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The San Francisco Glens, sibling to the San Francisco Seals, knocked off Santa Clara Sporting at Boxer Stadium on Sunday, November 4th, in CPSA competition. The game played out according to script. Santa Clara only needed a tie to go through to the final because they finished the regular season one position higher in the standings. Not surprisingly they played conservatively and kept shape. The Glens played the role of the aggressor and got a number of opportunities to score but failed to cash in. Frustration mounted but it finally came to an end at the 40th minute in the first half. The Glens picked up a direct kick from the right side about 10 yards outside the box. Matt Languis stepped up and hit a slicing ball into the right upper corner. It was the winning goal and up to this point, the most important goal of our season. The second half was about Sporting’s effort to get the one goal they needed to tie the game and go forward to the final. However, they weren’t effective. Their effort was strong and persistent and they certainly had talented players on the field, but the Glens effort outmatched them. In particular, the defensive work of Rich Halvorsen, Eduar Mafla and Rawley Masaniai stood out, as did the solid goalkeeping of Dan Benton. However, it was a full team effort and the quality defense was complimented with a number of counter-attack opportunities. The Glens didn’t convert, but they made a strong statement that an over aggressive commitment to score on the part of Sporting could cost them dearly. The game ended in regulation time with a 1 nil shutout. If you’re wondering about previously mentioned Mr. Unpleasant who is perhaps more aptly called "Mr. Protest": He was true to form. He made the referees check the pass of every single Glens player to make sure each’s registration date was legitimate. He was once again thrwarted in his efforts to make this game more about paper and less about the players on the field and the game as it was intended to be played. As a disappointed referee said so appropriately before the game: "I thought this stuff only happened in youth soccer." The Final will be played next Sunday at Boxer Stadium at 2 PM and probably broadcasted on Radio 1010. Our opponent is El Farolito who is undefeated this season. Should be a good one. USF was shutout twice in Northwest this past weekend. That drops them to 6th place in the WCC just below Saint Marys. Santa Clara remains undefeated in league play and are squarely positioned atop the WCC. They play USF this Friday at USF (7PM). After that they play St. Marys, then closeout in the Northwest. Their momentum seems sufficient to carry them through. Berkeley wrapped up their regular home season with two impressive wins over UCLA and San Diego, their tough competitors in the Pac 10. Three graduating seniors highlighted the weekend: Javier-Ayala Hill, Luke Sassano and Andrew Jacobsen all scored. Cal is now 10-4-1 and is atop the Pac 10. They travel to the Northwest this coming weekend and could clinch the divison while on the road. San Jose has had a tough go lately losing its last three games. That drops them to 5th position in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Their last three games are away so they’ve got a very tough row to hoe. Cal Poly hasn’t shined much such its monumental win over UCSB when Anthony Grillo send them home with a scintillating goal in the final minutes of the game. They’ve since tied twice and most recently lost the return game with UCSB at the Santa Barbara Campus. They could finish second in the division but will it be good enough to get them a birth in the NCAA playoffs? The Seals will train and play games in Manchester this January from the 7th to the 17th. This is an opportunity for past and future Seals players to see what it’s like where soccer is king. You can’t leave a major highway in the UK towards some township or another surburban community without seeing a stadium that belongs to a community club. Of course, you don’t even need to leave the major highway to see many of the EPL stadiums. The sport is more pervasive that baseball, football or basketball in the US. Every community has its team, and some small communities have great teams. Bolton (139,000 people), Blackburn (105,000 people) and Wigan (<90,000 people) are small towns by US standards, yet they support major league soccer in the toughest league in the world. That’s where were going. We’ll be surrounded by Manchester United, Man City, Wigan, Blackburn, Bolton, Preston (all within 30 minutes) and if you want to drive 45 minutes to an hour you can visit Liverpool, Everton, or Leeds. If you counted every Championship team, League 1 and League 2 team, in the regions the list would be too long to publish. If we noted every club to division 8 or 9 (they have various names) this would look like a telephone book. We’ll be doing two-a-days everyday except game days. We have a bunkhouse reserved for the team that houses 18 players. It’s quickly getting filled so send your inquires in soon. A check for $200 will reserve your bunk for the 10 days. If the bunks fill up, you can still come but you have to know that you’ll be on your own for accommodations. Send those checks made payable to the Seals to Seals, 120 Magellan Ave, San Francisco, Ca 94116. Travel by your own arrangements. We’ll pick you up when you arrive at Bury, just north of Manchester.
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