Good day soccer fans and welcome back to the Berkeley Soccer Association’s weekly update. The updates aim to be accurate and sometimes modestly amusing. Remember, we are not permitted to mention individual player names in this space, but we do report the scores and some of the exceptional coaching strategies, quirky facts and some stuff we just make up.
Let’s start with the ladies in week one.
The U16 Berkeley GALAXY opened up at home against the Freehold Thunder, but that wasn’t thunder you heard in the distance, it was the ball finding the back of the net four times for the Galaxy. Strong attacking, stout defense and exceptionally good goal tending led to an opening day 4-0 victory. Week two of the season found the Galaxy away at nearby Beachwood to face the Spirit. The game opened poorly for our home town favorites finding themselves down 1-3 early in the second half. The Galaxy showed strength of character and fought back to 3-3. Unfortunately, for our girls, the Spirit scored with a few minutes remaining. The final score was, Galaxy 3, Spirit 4. Coach Frank and Coach Colleen “the Fair” Burg were happy that the coach who got carded this week was wearing Beachwood burgundy and not Berkeley blue!!
The U14G CHEETAHS have kicked off the new season with two strong efforts. In their opener, at home against the Sayreville Tornadoes, the Cheetahs were the ones that were swirling. In a back-and-forth effort, the girls from Berkeley came back hard to come away with a 3-3 tie in week one. Coach Bill “Forever” Young faced a tough test as he had to figure out how to keep Coach Bob “Big Gulp” Gregory’s coffee hot the entire game. In week two, the Cheetahs found themselves away from home and in a defensive battle against the Peninsula Royal Eagles. In the end it was Cheetahs 0, Peninsula 0.
Coach Frank “Too Big to Fail” Crowe has his SHOOTING STARS flying out of the starting blocks. In their first game against the Point Pleasant Piranhas, the Shooting Stars skewered the fish by a score of 3-0. It wasn’t that close. In game two, the Shooting Stars showed some championship defense and ended with another shutout performance, this time against the Wall Dynamos. The wheels on the Dynamos were turning fast, but they could not find the back of the net against the girls from Berkeley. Coach Crowe was more than happy to board the team bus and return home with a 1-0 victory.
Coach Karen “Scoop” Bush kicked the dirt off her cleats from last season and had her U12G TORNADOES swirling at home in week one against the Lacey Stars. The Tornadoes showed up with their same familiar team work and confidence and came away with a tough 2-2 tie against the Lacey Stars. Week two ended on a sour note as the Jackson Fury proved to be a lot to handle. The final in week two was Jackson 6, Berkeley 1.
The final entry on the lady’s side of the opening contests involved the U10G Berkeley DIAMONDS. The Diamonds were stepping in to MOSA for the first time on the road against the BOM Comets. The Diamonds played hard, but the Comets were gritty as they scratched their way to victory by a score of 6-0. Diamond’s Coach Kathy “Raging” Rahtjen promises the girls will be fired up for the next game. (The week two score for the Diamonds was not available at the time this was written.)
On to the young men of Berkeley…
Berkeley Soccer is proud to welcome two new teams in the U14 boy’s category. The first is the Berkeley FUSION WHITE playing at the Premier level in U14. The lads opened the season on the road against the East Windsor Vipers. In a rugged battle the final was a 2-2 draw. The week two score against the Marlboro Scorpions was not available at the time this was written, but Coach Bert “The Big Hurt” Turelli has got to be confident that his young men will continue their strong play at this high level.
The U14B FUSION BLUE opened their season on the road against another nest of Vipers, this time it was the Vipers from Jackson. Playing on the road in this Nat 2 season opener was no easy task. The Jackson Vipers took advantage of the home field and came away with a 4-1 victory. Week two found our boys at home against the Peninsula Lightning Eagles (what is a Lightning Eagle, and what is this obsession with the eagles in peninsula, and what peninsula are we talking about?). Despite their best efforts, Berkeley fell to Peninsula by a final score of 6-0.
Another newcomer to the Berkeley Soccer Association is the U13B GK1. Playing in Nat 1, these young men opened on the road against the GAK United. This was another tough battle for the boys from Berkeley. In the end, they came away with a 2-2 tie. Coach Antonio “Tony” Meola (yes, that Tony Meola) has the boys fired up to play tough week in and week out. Their score from their week two, home opener, against the Peninsula Fighting Eagles was not available at the time this was written.
The U12B OUTLAWS came out riding hard and banging that ball in the back of the net. They opened away against the Lacey Thunder, but it was the Outlaws that made the noise. Coach Scott “The Shadow” Cranston was very happy with their 7-1 victory in game one. The score from the week two away game against the Stafford Aftershock reminds one of the old line in a song by Mary Chapin Carpenter, “sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug...” The Outlaws were defeated by the Aftershock by a score of 1-7.
Last, but far from least, is the U11B Berkeley CHARGERS. Coach Larry “Vanilla Ice” Burg has provided the strategy and his boys have done their part in the first two weeks. In week one, the Chargers tossed a shutout as the cruised past the TRSA Rage by a score of 4-0. In week two, over the sounds of their fans chant of “defense, defense” the Chargers repeated the results of week one – this time a 2-0 shutout of the Wall Tornadoes. Coach Burg declined interviews from both ESPN and the YES network and was heard to say, “This is about the boys, not me.”
