Tag: Taylor Stoeger

Weeks 46: Our Top Two Take a Bow

Weeks 46: Our Top Two Take a Bow

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Results & Recaps

Rosenborg BK 3 – 2 Lyn Football [F]

The Troll ladies wrapped up their season with another strong victory, the team only dropped three games all year, but that was enough to send them home without any trophies. But if you measure success by growth, development and enjoyment, Rosenborg has been excelling for years. Unsurprisingly, Rosenborg’s final match starred the same person who has been driving them all year long: Julie Blasktad who knocked in two more goals.

Washington State Cougars 3 – 0 Montana Grizzlies

The Griz couldn’t take a step further on this campaign. Just as they did in the spring season, they had to bow out in the first playoff round. The scoreline doesn’t do the team justice. Last time out they lost by one, and here again they were tantalizingly close (before some late goals gave the Cougars a little more breathing room). Coach Citowicki’s game plan of sturdy defending and surprise attacks, served them well again with their best showing against a Pac-12 team. It wasn’t to be this year, but progress still feels terribly close.

FC St. Cyr 1 – 2 Grenoble Foot [M–Cup]

The Alpiners coasted through their first match in the Coupe de France against the local 11 of St. Cyr. A strong side including Esteban Salles, Jordy Gaspar, and Achille Anani got out to a fast start with Anani knocking it in in the sixth minute. The next round will come against another lower division side…though possibly a team that doesn’t look quite so much like middle schoolers trying to keep up with college kids.

SC Freiburg 1 – 0 Werder Bremen [F]

Freiburg got only their second win of the season, surprisingly it came with Hasret Kayicki on the bench after a second half red card. Instead the winner belonged to Kim Fellhauer who delivered just enough on her header to convert a vital free kick just a few minutes in.

Legon Cities FC 0 – 1 Great Olympics

Well, there went the top of the table. Great Olympics beat their training ground rivals with a first half goal.

News & Notes

Wishing them the best

The end of the Griz season comes with one consequence no other team faces: players having to leave. Student athletes only stay athletes as long as they are students, and graduating is even more important than winning. So, Sami Siems, McKenzie Kilpatrick, Taylor Stoeger, Taylor Hanson, and Zoe Transtrum congratulations on four NCAA tournaments (the most ever for Griz players).

At the same time, the Griz celebrated the official signings of six new recruits joining the back to back best of the Big Sky. They come from all over including a pair from Billings, two from Washington State, one from California and one from the Vancouver Whitecaps professional program.

Photo from St. Olaf News

Um Ya Ya

Another college with a little more success than the Griz are the St. Olaf Oles (aka the college that your mom, and I, and your grandparents, and your great grandparents all attended) DID win their first TWO tournament games in Division III soccer championships. They are four games from the title, which would be a big shocker for your mom and I since we mostly spent our days reading in the library rather than playing the sportsball.

Whip Around the World

I am admittedly a sucker for the World Cup, it’s how I got to be a soccer fan in the first place, and I’m ridiculously excited to watch it with you boys next winter. This weekend marked some big matches for several of the countries that we follow closely and more of the players that we keep tabs on. Here’s a quick glimpse at how things went.

Ghana pulled a shocking turn about to snatch advancement out from underneath South Africa courtesy of an Andre Ayew penalty kick. Legon Cities Fatua Duda, the former top keeper, probably looked on with a smile. Serbia is dominated by players from around Europe’s top leagues (rather than among the mid-table Vozdovac’s of the local league), still your motherland is officially into the biggest stage of it all. Scotland still has some work to do to keep themselves alive for the next round, fingers crossed for former Staggie Ross Stewart who has an outside shot of making the team (and all the guys of Ross County, cheering from their homes). Minnesota United’s Finland connection (Robin Lod and Jukka Raitalta) got themselves agonizingly close to the next round thanks in large part to Lod’s thundering shot, before the champions from France eliminated them. Norway was similarly out of luck running up against Holland in their final match (Andre Hansen of Rosenborg could only watch). Emelec’s contingent in Ecuador‘s line up started on the bench but still provided some critical supports to stay in good position for qualification out of South America (even with four more matches to go). And the United States and Canada both stayed in good shape in North American qualifying much to the delight of possible call ups Hasani Dotson, Dayne St. Clair and Harry Paton.

Player of the Week

Sometimes it’s nice to spread the love around and sometimes you have to acknowledge that some players are simply better more often than others you follow. So I’ll continue repping Julie Blakstad until the cows come home. She deserves it.

A-Always B-Be C-Celebrating B-Blakstad: Always be celebrating Blakstad

Standings Update

We have a correction to make: back in August the ladies of Rosenborg played in the Norwegian women’s cup. We didn’t find the scores or include them in any tabulations, so we’ve been unintentionally shorting the Trolls a number of points. It ultimately won’t change the outcome as, even if the men win the rest of their games. The Griz have a big enough advantage to keep the title in hand.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
University of Montana–b22182.161.50.7
Rosenborg BK407142.082.41.2
Emelec2610121.831.61.2
Grenoble2110171.521.21.2
Freiburg229191.501.71.5
Punjab FC–b7461.4711.20.9
Minnesota United1310111.441.21.3
Legon Cities127121.391.21.0
FK Vozdovac1110131.261.11.4
Ross County115191.091.31.6
Alebrijes–b714121.061.21.6
Table Updated 11/17/21
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, November 17th

Thursday, November 18th

Friday, November 19th

Saturday, November 20th

Proleter v. Vozdovac

SC Sand v. Freiburg [F]

WAFA v. Legon Cities

Valenciennes v. Grenoble [M]

Independiente del Valle v. Emelec [M]

Sunday, November 21st

Freiburg v Frankfurt [M]

Molde v. Rosenborg [M]

Vendenheim v Grenoble Foot [F–Cup]

Portland Timbers v. Minnesota United [Playoffs]

Monday, November 22nd

Tuesday, November 23rd

Weeks 45: Celebrate Good Times, Come ON!

Weeks 45: Celebrate Good Times, Come ON!

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Results & Recaps

Alebrijes 2 – 1 Correcaminos

Great day in the morning Oaxaca won a game without the need for late heroics. Just a very, very, very fortunate bounce on an otherwise irrelevant free kick. [Sorry fortunate bounces, you can’t win player of the week.]

Montana Grizzlies 1 – 0 Sacramento State Hornets

The Griz kicked off conference tournament play with a stout defensive effort. Camila Xu stood tall, the back line shut down the hornets and all it took was one quality ball for Charley Boone to play the hero and get her first goal in “like ten years”. The (admittedly, late) win took the Griz one step closer to a second title of the year (more on that in a bit)

Vozdovac 1 – 1 Cukaricki

Cukaricki continues to lead the “Best team not named Partizan/Red Star” competition, so a draw for the dragons feels like a solid showing. All the more because Milos Milosovic scored the equalizer as part of an organized second half comeback following a first half that saw the defense split open like pumpkin on Halloween and amid an utter downpour.

Emelec 2 – 0 Mushuc Runa [M]

Los bombillos came through again to keep up the pressure on Independuente del Valle with Alexis Zapata crushing a gorgeous goal to put them ahead, and Pedro Ortiz standing tall in goal to keep it that way. The top two teams will meet in two weeks with trophies likely on the line.

Bayern Munich 2 – 1 Freiburg [M]

To be honest, we knew that Freiberg’s and beaten the streak would end. We had plenty of reason to suspect it would happen here. And hey we were right.

Freiburg likely won’t be standing atop the league in May, but their effective showings against both Bayern and Dortmund suggests that Europe really is within reach.

Legon Cities 3 – 2 Real Tamale

For the first time in their current incarnation, Legon led the league! (On goal difference…for a couple hours…because most teams had yet to play twice) Still it was great to see Jonah Attuquaye’s penalty seal the deal (and Nathaniel Akwah’s free kick blast just because, well, it’s freaking awesome).

https://youtu.be/lApW6tb4UI8

Brann 2 – 2 Rosenborg [M]

Erland Dahl Reitan set up both the opening goal, an invaluable second half equalizer, and some strong defensive squeezing as Rosenborg had surprising difficulty with relegation bound Brann.

Grenoble 1 – 0 Dunkerke [M]

Loïc Nestor remains an indefatigable Mr Grenoble. While many long term teammates have left, Loïc stays strong. While a dozen other players tried Dunkerke’s defense and blasted away at goal, Loic was the one who made the difference. In addition to shuttling back on the wing to stymie attacks and, in this case, streaking forward to score the match winner in stoppage time.

Kolbotn 1 – 2 Rosenborg [F]

After a few weeks in hiding Julie Blakstad struck back with a vengeance Sunday. She scored both goals in Rosenborg’s last road game this year. At times it seemed like Kolbotn’s defense was more of a help than any sterling offense, but we’ll take every win we can get

Nice 4 – 1 Grenoble Foot [F]

To put it mildly, this wasn’t Grenoble’s day. The match report from my preferred Grenoble soccer blog highlighted an assault on goal by players with first division experience. So the loss was very much sensed. Sherly Jeudy got another late goal (this one, very much a consolation)

Rangers 4 – 2 Ross County

The Stags weren’t terribly likely to get two wins in a row when they had to face reigning Scottish champs Rangers. Still Joseph Hungbo showed his class, Regan Charles Cook reaffirmed his, and Harry Paton got a solid assist as well.

Turbine Potsdam 2 – 1 SC Freiburg

Despite an opening goal from (who else) Hasret Kayicki, Freiburg’s Frauen couldn’t keep up with Potsdam and continued their inconsistent form.

Montana Grizzlies 1 – 0 Weber State Wildcats *Big Sky Conference Championship*

The Griz were a little fortunate that Weber State knocked out hosts, regular season champs and the only big sky squad to Best them Northern Colorado. But that’s how tournaments go, you get some good luck and some bad.

The best luck for the team came on a couple of loose balls. Just like in the semi-finals Camilla Xu’s long ball worked well to set up an attack, and the quick overlap from Zoe Transtrum to Jaden Griggs did all the work.

Best of all you boys got to watch it together, and celebrate with one voice.

LA Galaxy 3 – 3 Minnesota United

It was a wild one in Southern California on Sunday night as the Loons managed to get a vital point to seal their spot in the MLS playoffs. Adrien Hunou and Robin Lod put the Loons in control early on, but the Galaxy made all the adjustments necessary to come back and take the lead. Luck was on the Loons’ side as an own goal gave them the last boost to keep a spot in the playoffs (and send both LA teams home for the winter)

Cancun FC 1 – 2 Alebrijes de Oaxaca

Alebrijes can head into the offseason with their heads held high, finishing with a pair of their best performances all season. Andre Alcaraz had to withstand a bevy of shots and did so with grace despite the back line giving him precious little cover. The goals had a flavor that had been lacking in the season that was with Miguel Vallejo’s free kick and Lizandro Echeverria’s excellent positioning doing the duty for the team’s goals. Getting 9 points off their last six matches, boosted Oaxaca’s final standings (but they still need a lot of help/losing from other teams) to avoid a wooden spoon award.

News & Notes

Boys 2 – 0 Uncle Simon

At Owen’s birthday party you guys dominated your Uncle Simon, pelting him with leaves every chance you got. Well played to both of you. And still he and Auntie E got you a very noisy, very fun, combination soccer goal and basketball hoop…so you may have beaten him, but be still gets the better of me.

Tournament Time Again

The NCAA tournament is one of the most magical times of the year, and to have two in one year is extra fun. This time, the Griz won’t be jetting across the country to face one of the toughest teams in the country, they’ll just head over the Rockies. The Griz get another power conference team in the Washington State Cougars, one that’s in the top 20 in the country. But the Griz have also notched their highest winning total in 20 years, why not repeat that 20 year cycle with a repeat win in the tournament (a win that came, conveniently enough, against Washington State).

Another International Weekend

Teams around the world are inching ever closer to the final rounds of World Cup qualification. This week should see the end of group play in Africa and Europe, with several teams inking their spots in Qatar next year, and several more heading back to the drawing board. We’ll be keeping an extra close eye on players plying their trade for country and perhaps if Nico Schlotterbeck and Christian Gunter can become part of a German team that’s already punched their ticket for the biggest stage of them all.

Player of the Week

Having already heaped the praise on Camilla Xu, lets make a little room for Erland Dahl Reitan. Who not only supported the attack this week but has been a vital component in one of Norway’s best defenses all year. (Sloppy results this last week not withstanding, Reitan deserves a bit of recognition here.

Standings Update

It is officially academic. Even if both Rosenborg sides win all of their games and the Griz crash out in Pullman, Washington, the Griz have enough points to hold on to the top spot in our league. We’ll bestow the trophy officially in a few weeks, but it’s all over now but the crying. Speaking of crying, Alebrijes’ hopes for avoiding the bottom of our league officially rest on a further collapse by Ross County now that their 2021 is wrapped up.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
University of Montana22172.181.60.6
Rosenborg BK367132.052.31.2
Emelec2610121.831.61.2
Grenoble2010171.491.21.2
Punjab FC–b7461.4711.20.9
Freiburg219191.4691.71.6
Minnesota United1310111.441.21.3
Legon Cities127111.431.21.0
FK Vozdovac1110131.261.11.4
Ross County115191.091.31.6
Alebrijes–b714121.061.21.6
Table Updated 11/10/21
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, November 10th

Thursday, November 11th

Friday, November 12th

Saturday, November 13th

Rosenborg BK v. Lyn Football [F]

Washington State Cougars v. Montana Grizzlies

FC St. Cyr v. Grenoble Foot [M–Cup]

Sunday, November 14th

SC Freiburg v. Werder Bremen [F]

Monday, November 15th

Tuesday, November 16th

Legon Cities FC v. Great Olympics

Weeks 44: Spooky Scary

Weeks 44: Spooky Scary

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Results & Recaps

Haugesund 0 – 0 Rosenborg [M]

I never know what to say about goalless draws…good on ya for trying, I guess?

Dundee FC 0 – 5 Ross County

Well that shut me up quick. County buried their bottom of the table rivals, with Regan Charles Cook continuing to explode into form, and an absolute blast from Joseph Hungbo making all the highlight reels. It was County’s first win of the campaign, and not a moment too soon.

Vancouver Whitecaps 2 – 1 Minnesota United

The loss dropped the Loons below the playoff line during competitive season for the first time in 3 years. There’s plenty of blame to go around: Tyler Miller looks exhausted, Michael Boxall had an uncharacteristic lapse, the midfield plan of “Bebelo or bust” continues to run dry.

Alebrijes 0 – 0 Atalante

It’s rough when a goalless draw feels like an accomplishment. But…here we are.

Freiburg 3 – 1 Greuther Furth [M]

It’s not been easy for Gruether in their maiden Bundesliga campaign. They didn’t have much chance in this one, Freiburg took advantage of each mistake and cruised to a home victory behind Woo Yong Jeong, Lucas Holer, and Vincent Grifo’s great showing (both on offense and defense).

https://youtu.be/lUlY6abKVDc

Rosenborg 1 – 3 Lillestrom SK [M]

An early goal came completely undone as LSK manhandled Rosenborg in the second half. Normally reliable Goalie Andre Hansen had one of his worst matches of the year and Rosenborg has to start figuring out their plan for the final month of their campaign.

Caen 0 – 1 Grenoble [M]

Adrien Monfray managed both his usual solid defensive showing as well as a decisive goal on the cusp of half time. But this match had the clear cut benefit of a strong Grenoble game plan, blasting the box with crosses and wearing down Caen’s defense until Yoric Ravet found Monfray for the winner.

Ross County v. Hibernian

A covid outbreak in the Hibernian dressing room gave the Staggies an unscheduled break. Thank goodness

Guayaquil City 0 – 1 Emelec [M]

Guyaquil is clearly a beautiful navy blue after Emelec won another Derby match. The potent attack continues to harass all opponents, and Joao Rojas delivered a delightful goal from the set up by Alejandro Cabeza

Hearts of Oak 0 – 0 Legon Cities

A new Ghanaian season started in typical Royals fashion…with a goalless draw. However this one comes with the added perk of doing it against local rivals and regional giants Hearts of Oak. New keeper Eric Ofori Antwi made a major difference in keeping it tight.

Grenoble 4 – 0 Merignac [F]

I’ll always have a soft spot for the fighting Squirrels of Merignac, but let’s give it up for the ladies of Grenoble who utterly dominated their opponents. Andrea Compper got two more goals to boost her tally on the year, and Sherly Jeudy got another as well, while Romane Pilot got a pair of assists.

Vozdovac 1 – 1 TSC Backa Topola

Nikola Vujnovic continues to do as much as any one man CAN do to make the Dragons relevant in Serbia’s duopoly of a league (heck, even within Belgrade). He’s been in great form and blasted home another strong break away goal here. But help at either end of the pitch sure would help.

Minnesota United 2 – 1 Sporting Kansas City

While I helped you boys get ready for Halloween (or rather, while I helped Spiderman and a Dragon gather candy) the Loons wrapped up their home season. As has become tradition, they sent a dozen shots towards goal but only barely eked out a win. Franco Frangapane got the honors of inciting what will (barring a shocking turn of events) be the last Wonderwall of the year.

News & Notes

The Days are long…oh so very long…

Your mom is in the thick of concert season, my colleagues are waylaid with injuries and covid quarantines and we also have to do all the things for you boys. Knowing that if/when you read this, this time will be long gone, I hope you know that before we do anything else in the day, we marvel at the joy of just hearing you play, sing, laugh and be silly. (We would also really appreciate it if you’d save silliness for before and after we change clothes)

Yet the years are short…

It’s officially November which means many more teams are about to start their season break. Alebrijes watch will mercifully end this next week, and the Griz will either start cramming for finals or await their spot in the final tournament. The Loons need some help to make the playoffs, but Rosenborg’s two sides and Emelec will keep vying for position in our family table (more to come on that). It’s strange but true, it’s all coming together sooner than you think.

Players of the Weeks

There are many strikers in great form of late, but let’s turn the clock back and shout out Regan Charles Cook, who has been a treat to watch for Ross County and has buoyed the Staggies as they fight for their Premiership status in Scotland.

Standings Update

Rosenborg missed a great chance with Montana idle to gain ground in the race for the MacKenzie Cup, the two lackluster showings let the Griz grow their lead without even stepping on the field. Meanwhile, Grenoble’s sweep vaulted them up three spots and gave them a positive goal differential again.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
University of Montana20172.181.60.7
Rosenborg BK356132.062.31.2
Emelec2510121.811.61.2
Freiburg219171.531.71.5
Grenoble1910161.491.21.1
Punjab FC–b7461.471.20.9
Minnesota United139111.451.21.2
Legon Cities117111.381.11.0
FK Vozdovac119131.281.11.4
Ross County115181.121.31.5
Alebrijes513120.941.11.7
Table Updated 11/3/21
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, November 3rd

Ross County v. Hibernian

Alebrijes v. Correcaminos

Thursday, November 4th

Friday, November 5th

Montana Grizzlies v. Sacramento State

Saturday, November 6th

*HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY OWEN!*

Bayern Munich v. Freiburg [M]

Legon Cities v. Real Tamale

Vozdovac v. Cukaricki

Brann v. Rosenborg [M]

Grenoble v. Dunkerke [M]

Sunday, November 7th

Kolbotn v. Rosenborg [F]

Nice v. Grenoble Foot [F]

Rangers v Ross County

Turbine Potsdam v. SC Freiburg

*Big Sky Conference Championship*

Emelec v. Mushuc Runa [M]

LA Galaxy v. Minnesota United

Monday, November 8th

Tuesday, November 9th

Cancun FC v. Alebrijes

Weeks 42 & 43: Vacation Situation

Weeks 42 & 43: Vacation Situation

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

We went to Lusen, Minnesota for a family vacation, and, as such, I put much of my other writing on hold to be present with you boys. But, for the odd ducks who visit this site for summaries of action from Missoula to Mohali, well, here you go with two weeks of details

Results & Recaps

Rosenborg BK 2 – 1 LSK Kvinner [F]

Klepp 0 – 3 Rosenborg BK [F]

Rosenborg 2 – 2 Valerenga [M]

Rosenborg 4 – 1 Sandefjord [M]

It was a solid showing for Rosenborg these weeks, going undefeated on both sides of the training grounds. Stefano Vecchia continued to be red hot, showing that he earned player of the month honors last month (and maybe this one too), while Rosenborg sewed up a shot at the Women’s Champions League again, so next September they’ll be playing against the likes of Milan and Bordeaux to have the right to face teams like Wolfsburg and Real Madrid (like Mary Tyler Moore…we’re gonna make it after all)

Idaho Vandals 1 – 2 Montana Grizzlies

Eastern Washington Eagles 0 – 2 Montana Grizzlies

Montana Grizzlies 2 – 1 Weber State Wildcats

Montana Grizzlies 2 – 1 Idaho State Bengals

Camilla Xu’s unstoppable unstoppability came to an official end with three opponents hitting the net behind her in the Big Sky’s final bow of regular season play. But that didn’t matter much as Taylor Stoeger notched five goals over four matches and Sydney Haustein and Skyleigh Thompson rose to the occasion as play makers.

Let’s just enjoy Haustein’s volley to wrap up the regular season…shall we?

SC Freiburg 1 – 2 Bayer Leverkusen [F]

Freiburg 1 – 1 RB Leipzig [M]

Vfl Wolfsburg 1 – 2 Frieburg [M]

Vfl Onsabruk 4 – 5 Freiburg [M-Cup]

While the ladies improvement in form was halted abruptly by Leverkusen, the Men continued their unbeaten run. Lucas Holer has been the man on the mission of late, dishing two assists and one goal. They’re in the top 3 of the league and into the third round of the German cup, and frankly Holer’s pony tail is in my top two of possible haircuts this winter.

Ross County 2 – 3 St. Mirren

Ross County 2 – 3 Livingston

Say this for the Staggies they’ve found a new level of consistency under Malcai McKay. Though the ways they got to the end result were different (they never seemed to be in it against St. Mirren and were outdueled at the end, while they coughed up an early lead to Livingston) the Staggies were undone by the same scoreline at home. It’s been nice to try loaned keeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer at the back, but eleven ceded goals and one point in five matches might mean that Ross Laidlaw is still the best option at the back.

Vozdovac 0 – 0 Napredak

FK Radnik Surdulica 1 – 3 Vozdovac

I can find little to nothing to say about the goalless draw with Napredek, but the Dragons soared in the second half against Radnik, scoring twice within five minutes to put the game away. Again Nikola Vujnovic was the man of the hour getting the winner in a mad scramble before helping set up a prettier goal a few minutes later.

SC Bastia 0 – 0 Grenoble [M]

Montabaun 2 – 0 Grenoble [F]

Grenoble 1 – 2 Dijon [M]

It was a rough couple weeks for the Alpiners, as the men saw their winning streak dissipate, and the women dropped their second match of the season (a result that saw them slip to fifth in their division.

Austin FC 0 – 1 Minnesota United

Minnesota United 3 – 2 Philadelphia Union

Minnesota United 1 – 1 Los Angeles FC

The Loons have hit the last sprint to the playoffs in an absolute melee for the last spots in the West. The team can get hot and maybe this will be their booster pack to a cup title. They certainly showed it in their come back win against Philadelphia, but the scuffling attempts against a poor Austin team, and the sheer relief at managing a draw at home makes it feel like time’s running out. Some credit should be shared by Franco Frangapane and Robin Lod who have become more than Emanuel Reynoso’s supporting players, but a reliable tandem of their own.

Emelec 1 – 0 Orense [M]

Emelec 2 – 1 Barcelona SC [M]

The physicality of the match against Orense led to a double red card for one man on both sides, but a late Alexis Zapata goal saved the day there. But Joao Rojas double in the derby against Barcelona is one of the sweetest solutions we’ve had of late (particularly they blast of a goal he had to open it). With four matches to go in the closing campaign, Emelec just needs to keep up the showing to feel ready for the big title bout at the end of the year.

Celaya 1 – 0 Alebrijes

The Oaxacans have now slipped to the bottom of their table. And mercifully they only have three games to go until they can reassess and revise their goals…again.

News & Notes

A Subcontinent Shadow Team

The Indian I-League is still five-six weeks away, but we’re starting to feel torn about our allegiance. Round Glass Punjab is owned by a former Montanan, plays in one of our favorite parts of the country, and boasts some great international players that we can catch up on with ease…but then there’s another team.

Corbett FC actually plays very close to where I used to live (my most favorite part of the country), boasts a bunch of local players, and have Papa Tiger as their mascot. But they are hard hard to track (it honestly looks like they haven’t actually played in four years). The team was out gunned in qualifying for the I-League, but we’ll watch their progress with great interest…assuming we can…

Tournament Time

With the regular season in the books, the Grizzlies’ attention turns to tournament play, starting with the Big Sky Conference tournament in Greely in one week. Their strong record got them a first round bye, but they’ll still have to get a win in Greely against the Northern Colorado Bears to return to the NCAA Tournament for the second time this year. [Pandemics are weird man]

Here Come the Royals

Legon Cities kicks off their new season this weekend. When last we left the Royals, they had just escaped relegation, were fighting off legal challenges to their position in the top flight, and were embroiled in a messy divorce from manager Bashir Hackford. So what’s new with the sideshow that never stops?

Goalkeeper Fatua Duda is now Coach Fatua Duda. His likely replacement: Eric Ofori Antwi has arrived under a cloud of suspicion about being “induced” to leave his old club. Young Hashim Ali will try to step into the big boots left by Niger’s Victorien Adebayour. But the team’s other signees (defender Rashid Mohammed, teen forward Abdul Nassiru Hamza) boast some strong recent form of their own. So two normal stories and one perfectly Legon story to set up the season against…oh boy…Ghanaian giants and local rivals Hearts of Oak.

A Visit from the President

We don’t always get to see the best in the world, let alone hang out near them. But Megan Rapinoe, arguable the best and most influential women’s soccer player today just happened to hang out at our local soccer gathering spot (the same place Alex learned to roll pool balls, and napped during world cup time). As Rapinoe herself wrote, “… This outrageously beautiful mural from the outrageously talented @cyfione [Muralist Rock “CYFI” Martinez] to commemorate when The Gays (TM) took over the world. … I am truly honored, thank you with all my gay little heart. Spaces like these can be sacred ground for us, and this is a special one.”

Players of the Weeks

We can’t ignore the superb showings of Taylor Stoeger and Lucas Holer, and fortunately, we don’t have to! With two weeks of awards to give out, let’s hear it for them both!

Standings Update

I’m running well late, so I’ll leave the standings update for next week, but the duel between the Griz and Trolls continues to pick up steam at the top of the table.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
University of Montana20172.181.60.7
Rosenborg BK355122.122.41.2
Emelec2210121.731.61.2
Freiburg209171.501.71.5
Punjab FC–b7461.471.20.9
Minnesota United129101.451.21.2
Grenoble1710161.421.11.2
Legon Cities116111.391.21.0
FK Vozdovac118131.281.11.5
Ross County105181.061.21.6
Alebrijes512120.931.11.7
Table Updated 10/27/21
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, October 27th

Haugesund v. Rosenborg [M]

Dundee FC v. Ross County

Vancouver Whitecaps v. Minnesota United

Alebrijes v. Atalante

Thursday, October 28th

Friday, October 29th

Saturday, October 30th

Rosenborg v. Lillestrom SK [M]

Freiburg v. Greuther Furth [M]

Ross County v. Hibernian

Sunday, October 31st

Hearts of Oak v. Legon Cities

Grenoble v. Merignac [F]

Minnesota United v. Sporting Kansas City

Monday, November 1st

Tuesday, November 2nd

Week 33: Darker Before the Dawn

Week 33: Darker Before the Dawn

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Results & Recaps

Tlaxcala FC 1 – 1 Alebrijes

Julio César Cruz bagged the first goal of this year’s campaign on a simple but effective attack. However, it wasn’t enough to net Oaxaca’s first win.

Arminia Bielefeld 0 – 0 Freiburg

Freiburg was unable to find a way past Beilefeld’s keeper, but can take some comfort from a strong attack that kept their opponents on the back foot.

Also, this happened…

https://twitter.com/silvaculture/status/1427479206359969793

Sandviken 2 – 0 Rosenborg BK [F]

With their second loss to Sandviken, there’s no denying it anymore: the unbeatable Rosenborg is not the best team in the Topp Serien. Hard as it is to admit, it does focus the campaign not on staying unbeaten, but on reaching the Champions league (So far, so good)

Niort 1 – 0 Grenoble [M]

Mon dieu. It’s getting grim in Grenoble, as manager Maurizio Jacobacci has yet to win a match and our Alpiners are rooted to the bottom of the table.

Minnesota United 0 – 1 Los Angeles Galaxy

Another week, another Loon’s home match I had to miss. This time there wasn’t much to see as despite a strong defense and the usual Bébelo magic, the Loons couldn’t finish their chances.

Emelec 3 – 0 CSD Macara

Despite being a man down for much of the match (why cleat someone on your run Sebastian Rodriguez…why?), Los Bombillos dominated. Jose Cevallos had become an invaluable target man (just ask Dixon Arroyo), and Facundo Barcelo offers another bolt of speed to burn the opposition. Don’t look now, but Emelec’s just two points off the lead in the league and gunning for a season sweep of trophies.

Vozdovac 3 – 2 Novi Pazar

With Nikola Vujnovic leading the way the Red Dragons got another win. None of the goals were beautifully developed, but beauty and Serbia don’t exactly go together, I mean, just watch the wrasslin’ move that took down Milos Pantovic in the second half…eeks.

Mjondalen 1 – 2 Rosenborg [M]

While Carlo Holse hasn’t been the big name on recent Rosenborg score sheets he had a great game here supported by goal scorers Anders Konradsen and Erland Dahl Reitan. It still took some doing for Rosenborg to withstand the final onslaught of attacks, but they managed to make it across the finish line.

San Jose Earthquakes 1 – 1 Minnesota United

A late night match that I wasn’t going to stay up for, the Loons started out with an uncharacteristic gaffe from Bakye Dibassy at the back. Even with the Quakes losing a man a few minutes later, Minnesota struggled to get much of anything connected (playing two games in three days can have that effect on you).

News & Notes

Here come the Griz

It’s Taylor time! The Griz will follow the lead of fifth year seniors Taylor Stoeger in the front and Taylor Hansen in the back as they seek to cement their spot at the top of our MacKenzie Cup standings. The big challenge there will be extending their competition beyond the Big Sky. While Conference games made up 9 of their 11 matches in the spring, they start out with 8 non-conference games including three against power sides like Creighton, Gonzaga, and Boise State. Even their conference schedule is less comfortable with 5 road games (including at co-favorites Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado) as opposed to 4 home matches.

Hopes for Afghanistan

After 20 years, the United States armed forces (including a few dozen of your dad’s high school classmates), have left the nation of Afghanistan. The war started shortly after your mother and I met. It continued long enough for me to teach refugees from it and future soldiers in it. And then, we left with the same people in power as when it began and the same threat to women, girls, and contrary thinkers as we had at the beginning. We hope that the people of Afghanistan are safe and secure and remember that soccer is nothing next to that.

Player of the Week

Despite the lasting Kristoffer Zachariassen sized hole in our Rosenborg hearts, Anders Konradsen’s great form has gone a long way to easing the pain.

Standings Update

The Griz get back into action this week with their lead on the line. Kicking off with the Big East’s Creighton (alma mater of a couple Loons players), is going to put them to the test right away. Meanwhile, Alebrijes slides to the bottom of the table.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
University of Montana9022.52.10.6
Rosenborg BK22462.22.61.0
Emelec218101.81.51.2
Punjab FC–b7461.471.20.9
Freiburg135131.421.61.5
Minnesota United7661.421.21.2
Legon Cities–b116111.391.21.0
Ross County82111.321.21.3
Grenoble Foot108111.311.11.3
FK Vozdovac76111.131.01.7
Alebrijes4971.051.31.9
Table Updated 8/18/21
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, August 18th

Alebrijes v Tepatilan

Thursday, August 19th

Rennes v Rosenborg [M-Europe]

Creighton Bluejays v. Montana Grizzlies

Friday, August 20th

Metalac v Vozdovac

Saturday, August 21st

Freiburg v Dortmund

Grenoble v Quevilly [M]

Minnesota United v. Sporting KC

Nueve de Octubre v. Emelec

Sunday, August 22nd

Ross County v. Rangers

Rosenborg v Odd [M]

Montana Grizzlies v. Portland Pilots

Monday, August 23rd

Tuesday, August 24th

San Jose Earthquakes v. Minnesota United

Week 18: Bowing Out

Week 18: Bowing Out

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Scores

Novi Pazar 0 – 2 Vozdovac

It was a critical win for the Red Dragons. Taking all three points from fellow relegation battler Novi Pazar. The full on blitz put them two goals up inside of five minutes, with Aleksandar Bogdanovic and Stefan Purtic dealing the blows and they never looked in danger of fading. With four games left, staying up isn’t a guarantee, another strong road showing in six days would be an even bigger help [TO BE CONTINUED IN THIS POST…]

University of Montana Grizzlies 0 – 1 University of South Carolina Gamecocks [NCAA Tournament]

The Gamecocks had the Grizzlies on the back foot for most of the match. They had 10 shots on target compared to Montana’s 2, but the Griz had Claire Howard. Her new team record of 9 saves served the squad well and kept them close throughout the match. Unfortunately South Carolina got the game’s one break, and the Griz’s best season ever in rankings ended earlier than they would have liked.

Emelec 3 – 0 Red Bull Bragantino [Copa Sudamerica]

Los Bombillos continued their strong showing in the continental competition. This time standing up against Brazil’s representative to the Red Bull Empire. Alejandro Cabeza continued his fine form, netting the final goal while Pedro Ortiz pitched his second straight Copa shutout.

LSV Kvinner v Rosenborg [F]

Another week, another ladies league on hiatus. Rosenborg and the rest of the Toppserien will be back at the end of May.

Dundee United 0 – 2 Ross County

Boy did the Staggies need that. Jordan White and Alex Iacovitti scored in quick succession to give the team an edge on the road. Then Iacovitti and his back line buddies blockaded the goal giving Dundee a scant 3 shots, none of which were particularly close. It got them out of danger for the moment, before a match in two weeks against Hamilton that could doom their opponents and save themselves.

Legon Cities 0 – 1 Asante Kotoko

Don’t get me wrong, I like the Royals, but the hands down coolest name will always be “the porcupine Warriors” of Kotoko. An early goal boosted one of Ghana’s most decorated teams to the top of the league…the Royals, on the other hand, are still scuffling near the bottom of the table.

Minnesota United 0 – 1 Austin FC

Doom and gloom abounds after another home defeat. Erstwhile favorites Brent Kallman and Chase Gasper are close to persona non grata in online fan circles and after falling to the bottom of the whole league some serious questions are ahead for a “dark horse” contender.

Orense 2 – 3 Emelec [M]

After racing out to an early lead (made possible by Pedro Ortiz stopping an early penalty), Los bombillos almost gave it back. Fortunately the team held on to salvage Sebastian Rodriguez’s pair of penalties and a perfect chip from Alexis Zapata.

Grenoble 1 – 2 Clermont Foot [M]

Willy Semedo’s last gasp penalty was too little for the alpiners who officially lost their shot at automatic promotion. Their match at Auxerre on Saturday could clinch a playoff spot or keep us in suspense.

Mladost Lucani 1 – 0 Vozdovac

[CONTINUED FROM ABOVE…] unfortunately, a double in the week was not to be, as Vozdovac ceded the decisive goal right before half time. With three games to go, no one can afford to be complacent or defeated. The crunch match on the weekend with Napredak would go a long way to soothing anxiety before an expected thrashing against Partisan Belgrade in two weeks.

News & Notes

Last Dance

It’s definitely with a tear in our eye that we say goodbye to this iteration of the University of Montana Grizzly Soccer team. Even though we’re only joining the party this year, we’ve really enjoyed cheering for the ladies of Zoo Town throughout this campaign. We want to wish a very happy future to the seniors: Taylor Stoeger, Alison Monroe, Rebekah Burton, Catie Buck, Avery Adams, Rita Lang, Brooke Johnston, Mimi Eiden, and Masters students Alexa Coyle and Claire Howard.

Congratulations to the students, their families, and all the supporters who helped them obtain their degree. It’d be cool if you boys play sports, but we’d really love it if you worked as hard in the classroom as these women did.

Au Revoir, Grenobloises

In the rush of news from the last week, we missed that the French Football Federation (FFF) did in fact cancel the remainder of the 2nd Division season for women. So, Grenoble’s ladies will be out of action until the fall when, hopefully, they’ll get to play a full season for the first time since 2018-2019

Player of the Week

In this blog we stan Claire Howard, but we ought to recognize that other people play goal keeper too. Including Pedro Ortiz who has followed his fine showings for country with dominant performances for the club, putting Emelec in contention for both domestic and continental glory this year. He’s like the Claire Howard of Guayaquil.

Thank you Pedro

Standings Update

Emelec’s double over the week boosted them to the top of the table, but with the Griz on hiatus until the fall, any slip will put the garnet and silver back on top.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Emelec10212.462.21.0
University of Montana–b9022.452.10.6
Punjab FC–b7461.471.20.9
Grenoble Foot8671.431.31.2
Freiburg93101.361.51.5
Legon Cities FC5561.251.20.9
Alebrijes4751.191.51.9
Ross County6291.181.31.6
FK Vozdovac4581.00.81.6
Minnesota United0030.00.53.0
Rosenborg BK-b000–––
Table Updated 4/27/2021
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, May 5th

7:30 Tolima v. Emelec [Copa Sudamerica]

Thursday, May 6th

11:30 Hertha BSC v. Freiburg [M]

Friday, May 7th

Saturday, May 8th

1:00 Auxerre v. Grenoble [M]

6:30 Barcelona SC v Emelec [M]

9:00 Colorado v. Minnesota United

Sunday, May 9th

6:30 Koln v. Freiburg [M]

7:00 SC Freiburg v SGS Essen [F]

10:00 Ebusa Dwarfs v. Legon Cities

1:00 Vozdovac v. Napredak

1:00 Valerenga v. Rosenborg [M]

Monday, May 10th

Tuesday, May 11th

7:30 Red Bull Bragantino v. Emelec [Copa Sudamerica]

Week 16: Best in the Big Sky!

Week 16: Best in the Big Sky!

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Scores

Universidad Catholica 2 – 3 Emelec [M]

Doff your caps to Alejandro Cabeza. The young striker raced out to a brace in 10 minutes and got his hat trick in the second half. Just what every Ecuadorian side wanted to see, another in form striker for Los Bombillos.

Leones Negros 1 – 1 Alebrijes

It took just about everything that Alebrijes had to keep up the pressure throughout the match. Johan Alonso took charge of the right flank and peppered a wide array of opportunities that went awry. In the end, the greatest contribution came from Center Back Oscar Torres, who played a critical role at both ends of the field: disrupting a barrage of Leones’ attacks and being in the right place at the right time to net the equalizer.

University of Montana Grizzlies 2 – 1 University of Northern Colorado [Big Sky Semifinal]

After a steady and solid season Taylor Stoeger got a great moment to shine in the conference Semifinal. She was instrumental in the midfield and delivered the golden goal in overtime to get the Grizzlies to the much awaited and much deserved conference final.

Seattle Sounders 4 – 0 Minnesota United

That wasn’t great, but the video we sent to trash talk our Sounders friend Aly was.

Freiburg 4 – 0 Schalke

Boy did Freiburg need this one. Christian Gunter blasted some beautiful goals and Roland Sallai made his presence felt. (Oh also, Schalke is terrible, but every win gets 3 points.)

Dunkerke 1 – 1 Grenoble

Speaking of beating bad teams, it’s something les Grenobloises have failed to do lately. It probably owes something to Jekyll/Hyde games like Maumodou Diallou whose first half assist was mitigated by his second half red card, forcing a team fighting for promotion to simply play not to lose against a team battling to avoid relegation. Their next four all come against teams jockeying for playoff position too so, this time next month things will be great or absolutely not.

University of Montana Grizzlies v. Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks [Big Sky Final]

CANCELLED DUE TO NAU VIOLATIONS OF COVID PROTOCOL–Griz named champions by default

As Homer [Simpson] once said, “the two sweetest words in the English language: De-Fault!!”

TBA Guayaquil City v Emelec [F]

Que soprisa!! Another delay to the women’s league. We’ll see if May 1 proves more lucky than March or April.

Wolfsburg 3 – 2 SC Freiburg [F]

Hasret Kayikci continued her strong showings but Wolfsburg blasted back to confirm their place among Europe’s elite.

Medema 2 – 1 Legon Cities

The Royals made a comeback even without top Center Back Joseph Adjei who got red carded in the first half. Adjei’s absence was felt on Medema’s second and game winning goal 8 minutes from time.

TSC Backa Topola 4 – 1 FK Vozdovac

This thumping put the Red Dragons firmly in the relegation scrap. Napredak’s great form has capitalized on Vozdovac’s lousy showings. One reason for hope: 3 of the last 6 will be against fellow fighters separated by goals and two points. Here’s hoping the turn around is straight ahead.

Emelec 2 – 0 Técnico Universarito [M]

I hope you boys learn to love beauty in life. Hugs from little kids when they are sleepy, your mom’s smile, monsoon mists in Mussoorie. Caciedo and Barcelo dominating Ecuador isn’t quite at that level, but it’s getting close.

Grenoble 2 – 0 Sochaux [M]

It was quite a crunchy match in the offing with Sochaux on the outer edges of the playoff scrap. A win would have made their last months extra tense. But while Sochaux’s energies seemed to unsettle Esteban Salles, they also led to foolish errors that earned two penalties for Grenoble (both of which were duly buried by Jessy Benet). The win gave a little more breathing room for Grenoble (now 7 points clear in the playoff spots) but likely knocked Sochaux out of the running for progression.

Mineros 6 – 0 Alebrijes de Oaxaca

That was…what’s the word? Bad. That was bad.

News & Notes

Big Sky Superlatives

With the Griz getting both the Northern Division trophy AND the Big Sky trophy we have the first hardware won by any team on our Favorite XI. But the fun doesn’t stop there.

Four Griz were named to the All-Big Sky team: Holding Midfielder Avery Adams, Wingback Taylor Hansen, Striker Alexa Coyle and (quelle surprise) goalie Claire Howard were named best in the conference at what they do. Howard also won the Goalkeeper of the Year honors (not a shock with her record breaking form). Centerback Alli Lang was named to the second team and attackers Rita Lang and Taylor Stoeger took home honorable mentions.

The Griz came into the year as favorites to win, and they delivered. Now all that’s left is…

The Big Dance

The NCAA tournament is one of our family’s favorite events. You boys got a taste of that this year when we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s, ate tasty snacks, talked with family, and played and played and played. While we usually watch the basketball tournaments, Soccer has one too. This year’s tournament will be in North Carolina (one of the biggest hotbeds for college competition in the country).

Thanks to their regular season dominance (and the Lumberjacks’ illness) the Griz are Charlotte bound to be part of the Fabulous 48, and the chance to play into the thrilling thirty-two.

Up first a game with the South Carolina Gamecocks. If you extrapolate out the regular seedings the Griz would be 12th seeded in the region of 12 (45th of all 48 teams). The Gamecocks were a potent force in a powerful league, which means the Griz will be an underdog for the first time this year…but that’s a fine place to be. Win and the Griz tie a best ever season showing, lose and they still have a couple pretty Big Sky trophies in tow.

Superliga Feminina Forever

As in forever waiting to start.

This delay’s irrational cause for optimism that this time it’ll really happen. A detailed and stylish schedule tweet from the official league account! Surely a graphic designer’s work is always respected and honored.

Super League Salvos

The biggest news in soccer this week is the promised beginning of a new European Super League. This will be the 15 biggest clubs in Europe (plus five of their friends) raking in oodles of money, while their former opponents just make gobs of money.

Depending on who you ask, this is either a bad idea or a sign that the world is nearing an implosion of epic proportions. League officials are threatening to banish the big sides. Global leaders in the game claim that they’ll impose harsh fines and punish the players. Fans are mulling boycotts. It’s a fraught subject that brings to mind questions of “nationality”, “tradition”, “fairness,” and “global society.”

None of which matters to you two in the slightest. After all, you are under 4, by the time you bring full attention to any sport this league will either be an established institution or a bygone bit of trivia. Still this is my sporting journal of our times, so…there’s the big news.

Player of the Week

Jessy Benet had a huge impact on Grenoble’s standing for the end of the season, but Alejandro Cabeza had far and away the best performance, the least we can do is acknowledge it again here.

Bienvenido a nuestro casa Alejandro

Standings Update

The Loons debut provides a much appreciated cushion to FK Vozdovac in at least one table as Freiburg and Legon Cities continue to jockey for the advantage in the middle of the table.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
University of Montana9012.72.10.6
Emelec7212.32.01.0
Grenoble Foot8651.61.31.1
Punjab FC–b7461.471.20.9
Freiburg9291.451.61.5
Legon Cities FC5451.361.30.8
Alebrijes4751.21.51.9
Ross County5281.11.31.6
FK Vozdovac2570.80.61.7
Minnesota United0010.00.04.0
Rosenborg BK-b000–––
Table Updated 4/20/2021
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Wednesday, April 21st

1:45 Ross County v St Mirren

Thursday, April 22nd

2:00 Talleres v Emelec [Copa Sudamerica]

Friday, April 23rd

Saturday, April 24th

8:00 Troyes v Grenoble [M]

8:30 Freiburg v Hoffenheim

10:00 Legon Cities v Dreams FC

1:00 Vozdovac v Cukariki

7:00 Minnesota United v Real Salt Lake

Sunday, April 25th

7:00 SC Freiburg v Eintracht Frankfurt [F]

3:00 Órense v Emelec [M]

Monday, April 26th

Tuesday, April 27th