The Casa Soccer League’s 2010 spring season got underway Saturday with all forty teams in action at Pennypack Park. Starting with four Segunda division games at 9am, CASA kicked off after an offseason that featured the addition of many new teams and lots of between-division movement. It was clear from the start that teams were motivated to give Philadelphia soccer a good name after watching a tough Union loss on Thursday.
Primera Division
There is expected to be a lot of parity in Primera this season, and Round One certainly confirmed that suspicion. The five new teams in CASA’s top division wanted to make a mark early, and everybody wanted to stake their claim as a frontrunner to take the title. Cracovia and Grey Lodge posted convincing 2-0 shutout wins over Cannons and Drinker’s Pub respectively. West Philly was the only other team to put two in. Last year’s second place team ran out to a two goal lead before hanging on for a 2-1 win over Penn United. AC Milan and Philly United each earned a point in a 0-0 draw, while Philly Soccer Firm grabbed all three points with a 1-0 win over Real Optimus.The highlight of the day came in the Firm win, when striker Tom Gritter scored the only goal directly off a corner kick.
Segunda Division
In Segunda, the early morning chill didn’t slow anybody down. Skulls held off United Nations FC for a 4-3 opening week win. Matt Doyle put home two for Skulls in a Man of the Match performance. In another tight game, Organized Chaos barely slipped by Nittany United with a 3-2 victory. Nittany put forth a strong effort but faces another tough test next week against Stony United. A 5-1 win places Stony on top of the division and as an early favorite to grab a promotion spot. NewPhillyUnited will be eying a move up to Primera after they took all three points in a 2-1 win over Philadelphia Athletic. In the lone shutout of the week, Steagles snuck by Memphis Taproom 1-0. The game was as close as it sounds and both defenses will be justifiably proud of their efforts. The game to watch next week looks to be Stony against NewPhilly, but with twenty-two goals scored in the first round of action, this will clearly be an exciting division to follow all year.
Tercera Division
The biggest splash in Tercera‘s first round of matches came from the direction of New Jersey. Mt. Laurel FC put seven in on their way to a 7-1 romp over FC Spartans. Jason Kufta was front and center in the win, earning Man of the Match honors with a goal and a tireless performance. Quaker City, featuring more than a dozen players from 2009 Sons of Ben teams, walked away with a 4-0 victory over Sons of Ben Independence. Jeff Freiberg scored the first two goals to give Quaker City a lead that would never be challenged. Revolution 76 and Bayern Makefield drew 1-1, with Lot Lizards and Loose Cannons following suit in the annual Battle of the L Adjectives game. Park Towne United, fresh off an Abierto division championship, sent a clear message to the rest of Tercera with a 3-1 win over Tri-County United that they are looking to continue their upward momentum. They will face a tough test next week against the offensive juggernaut of Mt. Laurel.
Abierto Division
Abierto looks like it will also see its fair share of goals this year. Every team scored in the first round and three teams scored three or more. Sons of Ben Zolo led the way with five in their 5-1 win over Sweet Lucy’s FC, although Sweet Lucy’s retained its Most Delicious Team Name crown. 3-1 was the final in AOH 61s victory over Spruce Goose and in The Incredibles win over Sons of Ben Union. Mark Werynski took home Man of the Match after scoring both goals for FC Kilbane’s as they held of Sidewinders, while Lukasz Zuzanski carried Pennypack Park Rangers over Revolving United in the Funny Name Game.
Next week
Round Two gets underway at 9:20am next Saturday with Stony United against NewPhilly United being the early game to watch. Full stats and standings can be found at www.phillysoccer.org. Kudos to all the teams for a red-card-free Round One.
(Image: Casa Soccer League)
nice write-up, hopefully the season continues to go well for all
The fields were in surprisingly good shape this week, too.
Great recap Adam! Just one quick correction and a shout out for my boy Doyle- he bagged a natural hat trick! Thanks and keep up the great work…
Dear soccer players
My name is Ali El-Kerdi. I am a Ph.D. student at Drexel University. I am currently conducting a study on soccer athletes examining the role of core stabilization training on improved balance and performance. The testing will take place at Drexel’s Hahnemann campus but the training may take place anywhere. In essence, the study entails 2 testing sessions and for the athletes to undergo intense core stabilization training for 8 weeks. As of now, we only have permission to recruit and test 10 athletes (5 control and 5 experimental). The athletes in the control group will not be required to go through the core stabilization program; they simply get tested twice 8-weeks apart.
The testing is simple:
1) I will put a sensor on the upper back and dominant arm
2) Ask the athlete to sit on a chair with a 1/2 ball on the bottom and do a few balance tests in sitting
3) Do some standing balance tests
4) Kick a ball into a net (looking a kicking speed)
5) Do a jump test to see how high they can jump.
The testing should take about 2 hours
I attached a copy of the consent form, contact information form, Intake form and a recruitment flyer for your perusal. If you deem this study interesting enough and beneficial to the sport, please forward the information on to the athletes.
Please read the consent form and let me know if you have any questions. If after reading the form you are still interested in participating, I would be VERY happy to begin scheduling the tests and subsequent training. You can also fill-out the other forms before coming in. Would make things run a little quicker. .
Please keep in mind that if the athlete does qualify for the study and if they don’t get selected into the training group that you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE NOT change their current training routines or begin doing the core stab program that their teammates are doing. I would be more than happy to train them AFTER the study is completed in 8 weeks. The athletes will also be asked to keep track of all your training (I have a separate excel sheet for that).
For this pilot study, I only need 10 athletes. Once this experiment is complete and the data is analyzed, I may be recruiting additional athletes for a similar, larger study.
Please call or e-mail me ANYTIME if you have any questions. If you are interested then we can get you scheduled ASAP.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Ali
Dr. Ali I. El-Kerdi, DPT, MS, PT, CAT,(C), ATC/L, CSCS
Dept Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine
Drexel University
Week 1 was great.
This season is sure to be one of the best thus far.