Season-ending Doubleheader, Game One (Season Five, Game Five)

Olivia and Uncle Brian have come up from Fort Worth for the day, just to see Pablo and Emilio play. They'll catch a season-ending double-header from Emilio with an undefeated record on the line in scorching 90-degree heat.

Tyler Walker intercepts the goal kick, Emi chases the ball down in the corner, takes the defender back towards the center, turns her around and delivers a shot through the back door, threading a needle between two defenders and a goalie to the far corner of the net for his first score of the game. Impressive.


One minute later, Emi intercepts the goal kick and lofts his second score into the net.


Two minutes later, the U-8 version of a jump-ball following a hand-ball violation matches Emi and Eva. Though Eva gets the jump on him, Emi chases the ball down in the corner, takes control and goes coast-to-coast before angling in a corner shot from the sharpest of side angles. This is the one admirers were talking about after the game.


One minute later: I like this one because Emilio follows a header with a thigh/knee touch that centers the ball. The play ends with a long scoring strike by Tyler Bratton.


Emi intercepts a goal kick and delivers a sliding cross-over in the dirt. That's his fifth score of the game. (I didn't push down hard enough on the button and missed recording #4!).


Emi goes into the corner to pick a pocket following a goal kick and sneaks #6 in between the goalie and the post.


Emi picks off another goal kick, delivers goal #7 just before getting crunched, pops up, wins the race back to center field, gets pulled, picks up a drink from Uncle Brian, and almost leaves him hanging before delivering the high five.


Back in the game, Emi fights for position on a corner kick and gets kneed in the privates while setting up a score by Lane. He makes it to the sideline before giving in to the pain. He will soon be ready to play again, but Coach Bratton wants him to save energy for the last game of the season against a tough orangs squad led by our old teammate, Malachi.

Through five games, Turqouise is undefeated, and Emilio has 25 goals.

Last Spring Practice

Emi's Book Reviews

A Starter Score Sampler
10. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.
9.8 The Hobbit
9.2 The X'ed Out X-ray from the A-Z Mysteries Series by Ron Roy.
9 Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.
8.9 Charlotte's Web by E. B. White.

A Prompt Sampler
What was your favorite part of this book? Why did you like that part?  Who was the most interesting character in this book? What made that character interesting? What did you learn from reading this book?

AR point search.

Coming up next:
Secret of the Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene. Book Level:  5.4. AR points:  5.
Secret of the Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene.  AR points:  5.
Abraham Lincoln:  A Photographic Story of a Life by Tonya Stone. Book level: 7.4. AR points:  4.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014: "In Mary Pope Osborne's Abe Lincoln at Last (#47 in the Magic Tree House series), Jack and Annie go back to when Abe Lincoln was alive, and they meet Abe Lincoln and his sons. They want to have a private meeting with Abraham Lincoln because they need a feather from a hero's hand in order to save a penguin who has turned to stone. Their friends Teddy and Kathleen are magicians. They give Jack and Annie magic powers that let them do anything that they want for an hour, so they say that they want to go back and have a private talk with Abraham Lincoln. This book taught me that Lincoln's son Willie died of pneumonia and that Tad lived all by himself with his mom." Score:  9.7. AR points:  2.

Monday, June 9, 2014:  "In Mary Pope Osborne's Dogs in the Dead of Night (#46 in the Magic Tree House series), Jack and Annie go to the Swiss Alps in the springtime and are looking for a white and yellow flower. They find a monastery and spend the night there with a monk and three St. Bernards. One St. Bernard named Barry isn't trained yet, so it needs to be trained. So Annie offers to train it. Jack doesn't want Annie to train it because it always jumps on Jack and licks him.  They go outside for a minute to get some fresh air and leave Barry inside.  When they come back in, they both find out that Barry has chewed up Jack's research book, and Annie says that he's a 'bad dog,' so Barry goes outside. When they go outside to see if he's OK, he is not there. My favorite part of this book is when Barry helps them find a man who had been stuck in an avalanche because then Annie says that Barry is a 'good dog.'" Score: 9.1. Book level:  3.8. AR points:  2.

Sunday, June 8, 2014:  "Elizabeth Dami's I'm Too Fond of My Fur. Book level:  3.5. AR points:  1.

"In Mary Pope Osborne's High Time for Heroes (#51 in the Magic Tree House series), Jack and Annie learn about Florence Nightingale, a famous hospital owner. First, they meet two donkeys and name them 'Honey' and 'Sweetie.' They ride them around the desert. At night time, they still haven't come back, so Florence Nightingale and her friends go out looking for them. Meanwhile, Jack and Annie are trying to catch a monkey that someone let them 'monkey-sit.' The monkey climbs to the top of a rock and doesn't know how to get down, so Jack and Annie climb up, too.  On the way down, Annie slips and sprains her ankle, and Jack twists his arm.  They both hear Florence Nightingale and her friends, and Florence and her friends take Jack and Annie back to their place. My favorite part of this book is when they both cliimb up the rock after the monkey because it is exciting." Score: 9.4. Book level:  4.1.  AR points:  2.

Saturday, June 7, 2014. "Elisabetta Dami's Paws Off, Cheddarface! (2004), #6 in the Geronimo Stilton series, is about Sydney Starfur, who impersonates Geronimo Stilton. The best part of this book is when Geronimo Stilton decides to dress up his cousin Trap as the rat Starfur is working for. I liked that part because Trap looked like a girl, and it was funny." Score: 9.7 Book level:  3.4.

Also read on Saturday:  Kate McMullan's 97 Ways to Train a Dragon (#9),  Help! It's Parents Day at DSA (#10) and Danger! Wizard at Work (#11).

Friday, June 6, 2014. Kate McMullan's Sir Lancelot, Where Are You? (#6 )in the Dragon Slayers' Academy. "Not worth a review because it's not long enough." Score: 9.5.  Book level:  3.0.
Also read on Friday:  Kate McMullan's Countdown to Year 1000 (#8), Wheel of Misfortune (#7).

Friday, May 23, 2014. Abby Klein's Help! A Vampire's Coming, #6 in the Ready, Freddy! series.  "Not worth a review. It's only 8 chapters." Score:  3.9/10. Book level:  3.1.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014. "Catherine Keener's The Mystery at Lilac Inn (1930/1960/1989)--the fourth Nancy Drew book--is about Nancy's fancy friend Emily Willoughby, who wants to get married in an Inn where she wants to work. But the Inn is haunted, so Emily thinks that no one will want to come to the Inn to stay. My favorite part of this book is when Nancy finds out that someone who works at the Lilac Inn was haunting it. In this book, we see how Nancy is always trying to help people." Score: 7.5/10. Book level:  5.3. AR points:  5.

Friday, May 9, 2014. "Catherine Keener's The Bungalow Mystery--the third Nancy Drew book is about Nancy getting shipwrecked.  She was found by Laura Pendleton, a a girl two years older than Nancy. Laura's parents had died in a shipwreck. Nancy's mother had died in a plan wreck, and so instead of a mother, she had a housekeeper named Hannah. Laura had to meet her guardians at six o'clock, and when she told Nancy about her guardians, Nancy was curious. Nancy asked Laura if she could meet her guardians. Laura said that it was OK, and then Nancy went home. Her dad wasn't home, but Hannah told her that her father was working on an embezzlement case. Nancy's father came home that night and gave Nancy a list of the four suspects that could have embezzled the money. Nancy almost forgot about her visit to Laura's guardians, and so she told her father she had to go somewhere, but she didn't tell him where. On her way there, she saw a man walking toward a bungalow with paper-covered bundles. She didn't know what was in them, so she stopped her car behind some bushes and went to see who the man was. But when she got there, he was gone. While she was looking at the bungalow to see where he had gone, she thought she heard a faint cry, and so she went inside the bungalow. Then she was for sure that she had heard a cry:  "H-e-e-e-l-p!" She felt on the floor and found a latch. When she pulled it, she saw a trap door. Then she heard the cry more clearly:  "H -E -E- E- L- P!"  She went through the trap door and saw a man chained to a board. She found a key and unlocked the chain and helped the man out. She asked him what his name was. He said he was Jacob Auburn, who was Laura's real guardian. He told Nancy that the ones who were in Laura's house were fakes. They were the Dowds, who embezzled the money. So Nancy and Jacob Auburn went to his house and found that the Dowds' car was gone, so Nancy got in her car and followed the tire marks. Then she saw a car coming up to a steep cliff.  The car wouldn't stop.  It just flew off the steep cliff and plunged down. Nancy didn't go off. She stopped her car right at the edge of the cliff and went down to see if they were OK. They called an ambulance, and the Dowds went to the hospital and were then to go to jail. Laura finally got to see her real guardians. My favorite part was when the Dowds flew off the steep cliff because it was very exciting. This book taught me to never steal money." Score: 9.5/10. Book level:  5.6.  AR points:  5.

Thursday, May 8, 2014. "Erich Kastner's Emil and the Detectives (1930) is about an eight-year-old boy trying to find his money that a mischievous man in a bowler hat stole from him while Emil was on a train on his way to Berlin to see his grandmother. My favorite part of this book is when Emil remembered that he had drawn a moustache on a statue in New Town. I liked this part because it was funny. This book taught me to watch over your money.  It also made me want to try to solve some mysteries." Score: 9.991/10.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014.  The Hidden Staircase by "Catherine Keene" (Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson)--the second book in the Nancy Drew Mystery series (originally published in 1930/revised in 1959).  "This book was about Nancy and her friend Helen helped Helen's grandmother and great-grandmother to find a ghost in Twin Elms, a mansion where Helen's grandmother and great-grandmother lived.  My favorite part was when they found out who the ghost was. The name of the ghost was Willie Wharton. I liked that part because it was the main mystery, and it was the second mystery Nancy Drew figured out. There was this one part in which Nancy's dad was kidnapped, and she was trying to find him, too. I think she loves her dad very much." Score: 9.99/10

Sunday, May 4, 2014. The Secret of the Old Clock by "Catherine Keene" (Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson)--the first book in the Nancy Drew Mystery series.  "This book was about how Nancy Drew was trying to find a later will.  The best part of the book was when she found the will because it was exciting. Nancy Drew was detective-like, and she never gave up on the mystery." Score:  9.9.

Sunday, April 20, 2014. The Panda Puzzle, from the A to Z Mysteries series by Ron Roy. "This book is about someone who steals a panda named Winnie. The best part of this book is when Josh, Dink and Ruth Rose get to see the pandas because that's when they find out that Winnie is gone." Score 9.7.  Book level: 3.5

Saturday, April 19, 2014. The Lucky Lottery, from the A-Z Mysteries series by Ron Roy. "In this book, Lucky's grandpa sends him a lottery ticket, and Lucky finds out that the lottery ticket is worth 7 million dollars. The best part of this book is when we find out that the grandpa's grandson is named 'Lucky,' and we also find out that his name is 'Lucky' because he always has rotten luck." Score 9.9

Saturday, April 19, 2014. The Kidnapped King, from the A-Z Mysteries series by Ron Roy. "In this book, Josh, Dink and Ruth Rose meet a prince who is allergic to dogs and cats. The best part of this book was when Dink learned how to speak a little French.  He learned colors like yellow, blue and red." Score: 9.1/10.

Thursday, April 17, 2014. The Princess Bride by William Goldman.  "Wesley was a poor farm boy who became a rich pirate. The best part of this book was when he and Inigo Montoya fight because I liked how they talked. Inigo Montoya had an accent. In the movie there was a Pit of Despair. In the book, it was the Zoo of Death." Score:  9.4/10. Book level:  5.8. AR points:  14.

Rematch with Red-and-White (Season Five, Game Four)

Impressive shot from a distance with the left. After two early goals by Kiki, it's 3-0 thirteen minutes in.


Three minutes later, it's 5-0, after Kiki scores following a corner, and Emi adds this one following an intercept of an inbounds pass.


Emi's teammates are going a good job of giving him space to work in, and he delivers his third score.


Beautiful touch pass to Tyler on a breakaway to start the third quarter.


Two minutes later: #4 with a soft touch.


Twelve minutes later: #5 from a sharp angle to the near corner of the net.


Four minutes later: Emi weaves through traffic to score his sixth.


Following the ensuing kick-off: #7. And coach asks Emi to play goalie.


Emilio started this coast-to-coast play as a goalkeeper. I was just able to get the camera on to catch #8. And Coach tells Emi to join him on the bench.

Through four games, that's 18 goals for Emi this season.

The Showdown: Lime vs. Blue (Season Five, Game Three)

Today's captains: Romney and Obama.


The game's first foul. It's hard to see in this video, but Emi says there was a push. The ref agreed.


Lime has a clever strategy: their coach instructs Billy to stand behind the goal keeper on goal kicks. Smart. As loyal readers of this blog know, many Emilio's goals have come after intercepting goal kicks down the center of the field.

Did Billy push Emi down on his way to scoring? Hard to tell. Lime 1, Blue 0.


Almost a great putback.


Nifty pick and turnaround by Emi leads to a shot on goal that just misses the mark.


One minute later, Emilio makes a sweet swipe on the defensive end to set up Tristan on a breakaway. Tristan's shot is blocked, but Emi comes to the rescue, intercepting the ball, centering it, taking command and delivering--with the left, no less--to the corner of the net. Impressive! Blue 1, Lime 1.


A tremendous clear by Emiio on the defensive end provides a breakaway opportunity for the blue, and the documentarian loses it. I sooooo want him to chase down his own kick and bring it home. Can he even hear me? I don't know. But he comes forward and . . . bang! Blue 2, Lime 1. That's two goals for Emi in the first 13 minutes.


Twenty minutes later. Second half action. Our coach did not like this play, and though I did not see it at the time, it does appear that Billy body-bumps the coach's son Tyler to the ground. You can hear coach Brian say "C'mon, man. You gotta play the ball!"


I think this score by Kiki breaks a 4-4 second half tie.


The ball and all the players disappear from the frame, and then Billy emerges with it and kicks it long. Emilio gives chases, realizes that if it goes out of bounds, we'll get a goal kick, and pulls up at the last second. Suddenly, Billy appears on the scene and saves the ball before it goes out. He hasn't managed to control the ball, though, and Emilio nabs it, capitalizes on the opportunity, runs as fast as I've seen him run on a soccer pitch, and delivers a powerkick on the goal that is just deflected by the goalie's right foot.


Lots of tight traffic following a corner kick and Emilio almost manages to score while on the ground. He pops up and almost scores again, but Billy is there to block it with his shoulder. I thought it was a goal at the time, but it's hard to make that case on later viewing. It was a close call, in any case.


Emi tells me he was hoping to run out the clock and preserve what was then a tie score (and an undefeated season) by heading each of these balls off the field.


This is the body bump that sent Lane off. Our coach complained loudly about what he perceived as a pattern of rough play, and Billy's dad walked up to him and said, "That's my son, and nobody talks about my son that way." Our coach did not back down, and ugly got uglier. Billy's dad argued that any rough play was unintentional--"He's seven years old!" and our coach's wife announced that she was making a phone call. Someone in Billy's entourage asked tauntingly if she were calling the police. She wasn't; she was calling the head ref. And at the end of the game, the head ref told everyone to stay on the field while she made a few things clear. Her main point was that not all rough play is illegal. I didn't hear the rest because I had to work enrollment at ECU.


The ref called Billy for pushing Emilio on this play.


Is that a push?


In the final seconds of the game, the Lime coach, playing for the win, is no longer positioning Billy in the goal during a goal kick. Strategic mistake? She tells the goalie not to kick in the middle and encourages Billy to come the side, which he does (after giving Tyler a little push). Emi plays possum and then swoops in for the intercept. His wide shot is blocked by the goalie, but he recovers and delivers a miraculous game winner--his third goal of the day--under tense conditions. This was one of the greats. And that's ten goals in three games.
And, Maria tells me, after the game, Emilio tells Billy: "See you on Tuesday!" (at ECU's Soccer Skills Academy, where they are often paired up).

Hangin' Out at ECU

Blue v. Red (Season Five, Game Two)

The breakaway . .. the shot on goal . . .the block . . .the follow-up . . . and a near miss.

Two minutes later, after a score by Kiki puts us up 1-0, Emi neatly coverts the throw-in with a single touch.

Sweet feed to Lane.It's 3-0.

One minute later: Was that an own goal? I'm giving Emi credit for his second.

Two minutes later: a neat side shot. That's #3 for Em, and it's 5-0 in the first quarter.

Emi's fourth comes in the third. It's now 8-1.

Emi's in goal now.


Given one more chance, Emi delivers a strike, hits the batter, and shows some concern for the opposition. Emi scored four today and has seven through two games.