Big Time
By: Anne |
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After losing to Minnesota in a regular league game two days ago, the Vic’s beat them in dramatic fashion to advance to the next round in the US Open Cup. In AET, with several red cards, and both teams finishing with 9 players, the Vic’s won 1-0. They will now face the Colorado Rapids in the next round. More to follow.
Category: Team News
Rhino Revenge
By: Anne | 1 Comment
The California Victory took on former table leaders Rochester Raging Rhinos last night in Rochester, managing to get a draw in the 1-1 game. The draw allowed the Vancouver Whitecaps to knock Rochester off the top of the table, and continued the 5 game unbeaten streak of the Vic’s. This draw also marks a significant improvement from the last time the Vic’s and Rhinos met, in San Francisco, and the Vic’s were defeated 3-1.
Rochester has also played 5 more games than the Vic’s.
Hugo Casillas scored the equalizer in the 84th minute, proving again that the decision to move him from a defender position to a forward was the correct one. Casillas has missed a few games due to an ankle injury. But hopefully now he will begin to be a consistent scorer for the Vic’s.
The Vic’s travel to Minnesota now for their next 2 games. They play the Thunder 6/24 in a regular league game, and then again on 6/26 for a US Open game. This pairing is a good chance for the Vic’s to get a couple more points on the table. The Vic’s and Thunder are tie right now in table points, but the Thunder does have a slight advantage in goals scored- although they have played 2 more games than the Vic’s.
Category: Team NewsJet Lag City
By: Anne | 3 Comments
The California Victory, who now have a 4 GAME UNBEATEN STREAK are set to start a hectic, and frankly, completely insane, journey over the next couple of weeks.
But first, congrats to the Vic’s, who played in their first Lamar Hunt US Open Cup game 6/12. They defeated BYU 2-1, and for their next Cup game will play the Minnesota Thunder (in Minn) on 6/26. Pate, a local BYU fan, was at the game and posted this match report and photos: http://on-soccer.blogspot.com/2007/06/my-son-and-i-went-to-california-victory.html
Thanks, Pate!
So you know how Sir Alex Ferguson annually has something to say about fixture congestion, Champions League, etc…? Well, I understand and I feel for him. And yes, you may think it’s a little bit crazy to compare Man Utd’s scheduling problems to that of the California Vics, but HAVE YOU EVER DRIVEN ACROSS THE MIDWEST????!!! Not only that, have you had to do it 4 times in one month?? In the middle of summer!!
I’m a Midwestern native, and trust me, there are some quite lovely spots on the looooong road from coast to coast. But check this out: the Vic’s play in Portland on 6/15, then they are in Atlanta 6/16. Next is Rochester 6/22, over to Minnesota 6/24, presumably they’ll stay there for the next Cup game 6/26, then back home (finally) 6/28 to meet…who else…the Timbers. Again.
That’s 4 games in 6 days!!!
Let’s hope our Vic’s are flying across the country….or have some very comfy coach buses!
Category: Team NewsFor you, my friends, I run ze peeeeeech!
By: Anne | 5 Comments
It was an evening of several missed opportunities, tired legs, and a bizarre pitch invasion, as the California Victory was held at home by the Minnesota Thunder 0-0.
The Vic’s had an astounding number of corner kicks in the first half, and Ricardo Sanchez nearly scored in the 5th minute. Taking the corner from the right side of the goal, his effort bent gracefully, but bounced off the inside of the left post.
Minnesota was not content to sit idly by, though, as possession throughout the game seemed to be pretty even. Vic’s goalkeeper Eric Reed had some fantastic saves, with defender Ryan Suarez making an incredible defensive clearance in the 11th minute. Reed had come out to meet a challenge from the Thunder’s Brian Farber. Failing to do stop the ball though, Suarez instinctively positioned himself behind Reed and managed to kick the ball away.
During the second half, both the Victory and the Thunder seemed to lose energy and begin to look a bit tired. The game fell into a rhythm of each side taking turns attempting to attack, but taking too much time, too many touches of the ball, or pausing just long enough for defenders jump at the chance for a clearance.
But as the crowd watched this repetitive display on the field, from somewhere in the stands burst a huge, hulking figure. Heard by witnesses to have yelled “For you my friends, I RUN ZE PEEEEEEEEECH!!!! - a man ran once across the field, paused on the other side, and then ran BACK across the field. As he ran back across the field, he looked to play a game of “Catch me if you can” with the 4th official, security and coaches. When he was finally tackled near the edge of the pitch, he fell into a table prompting a loud “OOOOOOOHHHHHH” from the stands. But after a few minutes he was pulled up, grinning ear to ear, and thrown out.
After a few minutes, the game continued and a Vic’s goal was unfortunately called offside in the 82nd minute.
The Vic’s are away for the next couple of weeks, but will meet the Timbers - again- on June 28 at home.
Category: Team NewsHoly Smokes!
By: Anne | 5 Comments
I’m still in shock this morning, but it’s a fantastic shock, as the California Victory upset #1 ranked Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 yesterday. The Vic’s defense looked about 900% improved from their past few games, and goalkeeper Eric Reed made some fantastic saves.
The Vic’s goal came just before halftime, as Ricardo Sanchez launched one of his great corner kicks, and Yuri “the Fury” Morales finished the job by tapping it in.
The Vic’s had a great game, displaying lots of skill that wasn’t quite apparent in previous games. Matt Fitzgerald had a great game, showing all kinds of hustle, as well as midfielder Jose Retiz.
And while I normally try and stay away from trashing the ref, I couldn’t believe it when he added 5 MINUTES of injury time at the end. Neither could the Vic’s head coach Glenn Van Straatum, who looked to be quite upset. It was torture for the Vic’s fans. And yes, we all know from the Vic’s announcer that “Official time is kept by the Referee,” but my friend actually timed the injury time- and the whistle wasn’t blown for over 6 minutes!!
Never the less, last night’s win was awesome, and I’m pretty sure all the Vic’s fans are looking forward to our game against Minnesota on Sat night.
Category: Team NewsMusic to…..Win by?
By: Anne | 1 Comment
As the Victory prepare for a quite possible thrashing from table leaders Vancouver Whitecaps tonight, it is of great solace to know that they will have some rockin’ tunes to help them get through the night. Team standout forward Yuri Morales has put together a playlist of sorts via www.basebeat.com- a digital music provider, accessible to all their fans. Go to the homepage,click demos, and then Victory. Start dreaming about Vic’s glory as you listen to Kanye West’s “Touch the Sky.”
In all seriousness, though, tonight’s game should be quite interesting and a good marker of how the Victory have come together over the past couple of months. The last time the Vic’s and the Whitecaps met, the Vic’s lost 3-1. Since then they have tightened up their defense quite a bit, and I would gamble on saying that players like Hugo Castillas, Ricardo Sanchez, Yuri, and others may give the Whitecaps a fair amount of trouble on the attacking front.
Category: Team NewsGrrrrrr……
By: Anne | 6 Comments
So Laurie, to answer your question, yes I have checked out the USL Live Broadband. Shame on me for not wanting to sit in rush hour mid-week traffic on the Bay Bridge, and trying to watch the webcast of the Victory/Charlston Battery game instead. But unfortunately I wound up wanting to throw my computer out the window. The live stream kept freezing every few seconds. I was hoping perhaps too many people were trying to watch, and decided to try it later. But no luck. It was just as bad the next day.
From the web highlights though, it looked like a quality game, and the Victory managed to draw. The Victory goal came from an awesome Ricardo Sanchez corner, headed in by Yuri “the Fury” Morales. Strengthening the back line for the Victory was Patrick Ianni. A former U-21 Netherlands World Cup participant, Ianni comes to the Victory on loan from Houston Dynamo.
Category: Team NewsFight Night
By: Anne | Add Comments
It was cold, slightly raining, and when the Seattle Sounders scored only 10 seconds into the match- it looked like we were in for a long, tough night.
But despite losing 2-1 to Seattle, the California Victory looked remarkably improved, and at times, controlled quite a bit of the action.
Of particular note was standout Hugo Castillas. At 5″5 Castillas has not always seemed suited to the defender position he usually plays in. But tonight he was up front, and really showed off his skills. Time after time he made incredible quick runs up the sides, skillfully passing. He frequently made it back into a defensive position, and had several good clearances, but this may have worn him out, as he was not as effective during the second half.
Ricardo Sanchez turned in another good first half performance, with several quality free kicks and corners. But every time he takes a set piece, it highlights one of the Vic’s biggest problems: headers and finishing. Several times there were acurately placed free kicks, corners, or even passes, but the Vic’s don’t seem to be in the right position to get the ball in and don’t seem able to head them in either.
The first half ended in a scuffle, as a Seattle player seemed to shove a Vic’s player over a free kick given to Seattle. Within milli-seconds almost the entire Seattle team was in the referee’s face, but the ref seemed to be able to get the game back on track.
The beginning of the second half saw a flurry of activity, both good and bad. Vic’s midfielder Raul Palomares was ejected after getting a second yellow card- this time for a sloppy tackle. Seconds later, though, the Victory were award a penalty after a player went down in the box. Josh Hansen quickly converted it, and came over to celebrate with the 1906 Supporters.
The Vic’s then looked as though they had renewed energy, and the game picked up pace. But at the 54 minute another scuffle broke out, and a Seattle player (#7)was sent straight off….except he didn’t want to go. Finally one of the security guards had to come out onto the field and escort him off!
But just when it looked like the Vic’s might be able to break their 3 game losing streak, Seattle capitalized on a poor goalkeeper error and scored in the 70th minute.
It’s good to see that the Vic’s look much improved, and perhaps will fare better against Charlston on Wed.
Category: Team NewsRough Night: Part 2
By: Anne | Add Comments
Well, it may turn out to be another rough night for the Victory, as we host Seattle tonight. The Vic’s lost last night 2-0 to the Portland Timbers, they are probably a bit worn out from back to back games, and yes, it will only be around 50 degrees tonight in SF. Brrrrr.
But never fear; despite the holiday weekend, it sounds like many Vic’s fans will still turn out and are still busy trying to come up with Vic’s shirts, scarfs and banners. And Capt. Chris Schwarze should be back from suspension. GO VICS!!
Category: Team NewsChop Chop Timbers!
By: Anne | 2 Comments
Watching the Champions League final this week, I was reminded of another big rivalry. All the build-up, the trash talking, the final preparations. Yes, it’s distinctly familiar. The Portland Timbers, and….well, actually, just about anyone else that they happen to play. Don’t get me wrong, the dedication of the Timbers Army is all cute and endearing and all that. But the chainsaw, yes, the chainsaw that the Timbers mascot brings and revs up at the games- that’s a bit frightening. But since they play the fabulous California Victory tomorrow, and FOUR other times this summer, let’s break this potential game down.
Conceding early goals has been a real problem for the Vics, so far this season. They have allowed six goals in the past two matches, four of which came in the first fifteen minutes of each game. The Timbers have only conceeded 3 goals in the last two league games (excluding the exhibition game against Necaxa, where they conceeded none) and just announced the recent addition of a third goal keeper, Steve Reese.
Vic’s captain Chris Schwarze is still serving a two match ban, after being ejected in the game against Rochester (whom the Vic’s lost to 3-1, but the Timbers managed to beat 2-0.) But midfielder Jose Retiz is expected to be back.
It could be a rough and lonely night up in P-town for the Vic’s, but we’ll try and keep the Kezar warm for the game against Seattle on Saturday. Go Vic’s!
Category: Team News
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