Bethesda Internationals

4 Jul. '06. Congratulations to our sister team, Bethesda Roadrunners, who after winning the Region I Championship today against a surprising Maine (Coastal SC Thunder), 1-0, will be heading to Des Moines, IA, at the end of the month to compete in the USYSA Nationals. The Roadrunners will be facing the Region IV Far West winners, Valley United Blast (CA-S) , and Region II winners, Michigan Wolves '92 (MI). Valley United Blast has won both the CA-S State Cup and Region IV Championship for the last 3 years in a row, and no doubt will be a heavy favorite to win the National event for the first time outing of U14 teams. The Region III championship will be decided tomorrow between the Dallas Texans Red (TX-N)and CASL Elite (NC). Oddly, both teams advanced to the Final from the same Group, with CASL Elite knocking off two other Group winners, while the Group Winner Texans Red deposed the other Group winner, our friends from The Jefferson Cup, Clearwater Chargers, 1-0, in the Semi-Final today.

20 Jun. '06. Brackets have been set for the upcoming Surf Cup, 29-31 July, and Inter Bethesda has been placed in Group D with 3 other top teams from Region IV: Group A: Valley United Blast (CA-S) Ambush 92 Red (GA) Santa Clara Sporting (CA-N) Vancouver Selects (CAN) Group B: Chicago Wind Nationals (IL) Celtic Harps (CA-S) San Diego Surf White (CA-S) Washington Premier FC (WA) Group C: Celtic Hoops (CA-S) Chivas Jrs. (CA-N) Concord Fire Elite (GA) La Rocha DP (UT) Group D: FC Barcelona (CA-S) Inter Bethesda (MD) Eastside FC 91 Red (WA) HSC Bulls 92 Boys (HI)

12 Jun. '06. After a rainy start of the day in the morning, the precipitation ceased and brilliant sun filled the skies for a pleasant early evening match against our sister team from BSC, Bethesda Ajax, who took it on the chin this season going winless with a couple of ties. Coach Pete configured the lineup/substitutions to give players opportunity to play around in positions which some were unaccustomed to or with limited PT exposure in the past. The Ajax played hard, committing 10 fouls in the 1st half with YC's being shown to #9 and #10. Inter's strong backline denied the Ajax from taking any shots on goal, and 1 unsuccessful corner kick opportunity. Inter committed just 4 fouls, and took 6 shots on goal. At about the 18 minute mark, Nat rcvd a pass in the Ajax's goal mouth -- from Sam about 25 yards out to the right -- turned, dribbled to his left and then flicked a short pass over to Mati near the goal who then struck in Inter's 1st goal of the half. In the 2nd half, Inter launched a barrage of 9 shots on goal, including two nice headers which just missed their mark by Nicholas & Tomiwa off of free kicks by Skylar after fouls by Ajax; and, also created 2 unsuccessful corner kick opportunities & committed 6 fouls (inlcuding 1 offsides). Inter's strong D once again shut down the Ajax except for a weak shot late in the 2nd half that went awry, and a successful PK after a foul in the box by Inter on an Ajax player. The Ajax also created 2 unsuccessful corner kick opportunities, and committed 9 fouls (including 1 offsides). At about the 12 minute mark, after a foul by Ajax, Skylar sent a perfectly placed free kick from about 35 yards out to the right into the goal mouth where Mati head-flicked the ball towards the net but it sailed wide left where an alert Ebo possessed the ball and fired in a hard shot past the surprised GK for Inter's 2nd goal. Just 1 minute later, at the 13th minute mark, after a bump foul by Nicholas on an Ajax player in the box, the Ajax sent a low, crisp PK shot to the left, and Nat guessed correctly diving to his right but just missed the ball as it sailed into the net for the Ajax's only score of the match. At about the 18 minute mark, Vitalis rcvd a pass from (?) about 30 yards out on the left, dribbled upfield 10-15 yards and then made an angular, thread-the-needle pass to the right in towards the goal mouth where Nichoals perfectly timed his break from the pack towards the goal and slammed in Inter's 3rd goal of the match, and Inter prevailed, 3-nil, earning its first D1 Crown after coming close the last 2 seasons in second place.

4 Jun. '06. The much anticipated match between the two strong sister teams from Bethesda Soccer Club, the storied Bethesda Roadrunners and Inter Bethesda, kicked off today at the MD SoccerPlex with a throng of spectators watching the event on a sunny but breezy day. And, Wiley Coyote was foiled yet again. Although the RR's controlled much of the first half of the match, shooting 5 times on goal, with 2 corner kick opportunities and committed 8 fouls, Inter played well and was also able to move the ball around effectively but could only manage 2 shots on goal and 2 corner kick opportunities which were unsuccessful, and committed 4 fouls (including 1 offisdes). At about the 20 minute mark, the RR's sent what seemed to be a misdirected corner kick further out towards Inter's 18 yard line where it appeared that Inter would be able to easily clear it away, however, the RR's were quicker to the ball and the RR's/Eli volley struck the ball back towards and into the net past Nat for the 1st goal of match. In the 2nd half, the RR's controlled play mostly from counter-attacking, shooting 7 times on goal and committed 8 fouls (including 3 offsides). Patrick was shown a YC for throwing the ball away for start of play, and two YC's were shown to RR's #10/Desean for (??) and to #3/Eli for tripping Patrick from behind. The RR's strong defensive back line held Inter to no shots on goal, including a goal-saving tackle by #88/Philip, who regrettably may have sustained a fractured leg in the fracus. Ben was making a run towards goal and Phillip stretched out his leg to kick the ball away and his leg became entangled in between Ben's legs as the ball was struck hard, and Phillip lay on the turf in pain and had to be carried off the field. Inter managed just 2 corner kick opportunities which were unsuccessful and committed 9 fouls (including 1 offsides). At about the 25 minute mark, the RR's mounted an attack after a ball was not cleared effectively away and a hard shot was launched about 22-25 yards out on the right directly at Nat who was in perfect position to stop/catch the ball near the right post, but as he pulled the ball to his chest to secure it tightly, it unluckily slipped out of his grasp and back into the net for the second goal for the RR's, and the match ended later, 2-nil, RR's. Congratulations to the RR's for a well earned victory and good luck at the Regionals in VA Beach, and on to the Nationals in Des Moines!

28 May '06. Switching from the Polo Grounds to the nice pitch at the MD Soccer Plex for the Semi-Final match against the Pot. Cougars '92 was expected to be an advantage for Inter's normally good passing style of play. But, after having prevailed over the always defensivly strong Cougars in the last several league matches and State Cup 2005 Semi-Final, Inter would not be able to produce a similar result this time around as the Cougars were up for the challenge. The Cougars mid-field played very well and moved the ball around effectively with the help of Guest Player, Denzel P., who guested with Inter at the CASL Shootout 2005 last November. Inter did not look sharp in the 1st half, and some balls were mis-directed or missed, or not cleared away cleanly, resulting in 2 goals scored by the Cougars. To the credit of the Cougars' strong back line, Inter was able to setup just one shot on goal after a foul by the Cougars. Skylar sent a nice free kick from about 35+ yards out on the left into the box which was stopped by the GK and then dropped the ball to the turf where Mati turned and fired a shot that just missed wide left of goal. The Cougars' first goal came at about the 22 mintue mark on a counter attack with Denzel pushing the ball upfield into Inter's goal mouth, and then lofted the ball over the back line to a teammate who swiftly knocked in a strike to the right of Nat. With just 1 minute left to play in the half, a push in the back foul was called on Inter, and the Cougars sent a free kick into the goal mouth around 18-20 yards out where an open Cougar player was unmarked resulting in another crisp shot on goal to put the Cougars up, 2-0. The cougars played very physical, committing 9 fouls, and shooting 3 times on goal, with the 3rd shot taken close-in but luckily sailed wide and right of goal. Besides the single shot on goal, Inter could create just 1 corner kick opportunity which was unsuccessful, and committed 5 fouls. Inter stepped up its attacking in the second half, stayed focused and played more intensely, shooting 5 times on goal, and created 6 corner kick opportunites with 3 fouls. A YC was shown to Jamie for a hard foul on Erik O., and also a YC was presented to #8 of the Cougars for (?). The Cougars committed 6 fouls, and Inter held the Cougars to no shots on goal or any corner kicks. At about the 19 minute mark, Skylar sent a corner kick into the goal mouth where the ball bounced up in the air and Nicholas V. bicycle-kicked the ball backwards towards the net and it hit the crossbar/sidebar and deflected outward. As the GK tried to reach out to punch it away, Ben stepped forward to tap in the goal. Several minutes later, Skylar sent another nice corner kick into the goal mouth, and Mati colleced the ball and slammed a hard shot to the net, but the Cougars' GK was in perfect position to stop/catch the ball. Inter could not finish the second equalizer goal and the match ended, 2-1, Cougars. Congratulations to the Cougars on a well-deserved victory. The Cougars will play in the Final tomorrow against RFC 91 (VA) who prevailed over Seacoast United (NH), 2-1.