The Road to 2009 Far West Regionals

The Boys started training last night for the 2009 Far West Regionals, after a well-deserved 3 week break following Dallas Cup.

Funny to see the surfer on the Far West Regional Championship logo -- Lancaster, California of course is in the desert and couldn't be farther away from good surf. Maybe a Lockheed Martin or the Metal Mullisha logo would have been more appropriate.

West Coast falls 1-0 to Dallas Texans in Dallas Cup Finals

Everyone saw it coming. Even in the semi-finals, the Boys were on a collision course with Dallas. The Dallas Cup media said:

"West Coast FC and Dallas Texan Red are still on a collision course for the finals but first they have to avoid being tripped up by Southampton and Legends. WCFC is the complete package with a strong defense complimented with speed and skill up top. DTR 96 is an offensive juggernaut with the likes of Erick Chapa, Christian Ramirez; Ian Sadler and Emerson Hyndman."

The lead up to the final game was described by the Dallas Cup media as follows:

"U13 Finals 12pm in PHP Stadium. The two teams knows they are good and understand the weight of this moment. Dallas Texan nation will be out in full force matched by an equally passionate WCFC away crowd. It's must see soccer!"

The Boys fell 1-0 to a tough Dallas Texans team -- the sole goal they let in in the tournament being the game winner in the final. It was a great run, admired by many. There are many internet stories about the Boys and the games, including:

http://dallassoccernews.com/article.php?article_id=2347

Some videos of the game can be found at:

http://ntxfutbol.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-04-11T14%3A44%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=14

West Coast Lodges Fifth Straight Shutout -- Beats Legends 2-0 to Advance to the 2009 Dallas Cup Finals against Dallas Texans

The wind died down some today, but it still impacted play. West Coast started against the wind but still were able to put pressure on Legends' defense. In the 25th minute, Christian beat two Legends players down the right hand line and crossed the ball to Brian, who finished it with a header to the low post past the Legends keeper (photo). Neither side scored by halftime. Legends came out strong in the second half notwithstanding the fact that they were against the wind. With about 10 minutes to go, Kevin de la Torre caught Legends on a breakaway and beat the keeper with a strong shot to the near post. The Boys held on to the end, and lodged another shutout in the 2009 Dallas Cup.

Tomorrow, the Boys play in the main Pizza Hut Park Stadium against the Dallas Texans, who have very publicly let it be known that West Coast is no match for their pro-scouted, almost pro-contracted, national team players.

Media Links!

Someone has too much time on their hands, or is more soccer crazy than we are, and picked up our little weblog. But thank goodness there are others like us out there. Thanks Dallas Cup!

http://ntxfutbol.blogspot.com/

Also, the folks back home at XK Orange County (Daily Orange County Soccer News) are reporting on how the teams from Orange County (including us) are doing at Dallas Cup.

http://soccer.xkorangecounty.com/

2009 Dallas Cup, Quarter-Final Game -- WCFC 2, San Diego Surf 0

We go right to credit where credit is due: Fourth straight shut-out! Great job defense!

The wind was howling today; with us in the first half, against us in the second. Kanoa opened the scoring in the 25th minute on superb individual effort. Inside the box, back to the goal, he flipped the ball over his shoulder and then toe-poked it past the keeper. In the second half, Christian scored on a "West Coast" team goal; almost everyone touched the ball before it got to Christian for the finish.

Surf struggled with the West Coast speed, leaving them only with tackles from behind and jersey pulling. As usual, the West Coast parents were their polite-selves from the sidelines. "Good show", we cheered. "Jolly good", we shouted. "Cheer-io", we said. The sideline ref even commented on our good nature. "You guys are crazy", I think were his exact words. Well, we took it as a compliment anyway.

After the game, we watched the overtime portion of the Legends v. West Pine (Fla) game. Legends won in PKs (3-0), so tomorrow, our more-than-familiar teams meet each other in the semi-finals. Southamption (England) meets Dallas Texans in the other side of the bracket.

Tonight, the Boys go out for a steak dinner.

2009 Dallas Cup Game #3: West Coast defeats Solar FC (Tex) to Win Bracket

Hundreds of people turned out to watch our final game. The Boys once again imported a home-town advantage even against the local favorite with the help of the U16s, who've issued nicknames to all the Boys.

We're sitting here at the bar with Monico, Alfedo, and the Cronks, recapping the day.

The Boys defeated Solar of Texas 3-0 to advance to the Quarter Finals tomorrow against Surf. Stevie opened the scoring, bending in an Olympico Golazo on a corner kick. Shortly after, Trevor scored on a bombazo from 25 yards out into the upper corner. In the second half, the Boys faced the strong wind. The Boys didn't score again until the second half, when Stevie went coast-to-coast. The keeper couldn't stop his shot, and Kevin followed up with the finish. Parker had a chance, and Pacheco bounced a volley off the crossbar.

Matt, Mikey, Juanito, Thomas, and Teddy held down the defense, while Kevin and Anthony played a strong midfield. Teddy actually had 2 saves today.

The Boys are the only advancing team to have 3 shutouts, and have outscored their opponents 11-0. 4 of the 6 southern California teams attending Dallas Cup have advanced beyond the bracket stage. Only Aztec and Arsenal failed to advance.

The Boys celebrated with dinner at Luna de Noche, a Tex-Mex restaurant nearby. The Boys have been passing around a mild stomach bug, and are trying to stay healthy and ice their bruises.

2009 Dallas Cup Game #2: WCFC 4, NJSA 0

NJSA had 1 shot on goal and their defenders cleared off the line 3 shots that had gotten by the keeper.

Cheered, or rather egged, on by the WCFC U16s and U14s, the Boys put on a clinic. Stevie opened the scoring in the first half on a low shot to the near post from about 20 yards out. Christian scored the next goal after Kevin dela Torre earned a breakaway, crossed the ball to Cruz, who beat the keeper and gave it to Christian for the walk-in. In the second half, Anthony scored the third goal after Trevor's shot was deflected by the keeper to Anthony in front of the goal. Cruz (or "'lil Messi") earned the fourth goal on an individual effort, some shake-n-bake, and chipped the keeper to the far upper v.

All the rumors about NJSA's guest striker from the Ivory Coast turned out to be without any significance. Juanito completely shut him down, as he hardly touched the ball.

Braedon promised to bring his boys to our game again tomorrow night. Each move was met with cries of "Ole"; each foul against us was met with jeers. The whole game, the 16s led the crowd in the 'wave' -- which, for some reason, stopped at the 50 yard line when it reached the NJSA side. There's nothing like bringing your own biased crowd for a home field advantage.

Pacheco earned a yellow for retaliating against a player who fouled Mikey, and Trevor earned a yellow for, from what it looked like, getting kicked by the NJSA player.

2009 Dallas Cup Game #1: WCFC (US) 4, San Nicolas (Mex) 0.

The Boys won their first match today in a decisive 4-0 victory. Monaco de Niz very politely explained to the San Nicolas parents that we speak Spanish, that we understand the things they were shouting about our Boys from the sidelines, and that, well, we didn't appreciate it much at all, thank you.

His bail is set at $5,000.

Teddy touched the ball once. The wind really took its toll, and made the game rather sloppy. Christian opened the scoring in the third minute on powerful shot that went through San Nicolas' goalkeepers arms. Shortly after, Juanito hit the post on a hard, low shot, but the woodwork kept the ball in play. The Boys were not able to put the ball in the net again until the 30th minute, when Brian scored on a shot through a crowd to the far post on a low, hard shot.

The second half found the Boys playing against the howling wind, but it caused them to control their game a bit more. Kevin dela Torre found the net after getting behind San Nicolas' defense. Kevin deNiz put the game out of reach with about ten minutes left on a hard shot from the right side. The defense of Thomas, Juanito, Matt, and Mike kept San Nicolas out of our half almost the whole game.

The Boys have gone off to see "Fast and Furious 3", and the coaching staff have gone to watch Braedon's U16s play.

Pre-Game Breakfast

It's a bit before 9, and the Boys are at the breakfast provided by the Embassy Suites. Stacks of pancakes, bacon, and eggs -- good fuel for today's games. Today, the Boys play San Nicolas at Richland College at noon.

Pizza Hut Stadium! Nick wanted us to check out the competition today , San Nicolas played Solar SC. They had a 12 o'clock kick off and our boys in blue watched the first half. Solar SC clearly looked like the better team and despite Mexico's early first goal the Texan's ended with a 4-1 victory. The boys then entered the stadium to watch the super groups. Sao Paulo FC vs Dallas Texans Red played at 1 and Sao Paulo crushed the Texan's 7-0!

Opening Ceremonies were great our other boys from the 14,16 and 17's made it in and the took the field. They were introduced on the big screens as the smiled and danced around.....WOW!!!!

Opening Day

Last night ended at 1 a.m. in the bar. They turned the lights out on us. Oh, and did I say it's cold -- and windy -- really cold . . . and really windy?

The Boys awoke early for 7:30 a.m. breakfast and 9:00 a.m. practice. At noon, the Boys watched the Solar v. San Nicolas game, to take a look at tomorrow's opponents (San Nicolas). the fields look great. Apparently, FC Dallas has not let teams play on them since last year's Dallas Cup.

Afterwards, the Boys watched Sao Paolo dismantle Dallas Texans Red 7-0 in the U19 Supergroup and then River Plate tie FC Andromeda 1-1. The Opening Cermonies took place after the River Plate game, with the Boys meeting teams from other countries as well as the older WCFC teams. The older teams tookthe time to toss some of the younger into the air. Scott, Horatio, and Augustine took advantage of their Media Credentials to watch the Sao Paolo game from the press box and to eat free pizza with the FIFA referees. Dinner and an early bedtime for tomorrow, the games begin.

We have arrived!

This is our team photo from John Wayne Airport this morning. After an uneventful flight, we have arrived safely at the Embassy Suites, near Richland College, where 2 of the Boys' games will be played. We ran into the Legends boys at the airport. We await arrival of the rest of the parents and our 2 guest players. The Hotel is nice, although the neighborhood isn't. Most importantly, there is a bar -- we learned our lesson from Regionals in Hawaii last summer. Nick treated the Boys to some food at the restaurant downstairs, and the Boys are simply settling in and meeting some of the players from the other teams who are staying at the Hotel. The Hotel is largely for Dallas Cup teams, as they have a staging area with directions, brackets posted, and results.

2009 Dallas Cup - Eve

The Boys had their last practice last night before Dallas Cup. Coach Nick gave the Boys their travel gear: new Adidas sweats and two rightfully-earned West Coast T-shirts with "2008 and 2009 State and National Cup Champions" emblazoned on the chest. The team departs tomorrow from John Wayne at 7:45 a.m.

In our age group, the breakdown of teams by state and country is: SoCal 6, Texas 5, New Jersey 3, England 3, Mexico 3, Pennsylvania 2, Florida 2, Michigan 1, Utah 1, NoCal 1, Trinidad & Tobago 1.

Here's the weather forecast! http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/75034?dp=windsdp

For you texting dorks, you can get twitter updates by joining a twitter group: https://twitter.com/Dallascup