Original introduction as written on October 10th: I’ve promised to do this so let’s see how it pans out.

November 24th…Not great Ben…not great

Montana Grizzlies–5 W – 3 D – 0 L; GF: 10/GA: 2

The Griz were once again dominant throughout the season. As the team celebrated 30 years of being the biggest squad in Big Sky Country, they went undefeated throughout the regular season.

It looked like we could be approaching the Big Sky Tournament like a coronation in Missoula. But after a first round bye, the team ran into the stubborn Sacramento State Hornets (one of three teams to hold the Griz to a point during the regular season) and after rising to the occasion all year long Bayliss Finn was unable to stem the tide and the Griz got upset.

It’s hard to say that an undefeated regular season championship, the first ever appearance in the national rankings was a failure, but it certainly didn’t end how the Griz wanted it to. Bring on 2025!

Key Players from the Season: Ava Samuelson and Charley Boone wrapped up incredible careers in the garnet and silver with All-Conference honors. The defensive core of Boone, Maddie Ditta and Minnesota’s own contribution to the Griz: Bayliss Finn played a big part in that as well. C’mon Aurora, give the girl a start already!

Other news: The Griz also welcomed in their newest crop of recruits on official signing day. In addition to their expanding power base in the Pacific Northwest, the team continues to be a magnet for great goalies, with Jillian Miliffe of Florida and Tayla Adams of Australia stepping up to become Bayliss’ heir apparent. But perhaps best of all Liv Thorne-Thomson will carry the local born and bred banner going from Hellgate high school (the prettiest high school in all of Montana) to the U.

Ross County–2 W – 2 D-3 L; GF: 5/GA: 10

The Staggies were able to take the lead against Celtic, which is notable simply in its rarity. Of course they gave it back which is a much more common occurrence. But the Staggies were able to ratchet up the defensive pressure and held on to a scoreless run of over 240 minutes. But by making Dingwall a fortress where only the best of the best can sneak victories, they have been able to hold on to the top six. But the next month is going to feature a host of challenges. Here’s hoping we feel as good at the start of 2025.

December: AWAY v Celtic; HOME v. Rangers; AWAY v. Hibs; HOME v. St. Mirren, AWAY v Dundee; HOME v Hearts

Key Players from the Season: The defensive dynamics at play with Ryan Leak and Akil Wright (as well as our favorite namesake, goalie Ross Laidlaw) have gone a long way to helping County run their defensive streak as long as they did. The offense has struggled to keep pace, but Irishman Ronan Hale has become a reliable force up top.

Other News: Glasgow has been the center of Scottish Football forever, but Edinburgh remains the place I’d most like to live. Sadly, the two teams in Edinburgh have been floundering so sticking with our Staggies makes it worth it.

Legon Cities–W 3 – D 1- L 4; GF: 8/ GA: 11

The losses kept piling up, with late consolation goals from Mohamed Alidu not doing much in the way of consoling. There was a strong three match run at home with three unbeaten games including a win against the legendary Asante Kotko. But once again, the squad is staring down the discouraging possibility of a long hard slog stuck among the relegation scrap.

December: home v Bechem United, Away v Nations FC, Home v Aduana Stars

Key Players: Frank Akoto continues to be a strong contender for our favorite tireless workhorse, but we are certainly grateful for Rahim Yaya Abdul who has been excellent in the dying seconds to keep the squad afloat.

Other News: Legon is still in the hunt for this year’s celebratory birthday kit, but will need a perfect December to pip the other contenders, who conveniently are next on this list…

Freiburg–5 W – 1 D – 6 L; GF: 12/GA: 16

M: 3 W – 2 D- 2 L; GF: 8/GA: 5

The men’s side has not been as torrid as they were to kick off the campaign, but they are certainly still in the running for the top of the table. With Bayern Munich enjoying having the prolific striker Harry Kane, but hating the ancient curse to never win a trophy that landed on Kane’s broad shoulders, there’s plenty of opportunities afoot. (The one down side, is that Alex has fully adopted Dortmund as his German team and relished them hanging a defeat on my buddies from the Black Forest)

December: HOME v M’gladbach, AWAY v Arminia Beilefeld (1/8 Final–Cup), Hoffenheim, HOME v Wolfsburg, AWAY v. Leverkusen

F: 3 W – 1 D – 3 L; GF: 11/GA: 13

Cora Zicai’s brace against Potsdam laid the ground work for one of the team’s two wins and at just 19 there’s plenty of hope that it’s just the beginning for her. It heps that she has Selina Vobien providing a maestro’s rate of assists in the attack. But questions abound in the defense where Die Frauen have lost winning opportunities time and again in the last two months. (Though beating Bayern felt really good)

December: AWAY v Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen

Key Players: In addition to the rising starlets of Zicai and Vorbein, Freiburg has continued to appreciate a sterling men’s backline this time with Lucas Kubler, Mathias Ginter, Christian Gunter and Phillip Leinhart. (Oh and, as ever, Vincenzo Grifo is our grizzled Italian king)

Other News: Freiburg is in the lead for this year’s birthday kit, but will need a strong run in for me to make them my annual gift to myself. (That’s certainly not the most important news, but I’ve run out of Christian Streich content to savor)

Minnesota–2 W – 2 D – 1 L; GF: 8/GA: 8

The Loons wrapped up the regular season with some big showings on the road, drawing in Salt Lake City, with Dayne doing what he needs to do, and Michael Boxall standing tall despite being spat upon by Real Salt Lake’s Brayan Vera. Then we saw Hasani Dotson continue to move from a talented kid to a reliable component of team history with another win in Vancouver. With the defense dominant, the Loons banked a spot in th eplayoffs with Sang Bin Jeong hitting the net twice in the season finale. And the Loons entered the playoffs with one goal allowed in their last 500 minutes of play during the regular season.

The defense held their form throughout the first round playoff series against Salt Lake City. A pair of shootouts tested the nerves of everyone…everyone except Dayne St. Clair, who went full Vince Carter celebration in denying the last chances for Salt Lake.

We went in to the Quarterfinal against Los Angeles Galaxy full of hope…and it ended in about 90 seconds when the Galaxy pumped in the first of 6 goals. Despite some sterling shots from Kelvin Yeboah and your standard issue Michael Boxall hard nosed defense, the Galaxy crushed our dreams.

Other News: Despite the ending, the Loons had a great season and look every bit like a potential contender going forward. With the retirement of local fan favorites Clint Irwin and Zarek Valentin, and the end of Franco Frangapane’s contract we’ll need some help in midfield and defense (though not in the commentary booth where Valentin is a treat). A few additions here and there could well boost them towards the top of the Western Conference. And maybe we could just ignore the existence of Los Angeles for a year?

Punjab– 2 W – 0 D – 3 L; GF: 8/GA: 7

After a long Monsoon related layoff, the Shers of Punjab were back in action with the Slavic spine continuing to drive the team forward. Still, the wings are inconsistent and that was exploited by the best teams in the ISL to give Punjab their worst run of form in a year and dropping the squad to the middle of the table. The playoffs are still within reach, but dreams of hardware may be put on hold again.

Key Players: Nikhil Prabhu, Tekcham Singh and Khaiminthan Lhungdim (whose injury at the end of October has stung) lead the local stars while the aforementioned Slavic spine (Defender Ivan Novoselec, Midfielder Filip Mrzljak, and the Lion King himself: Luka Macjen) have focused the suqad.

December: HOME v. Mohammedan, AWAY v. Jamshedpur, & East Bengal FC HOME v. Mohun Bagan

Rosenborg–5 W – 1 D – 6 L; GF: 8/GA: 5

M: 3 W- 1 D – 1 L; GF: 8/GA: 5

Rosenborg has been out of the title conversation for a while, not finishing within 15 points of the champions since they last won the title in 2018. But this year saw the team come together nicely and will feature their closest finish to the top since that title run (even though they’ll end up in 4th or 6th place). With the Ceide twins, 19 year old Marius Broholm, 21 year old keeper Edvard Tangvik and wunderkid Sverre Halseth Nypan they truly could be up for a run at the top of the league (or they could be up for several millions of dollars if they let Nypan go join one of European’s circling giants like Man United, Chelsea, AC Milan or *Hope for Alex* Borussia Dortmund).

December: AWAY v. Kristiansund

W: 2 W -0 D – 5 L; GF 4/GA: 11

We’ve never seen things go this wrong for Rosenborg’s women side. The four straight league defeats that kicked off October were the most since May 2018. Since June they lost 10 of their last 16 league matches back to June. From a possible 48 points, they grabbed 16. By contrast, the 16 before that (including the end of the 2023 season) saw them lose twice and take 36 points from 48 possible. The reason for it? Maybe Rugile Ruyte is showing some human fallibility, maybe Emilie Nautnes is missing needed support in attack. Or maybe we just really really miss Sarah Horte.

Other News: Speaking of Sara, she did win another trophy this year…over Rosenborg in the Cup final….oof. And while the youth movement sounds great for Rosenborg, one part of it: Edvard Tagseth will be checking out and heading to Nashville where he may face off against the Loons.

Vozdovac– 2 W – 4 D – 3 L; GF: 6/ GA: 9

After running their losing streak to four games, the Dragons fired manager Dejan Celar and then pulled out a 2-1 win against Grafica and a 1-0 win versus FK Radiniki. Those results went a long way to resolving some tension for the club. After all if you fire a manager and keep losing you have to wonder what the point was.

Unfortunately for Vozdovac, the new head man, Ivan Kurtusic did not actually get to enjoy a longer winning streak as the team has managed only one goal in their last 5 matches en route to 3 ties and two losses. On top of that, they fell in the Serbian cup on penalty kicks and now sit 8th in the second division.

December: AWAY v. Sloboda Urizce, HOME v. Traya, AWAY v. Sloven Ruma

Key Players: I would say captain Nemanja Vidic at Centerback, but that would merely be click bait as the legendary national team player/international defensive standard is no relation to Vozdovac’s employee. Bogdan Petrovic seems to be the team’s only source of offence, and despite the poor record you have to acknowledge that goalkeeper Nenad Filipovic has kept clean sheets in half of his games…without which this could be a lot lot worse.

Grenoble–4 W – 2 D – 4 L; GF: 3/GA: 6

Men–1 W – 2 D – 3 L; GF: 3 /GA: 6

Jessy Benet is going to be my new go to symbol for the god Atlas as he’s been trying desperately to carry the team on his back. It’s been made harder as Papa Meissa Ba doesn’t seem to have much help up top, and the defense looks to spread thin as Loic Nestor’s legendary career winds down.

October: HOME v. Amiens, AWAY v. Red Star Paris

Women 3 W – 0 D -1 L; GF: 9/GA: 4

I’m a little worried about the women’s side. Not because their play has been lacking–far from it; they’ve been cruising towards second place behind legendary Olympique Lyon’s second team and have a good chance of being in the promotion conversation this year. No, I’m more worried about the team’s struggles to find a social media manager…I need my content Grenoble! ALLONS-Y!

December: AWAY v. Nimes, HOME v. Clermont

Alebrijes–W 0 – D 0 – L 5; GF: 3/GA: 13

It may be hard to remember, but Alebrijes were unbeaten in September. That broke once the calendar turned to October as Armando Gonzalez couldn’t lead a comeback against Tlaxcala. But things looked up again when Orlando Ballesteros opened the scoring against Celaya. But when he was removed due to injury the opponents hammered away with 5 unanswered. And from there things only got worse with three more defeats in a row left Alebrijes at the bottom of the table.

Emelec–W 3 – D 5 – L 4; GF: 16/GA: 16

M: W 0 – D 3 – L 2; GF: 4/GA 8

It has been a forgettable season for los Bombillos. They’ve struggled, often turned up winless weeks on end, and currently sit at the bottom of the Fall Season table. With one match to play, they will certainly finish lower than they have done in the 12 years of records that I could find. The team has been fortunate to find a strong showing from Washington Corozo (though sadly, it would be better if I could find any evidence that he was related to Electricas star: Kerly Corozo.

December: AWAY v. Libertad

F: W 3 – D 2 – L 1; GF: 12/GA 8

Las Electricas were unsure about the end of their campaign, a 1-1 Draw v. Atletico JBG left them in the top two but they felt like real underdogs facing Los Buhos for the regional title. They showed their mettle, coming back from down 2-0 at half time to equalize, but a late winner for the Owls ended the season without a repeat as champions.

However, it did allow them to make their way back into the promotion playoffs, and so far it has gone very well for them. Kerly Orozco found the net four times in the first leg and Melany Orobio hit it twice in the second leg to advance easily past CD Oriental 7-2 overall.

The quarter finals against Nusta FC allowed Melany Orobio to again score in a 2-2 draw away, before she delivered an assist on the winner at home, sending las Electricas to the semifinals where the dangerous Aucus (fresh from a 17-1 quarterfinal round win) awaits.

December: HOME/AWAY v. Aucus, [If possible–championship]

Other News: Just to underline how rarely we have things clearly communicated about Ecuador’s women’s league, I have yet to track down what on earth has happened to Los Buhos, who beat Emelec to the local title…then fell behind to their first round opponent Xportos. But they didn’t play when other teams did, and now have just continued not to play leaving Xportos, Buhos, San Miguel and now Orense (the teams awaiting on the other side of the bracket) waiting around for something to happen.

Okay, as promised/sworn/I’m going to update team performance each month.

Seriously.

I mean it this time.

For real!

Okay, fine, I’m going to TRY to update team performance each month.

With that, please stop laughing at my attempts to hold myself to a schedule and let’s get started.

Montana Grizzlies–7 W – 2 D – 2 L; GF: 19/GA: 8

It seems like most of college soccer has come to realise just how reliable the Griz are. They’ve consistently been a top ten team among western schools, and even got a vote to be one of the five best teams in the country.

The squad did slip twice, on the road against Washington State, and again in Fresno, but in general they’ve been clinical with Skyleugh Thompson’s leadership. Jen Estes, Eva Samuelson and Chloe Seelhoff have all taken big strides.

Arguably our favorite development has been seeing two team favourite Bayliss Finn take over in goal and rise to the occasion with three clean sheets, including the conference opener versus the North Arizona Lumberjanes.

October: away v. Northern Colorado, Home v Idaho and Eastern Washington, Away v Sacramento State, Home v Portland State. away v Idaho State and Weber State.

Other news: Because the purpose of American education is to make a lot of money, there are several falling dominoes that have opened up among bigger conferences (with more difficult games, greater national attention, and, yes, more money). Recent foes Washington State and Oregon State are looking for new conference members, while the Griz would be a long shot for that, Boise State (another Griz victim) already moved which may leave an opening in their old conference…more to come.

Ross County–1 W – 2 D-2 L; GF: 6/GA: 11

When the Stags ran out after our recap they suffered a brutal 6-0 drubbing v. Rangers. Conor Randall held his own, but everyone else looked overwhelmed.

From there, the play dramatically improved. The team as a whole did well against Aberdeen, but a missed penalty by Ronan Hale and a late goal for the Dons left them heart broken. They snapped out of the funk with a strong 2-0 win over Dundee FC (sorry Brian Cox.) Akil Wright notched his first goal and Jordan White convereted penalty. Next came a gutsy come back draw against St Johnston in front of the home faithful. Courtesy of Alex Samuel and Akil Wright, and then a 60 minute lead against Hearts in Edinburgh…only to be undone in stoppage time.

October: Home v. Celtic, Away v St Johnstone, Home v Kilmarnock and Hibs.

Other News: Our old Stag Ross Stewart has become made the climb all the way up to the English Premier League (playing for Southhampton). While a few Freiburgers have made it, Stewart took a long way.

Legon Cities–W 0 – D 1- L 3; GF: 1/ GA: 3

It has been a rough go for the Royals. Outside of brief hope of draws, most of their time has been spent chasing games that are out of their reach. After 5 years in the top flight, the team has never finished more than six points clear of danger…this year is setting up to be too much to overcome.

October: Away v Nsoatreman, home v Kotoko, Away v Berekum Chelsea, Home v Accra Lions

Other News: Legon’s preparation for the year was limited by a paucity of new faces. Six players joined the team, but none of them got preseason practice with the team. Only three players: Joseph Amoah, Ishmael Amoah, and Foster Twum have seen a lot of time on the field. Ishmael and keeper Kwame Aziz have been team of the week, but that’s about it.

Freiburg–6 W – 1 D – 3 L; GF: 18/GA: 12

M: 3 W – 0 D- 2 L; GF: 8/GA: 5

A Lead off win v. Stuttgart put Breigsau Boys on top of the table after the first match day, but Bayern brought them crashing back to earth. Still, the squad’s veteran core continues to provide much needed balance. Vincenzo Grifo and Ritsu Doan look impressively driven and thoroughly capable of running the show. New tip of the spear striker Chukwubuike Adamu has also looked impressive. While a frustrating defeat to fellow hippy haven St. Pauli might leave us questioning VAR, the truth is Freiburg looks solid to start the year.

October: Away v Werder Bremen, Home v Augsburg, Away v Liepzig (boo), Cup tie (Round 2) v Hamburger

F: 3 W – 1 D – 1 L; GF: 10/GA: 7

A couple of penalties made the 2-3 defeat against big bad Bayern Leverkusen look a little closer than it probably was. But a solid Pokal win v. Nurnberg, another against Hoffenheim, a draw versus Carl Zeiss Jena and another win in Koln set things back on the right track.

In addition to Samantha Steuerwald being a steadying figure in defense, Greta Stegman’s development as a left back, and winger Selina Vobian’s incisive attacks have given Freiburg a new look to frustrate opponents.

October: HOME v. Turbine Potsdam, AWAY v. Eintracht Frankfurt, HOME v. RB Leipzig (boo again)

Other News: It’s a good thing that some of the newer members of Freiburg’s women’s team have stepped up because the team is most certainly in a state of flux. Reliable winger Janina Minge moved on to Wolfsburg, and, at 32 and injured Hasret Kayici may be nearing an end to her strong career.

Minnesota–4 W – 0 D – 2 L; GF: 8/GA: 7

I’m a little worried that I’m not helping the cause here.

We were able to go to a couple of matches in the last month, first taking Owen to see the Loons play Seattle…which we lost. Then going on a date with your mom to see the Loons play Cincinatti…which we lost.

Perhaps my incessant support is bothering them? The team did win three times on the road and saw Bongokuhle Hlongwane return to excellent form and welcoming in new striker Kelvin Yeboah who has been lethal from close range. But the Loons last home game…which I DID NOT attend…was only the teams second clean sheet since April. Despite Dayne St. Clair doing his best, it raises questions about how to improve the defensive unit. (Looks quietly to the side hoping that he doesn’t have to criticize Defender/Dad Michael Boxall)

October: AWAY v. Salt Lake, and Vancouver, HOME v. St. Louis City…and then…maybe….Playoffs?

Other News: After a dismal summer, the team seems to have been rejuvenated, not least due to the arrival of Yeboah, and another talented Argentinian midfielder in Joaquin Pereyra. Though hopefully, that won’t come to mirror the last talented Argentinian midfielder situation (death star at Emmanuel Reynoso). It was pretty big spending by the Loons, but all on prime age players.

Punjab– 3 W – 0 D – 0 L; GF: 6/GA: 2

The team started the season on a high, opening with their first win against Kerala Blasters, but felt that deflated by word that talismanic striker Luka Macjen would be out for six to eight weeks following a…questionable challenge in the penalty box that led to two fractures in his jaw.

But if anything, the pain seems to have spurred the Warriors on to stay the course until the captain can rejoint hem. To wit: they went on to win games without Luka (a very rare occurrence the last three years.) They’ve gotten contributions from all over the front line, including Luka’s fellow Slav, Filip Mrzljak, as well as Indian nationals and Leon Augustine. Combine that with a stalwart backline and you have a team that’s a serious contender for the league title.

October: AWAY v. Bengaluru, HOME v. Chennaiyin

Rosenborg–9/2 on

M: 2 – 1 – 0; GF: 6/GA: 1

Draw v. Lillestrom, meh…good match for RB Adrien Pereira, assisting on equalizer and winning 7/9 ground duels. But the team turned up the heat with a convincing thumping of FK Huagesund and a less convincing win over Sandefjord. But they all count, and they all get sweeter when you have the Konradssen Ceide twins (Emil and Mikkel) making beautiful music together!

October: A long lay off and then HOME v. Brann, and AWAY v. Bodo/Glimt

W: 2 W -1 D – 2 L

There were some lofty highs for the Kvinner this last month or so. To start with, they beat Mighty Athletico Madrid in the Champions League!!! (To be fair, we’re still counting it as a 2-2 draw, and they required Penalties to advance, but it’s still a pretty big scalp to score!) Little heralded Andrine Tomter gave them the lead in extra time, and though Madrid equalized, Rugile Ruylte showed up big during penalty kicks to push them on to the next round!!

Unfortunately, the spent squad gave up an early goal to Arsenal and couldn’t get enough possession to swing the game, back, so just a little bit after their triumph, they were out of European competitions.

But there was another high to follow, as a clear 3-0 win against Arna-Bjorner served notice that they might still have a chance to finish near the top of the table this season too! And then Koboltn came out and beat them against strong possession leaving them to make up ground quickly if they want to get back to the big time.

Then again, perhaps their big time will be at the end of November again. As a 3-1 win over Roa in the KvinnerKup Semi final set up a rematch of last year’s final against Valerenga.

October: HOME v. Lyn and LSK Kvinner, AWAY v. Stabaek

Other News: I said in their catch up post that Froya Brennskag Dorsin, had really taken off. I was excited to watch more of her, and her showings during the Champion’s League matches were exciting. But, Paris St. Germain, they of much greater resources, snatched her up. Fingers crossed for the next Rosenborg product to be a European sensation…

Vozdovac– 1 W – 0 D – 3 L; GF: 5/ GA: 7

Remember when I recapped Vozdovac’s campaign and pointed out that they actually now had a good opportunity to dominate a lower division and earn promotion quickly?

Yeah…about that…The whole dominating thing is a lot easier when you…you know…beat opponents.

They did do that to begin with, a 3-0 win over Dubocica Leskovac boosted them up the standings further with Milan Kolarevic getting his third goal of the year, and supersub Djordje Belic getting his second. But then came a defat against Smederevo, and then another defeat (this one at league leading Macva), and another to fellow demoted side FK Radnik Surdulica.

The dragons are still in the top half of the league…but it’s getting dark early on the Mall roof top.

October: AWAY v. Borcac Cacak, HOME v. Grafica, AWAY v. Radniki Sremska, HOME v. Vrsac

Grenoble–5 W – 1 D – 1 L; GF: 14/GA: 4

Men–3 W – 0 D – 1 L; GF: 10 /GA: 3

Pape Meissa Ba has led the charge for Grenoble this month, with three goals over the team’s two wins. despite the set back against AC Ajaccio, the team came right back out to dominate Clermont Foot en route to a 3-0 win (including Ba scoring AGAIN and Jessy Benet running the show as we all love to see).

Women 2 W – 1 D – 0 L; GF: 4/GA: 1

While I’m always a little conflicted about beating our friendly rivals the squirrels of Albi Marssac, les alpineres, have continued to do exactly what they always do so well: attack together, defend consistently, and celebrate like crazy after the match. The one thing that seems different this year is that they now have highlight reels!

Alebrijes–W 0 – D 2 – L 0; GF: 3/GA: 3

The Alebrijes turn around continued with two draws, running their record to four undefeated (though giving up a two goal lead, including one late equalizer at home might be a bit of a stinger).

Emelec–W 1 – D 0 – L 1; GF: 3/GA: 2

M: W 1 – D 0 – L 1; GF: 3/GA 2

Emelec’s record isn’t too shabby, but dropping points against a team in the bottom 2 (Cumbaya) does not help their cause. Also, failure to pay their debts lost them three additional points when they needed it most. Juan Pablo Ruiz notched another goal to make up for some of the injuries that have sucked the life out of Los Bomibillos offense.

F: W 1 – D 1 – L 0; GF: 4/GA 0

Despite only just kicking off, Las Electricas picked up where they left off in the Guyaquil women’s league: undefeated! While the owls of Buhos ULVR were able to stymie the strong attack of the Emelec furies, the team still looks every bit as potent as it was last year in its march to the title.