rone | soccer report twofer

Last Thursday, Centavo lost to Toyota of Palo Alto 7-4. It was a close game, where a couple of miscues on my part led to goals, including one where T, the defender whose feedback i find most valuable, was criticizing my play on a goal we'd just given up. I was arguing back; the guy on our team who received the kickoff from midfield punted it back at us a bit too hard and right between us, leaving us flatfooted, and the ball went straight in for a brutal own-goal. Our defense wasn't sharp, anyway, and ToPA was playing us tough and tight from the start. To top it off, the burrito i'd eaten for lunch was still floating in my stomach, so i spent most of the game feeling winded.

On Monday, Crossfire lost to Bashers, 9-2. Our play took a step back from our previous, continuous improvement, maybe because we haven't played too often on the big field. The most notable event was that the ref's overall performance was probably the worst i've experienced at OTWS. I didn't notice a single questionable call go our way; it didn't help that (the appropriately initialed) B started jawing at the ref because she was getting elbowed and she got whistled for elbowing back. A couple of us tried to point out that jawing at the ref has never helped anyone at any level of play, but she stubbornly clung to the fact that she didn't say any objectionable words and that she's talked to refs before and they've improved their performance midgame.

I got called for two penalties in this game. The first happened when i slid to stop a breakaway, and i kicked the guy in the shin because i left my leg up. I kicked him so hard that my foot felt sore during the game, and when i came home i noticed bruising and swelling around the top of my second toe. I made a point to apologize to the guy i kicked, because, damn, that hurt me.

The second occurred when i tried to play the ball back to the box so i could pick it up, and the attacker managed to get her toe in and poked the ball away from me; as bent over to protect the ball, she stuck her leg between mine to try to keep poking the ball. As i felt a certain unwelcome pressure in my nether regions (by which i mean she was kneeing me in the nuts; yes, i wear a cup, but that didn't really help), i reflexively defended myself by flipping her over with my right leg. When i pointed out what had happened after the game, she seemed rather embarrassed. Anyway, this happened in the box, and the ref should've been protecting me. After the game, when i pointed out why i flipped the girl, he said that i was coming out strong. So what? That's my job! If i come out strong out of the box, then penalize me like any other player. Inside the box, i can come out strong. Plus, i got boarded when i ran out to chase a loose ball, and there was no call.

My foot still hurts, and my left hip flexor kills me when i get up after sitting for a while. Getting old sucks.