Crew Eliminated After Win Over Fire

The Crew wrapped up the preliminary round of the Commissioner’s Cup with a victory over their season-long rival Chinook Fire. Of all the teams the Crew faced this season, they played the most games against this Chinook side. The games were all tight, well-played, evenly-balanced, and exciting to watch. Twice this summer the Crew played the Fire in the last game of tournament preliminary rounds and advanced on the strength of a 3-1 win and 2-2 draw. This match was no different and the stakes were higher. The Fire needed 2 goals to guarantee the Crew couldn’t catch them in group play. The Crew, with a shutout and two or more goals, could catch or pass the Fire and guarantee an elimination round berth.

The Crew’s hopes for a shutout evaporated one minute into the game when the Fire managed to drive the ball past the entire left side of the Crew lineup to score their first goal. It took 2 minutes for the Crew to equalize. Ryan A came down the right wing, passed to Deivid who pushed the ball through to Jonathan. He finished strongly threading a shot through three defenders and past the keeper. After that the Crew clamped down on defense with 8 tackles from Austin, 2 more from Luke, and 3 crisp saves by Andrew. Colton came close to a go-ahead goal but missed the left post by inches about mid-way through the half. The Crew earned a corner in the 24th minute. Colton drilled the ball in front of the net where Jonathan directed it in off a defender and the Crew held that 2-1 lead through the end of the half.

The defense held off the Fire in the second half until the 45th minute when the Fire found a way to score to tie the game at 2. That goal guaranteed that the Fire would earn a tie for first and that the Crew could at best place second. Moments later Jonathan broke through the defense, fired a shot, grabbed the rebound when the keeper bobbled it, tapped another shot and had it deflected wide at the last second by a defender. On the ensuing corner, Jonathan fired the ball to Luke who shot just over the crossbar. With 5 minutes left the Crew earned themselves a victory when Jonathan launched a corner kick to Luke who headed the ball into the net. The Crew held on for the win but had to wait for the result of the United/Nationals match to see if they would advance.

The season ended abruptly after getting the result of the United/Nationals match. Westside United beat the NW Nationals 4-0 to earn one point more than the Crew in the Division C table. United earned their second place finish on the strength of their defense that yielded only 4 goals in three games. The Crew finished the season winning 4 of their last 5 games. The boys tallied 18 wins, 6 losses, and 1 draw in their season that lasted 8 months.

United Blows Past Crew 2-1

An icy wind swept past the families in the bleachers, picked up speed across the pitch, and whistled through the evergreens. The ball was blown in crazy directions as if by an invisible hand. At times it seemed like the boys spent more time chasing the ball off the field than playing with the ball on the field. It would be easy to blame the wind and a sinking late-afternoon sun, but Westside United played with the same conditions and managed to score more goals than the Crew in a tough, tough preliminary round loss.

The Crew lacked the intensity of their past two games and at times appeared to be sluggish. They managed two early attacks with shots by Deivid and Jonathan that went wide and high. Nick had an early save but the Crew yielded an early goal in the 8th minute. Ryan A had a foul shortly after that that gave United a free kick but the defense held. Nick kept the Crew in the game with 3 great saves in a row in the 23rd and 24th minute and Jonathan almost equalized with a header in the 25th but the keeper stopped that. United drove up the field off the feed from their keeper and scored to take a 2 goal lead. Nick had another save and Jonathan had another shot before the half.

The 2 goal lead would prove to be insurmountable even though the change of direction was in the Crew’s favor. Luke had a header go wide right in the 31st minute. Colton shot wide right in the 32nd minute. The Crew broke onto the scoreboard in the 38th minute when Deivid finished off a corner kick from Jonathan. Play was at mid-field and off the field for the next 10 minutes with both teams fighting for possession and against the wind. Jonathan had a long shot in the 43rd minute that sailed into the hands of the keeper. United was awarded a free kick when Luke fouled but the defense held again. United didn’t register a shot until the 56th minute when Andrew made two great saves to give the Crew an opportunity to tie. The Crew forced a flurry of activity in front of United’s net with two shots by Luke and another by Justin in the 59th minute. The keeper for United really won the game for his team by blocking all three to preserve the tenuous lead.

The loss combined with the win by the Chinook Fire puts the Crew tied for second place with United after week two. The Crew will face elimination this coming weekend against the Fire. A tie or loss will end the Crew’s season. Two or more goals and a shutout against the Fire will earn the Crew a game the following weekend. With any other margin of victory the Fire will most likely take first place on points and the Crew will have to wait for the result of the United/Nationals game and the tie break system.

2009 Commissioner’s Cup – Game 2

Crew Wins State Cup Opener 7-2

One wouldn’t expect the tenacity and pressure that the Crew applied in the first half after a nine-week layoff. In fact, they had only four practices in the last two months due to holidays and weather conditions. They picked up right where they left off against United Blue and launched a 20 shot barrage in the first half against the NW Nationals.

The Crew’s first 5 shots came less than 2 minutes after the opening whistle from the feet of Colton, Grayden, and Ryan W. With all the pressure seeming to be in the Nationals end, the Nationals managed to shoot wide in the 5th minute, forced Nick to make a save in the 7th minute and scored off a quick cross in the 9th minute. So often, the momentum will change giving up a goal after applying so much pressure on the other end but not this time. In the 13th minute Ryan A passed to Ryan W up the right wing and he crossed to Jonathan who capped off the rush with the equalizer from 8 yards out. The next 7 minutes saw Justin, Colton, Luke, Deivid, and Ryan W register another 8 shots between them – some near misses, some grabbed by the keeper. The Nationals broke through the defense line long enough to fire a shot wide in the 21st minute but after that the Crew dominated play. Luke had a beautiful lob pass to Deivid who scored in the 24th minute. Grayden, Bryce, and Jonathan had shots in the final 5, and Deivid scored his second goal of the game in the 27th minute.

The Nationals played a 4 forward line in the second half and forced Andrew to make a save early in the 31st minute. Luke fed Deivid with another pass in the 33rd minute and Deivid finished cleanly for a pure hat-trick. Less than a minute later Jonathan passed to Luke who passed to Grayden who finished for the Crew’s 5th goal of the game. Bryce registered two more shots after flying up the left wing with his speedy feet. Andrew made two more saves before the Nationals scored on a beautiful top-shelf shot over Andrew’s outstretched fingertips. Colton assisted on goals by Justin and Luke in the last 10 minutes to put the game entirely out of reach.

Game 2 of the preliminary round is 2:00 on Saturday at Cardon Field against Westside United Black B97.

2009 Commissioner’s Cup – Game 1

Crew Chop Down Timber Barons 3-0

The Crew had another strong performance this week and were rewarded with a 3-nil win over the Timber Barons. Nick and Luke split duties guarding the woodwork and earned a clean sheet. Nick was forced to make a save in the 2nd minute but wasn’t tested for the rest of the half thanks to Austin, Luke and Miguel’s stifling defense. The Timber Baron keeper was outstanding in the first half facing 7 shots, making one diving save into the left corner on what appeared to be a perfect shot by Jonathan. Colton crossed to Jonathan, Jonathan did a nifty touch pass to Grayden, and Grayden finished for the first goal of the game at the 20 minute mark. The Crew kept up the pressure and missed wide right twice more before the half ended.

The second half was really wide open. Luke made two saves early. At the other end, Jonathan launched two corner kicks that were stymied by the Timber Baron defense. The teams traded fouls in the 37th and 38th minutes. The Crew really started applying pressure with 4 shots in the next 4 minutes. Colton missed one of them and Grandma almost went to the car to get the teapot. In the 47th minute Grayden took a pass from Justin and converted his second goal of the game. One minute later Jonathan launched a shot over the crossbar. In the final ten the Timber Barons held the ball in the attacking zone, forcing Luke to make three more saves. The crew managed to catch the Timber Barons off guard when Ryan A threw in to Jonathan who crossed to Justin who drilled home the insurance goal in the 58th minute.

With the win, the Crew earn their fifth win in WSYSA Division 5 play and hold on to their fourth place spot in the table. The Crew face the undefeated Vancouver United Blue side to in the last fixture of the season.

2008 WSYSA Division 5 – Game 9

Crew Dominate But Lose 4-2

Maybe it was the chill in the air. Maybe it was the pre-game photos. Maybe the nets had an invisible force field. For some head-scratching reason, the Crew left Jason Lee stumped by a 4-2 loss to the Chinook Fire.

The Fire got off to a quick start with a goal on their first shot at the 2 minute mark. It was a beautiful finish on a cross through the 6′ box that Nick had no chance on. 17 minutes and 5 offsides calls later the Crew strung together an inbound throw from Luke to Jonathan who led Bryce to net with a great lob pass and Bryce chipped the ball over the keeper to tie the game at 1-1. The tie held for one minute until the Fire came right back and scored to take the lead 2-1. 6 minutes, 1 offsides call, and three missed shots later the Crew scored when David poked in a goal to tie the game at 2-2. When the whistle blew at the half the Crew had outshot their opponent 12-3 and had two goals called back from offsides.

The second half was very similar. The Fire scored again on their first shot 2 minutes into the second half to go up 3-2. The Crew kept the pressure up and held the Fire to one shot over the next 20 minutes while missing on 3 attempts of their own (and getting whistled 3 more times for offsides). The Fire got an insurance goal in the 52nd minute and then hemmed the Crew in their own end for the final 8 thwarting a comeback. Overall, the Crew outshot the Fire 16-6 and had another 10 attacks stalled by offsides.

With the loss the Crew are now 4-4 in District 5.

2008 WSYSA District 5 – Game 8

Crew Fall To Juventus 1-3

The Crew closed a huge gap in performance from their first meeting with Juventus but lost 3-1. Unlike their first match at Goot Park, the Crew matched Juventus stride for stride for 45 minutes. Colton put the Crew on top in the first minute finishing a corner kick from Jonathan. Four minutes later Juventus scored off a corner kick of their own. The shots were dead even 5-5 and the score was 1-1 at the half.

Five minutes into the second half, Juventus pressured and scored for a 2-1 lead. Play continued back and forth with missed opportunities at both ends. In the 45th minute Austin was whistled for colliding with a Juventus forward in the penalty area and Juventus capitalized on the penalty kick. You have to give credit to the referee for making the tough calls. Earlier she waved off two Juventus goals because of offsides. The Crew outshot Juventus 4-2 in the final 15 but couldn’t beat the keeper and the final whistle left the Crew on the short side of a 1-3 loss.

After a win over the Anderson coached Timber Barons the day before, the Crew are now 4-3 and in fourth place in Division 5.

2008 WSYSA Division 5 – Game 7

Three Goals, Three Wins

The Crew keepers earned a clean sheet in a 3-nil victory over Vancouver United White. Andrew had four first half saves and Nick added two more in the second half. The Crew put up four shots in the first six minutes and United put pressure on for the next four minutes. Colton scored off a pass from Jonathan in the 15th minute and Grayden scored off a Jonathan cross three minutes later. That’s the fourth game in a row where Jonathan and Grayden connected for goal. The Crew put three more shots on net before the half.

Grayden got off a weak shot in the first minute of the second half. The Crew didn’t really mount another strong attack until the 44th minute when Colton missed wide left. He missed another one wide left in the 50th minute. Jonathan had two attempts in the final ten. Grandma put away the teapot in the 57th minute when Colton scored his second goal of the game. The final whistle blew and the Crew found themselves on the winning side.

The Crew are 3-2-0 at the half-way point of Division 5 play.

2008 WSYSA Division 5 – Game 5

Crew Shoot Down T-Barons

It wasn’t really a fair fight. The Crew earned 12 goals on 32 shots yielding only 3 shot attempts in the first half and 0 in the second. The Jonathan-Graden connection worked again on Sunday. Jonathan nailed a corner kick that Graden finished for goal in the 11th minute. Jonathan sent a pass through to Graden who scored again in the 14th minute. Jonathan had a solo effort off of a Ryan A throw-in for the Crew’s third tally. Bryce scored unassisted from the left side in the 26th minute. When Bryce was crushed in the penalty area, Ryan W scored the PK just seconds before half to pace the Crew to a 5-nil lead.

Coach Craig changed the lineup at half and moved Luke from defense to keeper. Jonathan scored from outside the penalty area in the 31st minute. There was a beautiful combination of passes from Ryan W to Colton to Graden who finished with a goal in the 36th minute. The highlight of the day was a Colton header for goal off a beautiful cross from Jonathan in the 42nd minute (Colton’s play must have been inspired by Grandma’s undies). With the result out of question, Coach Craig shuffled the lineup again but the Crew just kept rolling. Nick, Justin, Graden and Austin rang up goals before the final whistle.

The Crew picked up another 3 points in division play and have moved up to 4th place in the table with a total of 6 points. The Crew are 2-0-0 against the West coached Timber Baron side this year. The Crew faces the Falcons on Saturday at Skyridge.

2008 WSYSA Division 5 – Game 3

Crew Put Out Fire 3-2

The Crew picked up their first 3 points in Division 5 play Saturday with a 3-2 win over Chinook Fire ‘97 (Coach Burris). This was the third time the sides matched up this summer and the rivalry picked right up where it left off. Nick protected the wood work and had a save early in the first minute. Luke started at defense with Austin sharing 4 tackles in the first three minutes. The Crew were hemmed in their own end through the first 7 minutes and the Fire missed wide left twice before Coach Craig made an early substitution in the 10th minute. Jonathan had the first scoring opportunity for the Crew in the 17th minute but shot wide left and missed over the crossbar in the 22nd. The teams played to a scoreless draw in the first half.

The fireworks started one minute into the second half when Jonathan drove a perfect cross to Grayden who finished for the Crew’s first goal. The Fire came back and peppered Nick who made 3 strong saves through the 35th minute. The Fire appeared to tie the game in the 36th minute but a late offside call nullified the tally. The Fire played aggressively through the 45th minute and were whistled for 3 fouls in that span. Grayden returned the favor with a nifty pass to Jonathan who scored in the 48th minute. The Fire continued to pressure and missed wide left and wide right and forcing Nick to make another save before finally scoring in the 51st minute. One minute later Justin was called for a foul in the penalty area and the Fire scored on the ensuing penalty kick to draw even at 2 goals apiece. Justin redeemed himself with a really nice ball passed to Jonathan who scored the golden goal with 5 minutes to play. The defense held until the final whistle and the Crew managed a 3-2 win over their division rival.

In three meetings this year the Crew are 2-0-1 against the Burris coached Fire side.

2008 WSYSA Division 5 – Game 2

Crew Drubbed By Juventus 4-1

The numbers weren’t pretty in the Crew’s league home opener. Nick earned hazardous pay in goal facing 17 shots. Add another 7 near misses by Juventus and the Crew yielded 24 scoring threats. The Crew managed just 9 shots for the game against the nearly bulletproof Juventus defense. Juventus scored late in the first half and managed three more before Luke scored the Crew’s only goal in the 49th minute. The Crew had 5 of their 9 shots in the last 18 minutes of the game but it was too little too late.

Goot Park hasn’t been friendly to the Crew the last two weeks taking into account a 2-1 loss in a friendly with the WSA Falcons. Next week the Crew travel to face Chinook Fire 97 who had a draw with Vancouver United 97 White.

2008 WYSA Division 5 – Game 1