Playing Up: U14 Goals

For some reason, the schedule makers gave Emi's U-12 team back-to-back bye weeks. Then, when the weather forecasters predicted thunderstorms in Ada on Saturday, we suspected that Emilio would miss playing for the third week in a row. While disappointing, a cancellation of Emi's noon game in Ada would also help us with our Saturday transportation challenge, since Pablo had a game in Ardmore that was scheduled to start at 10:30. The first news we got on Saturday morning, however, was that Coach Wes needed players for his co-ed team, which was scheduled to play at noon in Ada. Before we had to make a decision about that, though, we learned that all the Ada games had, in fact, been cancelled, and so Pablo and I left to go to Ardmore. We weren't sure that the game would not be rained out, so Mari, Emi and Nina stayed home. Nina had a game in Ardmore at 5:00, and I expected to come back to Ada and take everyone to that game later in the afternoon.

Pablo and I got to Ardmore just in time for his team's game against Madill, and we promptly learned that the Madill team had not, in fact, shown up for the game, though it wasn't actually raining in Ardmore. Madill is half an hour east of Ardmore; Ada is an hour north. All the Adans who had driven down for the game were, understandably, upset with Madill both for cancelling and for not letting us know in advance.

Meanwhile, Tyler Rhynes sent a message to Mari reporting that many of the U14 players were not going to make it to their 1 pm game in Ardmore and wondering if Emilio could play with them. As soon as we got this news, Pablo and I headed straight for Ada to pick up Emilio, Nina, and Mari, and as soon as we picked them up, we headed straight back to Ardmore, where we arrived just in time for kickoff.

As is turned out, the U14 team had two reserves. Fifteen minutes in, Emilio came in for Sam at center forward. Within five minutes, Logan sent a crosser Emilio's way.


Emilio uses one touch to score his first U-14 goal.

Three minutes later, Emi gets loose, demonstrates patience, and scores his second.

By this time, it's a runaway, and Coach Tyler moves Emilio back to "holding mid."

In this second half, Tyler moved Emilio to defense. This was an effective header.

Like a statue on his pinto

Emilio has been memorizing the words to "The Ballad of the Alamo" this spring.

"...and he sees the cattle grazing
where a hundred years before
Santa Anna's guns were blazing
and the cannons used to roar."

Season Eleven, Game Five: City Championship

Brock (midfield) and Emilio (center forward) start the second half.

For the record, I missed Emilio's game last weekend because I was taking Honors students to the Great Plains Honors Conference in Beaumont. Emi rode down with Carl McCortney's family, Pablo went to his game with the Rhynes, and Mari stayed in Ada for Nina's game.

I am told that Emilio was the first to score in his game. As he was weaving his way past four defenders, his coach was yelling "Pass! Pass! Pass!" After he scored, the Coach yelled, "You got lucky!"

We ended up losing that one 4-8. Emi scored 3, giving him 5 of the Spartans' 8 goals through four games--but I've only been able to see 1 of those games!

During the week, we had two scrimmages.  The first one, on Thursday, was against the Ada Avalanche, whom we beat last year for the city championship. We lost the non-refereed match 6-5; Emi scored three goals. No one wore uniforms. I didn't know they were going to have a scrimmage, so I went to the opening night of Scissortail (memoirst Patricia Hampl).

The second scrimmage was against a mixed-age, co-ed team from Sulphur. I was unable to attend because I had introduce the Scissortail featured speaker, Leif Enger. This one was in uniforms and included a referee.  Dad went. We won 8-3. Emi scored 2, including one for the ages, as Emi headed a bounced ball to himself and rifled it into then net before it hit the ground.

Saturday's game was rematch against the Avalanche--this time, for the record books.

The wind at our backs is ferocious. And Emilio is on the bench at the start of the game. He told me that the coach told him it was because he had started all the other games.

Emilio came in after about ten minutes with the scored tied 0-0. The video below requires explanation because I was unable to keep the ball in frame. Emi shoots. I follow the expected trajectory of the ball, but it hits the shoulder of #8 for the Avalanche. It bounces back to Emilio, and he quickly fires off another shot.  This one gets in the net, but I'm late to get there. I wasn't sure at the time whether Emilio had scored or whether he'd assisted Bentley.


Four minutes later, Billy scores for the Avalanche to tie the score. Eight minutes after that, Bentley scores to put us up 2-1. Emi spends more time on the bench before halftime.


Emi starts the second half, and launches a sweet, twisting hook that does not get inside the goal post, but gets close.


Seven minutes later, Emi fields a bounce and uses his first touch to score his second goal and put us up 3-1. His coach actually applauds.


Eleven minutes later, Emi gets loose on a run up the middle, and his coach yells, "Pass it! Pass" No teammates appear to be open. Emilio scores, and his coaches are silent.  We are now winning 4-1, and Emi has scored 3.


Four minutes later, Emi executes some fancy footwork on the right sideline to escape Carlos--twice--and delivers a good-looking cross.


On the subsequent corner, Emi nets his fourth.

We win the City Championship 5-1. Through five games, Emilio has scored eight goals. We have three games left to play.

Windy Emi

Season Eleven, Game Three

Not many opportunities in this one against Madill.
After starting at center forward, Emilio gets some time at midfielder in the second half and makes a run.

Josh, Eli and Charlie took Emilio to the game while I was taking other family members to Pablo's game in Ardmore. The Grasso boys came back in the second half and saw our only goal. The line judge is Emi's old teammate Sam.

Season Eleven: Game Two

I missed the first game of the U-12 Spartan spring season because I was at a conference at Wake Forest. Emi scored the first goal in that game. That turned out to be our only goal in the game, though, and we ended up losing by a bunch.

Emi almost gets this first-half ball to Blake for a score.

Off the far post in the second half!

Great ball control in heavy traffic and a sudden burst produces the goal that brings us to within one in the second half.

Great pass. After looking at the replay, I wonder if Emi could have scored. His coaches are always telling him to pass the ball, though . . .

In two games, the Spartans have three goals. Emi has two.

March Madness