Bethesda Internationals

13 Nov. '06. Inter trekked down to Raleigh, NC, this past weekend for its 2nd consecutive participation in the highly competitive CASL Shootout. The weather was great with mild temps in the upper 60's and sunny/partly cloudy skies, but the overplayed fields at the WRAL Soccer Center were poor with many sand-filled depressions and some fields looking like beach soccer pitches! After playing well in its first foray into this premier event last year but losing all (3) tight matches to First Coast Kyx (FL), 0-1, Concord Fire Elite, 0-1 (GA) and North Meck Storm, 1-2, Inter came expecting to once again play some very competitive teams and improve its showing from last year -- and, was not disappointed. With some minor changes to its roster up front including the addition of Vitalis A. and the loan of two guest players, Denzel P./U15 (up) DCST Eagles & Glen V./U14 Potomac Plague, to fill in for two injured players, Marcus B. & Cameron K., Inter faced its new friends from New Jersey, SSC Munich, this year's NJ champs, whom it prevailed over in the recent Washington Fall Classic during Labor Day weekend, 1-0. The match unfolded in eirily similar fashion as the Fall Classic event, with Inter possessing/controlling the ball for the first half of the 1st half, but then momentum shifted to SSC for the remainder of the first half. Inter attempted 4 shots on goal, created 3 corner kick opportunities and committed 5 fouls while SSC Munich shot 3 times on goal & committed 3 fouls, and the match was scoreless at half-time. In the second half, both teams moved the ball against the other and took 3 shots on goal each. Inter created 2 corner kick situations while committing 2 fouls, and SSC created 1 corner kick but committed 5 fouls. Nat saved a hard shot from SSC at about the 8-10 minute into the second half, but was not seriously threatened for the remainder. After a foul by SSC at about the 26 minute mark, Skylar launched a nice free kick from about 25-30 yards out to the center and it dropped into the box 2-3 yards near the goal line where Mati timed his leap and headed in the winning goal past the keeper. End of match in favor of Inter, 1-0. The second match found Inter playing the strong Vardar Red team from Michigan, this year's State Finalist and last year's Champ. Vardar is big and fast up front and worked harder/more determined to come to and possess the ball quicker than Inter. Vardar took just 2 shots on goal in the 1st half, created 2 corner kick opportunities and committed 8 fouls, limiting Inter to just 1 shot on goal; and, Inter, too, committed 8 fouls. At about the 5 minute mark, Vardar sent a ball upfield to a quick forward on the left who collected the ball about 35 yards out and streaked in towards the goal as Inter's defenders were unable to get back into position quick enough and the hard shot was rifled into the net to the right of Nat's outstretched arms. At about the 14 minute mark, Vitalis received a nice pass from (?) upfield on the left side around 30+ yards out and similar to the Vardar goal, Vitalis raced up, turned in towards the goal and on the run fired a hard left-footed shot past the GK into the net for the equalizer goal. In the second half, Vardar kept up its physcial and aggressive play, but managed only 2 shots on goal and 1 corner kick opportunity, and again committed 8 fouls with yellow cards being awarded to 2 of its players, #3 for a hard foul on Mati (who could not play the 3rd match the next day due to a swollen knee) and #7 for running into the GK/Nat. Inter played the Vardar team evenly in the intense second half, and managed 3 shots on goal (2 DK's/headers) and 1 corner kick, but could not convert, while committing 2 fouls. With about 2 mintues left to play in the match, Vardar countered an Inter attack and moved the ball upfield to the left side but Inter was unable to challenge/tackle the ball away in time as another Vardar player recieved a short pass and dribbled towards the center of the goal mouth, evading Inter defenders and then turned to fire in a strike past Nat from about 18+ yards out to the center. End of match, 2-1, Vardar. In the 3rd match, Inter played the Littleton United White team from Colorado, this year's Semi-Finalist. Nat came out to play in the field and Ben took over as GK. The United White team were pretty tall, worked hard but not quite as physical/strong as the Vardar Red team, however, but they played aggressively and determinedly. In the 1st half, Inter took 4 shots on goal with 2 corner kicks while committing 6 fouls. The United White was limited to just 2 shots on goal with 1 corner kick while committing 5 fouls. At about the 10 minute mark, after a foul, Skylar sent a left-footed free kick into the goal mouth about 6 yards out where Tomiwa timed his leap and headed in a strike past the GK. But, just 5 minutes later, the United White managed the equalizer goal and the half ended in a 1-1 tie. In the second half, the physicality picked up with both teams committing 10 fouls each. Ben made a nice stop/save on a nice 40 yard free kick by United White. Inter shot 3 times on goal and could not manage any corner kick opportunities, while the United White took just 2 shots on goal and setup 2 corner kick situations. At about the 20 minute mark, an United White defender passed back the ball to the GK after the defender was being pressured but the GK whiffed the attempted boot away and the ball rolled towards the goal line. Glen and the GK raced back towards the goal line and Glen was able to beat the GK to slide/tap in the ball over the goal line for the leaing goal, 2-1. However, 5 minutes latger, the United White managed a corner kick situation and perfectly lofted the ball high into the goal mouth near the goal line and Ben stretched up his hands/fingers to stop or flick the ball away but it found its way into the net for the tieing goal. End of match, 2-2.