DUSC U12 SP: Fall Season 2011

DUSC Sao Paulo U12 Boys capped its fall season with a thrilling triumph at the 28th Annual Thanksgiving Tournament in Bethesda Maryland, prevailing over some of the highest ranked teams in the Maryland/District of Columbia/ Virginia region. That success made up for an earlier trip to Columbia, Maryland for a Columbus Day tournament that ended without silverware.

Sao Paulo spent most fall weekends scrimmaging against local New York or New Jersey clubs, either 8 v 8 or 11 v 11, slowly making the adjustment to a bigger field and more space. Sao Paulo also participated in the group stage of the NY Cup (11 v 11), but failed to
make the knockout round on goal differential. In the spring, Sao Paulo will join the Eastern Development Programs 11 v 11 League for U12s. We faced some of the teams a few weeks ago and an Indoor EDP Round-Robin, winning all three games, the last one a comeback victory from 2-0 down.

For many of the Sao Paulo players the highlight of the fall season was probably closer to home. Since we came together as a team, we’ve been blessed with great trainers and coaches. Coach Phil Martin is our newest helmsman. Training was demanding, innovative, fast-paced, and full of surprises. We can’t wait for spring.

DUSC U12 AM: Fall Season 2011

The newly formed U12 Athletico Mineiro team lead by Guillermo Lopez – aka Coach Memo – finished its first season together in a respectable 2nd place of the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League’s A division (8v8). The season began with great energy as players and coach worked earnestly to become familiar with one another and form a unified team. Strong performances in league games were countered by challenges in tournament play. Undeterred, the team spoke in unison as it handily delivered the division leader their only loss at season’s end. Athletico looks forward to a strong showing in the upcoming season in league and in tournaments as it continues to amplify its cohesion, its skills and its competitive game.

DUSC U12 FL: Fall Season 2011

Flamengo is a new u12 team but we felt like we have been together forever. The team of 14 boys all were experienced ballers having come from DUSC last year, other travel clubs, or playing in their local leagues. The challenge was how do we bring all the kids together as a team? Under the leadership of Coach Segundo and given the spirited boys on the team, we easily accomplished the goal. The comradery is palpable and this showed on the field as well in the passing, execution of plays, and growth in the skills of all of the players. We played in the 8v8 B division of CJSL and finished in 4th but were tightly group with the two teams above us. We had a great tournament at Brooklyn Italians in the Elite division and came in 3rd with two strong victories. We also learned about sportsmanship along the way when we played a team that we lost to 9-1. This team ran up the score against all of its opponents despite no question that they would win the division - they finished the season with a 80-4 goal differential. The following week we ended up on the other side of this and were up 7-1 in our game. Rather than keep scoring, Segundo used the opportunity to have the kids try new positions and pass the ball. They understood it wasn't just about winning, but how you win that is important. We look forward to a positive winter and spring and continuing to develop great soccer players and equally great kids.

DUSC U13 White: Fall Season 2011

This past season the U 13 White participated in the EDP league. This was a very competitive league. The games were very challenging every weekend and no team was easy. For our team the transition to big fields and to playing 11 v 11 was not not easy. Last year we finished first on our league and we would score an average of five or more goals every game, which meant that the competition was weak and not very competitive. This season we faced teams that had been playing tough games every single weekend, so this made feel like we were playing catch up to the other teams who were already so used to that level of the competition. As the season went on we got better and better. We tried about three different formations always trying to figure out the best one that would fit our style of playing. Right before we went to the Maryland tournament we started using two defensive midfielders and two central midfielders which worked very well for us. Our team began to win more balls in the middle and our central midfielders looked more open to handle the ball. We were able to win the Maryland tournament and I think we won it because we were finally feeling comfortable as a team with a formation that fit us well.This season was great for the U13White . It taught us that  it takes a lot of work to be a good team. It taught us that there is plenty of good level competition outside of the CJSL and it taught us to believe and trust every single one of our team mates  ecauae each and very single of them helped us become a better team in the end.

DUSC U13 Blue: Fall Season 2011

The U13 Blue team played in the 11-a-side CJSL league for the first time and on top of all the challenges that meant, we had some new faces on the team with a bigger roster. Luckily, the team blended well and we were able to quickly start working on specific areas and more tactical practices.
We played the Columbus Day Tournament at Brooklyn Italians and did very well. We had great possession and greater number of passes in most games. For the first few full sided games, we performed very well. Although we lost the playoff game, the result was very positive and gave us confidence in our league games.
We also attended the Howell tournament where we faced teams with very different elements. We had good games and bad ones and it helped us realize where we really stood.
We were fortunate enough to take the title of the CJSL B West Division as well. We had lost only 1 game but outplayed our opponents in every game. We may have lacked finishing but our players were able to pass, combine and create goal scoring chances game after game. Towards the end of the season we focused on attacking which meant a step up from the beginning of the season. I was happy to see a progression in our practices that led in better attacking situations in our last games.
Overall, the season was positive, the team spirit high and I can say that we have a group of players that can also consider themselves friends. Our players are focused of their strengths and weaknesses and are committed to constant improvement.
We took another challenge which is moving to the CJSL A Division in the Spring. A new set of obstacles will keep testing them. We hope we can overcome them and keep learning.

DUSC U13 Gold: Fall Season 2011

DUSC u13 Gold started the season with a cracking four-nil win and went on to dominate their league. The team won four, only lost two and had by far the best goal difference in the league, with eighteen goals scored (80% more than the next closest team) and only eight goals conceded. The meanest defence in the league belonged to FC NY United, who only conceded six goals in the season -- notably three of those were to DUSC.

Of the two losses, one was a one-nil that the team lost on a free kick and the other game was five-four, a game which featured three free kick-related goals. As you can see, in open play the team was undefeated although playing “up” against other organization’s B teams. 

The team pulled off this feat by moving and passing well and usually dominating possession through most of the players being more technically sound than the teams they were up against. The team also features some players not afraid to dribble past the opposition and set up goal scoring opportunities. Alex was the leading scorer with Jason (each scoring 5 goals) and then Teo close behind (4 goals),  Eyob led in assists (5 assists). 

The team does have players of widely varying abilities and this can give their performances a schizophrenic nature. In the tournaments all their weaknesses were ruthlessly exposed by “A” teams playing at full tilt. At the Brooklyn Italians tournament they lost all three games, shipping 26 goals and scoring two. At the Howell tournament the competition was not quite as stiff, DUSC won one out of four (for their first tournament victory ever) and should have won a second.

All in all the team had a great season with many moments of excellence on the pitch, often dominating possession for long stretches with flair in attack and dogged defensive displays. Also of note was Max in goal, who is a much improved player from last season and now only needs to get the hang of stopping those pesky well placed free kicks.

Congratulations on winning the league, and doing so while having fun on the pitch!

DUSC U14 White:  Fall Season 2011

DUSC U14 White ushered in the fall season with a roster change, featuring twelve returning and four new players, plus  a new team coach, Oscar Cantu.  The team built upon its signature ball skills by focusing on a more structured attacking offense and pressuring team defense.  DUSC U14 White tested its skills in the Eastern Development Program league consisting of the top regional teams of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Eastern New York, and Connecticut.

The transformation was apparent as the team applied the tactics and techniques learned during the September and October practices to placed in each of its three fall tournaments entered:  semi-finalist in the Brooklyn Italian's Columbus Cup, champion in MAPS Cup, and finalist in the Bethesda Thanksgiving Invitational.  With the strong fall performance, DUSC U14 White has moved to a ranking of 7 in ENY and 27 in Region I, based on the GotSoccer ranking system.  DUSC U14 White will increase the competitive challenges by entering the Northeast Premier League, ENY State Cup, EDP league, MSC Kickoff tournament, and FC Delco Invitational.