What a week of Futbol/Football/Soccer/Calcio

So much going on this week in world futbol.  First you have the UEFA Champions League (cue the Heineken song...), the Copa Sudamericana (the 2nd tier South American Championships), and more...

On Tuesday and wednesday, the world was stunned by the shocking exit of Manchester United and Manchester City from the Champions League.  City fans at least have an excuse - this is their 1st time inthe competition.  The Red Devils on the other hand...losing in shocking (and very muddy) fashion to FC Basel in Switzerland was stunning.  The main culprits went thru: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Chelsea, Arsenal and Lyon (more on this mainstay from the group stages in a minute), while upstarts Napoli, Marsielle, Zenit St. Petersburg, CSKA Moscow, Basel, Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica and finally Apeol round out the Final 16 for the knock-out stages.

• Manchester United's shocking exit
• Machester City wins but loses out to Napoli
• Manchester in mourning
• Madrid's amazing undefeated group play
• Barcelona keeps rolling - even with their babies
• Italians send 3 teams as the final 16 is set
• tiny Apoel is the 1st team from Cyprus ever to make it thru - EVER!
• more here...

Copa Sudamericana:

• Liga de Quito (Ecuador) vs Universidad de Chile (Chile)
• finals are home-and-home starting Dec 8th (Quito) and finishing Dec 14th (Santiago)

Olympic Qualifying groups and locations set

• USA will be in Nashville
• Mexico will be here in LA
• semis and finals will be Livestrong Park in Kansas City
• more info...

tomorrow: El Classico!

and now from a Parent's Perspective!

*written by the one and only - Adam Sacuy!  This is kind of a recap for all those who stayed home and those who went but can't remember the last 4 days. I will just cc you my diary.

   

Wed Nov 30---- Dear diary -----next time I fly remember that the guy's in the blue coats don't know squat and the more your daughter cries the easier it is to get the red coated managers to rebook you.Maybe Madison should have been an actor or was that not acting? Wow---- if I didn't get there--that would have been great ---- 30 people arriving at Atlanta with no cars- but not to be---- we all made it and yes you can fit 30 people and luggage into two mini vans! Kids dropped off at hotel ---- "I Coach's" (formerly Coach M) phone is charged and the Atl homies are mad at me because bar at house was not stocked properly. That's what I get for coming early and waiting at the airport for 5-1/2 hours for all pick ups.Can't wait till tomorrow.

 

Thur Dec1 ---- Dear diary ----I hope Mackenna uses the money I left for buying moms birthday gift------ for buying moms birthday gift? Her Facebook says different? Oh well Tracey has put up with it for 24 years ,she must be use to it by now. Maybe Mackenna will invite her to the rager---what ever that is? Had lunch and food shopped ---who knew uncle Ted is a restauranteur in Sandy Springs---who knew MJ was such a good shopper. Game time was 7 pm and 32 degrees. Tough game we had our chances --- a tie -- surprised how many coaches came to watch!----- CPK for dinner ---girls call.

Georgia From A Player's View

*(written by the GU16 White)
Wednesday, November 30th:
We all met at LAX to head off to Atlanta, Georgia. We were so ready to play our first National League Game. We landed around midnight, drove to the hotel in our vans, and went to bed.

Thursday December 1:

We started with a 10am breakfast of a horrible bagged breakfast...hahaha. Then we went for a walk around the area chanting many Beach cheers. We came back to the hotel and had a short break before heading out to check out the fields. We made a quick stop at Subway on our way back from the fileds (not a good thing for Kirsten btw). When we got back to the hotel we had a couple hours of study(mostly nap time). We left the hotel around 5pm for our first game. We were all very nervous and excited and when we got out of the car we felt the 35 degree chill. It was very obvious that we were from California when we saw the looks on the faces of other teams and their parents. As we started to warm up jackets slowly were taken off and we were ready for are first competiton. Yeah so that game ended up being a tie 0-0. The MVP being Katie Pratt........Thompson. On the positive note we had pizza at CPK yes at Georgia but we MISS home. REMEMBER don't have your phone out at dinner, its a great opportunity to have some bonding times and color from the four cheap crayons they always give us. But Coach Mauricio had a pretty deep speech which made us feel a lil' better. We had a big prank on Coach Fred and nobody went to his car HA-HA. He cried on the inside but he's cool now.

Grandma, Seles, Grace & Meghan blogging

leaving Atlanta for the Left Coast!

So.... as I sit here in Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport - after 4 straight days of bitter cold weather at the USYS National League, the NCAA College Cup and Final 4 Girls Showcase, I have the feeling that we could have done more.  We could have manipulated the matches in different ways; we could have gotten something - anything to get those valuable points....  What am I talking about you ask?  Keep reading.  The story...

As a coach, not getting FULL points out of games you should win is hard to handle - it's called "leaving points on the table," and we left 8 out of 12 points on the table here in Atlanta.  The Beach GU16 White tied - yes TIED - all 4 of their National League games this weekend.  Looking back, we have to give credit where it's due - to the other teams for keeping our midfielders and forwards in check and off the score sheet.  In the end though - 4 points and no losses - that is a massive achievement, considering the kids played from behind in 3 of the 4 games.  They left everything on the line, but unfortunately the opposing defenders, goalkeepers, posts and crossbars were not going to budge.  Meanwhile, over at Tramore Park at the NCAA Final 4 Showcase, the Beach GU16 FC, won 2 out of 3 and tied the last game.  Over the course of the 4 days, both Beach squads played against teams from South Florida, Atlanta and New Mexico, Michigan, Saint Louis, and Northern Virginia.  All weekend, there were scouts from all of the major coneferences and NCAA divisions looking for players for the future.

Major props to the Soutehrn Folk and their Southern hospitality in Atlanta!  I can not believe how quickly they cook their breakfasts at The Waffle House - which became a favorite of the kids after the so-so breakfasts at the team hotel!  All in all - a very succesful trip for 33 young women!

Oh yeah - and stanford won their 1st NCAA title...more on that later....

beautiful Fowler Park - Cummings, GA

Allie Emmons and Kirsten Buono just being themsleves!

Kennesaw State University Soccer Stadium (thanks to Mrs. Fields Cookies for this stadium being built!)

 

update from Atlanta

Update:
the Under 16 White girls tied 0-0 in a hard fought match last night vs the Grand Rapids Crew Juniors.  On a very cold night where neither team was able to capitakize on the scoreing chances, both teams left the field feeling they let 3 points slip away from them.  Katie Pratt-Thompson, Allii Emmons, Kelly Peterson and Kirsten Buono anchored a back line that gave little to the girls from Michigan.

Arriving in Atlanta late on Thursday night, were the GU16 FC girls waiting for their chance to shine at the NCAA Final Four Showcase.  The FC play this afternoon at 4:00pm against the Weston SC from Ft Lauderdale, Florida.  Prior to the 4pm game, the U16 White continue their National League matches with a 2pm match up with the host club - NASA (North Atlanta SA) at Fowler Park.

After both matches, the girls will head over to Kennessaw State University to see thr NCAA WOmen's College Cup (Final 4).  Stanford, ranked #1 throughout most of the year, plays a tricky Florida State squad at 5pm, while Wake Forrest with Long Beach's own Kim Marshall (Wilson HS) starting in defence, takes on Duke University in the 2nd semifinal at 7:30pm. *Duke is the team that ended Long Beach state's quest to reach their 1st Final 4...

Safe and sound in Atlanta!

In less than 24 hours, the Beach Futbol Club will be once again on the national soccer stage!  On Friday, December 1^st, the GU16 White will be competing in the US Youth Soccer National League, while the GU16 FC will be competing in the NCAA Women's Final Four Girls Showcase event – with both events being held in/around the Atlanta metropolitan area. This is a landmark day for Beach FC, considering that over 500 collegiate coaches from schools throughout the country are descending on Atlanta to scout for the next college stars.  Over the past several years, the club has seen it's player footprint grow tremendously in the college ranks. Thanks to it's great staff of coaches, the new crop of players are well on their way to becoming top recruits for schools across the country.

This week’s schedule sees the U16 White play against teams from Michigan, Virginia, Missouri & finally the host club from Atlanta, Georgia; while the U16 FC will play teams from South Florida, Illinois, and New Mexico.  Within this group of opponents are State Champions, Regional Semi Finalists, and even National tournament participants!  To follow the results of the Under 16 Girls, go to the following links:

·         NCAA Final 4 Showcase U16 Standings

·         USYS National League U16 Blue Standings

·         ESPN High School feature on the U16 NationalLeague

News and Notes:

Mauricio Ingrassia’s Long Beach State Women made their most successful NCAA tournament run, getting all the way to the Elite 8, before bowing out to the Duke University Blue Devils in Durham, North Carolina.  Leading into the NCAA’s, the 49er women won the Big West Conference Tournament – getting the “automatic bid” in the NCAA’s, beating UC  Irvine 1-0, then going on the road to beat Pepperdine (1-0), Miami (1-0), and UC San Diego (1-0).  Congrats to Coach Ingrassia, and fellow Beach FC staff coaches Jeff Joyner (G13/G14), Anton Arrache (G18) and Lindsey Bullock (G12)!

The LA Galaxy won the MLS Cup at The Home Depot Center in front of sold out crowd of 33,000 plus fanatical fans!  On top of the MLS Cup, the Galaxy also won the MLS Supporter’s Shield, by having the best record throughout the entire league season.

Surf Cup and Surf Thanksgiving Tournaments: both the G16 White and the G18s played at the prestigious Surf College Cup (16s losing in the Semifinals), while the G11s (Danny Pena) and the G12s (Fred Velez) played in the Surf Thanksgiving tournament – with the G11s losing in the Quarterfinals!

SCDSL: in Flight I, several age groups were won by Beach FC in the innagural season of the SCDSL!  The Under 11 girls coached by Rich Perez, the Under 14 girls coached by Jeff Joyner, the GU14 Gold coached by Eduardo Nunez and Sal Marroquin (Flight II), the GU15 Black coached by Dalton Kaufman (Flight II), the GU16s coached by Fred Velez and Mauricio Ingrassia, and finally - both of the Under 18/19 girls (Steve Soler and Anton Arrache) finished with the highest points in league in Flight 1!  Congratulations to all of the girls and boys teams in the SCDSL first year! #Go BEACH!

Keep checking this blog for updates throughout the upcoming week for scores and news from Atlanta!