Monday Morning Report: December 28

"Emergency Crew" to the rescue

In a year of many firsts (wait for my end-of-year blog), A C D.C. pulled out another one this past weekend. Never before had we played in the absence of ALL the 4 official captains (and the manager) of the team. We had to this weekend because the indoor game last week was re-scheduled because of snow. With the vast majority of you out of town, I didn't think it would be possible to play. But, I was wrong. Kevin Frank, in his last game for AC D.C., was anointed "emergency captain," and brings this report.

Boxing Day Special:

So, on yet another grey and rainy weekend, AC D.C. mustered together an emergency crew to play against its indoor opponent, the Red Cyclone. This was a make-up game for the contest cancelled by the snow the previous week. As AC D.C. management scrambled to pull together enough players for a match the day after Christmas, we were ominously informed that AC D.C. had not lost at the Fairfax Sportsplex in two years ("no pressure guys, no pressure"). At the start of the match, AC D.C., playing in black, had only one sub, and the scoring was back and forth. AC D.C. never trailed, but the first half ended with the score tied at 2-all. On a happier note, we were joined by Ramon and a friend shortly before the half, bringing our sub total up to 3 and giving us some needed fresh legs.

This seemed to turn the tide, as we managed to claw our way to a 4-2 lead. We dominated the game, had several shots hit the post, and generally managed to stymie their offence. For the few shots they did manage to take, Luis "El Grillo" Campillo (It means "grasshopper" Walter, it isn't a reference to Sicilian grapes) played wonderfully as our emergency keeper. We switched into "keep away" mode with less than two minutes to go, and the other team managed a garbage goal with 30 seconds remaining. After letting the last seconds tick off, we heard the sweet sound of the whistle. Final score, 4-3.

Back to the manager...

So, we remain undefeated and untied at Fairfax. Thanks for all of those who showed up to play this weekend. Let's continue our run indoors this winter both at Fairfax and for futsal.

Monday Morning Report: December 14

It was a great weekend of footballing for AC D.C. We started Saturday's indoor game a bit dodgy and our opponent actually went up on us by 2-1. Their go-ahead goal was a flukey over-head, pseudo-bicycle-kick from half court, which was just outrageous. After that, we woke up and got ourselves organized. They didn't have many opportunities thereafter, and we won the game 9-4. We remain undefeated, and un-tied.

Sunday's game will be reported later, as it was a special occasion. A 5-year veteran is hanging up his AC D.C. boots, so we'll leave that special report 'til later.

The picture you see here is from Saturday night. Just like in the movies, cartoons and what-not, I have an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. We spent dinner discussing some of our ideas for the 5-year-plan "Great Leap Forward" for AC D.C. Mainly it had to do with how to keep everyone playing, making sure that all our players are enjoying the game and maintaining our competitive edge at all times. With so many players in the mix, it is a pretty complex subject. A major change in the league structure of WISL will further complicate the matter. But the food at The Source, including an outrageous chocolate souffle, made the time go by pretty quickly. You'll all hear about these issues and ideas in the months ahead.

Pointing the finger at no one in particular, I'd like to ask everyone to PLEASE show up to play if you answer "yes" to an evite. Obviously, if we put you on the evite roster, we want you to play. But if you are less than 90% certain you can play, please talk to me or the appropriate captain of the squad. That way, we have a chance to find someone to fill the spot if needed. Clearly, we understand that "emergencies" happen and players may sometimes need to pull out of a game last minute. But if that happens, you should also contact us, so we don't keep looking for you to pull into the parking lot.

Finally, a personal, unabashed plug. I will be living in the Kennedy Center this next week for rehearsals and performances, since I turn into essentially a professional singer in the month of December. The National Symphony Orchestra's Messiah will be performed Thursday through Sunday this upcoming week. If anyone is interested to see me on stage, go to the NSO website!

Here's the Special Report about Sunday's game....

Monday Morning Special Report

ACDC Triumphs over weather, numbers, and opponents

All - Seeing as how this was Kevin Frank's last game. It was only fitting to have him write the MMR and share some comments with us. His re-cap and comments below.
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It was a dark and stormy night...okay, actually, it was merely a cold, wet, gray afternoon. Regardless, it was the final regular-season game of the ACDC Fall Coed league and the weather was miserable. We were barely able to field eleven at the start, and only one straggler arrived after the opening whistle, giving ACDC one sub. Berger, our opponent, had four subs for their side.

Due to the soaked pitch and steady rain, the ball was slow, and bounces were often treacherous and uneven. Nevertheless, Anna "Keeper Zero" Yoder was, as usual, a rock between the pipes, making several excellent stops. By the end of the first half, ACDC, playing in black, had managed to stake a 1-0 lead on a goal from Parham "Big Daddy" Farid (Nota Bene: Parham had used up the last of his liniment before the game, leaving him unable to apply an additional coating at halftime).

Our opponents struck early in the second half, equalizing the game at 1-all. Their superior numbers began to tell as well, as they controlled the midfield and won a lot of 50/50 balls, resulting in several quality shots on our net. Everything seemed to indicate that the game was heading for a tie, which would have denied ACDC a winning season in the Coed league for the first time in this author's memory, but then, late in the game with less than 10 minutes remaining, our opponent misplayed a ball deep in their half and Parham made them pay, notching his second goal and putting ACDC ahead 2-1. However, ACDC was not finished scoring, and Morgan "I can't come up with a pithy nickname" Spencer put a shot in the back of the net to put he game out of Berger's reach. Final score, 3-1.

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On a personal note, this was the final game I'll likely play for ACDC, as my desire to be gainfully employed is dragging me to Houston. Barring a miracle or a lengthy federal energy rate case that stretches across a weekend, I won't be here on Saturdays and Sundays anymore. Subject to check, I believe that I first played for ACDC in the Spring of 2004 (fittingly enough, that game was at St. John's, and it was raining). Since then, I've spent lord-only-knows how many weekends with the team on soccer fields around the DC metro region, played with dozens of teammates, and even occasionally notched a goal or two (actually, exactly two). I've watched the team branch out into the extremely competitive WISL league with a men's team. I've seen the ACDC section of my wardrobe expand to encompass a T-shirt, 2 old jerseys, 2 current jerseys, a couple pairs of shorts, two long-sleeved T-shirts, a cap, and two warm-ups. Oh yeah, and several pairs of "retired" socks. I've donated two towels to teammates who managed to get seriously injured on the pitch, and I've managed to avoid serious injury on the soccer field. Worst thing that ever happened to me was a little retrograde amnesia from a particularly bad hit in the Spring of 2006. Apparently we went to brunch afterward and I drove myself home, though I don't remember any of it (kind of like most of the parties at Walter's house). Still, for those memories I have managed to retain, thank you ACDC, it's been a blast. If I do manage to stay in town on a weekend, look for me on the sidelines, manning the stopwatch.

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Manager's note: Thank you, Kevin, for 5 good years and the newest warm ups. With the results on Sunday, we missed the playoffs by goal differential. Bummer. Recall, we lost two games 1 nil and were competitive in both of them. If only we managed a draw in either of those....Ah....there's always next season.

Monday Morning Report: December 7

Day of infamy....yet again. Did you know that the American flag that hangs near my study was the one flown over the Arizona Memorial on the day of my 18th birthday?

The weekend for AC D.C. was truncated by snow. Several of you were very unhappy that the Sunday game was still on schedule as of Saturday evening, when it was apparent that the wetness was going to freeze overnight. Alas, Larry the intellectual did in fact cancel the pivotal co-ed game cuz the pitch was unplayable.

While the snow was falling Saturday, the indoor squad had a tough test. We played a middling team and jumped on top early. But in the middle of the second half, we switched off. It was a scarry sight to behold, as we inexplicably forgot how to play defense. Our opponent came back from a 4-goal deficit and even went up on us for a brief time. Just as mysteriously, we started playing for real again, and finally won the match 7-5. Let's not do that "switching off" again!

To end, I'll explain the picture. It's an old one and some of you will remember it. It was taken in Germany in 2006 before the England v. Sweden match in Cologne. I am a big England fan, if you can't tell. The fact that England and the US are in the same group means that Lord Cornwallis may have his revenge for the surrender at Yorktown.

I'll have a lot more to say about the World Cup draw in future blogs, but for now, let's just say that for England and for the US, the group they drew is pretty sweet. Any group for the US would be better than last time: Ghana, Italia, Czech Rep.

I just finalized plans and bought tickets to South Africa last week. Really looking forward to it all.

Have a great week people.