1.1
1.2
Ross County
8
2
12
1.27
1.2
1.4
FK Vozdovac
8
6
11
1.20
1.0
1.6
Alebrijes
4
9
8
1.00
1.3
2.0
Table Updated 8/24/21 b–Team is between seasons
What’s Next
Wednesday, August 25th
Thursday, August 26th
Rosenborg v. Rennes [M-Europe]
Cal Poly Mustangs v. Montana Grizzlies
Friday, August 27th
Hoffenheim v. Freiburg [F]
Saturday, August 28th
Stuttgart v. Freiburg [M]
FK Vozdovac v Kolubara
Sochaux v. Grenoble [M]
Houston v. Minnesota United
[Rosenborg v. Barcelona–F Friendly]
Sunday, August 29th
Aberdeen v. Ross County
Viking v. Rosenborg [M]
Emelec v. Olmedo
UDG v. Alebrijes
Montana Grizzlies v. Montana State University-Billings Yellow Jackets
MacKenzie's Boot Room 