Far West Regionals Round Up

For 69 minutes and 30 seconds Sodium was the better team. From the opening whistle and for the first 30 seconds, NV Neusport was better, and scored.

The heat sweltering, the battle epic. Sodium pushed and pushed but could not come up with the equalizer. What a match, easily the best of the tournament, probably the best of the year. The 9th ranked (Nationally) NV Neusport squad was big, fast, physical and a powerhouse. These girls were the toughest team we have faced and the girls responded without blinking an eye. Their offense was vicious, our defense answered the call admirably. Their defense was tenacious, the Sodium offense countered with attacks from assorted forwards and midfielders. In the end, defense will get you where you need to be, but offense needs to put in the final nail.

The final whistle was met with tears of frustration and disappointment. The girls knew the outcome could have, should have, been different.

Do not hang your heads Sodium! You accomplished great things this season and have paved the road for successful seasons to come. Keep in mind all the great memories you have made, all the friendships you have bonded this year. And think of the new horizons that lay ahead with high school teams and U15 Sodium this summer. You have the world by the tail and we are so very proud of each and every one of you and all you have accomplished this year.

Neon set the bar high, now its your turn to clear it.....

From the hotel lobby in Albuquerque NM, we yell; GO SODIUM!!

Sodium takes a couple days off in preparation for quarterfinals.

Wednesday's game against West Coast FC really meant nothing to Sodium. Win, lose or draw, Sodium was advancing to the quarterfinals. WCFC, on the other hand, had everything to lose. They needed a victory by 2 points or more to have a shot at the second position in the bracket. WCFC brought the house and, well, Sodium brought their 'C' game and played like a team who was advancing. Players rested their injuries and played it safe, looking forward to Friday, and handed WCFC an lackadaisical 1-1 tie.

From the sidelines
The West Coast FC coach needs to lighten up on his players. I have never heard a coach yell more negatives at his players than this coach. Everything from "Your walking!" to "Your not giving it everything!". One of our players said he even called a player 'Stupid'. Pretty classy. He was screaming at them to "Play Up, Play Up!!" which they did and that is what gave Lexi Frey the opening to score the tying goal! The keeper couldn't get back into position fast enough because she following the coaches orders. Another nice move. But I can understand the desperation when the wheels start falling off for the 2009 Far West Regional Champions. To finish the preliminary bracket in last place, earning 0 wins and just 2 points and trip home early, must be quite a shock to them.

And to the West Coast FC parents; News Flash: Soccer is a Contact Sport!
Every time a WCFC player was bumped or went down, the parents came unglued. Yelling at the refs and players. It was comical. During one such outburst by a WCFC mom I couldn't help but burst out laughing. She then came over and started yelling at ME! The fans to my left, who were waiting for the next game, were even laughing at her. Again, classy. The best part was when I was collecting the team water bottles and overheard the same mom say; "We totally dominated". My response under my breath; "You sure did, all the way home" Ha Ha Ha!!

Bracket Breakdown
Flight A
NM - Elite FC Barcelona - 7pts
HI - Leahi 96 Premier - 6pts

Flight B
CN-F - Foothill MVLA Lightening - 9pts
NV - Neusport 96 Green - 6pts

Flight C
OR - THUSC United Sodium - 7pts
UT - Sparta 96 Premier - 4pts

Flight D
CN - Mustang Fury - 9pts
CS-S - Arsenal FC - 6pts

Quaterfinals
NM - Elite FC Barcelona vs CS-S - Arsenal FC
CN-F - Foothill MVLA Lightening vs UT - Sparta 96 Premier
OR - THUSC United Sodium vs NV - Neusport 96 Green
CN - Mustang Fury vs HI - Leahi 96 Premier

Stay tuned for updates!

GO SODIUM!!
GO OREGON!!

Wish you were here!

Go Sodium!!

A little help from a friend

Sodium parents look for a little devine intervention at Basilica of St. Frances.

Chill'n

Sodium parents chill out to some New Mexican cuisine and a couple of Corona's.  Yee Ha!

Sodium advances to Quarterfinals with win over UT!

With the 2-0 victory over Utah Sparta 96 Premier squad last night the Lady Warriors of Sodium are secured a spot in the Far West Regional Quarterfinal round!

The UT team proved to be a big, tough and physical opponent for Sodium. Not only were their forwards big and lightening fast, their defense also proved to be the fastest the lady warriors have faced. The first was definitely a battle with temps soring into the 90's.

Early in the second half Lexi Frey brought the ball in deep from her defensive position. Lexi took her time and spotted Aliyah Chance streaking from her right forward position and ripped a beautiful lead pass that Aliyah took in stride. Two touches and Aliyah blasted a shot that was too hot for the keeper to handle. The ball deflected back to Aliyah who side-stepped the keeper and popped it in for a 1-0 Sodium lead!! Play resumed as tough and physical as ever with the UT squad pushing hard for the equalizer. Taylor Luty stepped up and had another major league performance.

With under 10 minutes left in the match Emmy Owens drove the ball again deep into the right side drawing the defenders to her. Emmy broke loose and found Eli Beard at the far post who poked in the second and decisive goal! The girls, with what little they had left, mauled Eli and Emmy. The last couple minutes were fast and furious with the defense hanging on tight enough for a 2-0 final.

Notes from the sidelines

The Utah team was an excellent team. They were big, physical and technically sound. Much better than the New Mexico squad. Sodium came in and really brought their 'A' game. There were many standout performances, too many to list. Overall the lady warriors played very well.

Remaining Preliminary Game

Tell me the girls aren't pumped up to play West Coast FC (CS). Regardless if Sodium wins/ties/loses they will advance to the Quarterfinals as the #1 seed from Flight C. WCFC is coming off 2 disappointing performances against Utah (5-3 loss) and New Mexico (2-2 tie). Sodium is looking to prove a point in Wednesdays game. 

Bracket shakeout

Fridays Quarterfinals will be solidified after todays games but as it looks now, Sodium will play (NV) Neusport FC 96 Green.

More details as they develop.

GO SODIUM!!

  

A little good mojo

Team Neon beat Utah this morning 3-1 so it just seems right that Sodium's 'big sisters' would donate their winning white jerseys to Sodium to wear in their match this afternoon against Utah. It's all about the bonding.

Team on 3....

GO SODIUM!!

Sodium posts a win in first Far West Reginal match.

Defense wins championships. You hear it nearly every sport. Soccer, in my opinion, is no different.

Sodium took on an extremely tough Rio Vista squad this afternoon in New Mexico. A Rio Vista squad used to scoring an average of just under 5 goals per game in their state championship tournament. Nice job Luty, Coon, Andrea, Lexi, Payton and KJ.

And Sodium mids showed they can hang and play tough. The Rio had some very tough, quick and skilled mids, Sodium shut them down.

Sodium also showed they know how to keep the pressure on. Easton, Mac & Emmy kept pushing and pushing. Kelly came in and showed she can make a great impact. Both physically and technically.

Late in the first half Taylor ripped a long ball to Mac who two touched and lead a perfect pass to Easton who took it home for a 1-0 lead. Late in the game Sodium had many opportunities but one sticks out; There was free kick from about 33 yards. Laura Camp, who is notorious for scoring from this range, lined it up. You heard the Rio coach say; "It's outside her range". Ha Ha Ha! We looked at each other on the sidelines as Laura unloaded a shot that knocked the keeper over as the ball deflected up and over the crossbar resulting in a Sodium corner kick.

The girls will be tested Tuesday as they take on a very tough team from Utah. Defense will be tested. Offense will be tested. It very well could be the toughest match for Sodium. Get some rest, hydrate and come out tomorrow with attitude and fight Sodium. Show Utah what a real champion is made of.

From under the fan tent we will be yelling; GO SODIUM!!

Back home in Portland...

While the lady warriors battle for Region IV supremacy,  back in Portland the Untied Cup pushes on. Pictured below is Dan Lautenbach after sorting through and organizing 500+ metals for the awards ceremony.

We appreciate your help Dan!

GO SODIUM!!

Crest

On the front of the new hoodies supplied by Team Ireland, each team had an emblem representing their team.

This is Sodium emblem.

Many, many thanks to Ireland.

Going Tribal

Team Sodium puts together a tribal cheer for the all team meeting hosted by THUSC Ireland.

Dinner, video, NWR Sweatshirts were all donated by team Ireland.

In a word, awesome.

Go Sodium!!

Dinner

The Lady Warriors getting ready for dinner the first night in New Mexico!

Go Sodium!!

The Wal-Mart Experience

Peter gets his first taste of Wal-Mart in New Mexico. "Overwhelming" was his response.

An eye opening experience for everyone.

Go Sodium!!

Far West Regional Bracket

Keep tabs on how Sodium and the rest of the brackets are playing out by clicking the link below.

Click Here.

GO SODIUM!!

Departure

Excited faces filled the Portland airport as teams from all over Oregon and SW Washington get ready to board their flights for New Mexico.

Current temp is 97 degrees.

GO SODIUM!!

Heart of a lion

I just watched USA's second round game against Slovenia.

The USA boys came out a little lackluster, a little overconfident and found themselves down 2-0 at half. A near insurmountable deficit by World Cup standards. But in the locker room coach Bradley lit a fire in these men. For it's not about the Brandon Donovan's, or Tim Howard's or the Clint Dempsey's, it's about the Red, White & Blue, it's about the USA.

The US came out with such fire in the second half you could sense a miracle was in the making.

Donovan scored right in the face of the Slovenia keeper and the crowd, all decked out with flags and face paint, went absolutely nuts! Yellow cards were flowing like butter as minutes later Jozy Altidore deflected a header to wide open charging Michael Bradley for the tying score!! Fans all over the world screamed as the comeback kids of the USA tied it up with just minutes left in regulation. There was still time, but could they pull it off? Could they pull a miracle like the 1980 US Hockey team? At about the second minute of extended play Steve Churundolo lined up a free kick and let it rip. The 6-yard box looked more like WWF cage match than a free kick with players draped over Donovan and Dempsey like spider monkeys but breaking out of the fray came Altidore who ripped the ball past the Slovenia keeper! Coffee flew wildly all over the Coon living room as I jumped up screaming in celebration! But alas, the center ref, as he had done all match, blew the call and the USA wasn't awarded the goal. Time ran out, the ref ran away and the match ended tied 1-1.

What I want you, Sodium, to take away from this epic game is that the boys never gave up. They were down 2-0 at the half and it inspired them, fired them up, motivated them that for the next 45 minutes they would hold nothing back. For their team, for their coach, for their country they would leave every ounce of themselves on the field. They never backed down. A weaker team would have rolled over, but they were in the face of the Slovenia players. Physical. Aggressive. Relentless. And they never lost faith. You ask any one of the USA players coming out of the locker room after half who was going to win this match and I guarantee you every single one said they would.

Never Give UP. Never Back Down. Never Lose Faith.

Keep this in your mind Sodium as we make our way to the fields in New Mexico.

With vuvuzela horn in hand (just kidding) the faithful Sodium fans will yell: GO SODIUM!!

Slogan...

Slovania, the smallest country to be represented in the World Cup, coined a slogan I thought was blogworthy. It is;

"With 11 brave hearts we will endure to the end"

That about says it all.

GO SODIUM!!

Regional Schedule & Comparisons

OK folks, the moment we've been waiting for; the official Regional Schedule!!!

MON 6/21 - NM (Wild Card) Elite FC Barcelona vs Sodium @ 2pm
TUE 6/22 - UT Sparta '96 Premier D.B vs Sodium @ 4pm
WED 6/23 - Sodium vs CS West Coast FC @ 2pm
FRI 6/25 - Quarterfinals @ 12 noon
SAT 6/27 - Semi-finals @ 10am
SUN 6/28 - Final @ 10am

Notes from the sidelines
How Group 'C' matches up.

NM = Elite FC Barcelona
3-1 in Bracket play, then Semi's & Final [6 games]
Goals for = 27, Goals against = 5

UT = Sparta '96 Premier D.B.
2-0 in Bracket play, Quarters, Semi's, Final [5 games total]
Goals for = 27, Goals against = 6

CS = West Coast FC
3-1 in Bracket play (1 game to PK's), Quarters, Semi's (OT), Finals [7 games]
Goals for = 15, Goals against = 2

OR = THUSC United Sodium
3-0 in Bracket play, Quarters, Semi's, Final [6 games]
Goals for = 17, goals against = 0

Looks like UT team has a lot of firepower. 27 goals in 5 games. Sodium is the defensive favorite but will need the offense to click if they are to advance. WCFC went into both PK's (bracket) and OT (Semi's) to advance.

Going to need to lace 'em up and strap it on to advance past Wednesday Sodium. Practice hard, get plenty of rest and be ready to battle in New Mexico!

From under the 'parents tent' in a lounge chair with an umbrella drink, the parents will be yelling; GO SODIUM!!

Welcome to Oregon

Sunday Sodium took on the U16 NW National Team from Seattle. The score was 0-0 but the most obvious thing that stood out were the conditions. 4 inches of water in at midfield, 2 inches on each side.

Neither team could get a pass on the ground to go more than foot. Every play was emphasized by a 4 foot splash of water. Throw in the fact it rained hard from whistle to whistle and it was almost comical.

After the game the National team went for a swim as the majority of the players turned the Cook Park field into a giant 'Slip-n-Slide'. Too funny.

Onward and upward as the lady warriors prepare for New Mexico!

GO SODIUM!!