Bethesda Internationals

20 Nov. '05. Inter's home Bethesda Soccer Club hosted the 22nd Annual Thanksgiving Tournament event with the U14 boys playing out at the nice bermuda-turf Freeman Fields at the Olney Community Park in Olney, MD. The 1st day of the event found early morning frost on the fields -- more so on some than others, and it was more so on one side of the field on which Inter played the first match against its NCSL/D1 friends, Freestate Titans (MD), at 7:45AM. The frost eventually burned off later in the morning -- although the day remained on the cool side with low 50's temps and breezy winds. The first half was a lackluster performance by Inter, as they unable to break through the Titans' defenders for any shots on goal, but managed just a single corner kick while committing 3 fouls (2 offsides). The Titans were able to penetrate thru Inter's defense and setup 2 shots on goal and 2 corner kicks which were unsuccessful, and committed 4 fouls (1 offsides). Players from both teams were occasionally slipping/falling on the frosty sideline. In the 2nd half, the Titans stepped up its offensive attack, shooting 4 times on goal and 1 corner kick with 2 fouls. Nat made two brilliant saves on 2 hard shots taken by the Titans. Inter was able to penetrate the Titans defense to setup just two shots on goal and 1 corner kick which resulted in Inter's only score. At about the 14 minute mark, Skylar launched a perfectly placed CK from the right corner into the center of the goal mouth near the goal line where Mati timed his jump up to strike in the header goal. But, just 4 minutes later, the Titans scored the equalizer goal off of a free kick from about 30 yards out to the right and caught Inter's defenders off guard as a barrage of Titans players ran through towards the goal line and one Titans player was able to strike the ball in the net past Nat. End of match, 1-1. In the second match on the adjacent field at 12:45PM, Inter faced its old friends and rivals from NCSL/D1, RFC91 (VA), now playing in the VCCL. It was a classic match between the two teams with both sides pushing the ball well against the other and backed up with strong defense. RFC setup 3 shots on goal and 1 corner kick opportunity with 3 fouls, while Inter could manage just 2 shots on goal with 2 fouls. At about the 10 minute mark, RFC countered with a long through-ball to KC up top, and it was foot race towards the goal with Nicky tightly contesting the speedy KC, trying to tackle the ball away, but alas, KC broke through as Nat came out and sent a strike into the net for RFC's only game-winning goal. In the second half, Inter's defenders shut down RFC and held them to no shots on goal or corners while RFC committed just one foul. Inter stepped up its offense and fired 8 shots on goal with 2 corner kicks but to no avail as all went awry or were stopped. End of match, 1-0, RFC91. The 3rd match on the next sunny/warmer and pleasant day found Inter matched up against the strong Lower Merion Velez (PAE), whom Inter last played at the Jimmy Dilenno Kickoff at Kirkwood, DE, Labor Day 2002. Velez edged Inter in that match, 3-2, but both teams have undergone significant changes to its roster since then. In the first half, both Velez and Inter took 4 shots on goal with Inter managing 2 corner kicks. Velez committed 7 fouls while Inter committed 5 fouls. At abouit the 15 minute mark after a foul by Velez, Skylar launched a nice freek kick into the goal mouth from about 35 yards out to the right, where Nicholas timed his jump up to head in a strike to the back of the net past the GK. In the second half, both teams attacked and counter-attacked, back and forth but Velez could only manage just 1 shot on goal, albeit an effective game-tieing shot -- and 2 corner kicks, while Inter shot just twice on goal with 1 corner kick. Both teams played physically and committed 4 fouls each. With about 3 minutes left to play, Inter missed an attempt to clear out a ball from around 18 yards out to the left and a Velez player collected the ball, dribbled towards the goal line and then sent a nice pass across the goal mouth to a Velez teammate near the right side of the goal mouth about 2-3 yards out and kicked in the easy goal past Nat. End of game, 1-1, tie.