Buttercups 4, Sharks 1

The Buttercups picked up right where they left off last spring in league play, scoring two goals early and two goals late for the win.

This year, the girls have 10-person teams and play eight at a time on a larger field with larger goals, so everybody’s getting plenty of playing time — and plenty of running. As a team the ‘cups both were a little rusty and acclimating themselves to the larger field, so the passing, beyond short range, wasn’t all that crisp. But the offense got the job done and the Buttercups keeper came up with some big stops late.

Victoria didn’t score, but she got off two good shots on goal. One was blocked, and the other, otherwise bound for a spot high in the net, hit a Shark in the head. She took a foot in the side of her right ankle during the second half that was hard enough to go through the pad and injure her. She had to be carried off the field, but she returned late in the game.

Memo to self: Always bring sunscreen. Always.

One other note: Last spring, the girls voted to seek a name change for the team, to the Wildcats. Apparently the league said no.

Champions

I missed it because I had to work, but Victoria’s Buttercups soccer team won out last night to close the season undefeated at 7-0-1. They won 4-2 against the team they tied earlier. V. didn’t score but was very happy with her play.

Up next: Wrangler-McDonald’s. And then a well-deserved summer rest.

Buttercups 7, Sharks 3

The good news: Victoria scored. The bad news: she gave up mumble goals as keeper.

And the ‘Cups are 6-0-1 with one regular-season game remaining and the Wrangler-McDonald’s tournament coming up.

Buttercups 3, Red Hot Chili Peppers 2

Last time, the Buttercups romped; this time, it was a much more closely played game.

V. started on defense, then spent much of the 2nd half as striker. She came agonizingly close to goals three times, once on a shot that went just wide and the other two on heroic saves by the Peppers’ keeper.

We’ve agreed that if she scores a goal, we’re going out for milkshakes after the game, so she was pretty bummed about not having knocked one home. After the game, we tried to go to Ben & Jerry’s for their free-scoop day, but the line was forever so we went and paid regular price at Coldstone (better ice cream, in my opinion).

With two makeup games remaining, the ‘Cups remain undefeated at 5-0-1. And we’ll be playing in the Wrangler-McDonald’s tournament Memorial Day weekend.

Buttercups 4, Shakers 1

The Tigers stayed undefeated, beating the Shakers tonight in a game that had been postponed from two Tuesdays ago because of rain. (Last night’s game was postponed as well. At this rate, the season might not end until July, but, hey, we need the rain.)

The Tigers got two quick ones to start the game, then settled down to a lot of ball control, most of it on the Shakers’ end of the field. They got their third goal early in the second half. Victoria spent a lengthy but uneventful chunk of the second half in goal, after which she played striker. The last goal came on a penalty kick by Victoria’s teammate S., who uncorked a beauty, waist-high and just to the keeper’s right.

I could tell you when the Buttercups’ next game is, but the rain would probably make me a liar, so I won’t. I will say that with rain in the forecast for Saturday (i.e., the field wouldn’t be playable for at least two days), the team is looking at indoor practice for a second straight Sunday. But the important thing is that halfway through the season, at least in terms of number of games played, the Buttercups are 3-0-1.

Catching up, and blowing away

It’s Buttercups soccer time again, and I’ve been remiss because the games have fallen opposite Hooper’s Cub Scouts or other scheduling issues. The first game was actually the second, the real first game having been postponed by rain. (We’re in a drought, but we’ve had a game postponed and two practices canceled by rain.)

I forget which was which, but the ‘Cups won one of the first two games 3-0 and tied the other one 3-3. Then, earlier tonight, they took on the Red Hot Chili Peppers, a team that in the past has given them fits, and blew them away, 8-0. Victoria spent most of an uneventful second half in goal before scoring the final goal on a sliding kick. She also had an assist earlier in the game.

The midseason break comes a week early because Easter is early this year, so the Buttercups head into the break 2-0-1.

Buttercups 13, three other teams 2

I’ve been meaning to blog about this since it happened and kept forgetting. (You can see that blogging has not been uppermost in my mind of late.) But on Nov. 10, the ‘Cups played three Asheville-Buncombe Youth Soccer Association teams in the N.C. Youth Soccer Association District 5 tournament and festival in Asheville. And they racked up more wins in five hours than they had scored all season to that point.

They beat the Asheville No. 1 team (that was its name, not, so far as I know, its ranking) 4-1 in the first game. They beat the Spider Monkeys 3-1 in the second game. And they beat the Heatwave 6-0 in the third game.

The second game was the tough one — when the game started, I thought the Monkeys’ superior ball control was going to spell big trouble. But the Buttercups were quicker to the ball, and that made the difference.

The competition was not markedly different from that of the Greensboro teams the Buttercups played this season. The difference on this day was that the ‘Cups played their best ball of the season on offense and defense. Their passes were crisper, they did a much better job of getting open to receive passes, and they shot more aggressively — I lost count of the number of shots that bounced off the upright with the opposing teams’ keepers nowhere near in position to have made the save. 13-2 easily could have ended up 18-2 or so.

Victoria got the last goal in the third game. She caught a bloody lip at one point but didn’t stay out for long. One of the teams, and I forget now whether it was the Spider Monkeys or the Heatwave, wasn’t especially gracious about losing: When the teams lined up to slap five as is customary after games, some of the other girls were trying to rake our girls’ hands with their fingernails. Our coach spoke to their coach about it.

After the games, we had a nice team dinner and presented coaches Ricky and Bob with gift certificates to thank them for their hard work. Then it was back to the motel for swimming and hot-tubbing with the kids. All in all, a very nice weekend.

UPDATE: Here’s a picture:

Weather 1, Buttercups 0

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains (although Greensboro could be forgiven for having forgotten that last part).

Other team 4, Buttercups 1

I missed this game, too, this time because I was ConvergeSouthing. Victoria had another commitment and didn’t arrive until halfway through the first half, with the team already down 3-0, whereupon the coach immediately put her into the game on offense.

V. apparently had 11 shots on goal, although she didn’t score. That tells me she kept the ball down on the opponents’ end a great deal and that she is overcoming her reluctance to take shots when the opportunity is there, particularly from longer range.

Ann said Victoria added a lot of speed to the ‘Cups’ offensive game. I believe it.

Season record: 1-3-2.

Buttercups 1, I forget who the other team was 1

I wasn’t there for this one (see above post), but Victoria got the Buttercups’ goal. And that’s even more than winning. OK, not really, but it sounded good. That brings the season record to 0-2-2 as we go into the midseason weekend off.

Red Hot Chili Peppers 5, Buttercups 2

This was the matchup between Victoria’s team and her friend Avery’s team. I spent the entire game staring into the rising sun, so I’m not certain of everything I thought I was seeing, but I don’t think Avery scored.

It was a closer game than the score indicates, and one of the goals was a simple roll-in. One, in fact, came when Victoria blocked a shot but the deflection caught the goalkeeper going in the wrong direction.

Victoria spent much of the game at fullback, and she wasn’t messing around about getting the ball out of Buttercup territory. Her kicks were long and consistent, except when she passed to teammates near midfield a couple of times. Abby spent some time in goal until coming out after a Pepper stepped on her arm, and she played well, too. I’m still learning the other girls’ names and faces, so I don’t know whom else to credit.

I think the game came down to ball control — the Peppers were a little better at it, and that gave them the margin.

Buttercups 0, Hot Shots 0

The real winner in this game was Mr. Sun — it was at least 95 on the broad, unshaded field s of Bryan Park when the game started and it only got hotter when it went on. (You’d think I’d remember that and bring extra water and an umbrella, but no.)

In the second half, substitutions became more frequent, and the ref even stopped the game at one point for a water break. Both sides were slower to the ball, and the teams got off only two decent shots on goal apiece in the second half. V. spent more of her time in the game on offense, which she doesn’t like as much as fullback, but she had some good passes. She also caught the other team’s keeper off guard and shot from about 25 feet away, much farther than she normally shoots from. It went nowhere close, but it was a good idea.

Coming up this week, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, on which Victoria’s friend Avery plays. They’re always very talented and, unlike the Tigers, their team survived the summer breakups pretty much intact. It’ll be interesting to see.

New season, new team

The Tigers are dead; long live the Buttercups.

After last spring, the time came for girls to decide whether they wanted to continue playing in the recreational league or move up to something more competitive and time-consuming — I can’t remember whether it’s called Academy or Challenge or something else. Anyway, the only Tiger who wanted to move up also happened to be the coach’s daughter. The coach also wanted to move up. Because no Tiger parent could commit to coaching the team for the fall (guilty as charged), the Tigers were dispersed to the four winds.

Victoria and Abby landed with the Buttercups, a team with close geographic ties to us. I wasn’t able to watch the first practice, so I don’t know how good the team is, but I guess we’ll find out this afternoon when the Buttercups take on the Hot Shots at 2 p.m.