Tag: Luka Macjen

Catching up with the Cup: Spring 2025

Catching up with the Cup: Spring 2025

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Disclosure

Okay, so I started with 11 teams that I would write about because it seemed a good way to keep me writing consistently.

For 3 years, I kept up with that pretty well. But in the last two it’s been an absolute non-starter. Knowing that there are LOTS of other places to find scores and analysis, I’m willing to let go of the weekly or even monthly writing…but I really don’t want to forget about the joy of following teams and finding things to learn about and love.

So! Here’s my new model for the MacKenzie Cup: I’ll summarize team records and name a few great players while trying to keep myself to 1-2 sentences and I’ll post about it at key moments in the season to wit

1 post in May/June to cover the end of the European seasons (and start of the others); 1 post in August/September to cover the summer season and changes; 1 post in December to recap the year and crown the champion! So, with that! Here’s the spring summary for our Favorite XIs. (All results from 2/11/2025-6/27/2025)

Minnesota

Results:

Loons: W 9 – D 6- L 4 GF: 31/GA: 21;
Aurora: W 9 – D 2- L 0; GF 27/GA: 4

Total: W 16 – D 7 – L 4; GF: 50/ GA: 22

Great Players:

Tani Oluwaseyi (F); Dayne St. Clair (GK), Robin Lod (MF), Bongokuhle Hlongwane (FB);
Cat Rapp (F–5 goals); Charley Boone (D mastermind); Natalie Tavana (M)

Quick Notes:

The Loons have quietly turned into a premier team in the Western Conference by virtue of hard nosed defense led by Canada’s national goalkeeper: Dayne St. Clair, and the dynamic trio of Jaoquin Pereyra, Tani Oluwaseyi (another Canuck), and Kelvin Yeboah. While the Loons are doing America’s Canada proud, Aurora have been no slouches topping their table again with a ridonkulous goal differential led by Cat Rapp but anchored by one of our favorite Grizz now favorite Aurora Charley Boone! (There have been lots of great moments, but you can’t top our favorite player scoring an amazing goal and celebrating with his baby brother visiting from South Africa.)

Montana

Quick Notes:

The Griz focused on their school work this spring (as per usual) but had fun in training and was recognized as one of 10 programs in the nation (out of 1830 total) to win the United Soccer Coaches Team Pinnacle Award. It honors teams with a 75% winning percentage, superb academics (3.62 GPA) and excellent ethics (ie not drawing cards and penalties). Only 3 teams (men and womens) in the top Collegiate division (560 teams) won the award…the other women’s team? Fancy Pants Braniacs and National Championship contender: Stanford.

Oaxaca

Results

W 1 – D 2 – L 7 GF: 11/GA: 23

Great Players:

Hector Mascorra (MF); Edson Santos (LB)

Quick Notes:

I genuinely don’t know what has happened to Oaxaca of late. The consistent shellacking they received this spring is slightly impressive just in terms of its consistency. At this point there has to be some major changes made to funding or team building or literally everything to see the team change before the next campaign kicks off.

Emelec

Results

Masculino: W 4 – D 6 – L 7; GF 12 /GA: 21
Feminino: W 4 – D 1 – L 13; GF 12/GA: 40

Total: W 8 – D 7- L 20; GF 24/GA: 61

Great Players

Romario Caicedo (FB), Pedro Ortiz (GK), Facundo Castelli (ST)
Melanie Orbia (AM), Kiara Contreras (ST), Domenica Castillo (MF)

Quick Notes:

Halfway through their season, Emelec’s men are once again struggling to meet the expectations of the club and its fans. They seem anchored among the bottom four of the table, though a fortunate return to form for Keeper Pedro Ortiz has them hopeful of righting the ship if they can ever get the attack working beyond Facundo Castelli. Meanwhile, the women’s step up to the Superiga Feminina has brought challenges on both sides of the ball, but the teamwork and dedication has remained steady. Melanie Orbia seems to be the least intimidated of the newly minted top division players with several of the vital goals, she’ll need to be on her game to keep them out of relegation danger.

Legon

Results

W 2 – D 2 – L 11; GF 9 /GA: 27

Great Players

Frank Akoto (CB), Mohammed Alidu (CM)

Quick Notes:

After dodging the drop for the whole time we’ve covered them, the bell tolled for Legon at the end of this season. A dismal run of form sealed an already shaky season, and now that the team is poised to lose their midfield core (Alidu) and other vital players to local rivals Hearts of Oak (including returning legend Jonah Attaquaye) while also being hit with a transfer ban and possible point penalty for unpaid wages means the squad is in a dire situation and some have suggested moving the team back to Wa.

FK Vozdovac

Results:

6/23 (between seasons): W 5 – D 9 – L 3; GF: 16 /GA: 14

Great Players:

Bogdan Petrovic (F), Milan Kolarevic (LW), Mihajlo Milosavic (AM), Danilo Knezivic (DM), Nikola Jankovic (RB)

Quick Notes:

Having dropped into the second division last season, the Red Dragons needed to rediscover their confidence, and it certainly helped to have Bogdan Petrovic lead the charge with 13 goals (good for 2nd place in the league’s golden boot race). But as effective as Petrovic was, the team seemed most effective when Mihajlo Milosavic and Danilo Knezivic were at their best (their decisive loss to Macva that sealed a spot outside of promotion did not have Knezivic in the side…just saying).

Freiburg

Results

Herren: W 6 – D 4 – L 4; GF 21 /GA: 18
Frauen: W 5 – D 3 – L 1; GF 14 /GA: 9

Total: W 11 – D 7 – L 5; GF: 45/GA: 27

Great Players

Vincenzo Grifo (MF); Ritsu Doan (W), Noah Atubolu (GK);
Cora Zicai (W), Selina Vobian (W), Lisa Karl (LB)

Quick Notes:

Freiburg was in the hunt for a Champions’ League spot until the final day of the season when a loss to Frankfurt allowed (Alex’s favorite) Dortmund to slip in tot he final spot. Still it was a great first season for Julian Schuster taking over the reigns from Christian Streich…unfortunately some of the most superb showings of the season may be headed out the door as bigger clubs come knocking (notably Frankfurt for Ritsu Doan and AC Milan for Noah Atubolu). Meanwhile the Frauen had an excellent run of form in the spring, going unbeaten for over two months as the left flank of Lisa Karl and Cora Zicai handled everything they were asked to do and more. The ladies of the black forest are still trying to crack the top three of the league, but they continue to show formidable reserve.

Rosenborg

Results

(6/26) Menner: W 10 – D 5 – L 2; GF 38 /GA: 15
(6/26) Kvinner: W 13 – D 1 – L 3; GF 45 /GA: 15

Total: W 20 – D 6 – L 5; GF: 83/ GA: 30

Great Players

Marius Broholm (W), Adrien Periera (LB), Thomas Nemcick (CB), Sverre Halseth Nypan (CM); Rebecka Holum (W), Celine Emile Nergard (ST), Oline Brekke Fulgem (CM)

Quick Notes:

Reports of the men’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. After a few years of wandering in the wilderness, they are back in the European qualification spots, and owe it largely to a youth movement that may be about to bear even bigger dividends in selling top talents to major clubs around the world (the big buzz isi Sverre Halseth Nypan going to learn from Norwegian giant Erling Haaland in Manchester), but the team’s real strength this season has been the defense which has locked down opponents for the second fewest goals (the leader has played three fewer games).

While the youth took over the men’s team, the women’s side has relied on some more practiced hands…or feet. Striking tandem: Rebecka Holum and Celine Emile Nergard have been a great one-two punch for the Trolljenta with Oline Brekke Fulgem serving as the primary driver of the midfield engine. Sadly, the top two teams (Brann and Valerenga) appear to have run away from the rest of the division, so despite a great showing the long quest for a league championship looks likely to continue into next season. (*Note: I wrote this hoping to reverse jinx the team and put them in line for a trophy…but now that I’ve said that…oh never mind)

Ross County

Results

W 3 – D 3 – L 9; GF 16 /GA: 23

Great Players:

Jordan Amissah (GK), Kacper Lopata (CB), Akil Wright (WB)

Quick Notes:

It must be said that County had been playing with fire for several years now and they finally got burnt to the ground, dropping out of the Premiership in their third trip to the playoffs. They didn’t win a game after March, and while the defense was able to keep them competitive, the absolute disappearance of the attack doomed their hopes of staying in the top tier. Of course, the last time they dropped down they popped right back up again as the top team in the Championship…so here’s hoping to another quick return.

Grenoble

Results

Women: W 9 – D 2 – L 1 GF: 23/GA: 7
Men: W 4 – D 3 – L 5 GF: 17/GA: 17

Total: W 13- D 5 – L 6 GF: 40/GA 24

Great Players

Women: Julie Tissino (GK), Romane Pilot (DF), Elsa Domenjoud (DF), Laurine Baga (MF), Melanie Chabrier (F)
Men: Jessy Bennet (MF), Theo Valls (MF), Shaq Delop (WB), Allain Tchaptchet (CB)

Quick Notes:

The big headline belongs to the ladies of the Alps who captured their long deserved Division 3 Trophy and celebrated with an even more well earned party! The promotion was pegged to the defense as Julie Tissino allowed only 14 goals, 11 fewer than their next closest competitor (with credit also due to captain Elsa Domenjoud and veteran defender Romane Pilot), while Laurine Baga ran the offense in midfield.

Once again, the men’s team had a change in management (though I remain uncontacted…hint), but ever present in the teams consistently competent production was Jessy Bennet, this time bolstered by a defensive duo of Allain Tchaptchet (handling everything in the air) and Shaquil Delos (handling most of the attacks form the wings).

Punjab

Results

W 2 – D 1 – L 4; GF 12 /GA: 10

Great Players:

Ezequiel Vidal (W), Nikhil Prabhu (CM/CB), Tekcham Singh (LB)

Quick Notes:

The Lions of Punjab (via Delhi) had a rough go of their last few matches this season. A three match losing streak, struggling without Luka Macjen or Filip Mrzljak, saw them fall out of the playoff spots and settle in a tenth position. They showed good work in the Super Cup with Ezequiel Vidal helping them to the quarter finals where they fell to eventual Cup Winner FC Goa.

MacKenzie Cup: February ’25

MacKenzie Cup: February ’25

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Let’s get at it again, with a short month (made shorter by my late post last time) there’s less to cover, but more to enjoy

Between Season Squads:

Rosenborg, Montana (and Legon Cities)

Legon Cities was schecduled to face Karela United, but the match was cancelled so there’s nothing new to report for the Royals.

Meanwhile, there was another round of expected rest for the snowier portions of our soccer world. The Loons fled for sunny California to train and then kick off their season. Rosenborg made their way to Portugal and had a fun time training with others in a mini-tournament. Meanwhile the Griz focused on classwork and enjoying their new bubble training dome.

Rosenborg will hit the ground running in the next month, but most matches will happen while we’re on spring break, thus after our next update goes to “print”

LEGON March: HOME v. Nsoatreman, AWAY v. Asante Kotoko, HOME v. Berekum Chelsea, AWAY v. Accra Lions

ROSENBORG March: (W): AWAY v. Brann

Alebrijes de Oaxaca– 1 W – 0 D – 1 L; GF: 3/GA: 2

Oaxaca came into the month struggling heavily, winless in the year. Heck they were winless since September. So it was a bit of a surprise to see that they got their first win in 12 tries against a top of the table side in Atalante (2-0). Perhaps Atalante overlooked Alebrijes, but whatever the reason, Midfielder Fernando Morelos notched a brace. And the squad celebrated (deservedly).

Things looked to be breaking their way again in the next match as the Oaxacans were a man up after just 11 minutes following a Venados red card. But…the squad somehow managed to give up two goals to their opponents and only scored a consolation goal AFTER they also got a red card. (1-2 L)

March: HOME v. Correcaminos, AWAY v. Jaibos, and UDG, HOME v. Tlaxcala

Punjab– 0 W – 0 D – 2 L; GF: 2/GA: 5

After getting used to Punjab De Sher reliably topping our table and challenging everyone, it’s become a little dispiriting to see them face consistent struggles. Another late defeat (2-1), this time in Chennai stung again as it undid another solid outing from Nikhil Prabhu and Ravi Kumar. Moreover, it looked like with a range of injuries the often reliable Luka Macjen and Filip Marzjlak were forced to share time rather than dominate as a duo.

With those limitations firmly in place the ensuing defeat to East Bengal (3-1) was largely predictable. As coach Panagiotis Dilmperis tries to McGyver together an attack from the remnants of what was a potent attack at the start of the year, another second choice defense really didn’t help things.

The only solace is that there is no relegation from the ISL, but it’s hard knowing that the recent dip collapse in form turned a season that started with Punjab competing for the top of the table has left them outside of the playoff spot with 8 points to make up in three matches. That would require three wins and quite a lot of help from 5 teams head of them in the standings. Having just bottled winnable games (given season-long form) in Chennai and Bengal, they can only hope things go better on the road against bottom of the table Hydrabad and Mohammedan.

March: HOME v. FC Goa, AWAY v. Hydrabad and Mohammedan SC

Freiburg–3 W – 0 D – 0 L; GF: 8/GA: 0

F: 1 W – 0 D – 0 L; GF: 2/GA: 0

The match against Carl Zeiss Jena was postponed, so the only match for die Frauen was their against Koln. In addition to Cora Zica continuing to be a strong attacker, 17-year-old center back Maj Schneider celebrated her first ever start with a goal and a clean sheet!

March: AWAY v Turbine Potsdam, HOME v. Eintracht Frankfurt

M: 2 W – 0 D- 0 L; GF: 6/GA: 0

Freiburg needed help from an Own Goal to win against St. Pauli (1-0) after Vincenzo Grifo surprisingly missed a penalty. Kilian Sidilla had the best outing of a great defensive group that stopped their opponents from ever getting their offense clicking, with the law firm back line of Ginter, Gunter and Leinhart holding strong as well.

Eren Dikcii and Ristu Doan on their
way to the polls!

With things moving along nicely, Freiburg absolutely trounced Werder Bremen 5-0 in their biggest offensive outpouring since November of 2023! Vincenzo Grifo (please contain your shock) and Ritsu Doan each knocked in two goals and Noah Atabolu stopped his fourth consecutive penalty to seal the clean sheet in a resounding win.

As an added cherry on top, Freiburg’s efforts to get out the vote in German elections remain a gold standard helping increase the voting to 86% turn out! YAY VOTING! YAY FREIBURG!

March: AWAY v. Augsburg, HOME v. Leipzig, AWAY v. Mainz,

Ross County– 2 W – 0 D – 0 L; GF: 6 /GA: 1

Ronan Hale has quietly become a superb striker ranking 2nd in the Scottish Goal Scorers race this season (in the non-Old Firm division). He was back at it again against Motherwell, notching two goals in the first half to grab all three points on the road (3-0).

Back on home turf in Dingwall, the Staggies picked up another big win (3-1) versus Dundee FC, with Akil Wright continuing to be an absolute terror down the right side and Kacper Lopata anchoring the defense (and even chipping in an assist this match as well)

March: AWAY v. St. Johnstone, HOME v. Kilmarnock, AWAY v. Hearts

Grenoble– 1 W – 2 D – 0 L; GF: 6 /GA: 3

Women 0 W – 1 D – 0 L; GF: 1 /GA: 1

Les femmes only managed to take a point from their home match against Colomiers (1-1), and while that small slip shouldn’t be a huge affair, it feels a little like one. After all, there’s already very little margin for error in the quest to top the table, so this was less than ideal.

March: AWAY v. Chasseau Decines, and Le Puy; HOME v. Montpelier II, AWAY v. Monaco

Men–1 W – 1 D – 0 L; GF: 5 /GA: 2

After Frederic Geugen’s brief tenure as an interim manager, Grenoble brought in Franck Rizzetto. But while Rizetto came in, Pape Meissa Ba (aka Grenoble’s largest attacking piece) completed his move to the Bundesliga. It could have been a fraught moment, but instead Grenoble managed one of their best offensive outings this season notching 4 goals for the first time since September in a win against Amiens (4-1). Help came from all over the pitch including the invigorated defensive midfielder Theo Valls, and outright defenders Loris Mouyokolo and Shaquil Delos. The ensuing home tie against Guingamp was a less inspiring 1-1 draw, but it did include a Jessy Benet goal, so really who needs to complain?

March: AWAY v Pau, HOME v. AC Ajaccio, AWAY v. Clermont Foot

Vozdovac–1 W – 1 D – 2 L; GF: 1/GA: 0

Filipovic intimidating the ball!

The best start for a team kicking off their 2025 undoubtedly went to Vozdovac as the Red Dragons got points in both their matches. Winning 1-0 at home v. Dubocia with a goal from Mihajlo Milosavic was a great start. They may well have wanted more points from their tie against Smederevo (0-0) but you should never look askance at points on the road. And the outing also allowed goalie Nenad Filipovic to post his 5th straight clean sheet giving him 458 minutes without allowing a goal! Well done Nenad!

March: HOME v Macva, AWAY v. Worker, HOME v. Borac, AWAY v Grafica, HOME v. Radniki, AWAY v. Vrsac

Emelec–0 W – 0 D – 2 L; GF: 0 /GA: 6

After what can only be described as a lousy end of their previous season, hopes were high that Los Bombillos would start fresh and return to the traditional powerhouse role that saw them become one of Ecuador’s greatest clubs.

…Or they could lose 4-0 to Universidad and 2-0 to Delfin.

They did the second one.

Worse, the defeats have left Emelec’s men side winless since September, and with Alebrijes winning (finally) they now have the longest losing streak of all our teams. Good luck to new coach Jorge Celico…you clearly need it.

March: HOME v. Macara; AWAY v. Vinotinto; HOME v. LDU

Minnesota– 0 W – 0 D – 1 L; GF: 0 /GA: 1

The Loons kicked off their season in Los Angeles as a dark horse contender for the Western Conference title against the most obvious of bright horses: LAFC. But the squad held their own for most of the match. Good pressure and strong passing showed Bongi and Kelvin Yeboah to be ready to continue on right as they had last season, and Dayne St. Clair was tough as always. But against the well-funded and expertly drilled Angels there’s little room for error and the Loons paid the price with a 1-0 defeat.

March: HOME v. Montreal, AWAY v. San Jose and Kansas City, HOME v. LA Galaxy

STANDINGS

(See the standings page for full updates)

Tune in for our next recap: March 26th right before we hit the sunny streets of Orlando!

MacKenzie Cup: January ’25

MacKenzie Cup: January ’25

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Kicking off the sixth year of this project, I’m happy to say that I still enjoy doing this. More over, now that you boys are playing and laughing and having a grand time in your own soccer matches, it truly feels like a family affair. While we feel good about the year to come, let’s see how our favorite teams fared this month. (Note, I was close to hitting my publishing goal this month, but ended up off target a bit…as a result, anything that’s after my prior deadline will simply be given as a score and one relevant name…sorry, but that’s the compromise that makes sense in my head)

Between Season Squads:

Vozdovac, Emelec, Rosenborg, Minnesota, Montana

These squads took some time to recover, and with good reason as Norway, Minnesota and Montana are not hospitable to outdoor sports that are played in shorts rather than heavily insulated parkas at this time of the year. Rosenborg’s men did get some preseason games down in Portugal though. I’m not sure what Vozdovac’s excuse is but I’m sure they have a good one.

Emelec has the biggest changes to face as their regular two-part season gets broken into a complicated jigsaw. Everyone still plays the other teams in the league twice, but instead of once in the spring and once in the fall, it’s all in one heavy rush. After the dust settles following 30 matches a piece, teams slot into one of three second rounds. The top 6 jockey for the title and position in Copas. The second 6 fight for the last spot in South American Tournaments. Bottom 4 fight to avoid relegation. Had this system been in place in 2024, the dreadful fall season would have dropped Emelec into the second sextet.

February:

Vozdovac HOME v. Dubocic; AWAY v. Smendrija; HOME v Macva Sabac

Minnesota (M): AWAY v. LAFC

Emelec (M): TBD

Alebrijes de Oaxaca–0 W – 0 D – 4 L; GF: 2/GA: 7

After a big overhaul Oaxaca might have had hopes that things would change….but it didn’t. They lost 0-1 to Mineros, 1-0 to Cancun, 1-3 to Tapatio and 2-1 to Atletico Moreila. Left side attacker Orlando Ballesteros is the only man to notch a goal, so he’ll be our notable player for the month.

Rest of February: HOME v. Atalante, AWAY v. Venados

Legon Cities–2 W – 0 D- 2 L; GF: 4/ GA: 3

After a great deal of loyalty the Royals parted ways with coach Paa Kwesi Fabian who joined the long list of coaches who never got Legon City over the hump. Yaw Acheampong has become the latest manager and another man recently relieved of duties with one club only to bounce back with Legon.

Unfortunately the outcomes were depressingly similar. In the Accra derby versus Hearts of Oak, Legon bowed 1-0 despite being up a man in the game’s last minutes. But the Royals actually managed to get cooking thereafter with 3-0 Wins at home versus Dreams FC and a 1-0 win against Bibiani Gold Stars that dropped their opponent off the top of the league. Frederik Akatuk seems to be personally committed to upending the old narrative, at least until the Royals lost their first February game (1-0 at Medema SC). Also cool, Legon brought on Elijiah Satekla brother of Afropop star Stonebwoy (Legon loves that celebrity spotlight)

February: AWAY v. Karela United

Ross County–2 W – 1 D-3 L; GF: 7 /GA: 13

Let’s all savor the special start to 2025 that the Staggies enjoyed. First came a 2-1 win in Aberdeen against the often difficult Dons in the even more difficult snow conditions. Akil Wright’s blast was a particularly pretty bit of skill. The team also gritted out a 1-0 win at Kilmarnock with Noah Chilvers working some midfield mastery to create the goal (just as he netted the winner in Aberdeen). And with the physical presence of Kacper Lopata anchoring the defense (he’s been putting in some grizzled shifts this year in keeping with the County backline).

Jordan Amissah

The good vibes were flowing against Celtic as well, with a strong defensive first half from in-form keeper in Jordan Amissah, and a well-placed penalty by Jordan White drawing the Staggies level. Not content to settle for a draw, Don Cowie urged his team on to find a late winner, and the Hoops made them pay with three transition goals to leave a lopsided 4-1 result.

Then the special start to 2025 faded away as the bad news continued with a late added time goal conceded to Livingston to bow out of the cup (2-3), and a predictable shellacking from Rangers (4-0), but they at least managed a draw on my birthday (1-1 v. Hibs)

February: AWAY v. Motherwall, HOME v. Dundee FC

Freiburg–2 W – 0 D – 4 L; GF: 4/GA: 7

M: 2 W – 0 D- 2 L; GF: 7/GA: 12

Freiburg looked dangerous throughout the first half. Pressuring Holstein into an early own goal and celebrating as both Christian Gunter and Vincenzo Grifo found the net to build up an impressive lead. Then Holstein turned Phil Harres loose on Freiburg and the 22 year old wunderkind netted twice in stoppage time to bring about some mild cardial infarctions before walking away 3-2 winners.

Then things got rough, especially in defense losing 4-1 in Frankfurt and 4-0 in Stuttgart. Shockingly the defense’s best match came against the powerful (and Germany leading) Bayern Munich team where the Griffins only lost 2-1.

Then things turned around as a pair of 1-0 wins against Bochum and Heidenheim put the Breigsau boys back in the european league spots as of writing. The defense in general has worn pretty thin, especially in the defensive midfield pairings, but once again, if Vincenzo Grifo is on, Freiburg has a shot.

February: AWAY v. St. Pauli, HOME v. Werder Bremen

F: 0 W – 0 D – 2 L; GF: 1/GA: 5

There wasn’t a lot of positivity to find for die Frauen. A pair of losses (2-1 and 0-3) turned a fairly mediocre season into a very mediocre one (if such a thing is possible)

February: AWAY v Carl Zeiss Jena, HOME v. Koln

Punjab– 1 W – 2 D – 3 L; GF: 6/GA: 10

Mrzljak Must Have

As if determined to outshine Legon Cities, the Shers dropped their first game of the year 1-0 but they did it despite being two players up with even longer to play. Injuries forced the squad to push Nikhil Prabhu up into midfield and to run the offense without the Lion King: Luka Macjen (midfield talisman Filip Mrzljak started to work back into form with a short shift).

Sure enough, when Mrzljak increased his minutes to cover the entire second half of the next match against Northeast United, the result improved as well with Punjab earning a 1-1 draw, though it’s a little curious as to why goal scoring midfielder Khaiminthang Lhungdim felt the need to pick up two yellows within ten minutes of scoring his equalizer.

From there, inconsistency reigned. The Shers grabbed another draw (1-1) v. Mumbai City, a 1-2 defeat versus Jamshedpur, before finally notching their first win of the year (3-2 v. Bengaluru) and giving it right back in a loss to Mohun Bagan (3-0).

February: AWAY v. Odisha FC and Chennayin, East Bengal

Grenoble– 4 W – 2 D – 1 L; GF: 8 /GA: 4

Men–4 W – 1 D – 1 L; GF: 7 /GA: 3

Grenoble continues to churn through coaches at a rate that makes Legon Cities look thoroughly stable. Frederic Gueguen at least got the new manager bounce with the team’s 3-2 win versus Bastia at home. It was comforting to see substitutes Shaq Delios and Eddy Sylvestre collaborate on a goal, but the saving grace was (stop me if you’ve read this for the last 5 years) Jessy Benet! This time on a stoppage time penalty kick.

The defensive hallmarks of a usual Grenoble outing were on display again in Caen as a 5 man back line soaked up the pressure until Mattheo Xantippe found Theo Valls for the decisive goal (1-0). More dramatic was the more physically intense second half which saw three players sent packing including two straight red cards. The Alpiners won’t face Caen again this season…and that might be for the best.

From there it was a little less predictable as the offense sputtered and the defense continued to close down. A late winner from Eddy Sylvestre helped beat Martigues (1-0), a 3-0 defeat to Metz, and then switched it up and got a good win versus Rodez (2-1) and a hard fought 0-0 draw against Red Star Paris (with a classy banner to appreciate rivals rather than enemies). Tip the hat to Allan Tchaptchet and Gaetan Paquiez for emerging as the center back stalwarts.

February: AWAY at Amiens, HOME v. Guingamp

Women 0 W – 1 D – 0 L; GF: 1 /GA: 1

Grenoble’s lady side started off 2024 with a draw against fellow top of the table side Olympique Lyon II. (It reamins unclear if Lyon will be able to be promoted, or if Grenoble can hear the two sweetest words in the English language De-fault!)

February: AWAY v. Le Puy and then HOME v. Colomiers

January STANDINGS

(See the standings page for full updates)

Year 5

Year 5

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

The time has come again, to crown this year’s winner of the MacKenzie Cup (it’s a sippy cup…because it started when you were little kids, and I still like the joke)

Final Standings

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Montana12522.161.530.53
Minnesota2610151.732.331.25
Rosenborg377251.711.681.16
Grenoble2610221.521.601.12
Emelec1713131.491.210.93
Punjab135121.471.671.77
Freiburg2515271.341.491.70
Ross County1310201.1401.302.00
Legon Cities125191.1390.891.11
Vozdovac1311211.111.041.18
Alebrijes68140.931.041.93
Table Updated 12/30/24

You can read all about the end of the campaign and some general thoughts in the December recap post.

While the Griz walked away with a regular season title, and las Electricas of Emelec won their tournament and a promotion to the top tier of women’s soccer in Ecuador, several usually strong sides came back down to earth a bit. The Rosenborg Kvinner underwent a lousy end of their campaign to finish lower than they have since we started. Minnesota Aurora were knocked out earlier in the playoffs than ever before. Grenoble, Punjab, and Freiburg all went from table topping to solidly mid-table.

Hardest to watch were the teams that struggled the most. Emelec’s men side finishing last in the league, Alebrijes and Legon Cities suffering long losing streaks. And Vozdovac got demoted out of the top flight in Serbia.

Players of the Year

The best XI of the year features four returning starters. Vincenzo Grifo is fully on the road to being enshrined in the hall of fame of our minds, and for the second year in a row, Cat Rapp joins him in the midfield. Luka Macjen’s love of playing in Punjab could put him in the same spot in a few years, and Mathys Touraine was again the best corner back of the year (though his moving on to Paris may reopen a spot for Jessy Benet to return to the squad full time).

Newer players may not be here for long, The Griz are limited by graduation limits, so Charley Boone is done after this. Froya Dorsin is already off for Paris and Sverre Nypan Halseth may be in any number of bigger profile stadia within the next month or two. Likewise it’s hard to see struggling teams like Legon and Ross County hold on to strong defenders like Frank Akoto and Ryan Leak. But Kerly Corozo becomes the first Electricas player to crack the starting XI and may find a spot on the wing for many years to come.

The bench includes Alison Ochoa as another representative of las Electricas and Claudia Fabre from Grenoble hopefully creating a Charley’s Angels trio with Luka playing Bosworth. (Yes I’m making 50 year old pop culture references despite the fact that I’m only 40…) Minnesota adds in two more midfielders with Mariah Nguyen and Bongi alongside the Freiburg Frauen and defensive midfielder Samantha Steuerwald. Our Defensive bench is made up of the best of the bad lot with cellar dwelling Emelec, Oaxaca and Vozdovac each offering one body…but Dayne St. Clair should be able to handle them.

Nobel FC Most Enjoyable Outstanding Writer

The MEOW, as befits our cat-crazed house, goes to this year’s highest rated Nobel FC subject: Jean Paul Sartre. I do feel that I should note that Jaroslav Seifert and Han Kang were surprising treats. But Sartre’s vision and imagination (plus raging ego) gave him the highest rating so far (a number matched in video games by this year’s FIFA Player of the Year: Vinicius Jr.)

What’s Next

I will continue to ask people to comment, and they will continue to ignore me.

But hopefully in the coming year, I’ll be able to give more voice to my sons so that this truly becomes a space for all the MacKenzie Boys and not just me.

MacKenzie Cup: End of the year…

MacKenzie Cup: End of the year…

by scruffyrube ♥ 1 Comment

As we come to the end of 2024, it’s time to reveal the big winner of the season competition. Counting down from 11th place to 1st! (True, you could also just look at the image that headlines this post, but the joy is in the details as they say)

11th: Alebrijes–Between Seasons

Alebrijes had a rough 2024, and they chose to end it by dishing out the roughest endings to some reliable goalkeeper and my favorite namesake: Octavio Paz. They’ll be back in action in January with some new faces and, hopefully, a new beginning.

January: HOME v. Mineros, AWAY v. Cancun,

10th Vozdovac– 3 W – 0 D – 0 L; GF: 4/ GA: 0

After a rough start, Ivan Kurtusic did put together a pretty great December with 3 wins from 3 matches and 3 clean sheets to boot! (Granted they were facing two of the lowest teams in the division, but wins are wins and the Dragons are in no position to complain). Midfielder Vukasin Braunovic saved the day with a stoppage time header from Milan Kolarevic against Sloboda Urizce, then notched another against Traya, and while Braunovic orchestrated the attack, Nenad Filipovic continued to reel off clean sheets

Kurtusic’s reward for this excellent showing: the exit door, as Dejan Djuricic took over as coach and has a month to help the squad prepare before they return to the field.

January: On Break

9th Legon Cities–0 W – 0 D- 3 L; GF: 0/ GA: 6

A turn around in December could have put the Royals in position to get my annual jersey purchase. But that was not what happened. Three ugly losses kept them frozen at the bottom of the table on a scant 11 points and built the losing streak to 4 in a row. Worse, they haven’t scored a goal in 412 minutes (that’s over 6 hours…I could barely go 6 hours without plantains when I was in Ghana, and I wasn’t even paid to make them). The lousy strike system sank Cities to the worst offense of our top 11.

January: AWAY v. Hearts of Oak, HOME v. Dreams FC and Bibiani Gold Stars

8th Ross County–1 W – 1 D-4 L; GF: 7/GA: 15

The Staggies were always going to struggle in two matches against the Glasgow Duopoly, and a combined 8-0 certainly fit the brief. Goalkeeper/Aptonym Ross Laidlaw’s first half exit against Celtic only compounded the difficulty. With the top half slipping away, Don Cowie’s men seemed to buckle under the pressure, coughing up points against more manageable opponents in Hibs and St. Mirren without finding a consistent line of attack amid injuries (though it was nice to give up a goal to our old Dark Arts Instructor: Alex Iacovitti).

But the Stags turned a corner against Dundee FC with a great showing by midfielder Noah Chilvers who racked up a goal and an assist, while Don Cowie brought in the right substitutes who chipped in another two goals in a rare romp. While Hearts first flash seemed to undercut hopes of another win, the Staggies stormed back with a highly unlikely (but welcome) pair of last minute goals in a complete muckfest of a rainy highland night, that led to a thrilling draw. The stags are still a long way from the title picture, but they seem ready to put it in a lot of effort to avoid the relegation playoffs this year.

January: AWAY v Aberdeen and Kilmarnock, HOME v. Celtic, Livingston (Cup), Hibernian (ON BURNS DAY!)

7th Freiburg–3 W – 1 D – 3 L; GF: 12/GA: 14

M: 2 W – 1 D- 2 L; GF: 9/GA: 12

Freiburg’s inconsistent form has dropped them out of the top tier in the Bundesliga and into the meaty middle. 2 Wins are the difference between 3rd and 11th, so there’s plenty of competition to come, now without any additional distractions after the Breigsau Boys lost their Cup chances to Beilefeld.

Again they looked strong in matches against their fellow rivals in the meaty middle, with standout performances from Michael Gregoritsch in midfield and attack, and some excellent outings from Mathias Ginter and the two Lukas-es: as both Holer and Kubler bagged doubles in the league victories. But the 5-1 shellacking from last year’s champions in Leverkusen show that there’s still a ways to go.

January: HOME v Holstein Kiel, AWAY v. Frankfurt & Stuttgart, HOME v. Bayern Munich.

F: 1 W – 0 D – 1 L; GF: 3/GA: 2

Shekiera Martinez shone against Werder Bremen as the dynamic and scintillating scorer that invited West Ham to sign her away from Germany last summer (before promptly sending her back on loan). However, those spoilsports in Leverkusen rained on the Freiburg parade again to keep the squad on the outer fringes of European ambitions. We’ll see if things are better at home in die Frauen’s first match of the new year.

January: HOME v Bayer Leverkusen

Other News: It’s a little underwhelming to win something even when you lose…but Freiburg will be the next jersey buy as we hit 8 of 11 in the new year.

6th Punjab– 1 W – 0 D – 3 L; GF: 4/GA: 9

The Shers were hit a bit of a stumble at the beginning of the month, starting with an injury to center midfielder Filip Mrzljak. After that, the team lost leads and matches in back to back to back games. The toughest pill to swallow was probably giving up four against a lower table side in East Bengal including a rare clunker for goal keeper Ravi Kumar. Losing the lead to top of the Table Mohun Bagan was more predictable, but equally frustrating. As if dropping in their own league wasn’t enough, Punjab also fell from 4th to 6th in ours

Key Players: Despite the rough showing we should appreciate Ravi Kumar’s strong work at the back, and the Lion King himself: Luka Macjen) have focused the squad in the absence of Mrzljak.

January: HOME v. Kerala Blasters, AWAY v Northeast United FC, HOME v Mumbai City, HOME v Jamshedpur

5th Emelec–W 2 – D 0 – L 2; GF: 7/GA: 5

M: W 0 – D 0 – L 1; GF: 1/GA: 2

I have yet to find evidence of Emelec ever finishing in last place for even a half of the season. But that’s what happened this fall, as the team managed a paltry 9 points with 3 wins, 3 draws, and 3 lost points from not paying their debts. Fortunately, the Electrics did well enough in the Spring to avoid relegation.

F: W 2 – D 0 – L 1; GF: 6/GA 3

I was a little worried about the semi-final tie against Aucus, and the first leg proved me right with a 3-2 defeat in Quito. In the second leg at home, Alison Ochoa got the winner and Carol Suarez added one for safety to send the Electricas through to the final.

Against Orense, the final was a lot of tension, staying scoreless until the final 20 minutes. Sindy Medina normally puts in her shift in the midfield supporting everyone else, but this year she was the one who broke the deadlock. When Kerly Corozco added her own, as everyone could have predicted, the trophy was in the bag.

It was a well-earned title for Las Electricas and, as usual we’re thrilled to see them thrilled. Now, in addition to the trophy, comes the squad’s return to the women’s top league.

4th Grenoble–3 W – 0 D – 3 L; GF: 15/GA: 9

Men–1 W – 0 D – 3 L; GF: 7 /GA: 8

The defensive mentality that has served GF 38 for several years seems to have cracked in full over the past two months. A strong September has slipped into distant memory as the alpiners have one win in their last ten matches (that win over 4th tier side Isetres may not hold up to very close scrutiny). Beset by injuries, they have increasingly struggled to find a cohesive corps in defense, with Gaetan Paquiez, Loris Mouyokolo and goal keeper Mamadou Diop having rough outings. There seems to be a little hope as Shaquil Delos and Theo Valls seem to have started building a more consistent spine. But the offense remains Pape Meissa Ba or bust.

January: HOME v. Bastia, AWAY v. Caen, HOME v. Martigues, AWAY v Caen

Women 2 W – 0 D -0 L; GF: 8/GA: 1

Grenoble continues to look every inch the division 2 team, but as long as Lyon remains impregnable, Grenoble will have to hold out, wait and hope. December saw long standing team leaders Candice Charbonet and Roman Pilot, but equally strong were Laurine Braga and Nehla Sadiki, who each hit the net twice. The good form comes at a fine time as 2025 kicks off with a top of the table clash against Olympique Lyon at home.

January: HOME v. Olympique Lyon B, HOME v. Clermont

3rd Rosenborg–1 W – 0 D – 0 L; GF: 4/GA: 0

In the last game of their season, the men of Rosenborg racked up an impressive 4-0 victory over Kristiansund that showcased the youthful talents of the squad, with a special shout out to left back Ulrik Yttergard Jennsen with multiple assists.

The good news for RBK is that their final result gave them the points they needed to clinch a spot in European competitions next year, just in time to compensate for Kvinner’s coming up short this season.

2nd Minnesota–Between Seasons

The Loons and Aurora are both off, as you ought to be in the winter in Minnesota. But they put in a great shift this year with the usual plethora of Aurora goals, and a big improvement for the Loons defense that got them into the playoffs.

The only major bit of news was the announcement that Allianz Field will host Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in the Spring.

1st Montana Grizzlies–Between Seasons

The Griz aren’t even allowed to practice so they can focus on the whole “final exams” thing, but the made some time to celebrate the graduation of several student athletes. The future isn’t all about the next big game, it’s also about the next chapter for the human beings who have interests on and off the field. So cheers to you December Grads! And double cheers to you Back-to-Back MacKenzie Cup Winners!

FINAL STANDINGS

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Montana12522.161.530.53
Minnesota2610151.732.331.25
Rosenborg377251.711.681.16
Grenoble2610221.521.601.12
Emelec1713131.491.210.93
Punjab135121.471.671.77
Freiburg2515271.341.491.70
Ross County1310201.1401.302.00
Legon Cities125191.1390.891.11
Vozdovac1311211.111.041.18
Alebrijes68140.931.041.93
Table Updated 12/30/24

Catching Up with the Kids: Punjab

Catching Up with the Kids: Punjab

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I never wanted to exercise during the long Indian summers, but I’m not a professional football player. So, let’s catch up with men who were paid to be in good shape and play well: Punjab Football Club.

Match Results: 7 W – 3 D – 5 L; GF 29/ GA 21

The fall of 2023 was a clear step up for the Shers (big cats…like Lions…but…I’m gonna keep saying Tigers). Throughout their first four months in the Indian Super League, Punjab did not play like the team of old. Try as Luka Macjen might he could not be everywhere on the field and the team looked like it would be heading for an ignominous end to a splendid opportunity.

Then came the new year, and French born Madih Talal joined the club immediately exploding with assists and inventive play. Almost instantly the squad doubled their prior win total, and before the season ended they came away with 5 wins in 11 matches, after just 1 in their first 14.

Though the team finished outside of the playoff spots, their huge improvement led to a much needed boost in confidence and set them up for another run. Though Talal and old standby Juan Mera left the team, Luka Macjen returned to be the club’s talisman and buoyed the squad to a tremendous showing in the Durand Cup. (Last year as their first taste of top tier soccer, the Shers looked outclassed: this year they won their group handily, before bowing out to bogey team Mohun Bagun in a penalty shoot out.)

Other Stories:

As mentioned above, the Sher’s said a lot of goodbyes at the end of last season. Rather than recap them, here’s the team’s Instagram goodbye

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Punjab also shuffled their coaching staff, but kept things Greek bringing in Panagiotos Dilmperis to lead the squad. And in a moment that just tickles my personal fancy, they also signed Mushaga Bakenga who was formerly in the EliteSerien and started his career with Rosenborg Ball Klub, making him the (I think) second player to wear the kit for two of our favorite eleven teams!

Star Players:

It’s no great surprise that Luka Macjen is at the top of this list…he is talismanic to the point of being Punjab’s most bankable (and memeable asset)

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

We also want to shout out the obviously impressive Juan Mera, and the supremely influential Madih Talal but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the defensive stalwart Nikhil Prabhu.

Year 5, January

Year 5, January

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Recap

Live from Legon!

Record: 1 – 0 – 0 GF: 4 GA: 0

The Royals did play a round of 32 match against against Koforidua Suhyen (who play near the home of my adoptive dad Braimah Dediako). Kwabena Boateng led the charge with a couple of goals and Nicholas Mensah led a defense that never looked troubled.

Up Next The Royals will have one more cup game in Februrary and we’ll see them restart the season in Karela on February 23rd

What’s the Word in ol’ Freiburg?

Record: 2 – 1- 1 GF: 6 GA: 5

Men looked good in a friendly against Frankfurt. But friendlies aren’t the same thing as competitive matches. And I’m willing to bet they would have taken 0-0 in a friendly and a win against Union Berlin…but it was not to be. Still the clean sheet should boost Noah Atubolu, and comes with another good showing by the young French wing backs Jordy Makengo and Kilian Sildillia.

Those wing backs were back at it again against Hoffenheim but when Manuel Gulde got a terribly timed red card right after Hoffenheim equalized, fear and panic could be felt widely in the crowd. This of course, is where Vincenzo Grifo saves the day by being himself, and so it was with a beautiful winner (3-2).

Grifo was good again in the next match against Freiburg but Makengo and Sidilla weren’t as effective on the same side and Atobolu had another rough outing to keep Freiburg maddeningly inconsistent losing (1-3)

Meanwhile, the big news for the women was the realization that squad leader Janina Minge is asking to leave the club at the end of the season. (This seems to be a bit of a routine for die Frauen where great players aim to go a little higher than the middle of the table…such is the way of things, I suppose.) But the team looked unphased this last weekend with a strong 2-0 win over RB Leipzig led by strong midfield control from Samantha Steuerwald.

Next: The ladies have a Pokal match against Frankfurt, plus league matches agaisnt Duisburg, Bremen. and (ugh) Bayern Munich. Meanwhile the men will balance four league games (including matches against Dortmund and Frankfurt) with the critical knockout matches for the Europa league against Lens.

Grenoble’s Games

Record: 0 – 3 – 1 GF: 5 GA: 7

Amine Sbai had a tremendous outing against Dunkerque with a pair of goals giving the men from the mountains a big lead with only 25 minutes to play. Uncharacteristically, the defense capitulated at the end of the game and could only hold on for a draw. Then the familiar winter malaise set in, and the squad managed only draws the rest of the month (1-1 against Auxerre, and 1-1 against Quevilly, due in large part to heroic penalty saves from Brice Mableu, and more Amine Sbai goals)

Meanwhile the women’s team got eaten up by AS Cannes concending three goals for a less than stellar return to the field, but Abdoulie Bamba Sanyang got the chance to play at the Africa Cup of Nations with Gambia, and team training seem to include playing on the alps…which looks like a whole heap of fun!

Up Next: January was not the boost we were hoping for in the quest for promotion, but we’ll try again in February! The women will face Lyon’s 2nd Squad, and Le Puy, while the men try to break out of their funk of draws with games against Caen, Bordeaux, Troyes and Pau.

Punjab Zindabad

Record: 0 – 2 – 1 GF: 3 GA: 4

Wilmar Jordan got off the mark a lot faster in 2024 than he did in 2023, scoring just 4 minutes into the road game at Chennaiyin in the Super Cup. But, as has been so often the case, after a red card, they were at a disadvantage even though they had a lead. And just when it looked like they might pull out a short handed victory, another goal got past Kiran Chemjong and it was another draw for the Punjabi Warriors.

The chance of a draw against local league titans Mumbai City, was much more enthralling, and indeed Luka Macjen nearly made it so with a pair of goals including one right before the end of the full 90 minutes that would have been quite an accomplishment. But in a continuing pattern, the Warriors ceded a late goal and left as unlucky losers. Their final Super Cup match was a 0-0 draw that doesn’t bear much more scrutiny.

Up Next: I hoped that Punjab could come away with two more wins in the second half of the season, and their best chances may all come in February as they face Hydrabad (the only team below them) as well as Jamshedpur and Bengaluru (two teams with similar defensive problems).

Gotta see this, Alebrijes!

Record: 0 – 1 – 1 GF: 2 GA: 5

Whatever else happens Alebrijes deserves credit for having Mortal Kombat themed season announcement.

While that post is cool and fresh and there are high hopes for new attacker Orlando Ballesteros and major needs in Pablo martinez and Alfonso Luna, much of Alebrijes’ start to their season looked…familiar. The 3-0 beating from Cancun was painfully familiar, and the 2-2 draw with goals by Julio Cesar Cruz rendered underwhelming by late conceded goals was…sigh…yeah…very familiar.

Next We cross our fingers and hope for some kind of change in the routine as Alebrijes run out five times in February…hey, that’s alliteration…it must be a good sign (he said without much real hope)

County’s Bounty

Record: 0 – 1 – 3 GF: 2 GA: 9

Ross County’s usual course of action at this time of year is to bring in a host of young talents who need some match time and use them to boost the squad’s energy. Midfielders Eli King of Cardiff, Branon Khela of Birmingham, Teddy Jenks of Forest Green, Loick Ayina of Huddersfield Town, and Keeper George Wickens of Fulham are this year’s crop of young talents. But the club’s big acquisition was left back Cameron Borthwick Jackson who, until 3 years ago, seemed to be a up-and-coming player at global powerhouse Manchester United…now he is in Dingwall, so, maybe not so up any more but still a player with oodles of potential.

That potential was sorely lacking in the Stags’ 3-0 loss to Aberdeen with Jack Baldwin getting sent off in the 90th minute. It was arguably in even shorter supply when they got dumped out of the league cup 3-0 by lower level rivals Partick Thistle. By comparison a 1-0 loss at Celtic Park was an accomplishment. (thank you for that big save George Wickens!) and the team’s most recent result of a 2-2 draw against Livingston (with some strong defense and a pair of goals from Simon Murray before another late capitulation) was positively delightful.

Next: It seems as though manager Derek Adams strategy of saying that players are really bad hasn’t inspired good play…interesting. Maybe insulting people will make them feel better as they play six times in four weeks…or…not…

Griz Biz

Record: Not in action

We watched the Griz gridiron squad play well in the first half of their national championship game, and missed the second half (which was for the best). And you got to have some extra potato chips so…really there’s a silver lining. We also got to see Skyleigh Thompson celebrate her All-American status.

Up next: Recruiting, training and warming up the next generations.

What’s in Store at Rosenborg?

Record: Not in Action

There was a lot of player movement in and out of Trondheim, but the big news is probably Steinar Lein stepping away from his role as head coach of the women’s team. He’s run the squad for five years and seen them become an absolute force, but when people need a break, they should get it. So thanks Steinar and stay well!

Rosenborg named Anna Josensdal it’s female player of the year, and also said goodbye to her in the same breath, as she makes a move to Hammarby in Sweden (where she’ll meet up with old friend Sara Kanutte Fornes). Rasmus Wiedesheim Paul also joined a Swedish H-team (Halmstad) in Sweden. Ina Birkelund joins up for the midfield from Tromso.

Next: The men have a host of friendlies against fellow Norwegian clubs, but won’t start the season until April

Minnesota a la Mode…ah

Record: Not in Action

Aurora had try outs which means, even five months from the start of the next season, there’s plenty to be excited about. Just as esciting, former Auroroa player Kelsey Kaufusi was drafted to the NWSL (the top Women’s league in America).

Meanwhile, the Loons lost another manager. After not committing to Sean McAuley, Sean McAuley wouldn’t commit to the team, leaving for a confirmed contract in Indianapolis. Meanwhile, Cameron Knowles will take over…for now…When it came to players the Loons focused on adding to the squad with defenders Derek Dodson, and Victor Eriksson, forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith, and midfielders Alejandro Bran and Moses Nyeman.

Up Next: After some regular tune up matches, the Loons hit the field against Austin FC at the end of February

Take a Sec with Emelec

Record: Not in Action

The mens team did do quite a lot of shopping for their roster. They started by resigning Pedro Ortiz to mind the net and Fernando Leon. Then there were they incomers:

Forward: Facundo Castelli,

Wingers: Maicon Solis, Juan Pablo Ruiz Gomez, Washington Corozco and Rodrigo Rivero

Midfielder: Marcelo Meli, Andres Ricahrte, Christian Erbes, and club legend Christhian Noboa…(get ready, I’m probably going to mention him as often as Miller Bolanos!)

Defenders Alexander Gonzalez, Joao Quinonez, and Gustavo Cortez,

Up Next: The Men’s team’s first season starts soon with matches against Deportivo Cuenca and Mushuc Runa.

What’s the haps at Vozdovac?

Record: Not in action

Vozdovac opened the year knowing that Borisav Burmaz was leaving the club…now headed off for the top flight of soccer in Romania with Rapid Bucharest. Meanwhile, they brought in seven new players, none of whom is older than 22.

Next: The Dragons take flight again with Red Star Belgrade and two more league matches (Napredak, and Mladost Lucani)

Players of the Month

Instead of honoring one player each week, we’ll take some time to shout out a player from each team that was in action each month. January’s honorees are

Nicholas Mensah (D) Legon Cities, Vincenzo Grifo (M) Freiburg, Samantha Steuerwald (DM) Freiburg, Amine Sbai (F) Grenoble, Claudia Fabre (F) Grenoble, Luka Macjen (F) Punjab, Julio Cesar Cruz (F) Alebrijes, George Wickens (K) Ross County

Standings

It’s early days and one match shouldn’t be taken as predictive of anything other than one match, but we’d deeply love for someone, literally anyone to play as well as Legon Cities did…or at least get fewer draws.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Legon Cities1003.004.001.00
Freiburg2111.501.501.25
Grenoble0310.751.251.75
Punjab0210.661.001.33
Alebrijes0110.501.002.00
Ross County0130.250.502.25
Montana–b000———
Rosenborg–b000———
Minnesota–b000———
Emelec–b000———
Vozdovac–b000———
Table Updated 1/30/24
b–Team is between seasons
Year 4

Year 4

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Montana13332.211.580.47
Rosenborg3612211.741.841.17
Minnesota2813161.702.161.30
Grenoble3512221.631.470.99
Punjab138111.471.501.06
Emelec1817151.422.020.96
Legon Cities1610151.411.151.27
Freiburg2613311.301.411.64
Ross County1410211.161.331.53
Vozdovac1010151.141.031.25
Alebrijes89151.031.251.84
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.

End of 2023 Recap: I literally cannot even.

End of 2023 Recap: I literally cannot even.

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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.

What’s in Store at Rosenborg?

Men’s November/December Record: 2-0-2 GF: 11 GA: 8

Women’s November Record: 2-2-0 GF: 6 GA: 2

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 robbers after 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

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Montana13322.231.670.44
Rosenborg3210191.741.801.16
Minnesota–b2813161.702.161.30
Punjab12581.641.681.04
Grenoble2513191.541.400.98
Legon Cities129101.451.191.23
Emelec1415131.361.760.95
Freiburg1910251.241.301.67
Ross County128171.191.461.62
Alebrijes–b89141.061.291.81
Vozdovac78131.040.791.43
Table Updated 10/31/23
b–Team is between seasons
October (Part 2): Before the Sugar Rush

October (Part 2): Before the Sugar Rush

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Recap

Griz Biz

Returning home after an impressive road trip, the Griz didn’t let up with a decisive 2-0 win against Sacramento State that sealed another Big Sky Regular Season title. The regular season finale was an appropriate celebration of senior night and appropriate send offs from Delaney Lou Schorr who got the winning goal (1-0) and Ashlynn Dvorak who tied Camilla Xu’s record for shutouts in a season. (While the Griz were undefeated during the regular season, No Big Sky team has gone undefeated through the playoffs…so the pressure is still on the Griz to qualify for the NCAAs).

Up next: Nov 3rd (v. either Portland State or Idaho State), Nov 5th (Big Sky Championship, if they qualify)

What’s in Store at Rosenborg?

For the first time since June 18th the Kvinner were beaten, this time by Brann (0-2). The loss stung as it dropped them out of first place with only three matches left in the campaign. If they win their next two (not a sure thing with a desperate Avaldnes and old rival Lillestrom) the final two against Valerenga may end up deciding two trophies (the League in the first match and the Cup in the second).

On the other hand, the men were able to hold on to a 1-1 draw against Stabaek courtesy of an excellent penalty save by young keeper Sander Tangvik. The diving stop at the end of the first half was only one ample of his excellent defense to help his team hold on. They turned up with one of their best performances of the season, with Emil Frederiksen and Jayden Nelson offering a tremendous tandem to hit the net twice en route to a 3-1 win over Valerenga (featuring another Sander Tangvik penalty save)

Next: The Menn face Molde; the Kvinner face Asvaldnes

Minnesota a la Mode…ah

The Loons dreams of another playoff trip were dashed by Johnny Russell as the nicest rivalry in sports gave Kansas City what they needed to advance, but sent Minnesota home for a long cold winter (with sizeable changes afoot) (1-3).

Punjab Zindabad

Ravi Kumar saved the day again with Punjab’s first clean sheet of the campaign to mark a draw with Jamshedpur (0-0). Unfortunately, that goalless draw was the high point, as Chennaiyin FC steamrolled the Shers for a 1-5 scoreline. Luka Macjen, Juan Mera, and Brandon Vanlalremdika have struggled to connect and create in attack at the Super League level, so here’s hoping they can sort it out soon.

Up Next: @ Mumbai City, v Hyderabad FC (battle to stay off the bottom of the table)

On Break (But we’ll update with news as it arises)

Grenoble’s Games

It was a wild one in Grenoble with a thrilling back and forth featuring beautiful goals in the run of play, clever volleys off set pieces and a raucous home crowd rendered silent when the visitors went ahead near the death. Then Armine Sbai saved the unbeaten run for the men against Valenciennes by tapping home an injury time scorcher that was deflected equalizer and the night was complete (3-3). Pape Meissa Ba did everything he could do to keep the streak going with two great goals at Pau, but an uncharacteristic defensive collapse from the backline let in two late goals and gave Pau the win to hand Les Alpiners their first defeat this season.

The women were outworked by the narrowest of margins in their two matches, both against Olympique Valence. First they were bested 2-1 in the league, and then they fell to Valence on penalty kicks (0-0; 5-4 on kicks). It’s disappointing as Valence has not been in great form, but Grenoble remains tied for the lead in Poule B of Division 3

Next: AC Ajaccio for les hommes; our old friends the squirrels of Merignac Arlac for les femmes

Live from Legon!

Nsoatreman jumped to the top of the table by beating the Royals (0-2) good for them, lousy for us. But Kwabena Boateng got the points right back with a first half goal to beat Dreams FC (1-0). Also, I’m always cheering for Kwabenas as my fellow Tuesday borns.

Next @ Samartex

Take a Sec with Emelec

After the match with LDU Quito was initially abandoned (for reasons I have not found anywhere), a replay led to a victory for the capital city side (0-1). Fortunately the men bounced back with a 2-1 win against Universidad Catolica with lesser lights like Anibal Chala and Alexis Zapata hitting the net to provide more goals from the “Everybody not Named Miller Bolanos” category of goalscorers..

Next: a Guayquil derby against Guayquil City (and then another against Ecuador’s Barcelona). (I still have no news about the ladies playoff future but I will let you know when I know).

What’s the Word in ol’ Freiburg?

It remains a frustrating campaign for the Frauen auf Breigesauen…Falling to lowly Nurenburg (2-0) and landing themselves on the doorstep of relegation.

Meanwhile Chirstian Streich saw a boost to his team’s form, opening with a solid 2-1 win against VfL Bochum featuring a sterling performance by wingers Vincenzo Grifo and Ristu Doan. Though they fell behind against Backa Topola, Vincenzo Grifo made the second half count with a hat trick to take the win. (3-1). After all that, Freiburg were a little wiped out and unable to keep up against Bayern Leverkusen. (1-2)

Next: Men have a cup match against Paderborn, a league game against Borussia Munchengladbach and then a return match against TSC Backa Topola. The women’s next match is against Hoffenheim.

County’s Bounty

The Stags continued to be waylaid by the weather, with the roads rendered unsafe for driving thus keeping St. Mirren stuck in Inverness and prolonging the fixture congestion for the highlanders in coming weeks.

In they did get on the field they ended up in a 0-0 draw against Dundee. They were in much better shape when they jumped out to a 3-1 advantage against Motherwell. Unfortunately, they quickly conceded equalizers to let the game slip out of reach and had to settle for a draw (3-3)

Next: against Hibernian, and Celtic

Gotta see this, Alebrijes!

I’m running out of things to say at this point. Oaxaca has struggled to ignite their offense and to manage their defense. When that happens, it’s very hard to win. So they didn’t, falling to Tapitalan (1-3)

Next a Halloween special v. Atlante (I had to save the 31st for the next post so I could focus up on important things, like getting candy with you kids)

What’s the haps at Vozdovac?

Backa Topolo has been something of a boogie team for Backa Topolo, in that like Oogie Boogie in the Nightmare before Christmas, they are actually a team of pillowcases filled with bugs. KIDDING! (I hope…) but Borisav Burmaz stunned them with an injury time penalty to snatch a draw and leave them reeling before facing Freiburg (1-1). I did have high hopes that the Dragons would be able to follow up their win against one fascist gang that pretends its a group of soccer fans (Red Star) by beating their gang rival (Partizan), and for one half it looked good. Then…it didn’t. The 3-0 defeat was an unusual slippage by the strong Vozdovac defense.

Next: v. Radniki Nis

News & Notes

…Absolutely Nothing

It only seems right that in reviewing the last two weeks, we should note the tremendous loss of life around the world, from Ukraine to Maine to the increasingly distressed cities of Ecuador, and particularly in the Gaza province. Smarter people than I can explain what happened to you, all I can do is hope that your generation inherits less chaos.

Family Gamesmanship

It feels poignant to recall the joy of family while others are losing their lives, but I genuinely hope that other families in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Ecuador and elsewhere can have the joy that we’ve had the last few weeks, with Alex and Owen showing off their soccer skills in backyard matches with the grown ups. Generally speaking, Alex will drive for goal constantly, Owen likes to shoot but also likes to wander when he doesn’t have the ball. Mostly, you both have fun, and that makes me happy.

Above you can see a prime example of you having fun.

Players Of the Month (so far)

Two penalty saves in two matches is pretty stellar work from Sander Tangvik, and much as I wish I could ignore the awesomeness that is Vincenzo Grifo, it must be said: the man is a maestro.

Standings

Rosenborg slipped but Punjab slipped harder so the Griz remain atop the standings as we enter the last two months. Meanwhile, at the bottom, Vozdovac had the chance to climb past Oxaca, but the 3-0 defeat kept them looking at the wooden spoon.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Montana13322.231.670.44
Rosenborg3210191.741.801.16
Minnesota–b2813161.702.161.30
Punjab12581.641.681.04
Grenoble2513191.541.400.98
Legon Cities129101.451.191.23
Emelec1415131.361.760.95
Freiburg1910251.241.301.67
Ross County128171.191.461.62
Alebrijes89141.061.291.81
Vozdovac78131.040.791.43
Table Updated 10/31/23
b–Team is between seasons