Colts Trounce Panthers 34-12

The Colts won a nail-biter against a very strong Panther team on Friday night.  The Panthers were in the game and within one touchdown going into the 4th quarter.  But the Colts proved to be too tough in the 4th and closed the game out by shutting out the Panthers and also getting 2 TD's in the final quarter.

Here's the action on video:

And the photo highlight reel:

Atticus in the thick of it!

Can't buck the Colts!!!

The Colts were too much for the Jets and posted a 39-12 victory in the Week #4 match-up.  Pat was strong as QB, completing 4 of 6 pass attempts and also busting a blitz to run for a 30 yard touchdown.  Pat also led the defense with 4 tackles.  Atticus caught 2 TD passes, the first one was a 65 yarder!

Game Flow
Box Score

Air Attack from the Jump

The Colts let it rain from the first play when Pat did a quick hand-off to Brody and Brody sent a pass to Atticus on the right-side of the field.  Atticus made a solid catch and worked his way through the Jet secondary for a 6 pt TD on the first play of the game!!!

Atticus on a 65 yard trip to end zone!

Raptors hit the court in some funky purple to start the season!

Game 01: Raptors vs Nets 44-8

The Raptors showed up in some pretty questionable purple/pink jerseys, but they hit the court hard and fast to make a fashion statement with a 44-8 win over the Nets in the season opener!

The Raptors found their stride early with a 14-0 1st quarter shutout.  The 1st quarter made it apparent that the Raptors were more aggressive and better at putting the ball in the hoop...and that storyline held true all 4 quarters.

Brody led the team with 16 points, but he got there with 8 for 28 shooting (29% from the field).  Brody put up as many shots as the next 3 most active shooters for the Raptors COMBINED.

SDSC All-Star Classic

Great weekend for soccer in SoCal.  Nice and sunny, with highs in the low 70's, just weeks before the Christmas holiday...we have it good in SoCal.  

The BU8 portion of the All-Star Classic was hosted at the 4S fields (next to the 4S Boys & Girls Club).  The fields are artificial turf and the facilities/conditions were top-notch. The games were officiated well and it was really cool to be a part of the SDSC All-Star Classic.

The PQ All-Star team was formed just a couple of weeks ago, and competed in their first tournament against other All-Star teams created from rec team players under the San Diego Soccer Club (SDSC) umbrella.  

There were six teams in the BU8 tournament and they were split into 2 groups.  Based on within group outcomes, two teams from each group advanced to the semis on Sunday, earning an opportunity to to play in the finals and a chance to win the All-Star Challenge.

All of the teams were solid, which made for very competitive matches on all sides of the bracket.  

Brody breakin' for it...gut feel is that he didn't look for a cross opportunity (coming from his dad)

PQ Cup - Battle for the Hardware!!!

The culmination of the PQ soccer season is the PQ Cup, a full-day tournament  to crown the season champions.  A throwback to the good 'ole days when they kept score and there was a winner and a loser!

The action was split in 2 groups with round robin play within the groups.  One team from each group advanced into the finals based on total tournament points earned during the group play.

Group A	Group B
Fireballs (1)*	Galaxy (2)
Creepers (4)	Red Vipers (3)
Blue Devils (6)	White Fire (5)
Slime Ballz (8)	Sea Serpents (7)
* (#) is tournament seed based on season results

Group A

The Fireballs were the standout team in Group A, but the Creepers have played them really tough twice this year.  The Creepers did the unthinkable when they tied the Fireballs 0-0 in Week #3.  In Week #10 the Creepers had the Fireballs against the ropes when the went up 2-0 early.  Fireballs needed every tick of the clock to comeback and win that one 3-2.  All in all, the Creepers had a shutout on the Fireballs and own 2 of the 6 goals that have been scored on the Fireballs this season.  The stage was set for a great game to kick-off Round 1 of the PQ Cup action.

Round 1 (8:00 AM)
Fireballs (1) defeat Creepers (4) 1-0
Close match that was a scoreless tie through halftime, but Fireballs squeaked out the victory.

Blue Devils (6) tie Slime Ballz (8) 0-0

Round 2 (11:00 AM)
Fireballs (1) tie Blue Devils (6) 0-0 ....Fireballs slipped a little here, keeping the door open for the Creepers to catch up in tournament points

Creepers (4) defeat Slime Ballz (8) 3-0 ...the perfect game for the Creepers, getting the "perfect" 10-point game.  6 points for the win. 3 points (max allowed) for goals scored. 1 point for the shutout. 6 + 3 + 1 = 10, which is the most you can generate from a game.

Based on the outcomes through Round 2, the Fireballs secured a place in the finals before 1 PM.  Things weren't so cut and dry in Group B.

Round 3 (2:00 PM)
Fireballs defeat Slime Ballz 1-0
Creepers defeat Blue Devils 1-0

Fireballs advance to the finals...but who are they going to play?

Group B

Group B turned into a battle between the Galaxy and the Red Vipers with both doing everything they could to make it into the finals.

Round 1 (9:30 AM)
Galaxy (2) tie Red Vipers (3) 1-1 ...tied going into halftime.  Vipers get on the board and time was running out until Brody found a way to put one in the back of the net to tie it up with less than 1 minute left in the game!!!  It was a really exciting game.  Extremely stressful...but so much fun to watch the kids battle SO hard.  This type of game is exactly why I love to watch youth soccer so much.  10:00 AM and I've already had a great day!

White Fire (5) defeat Sea Serpents (7) 1-0

Round 2 (12:30 PM)
Galaxy and Red Vipers are tied in tournament points, so the race is on to secure a place in the finals.

Galaxy (2) defeat White Fire (5) 3-0 ...Shervin turned it on and scored all the goals to create the "perfect" game.  Win, shutout, and 3-goals for a total of 10 tournament points.

Red Vipers (3) defeat Sea Serpents (7) 3-0 ...another "perfect" game.

Galaxy and Red Vipers are in a dead heat through 2 rounds of action!!!

Equally important to the BU8 action on the soccer fields was a critical match up between the #8 Oklahoma State Cowboys at Iowa State.  When we finished Round 2, the 9-0 Oklahoma State Cowboys were down 7-17 to ISU and I had the chance to step out, get to a TV and help cheer OSU on to a tough, come from behind 35-31 victory and keep the dream alive!!!  Go Pokes!!!

Round 3 (3:30 PM)
We played first, so the Red Vipers would know exactly what they need to do to make it into the finals.  We reviewed the tie-breaking criteria and determined the best thing to do was put a lot of points on the board in case it came to a tie and we had to work through the tie criteria.  And that's what the kids did.

Galaxy (2) defeat Sea Serpents (7) 6-0 ...Another "perfect" game!  It was tight until the 2nd half when the boys put the pedal to the metal and submitted a really strong argument for being the team to make it to the finals.

Brody after scoring a goal

Dylan during halftime

Shervin on the hunt

Trevor with the Shake-n-Bake

White Fire prepping for their match with the Red Vipers. 

Red Vipers (3) defeat White Fire (5) 4-0 ...Another "perfect" game, so we technically tied with the Vipers, but our goal differential was enough to earn a place in the finals!!!

The Finals

The stage was set for a Galaxy (2) vs Fireball (1) showcase showdown.  The sun had set and the night chill was rolling in.  The champions were rolling in too.  Armin, Shervins' brother, won his division.  Bryce, Brett's brother and Coach Bryan youngest son, won his first championship in BU6!  The Girls U10 final was a face-off between Emma's friends Madison and Ava, with Ava and her Tidal Waves earning the top spot on the podium.  Lots of good soccer and good folks everywhere you looked.

Bryce bringing home the blue ribbon!!!

Fireballs (1) defeat Galaxy (2) 1-0  ...The game was tight, then Patrick (Fireballs), arguably the Fireballs best player, limped off with a injury.  With Patrick sidelined, it created an opening and the Galaxy turned on the offense.  A handful of shots but the Galaxy couldn't get anything past a strong Fireball goalie.  Patrick returned and it shifted the game to a more balanced back and forth....with nobody able to score until the Fireballs finally punched one through.

The Galaxy pressed as hard as they could as the kids were wearing down from the long day and the cold conditions.  As the clock clicked down Brody found an opening and launched one from the right side that bounced off the post and then off the goalie...but it bounce out of play and the clock expired.  1-0 Fireballs win the BU8 division in a really hard fought championship game.

Kids (and parents were cold)...we don't hang out it these cold conditions in SoCal!      

2015 BU8 Galaxy - 2nd Place PQ Cup

It was a great day of soccer.  PQ Cup never disappoints.  Congrats to the Fireballs for their victory.  Congrats to the Galaxy for a great season.  Kudos to the Galaxy coaching staff - really impressive demonstration of how to coach and lead kids in a positive and productive manner.

5 Minutes after the final whistle, Fireballs and Galaxy are still friends....that's good stuff.

Lots of good times had at Canyonside Park

Until next season,

- Marc

PQ Rec BU8 - Week #9 Results

Galaxy and Red Vipers face-off in an epic battle!

The Vipers hit the ground running and scored a goal on an impressive, rebound-off-the-goalie, second effort just a couple of minutes into the game.  The Vipers were up 1-0 and the action had the parents on the edge of their seats.

Wesley launching a throw-in

Evan Russo, one of the leading scorers in the league, making a break for it.

Lots of elbows and bumping that led to lots of kids on the ground.

Shervin outpaces Evan R.

PQ Rec BU8 Week #8: Creeper Season!!!

There were 2 games that looked good leading into the week.  Both games held up to the hype, making for another great day on the pitch.

#3 Fireballs def Slime Ballz 6-0

Fireballs continued a strong season with goals from Branden, Connor, Ethan, Jimmy, and Patrick.  More impressive than the string of goals, is the Fireballs defensive stance with only 4 goals allowed on them all season long.  The next best defense has allowed more than twice that at 10.

The Fireballs moved back into 2nd-place and face a formidable 4-win White Fire team next week.

#4 Creepers crept up on the #2 Red Vipers in a tense 2-0 battle

This game really showed how tough the league is getting as we are just 3 weeks away from the PQ Cup.  Trey, for the Creepers, put in an early goal to put the pressure on the Vipers early.  And the battle was on!  

Both teams moved the ball up the field and created lots of opportunities.  Until, the Creepers broke for a 2nd goal and held the Vipers scoreless for a 2-0 shutout.  

It was a big win for the Creepers!  Coach Sandoval was quick to congratulate his players and their individual and collective effort.  It was a fun game to watch.  

Blue Devils Corner the Galaxy, Force Galaxy to Face Their Demons

Galaxy def Blue Devil 2-1

This game was pegged as a potentially good match-up.  The Blue Devils came out and put the Galaxy on their heels just 10 minutes into the first half.  The Blue Devils had the Galaxy in check all the way through the 2nd-half water break. 

Brett (Galaxy #9) and Eilers (Blue Devil #9) battlin' for the ball