For the Alamo!

The soccer team I do some freelance work for finished off their perfect regular season this past Sunday and as usual I wrote a story for the website for it.  The following is the complete posting.

Alamo SC Sweeps Inaugural Season

Alamo SC defeated the Dallas-Fort Worth Tornados 8 – 6 on Sunday, February 8^th to complete an undefeated regular season.

This victory is Alamo SC's ninth in a row and comes off the heels of a 5 – 3 victory of the Dallas Outlaws Reserve to clinch the PASL-Premier South-Central Division title.

“This has truly been a dream season,” said Coach Lance Noble after the victory. “To come out as an expansion team and be undefeated says a lot.”

Alamo ran the table this season and amassed the highest goal differential in the league at 56. This season the boys from the south have outscored opponents 88 to 32.

Noble attributes the teams success to an “unbelievable work ethic” and many late nights at practice and in training.

Alamo's leading scorer, Forward Balta (Hanna) Peral, tallied 24 goals for his team and has the potential to be the top goal scorer in the league.

“It feels good,” said Peral. “We've had a great season. We had some struggles with some of us playing our first season indoors at the semi-pro level.”

Alamo's defense has been a major factor in their success with the mantra that “defense wins championships” playing a large role.

Lance Key(DF), Matt Gross(GK), Josh Smith(MF), Kyle Altman(DF) and Pete Palomino(DF) make up what Noble considers to be “the best defensive unit in the PASL.”

The Tornados came to San Antonio looking to put at least one tally in Alamo's L column with a good start by scoring with 10:15 left in the first period.

Alamo responded with two goals from Smith with 8:56 remaining and again at 1:15. Nicos Esquivel scored with 5:46 left in the first.

The home team kept up the pace set in the first with a goal from Enrigue Serda who substituted in when Jose Esparza looked injured after a collision.

The Tornados were penalized shortly after for a slide outside the box by their goalkeeper. Alamo was unable to succeed in scoring during the power play but was able to slip one past with 7:57 remaining to put the home side up 5 – 2.

Dallas struck back within the next minute to bring the score to 5 – 3 with 6:57 remaining in the half.

Neither team was able to breach the other’s defenses and the score remained 5 – 3 going into the locker room.

Members of the Alamo SC coaching staff paid tribute to their sponsors during the break. Autographed team pictures were given to sponsors: Aztec Indoor Soccer, Catz and Kalmar.

Noble thanked the sponsors for their generous support and commitment to helping Alamo SC become the team they are.

Play resumed with each team’s offense trying to find a hole in the defenses.

Robbie DeBaca found a hole past the Tornados Goalkeeper at the 12:46 mark and brought Alamo to a 6 – 2 lead.

Dallas looked well rested after the half and attacked with a renewed intensity putting 2 more goals past Cross at 9:49 and 2:51 to put the Tornados within 2 at 6 – 4.

The fourth quarter saw more fierce action and the play of the game.

Nat Zuniga caught a high ball and managed to score his first header of the season.

“I can’t describe how it felt,” said Zuniga. “To get a goal like that and get the reaction from my team and the crowd.”

Key put one in on a penalty kick with 7:35 remaining to put the home side up by four but Dallas would not go down without a fight and put two more points on the board. It would not be enough to pull off the upset and Alamo went on to win 8 – 6.

With Alamo SC's perfect regular season finished the team now looks forward to the playoffs and a chance to compete in Las Vegas.

“We have home field through the playoffs,” said Key. That will help the team as Key still feels there needs to be some more work done. “We've been too frantic at the start [of games] and that has worked against us.”

Alamo SC will meet their first playoff opponent, Tyler Threat, Sunday, February 15^th at 2:00 p.m. at Aztec Indoor Soccer.

Welcome to Pittsburgh: Population Six

The Pittsburgh Steelers have made history!

With a 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals the Steelers won their record-breaking sixth Super Bowl.

For a game that was initially billed as a landslide defeat for the Cardinals they proved that they belonged in that game.  Coach Ken Whisenhunt's boys showed the world that the Cards are no longer a team destined for losing seasons and a permanent fixture in the dregs of the NFL.

Many sports websites are billing this as the greatest Super Bowl of all time but I am not ready to bestow that honor to this game just yet.  The kneejerk reaction is to call it that based on it being an exciting game.  Last year's Super Bowl and the Giants amazing march up the field and subsequent touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress was the Greatest Super Bowl Ever! as well.

There is not doubt that it was a great game.

In the first qurater Pittsburgh's offense looked like it would walk all over Arizona.  Things quickly changed in the Red Zone.  The cardinals were able to keep the Steelers from picking up seven points on the touchdown (with the help of a challenge from Whisenhunt) and force the steelers to take a field goal instead.

At this point in the game I would have really gone for it.  Why?

A) It's the Super Bowl.

B) It's fourth and an index finger to the goal line.  If Big Ben would have called the snap and just dove under Justin Hartwig the first drive would have given the Steelers a 7-0 lead.

C) If above scenario fails no biggie.  Arizona has to play the balle from the goal line.  You have the number one defense in the country.  There's a strong chance they could have gotten a safety.  2-0 is not as much as 3-0 but they would have gotten the ball back too.

Arizona's first possesion is three and out.  Everything's coming up Steelers.

First quarter ends.  Steelers up 3-0 and they still have possession of the ball.

Once again the Steelers march up the field and get to the one.  The difference now is that they give the ball to Gary Russell to run it in.  Success! Pittsburgh touchdown.  With the extra point it's 10-0 Steelers.

On the next drive Kurt Warner gets his boys working and brings them all the way to the Red Zone.  The Cards respond with a pass to Tight End Ben Patrick for the touchdown.

Sidenote: Ben Patrick caught the TD to seal the trip to the Super Bowl for Arizona.

Now it's a game 10-7 Pittsburgh.

The next two possesions are punts for both teams.

Pittsburgh's ball and Big Ben gets a pass deflected high in the air that drops into the waiting hands of Arizona Tackle Karlos Dansby for Super Bowl XLIII's first turnover.

With time running down in the half the Cardinals begin to move the ball forward from the Pittsburgh 34.

Again the drive comes down to the 1-yard line.  Kurt Warner makes a quick pass intended for Anquan Boldin but it doesn't get there.  It's picked off by James Harrison who procedes to run all 100 yards to deposit the ball in the Pittsburgh endzone.  The longest play in Super Bowl history.  Steelers record numero uno.

Steelers up 17-7 at the half.

Queue The Boss and some other non-interesting Super Bowl halftime stuff....

Third quarter here we go.

Arizona starts off with the ball and during the drive it appears that James Farrior has forced a fumble from Kurt Warner.  Whisenhunt's been lucky with hes red rag today and tosses it out again.  The fumble is reversed and Arizona keeps possession.  The only problem is that was third down and now they're punting.

Pittsburgh again brings the drive to the goaline and again has to settle for a field goal.  Arizona is showing the world that they do actually have a real defensive unit.

Steelers 20 - Arizona 7.

Arizona takes the ball back and finishes out the third and moves into the fourth quarter with the ball.  They're forced to punt as is Pittsburgh on their next drive.

This is where the game gets really, really good.

Anyone watching the game has probably noticed that Larry Fitzgerald has down absolutely nothing thus far in the game.  Until now....

Warner connects with Fitzgerald four times in the drive and culminates it with a 1-yard touchdown pass.

Arizona's back in the game again 20-14.

Steelers go three and out and Arizona gets the ball back but is forced to punt.  The Steelers pick up a really big penalty from James Harrison (who goes from MVP in the first half to most hated guy at the Super Bowl in the second) and have to start from their own six inch line.

This is what Pittsburgh should have forced Arizona to do in the first quarter.  Pittsburgh is pinned down in the endzone but it appears that Big Ben makes the first down with a pass to Santonio Holmes but there are flags on the play.  Steeler penalty in the endzone. Safety.

20-16.  Arizona ball.

Warner's first pass is incomplete to Boldin.  His second the Fitzgerald is not.  Fitzgerald runs through the relatively empty Steelers back line and scores a 64-yard touchdown that would seem to have won them the game.

20-23 Arizona's on top now.

The Steelers get the ball and have 2:30 left on the clock.  Big Ben begins the drive and with a little help from Holmes(and three personal fouls on Arizona) that ends up at Arizona's six.  The first pass to Holmes is a no go but the second is a thing of beauty that ultimately seals the deal for Pittsburgh.  Holmes catches the ball in the back right corner of the endzone with three defenders on him and still manages to get his tiptoes on the turf.

Steelers up 27-23.

Arizona has 0:29 on the clock to do what Pittsburgh just did.  The drive starts okay but Whisenhunt's red rag luck runs out as the officials determine that Warner has in fact fumbled the ball.  The Steelers take a knee and that's the game.

The Steelers win their sixth Super Bowl.  Record numero dos.

The Steelers coach Mike Tomlin becomes the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl as well.  Record numero tres.

Is that the greatest Super Bowl ever? Only time will tell.  For now it was definately the best game of the season.

--Photo from www.nfl.com