There were enough player to start the 11 x 11 game early. Already at 6:25 pm the game was on. Quickly, more players showed and were substituted within a mandatory 10 minutes "sub rule" (not sure why Germans come up with rules constantly).
More and more players showed, enough to field a third team. Thanks to Richard Cataneda's leadership, a third team was formed quickly. Every 12 minutes an entire team was swapped in. At the end we had 36 players, playing with 12 players on each team.
I truly enjoyed last night. The players follow the rules of no slide tackling and seem to be very careful of their fellow players and friends on the other side. No reason to hurt a friend you play with or against every Friday Night.
Friday Night Soccer is for FWSC members only, but we invite guests to play with us twice before deciding to become members. I truly enjoyed playing against Michael last night. He and his brother Miguel were introduced to us by Shirona Gunawardhana. Both are great players and extremely fast. I am a striker and Michael is my mirror, the defender. Michael plays absolutely clean, never an elbow and he never lets me know how slow I am. I hope that both brothers will join the club.
Another fast newcomer is Oscar Escobar Jr. He and his dad Oscar Sr. paid already for the FWSC memebership fee ($100) and will be initiated next month. Both are temporarily out for hamstring injuries. I guess Friday Night Soccer is no gimmick. We know Oscar Sr. from the Indoor Winter season, gaining the nickname "crazy legs", when creating mayhem single-handedly in team defenses.
All games ended either in a tie or a single goal difference. Each team had excellent goalies, with Sean Toth, Samantha Castanedo and a guest whose name I can't remember. It is just hard to score. If you come home with scoring a goal, tell your spouse, kid and friends. It means something.
I am glad that we have opened up Friday Night Soccer for younger players. Members like myself, Richard Castaneda, Josh Clapper, and Jose Del Cid feel comfortable bringing their daughters and sons to play with us. They are part of the FWSC family membership.
Rifet Suljanovic asked me why the young kids would come out to play with us. Well, first of all, they can learn from us, and second, they like to play circles around an old guy like me.
Thanks.
Erik
PS: Thanks Hans for coming out last night. With 81, you are our top O80 player. Your pass completion is an impressive 90%.