Just returned from the Milwaukee-Chicago match. Total dominant performance by the Wave. Ian Bennet is an absolute beast (6 goals I believe)! Even though the Mustang lost, it was fun to watch an indoor soccer match with a such a large crowd (5,661). It reminded me of the old Chicago Power/Milwaukee Wave matches. On these boards in the past, I have complained about the Milwaukee PA guy, Van McNeil. Van did a fantastic job tonight! ( and that is saying a lot for me to admit). He got the large crowd going, without becoming part of the event. Just a complete professional presentation put on by Milwaukee this evening. I will admit that I am not happy about the result, but it was great to see indoor soccer played in a great environment by a very talented Milwaukee Wave team.
Yes a 10-8 wave win. I have never seen so many 2 minute penalties called must have been 10 with 3 yellow cards and a near brawl at the end. It seemed like every foul was a 2 minute penalty.
A terribly game by the refs this evening! It was a hard fought match that was overly controlled by the referees. Very strange two minute penalty calls. Oh well. Chicago just can't beat Milwaukee this season. Fun game to watch despite the results. Just wish Chicago could get a few more fans at the games. Much lower attendance than prior seasons. I thought the team had achieved some momentum last year. Bofo definitely helped attendance.
Wave are now 1 game behind KC and CR. with only 2 teams per division getting playoff spots, every game matters. they play the Blast then St Louis next weekend ( which will likely be a split - Blast-L Ambush-W) and still have to play Cedar Rapids twice.
http://windycitysoccer.net/Home/Entries/2017/1/14_Wave_Get_Third_Win_over_Mustangs.html 13 2 minute penalties ridiculous
Wave beat the Blast 7-2 tonighht so,, they are now in third in the central, 1 Gm behind KC for second. How has Chi only played 11 games at this point?
Crazy scheduling, right? Chicago is in a free fall! Flores is just plain bad in the net. Ricardo Carvalho definitely got his revenge against Chicago scoring three goals for Harrisburg last night. After the game, I asked him why he was no longer playing in Chicago. Carvalho told me that the Mustang let him go. How sad. He is a great player. I wonder if that is why Joshio Sandoval is now playing for Cedar Rapids? The Mustangs are not the team that they were the last couple of seasons. Cutting roster costs is always a big red flag! I hope that is not a sign of things to come. Unfortunately, the Sears Centre was virtually empty last night. On the plus side, Ephraim Beard and Taylor Bond are playing some very good soccer. I am afraid that if Chicago loses to Kansas City this afternoon, the Mustangs season is over. Didn't see that coming when they started out 4-0.
I was half expecting GK Feenstra to end up in Chicago this year at some point. Flores is inconsistent at best in goal. Now the Tropics signed Feenstra to fly in as needed. I guess Chicago wasn't interested? Who knows. I hope the Mustangs and the other Midwest teams all survive. I love this sport but it is an existential crisis every year.
with only 2 playoff spots for a 5 team division, and being 3 games back, Chicago realistically needs 6 wins, and more likely 7, out of their last 8,to have a shot at getting a playoff spot, With KC and CR at 10 wins already, and the Wave at 9, its a VERY high hill to climb at this point
wave make it 7 straight tonight with an 8-6 win over Syracuse. after Baltimore (9-5) all the others in the East are 6-8. wave and cCR are tied at 11-5, with 4 to play, including one more meeting. wave have the goals advantage tie breaker, thanks to wining the last meeting by 11.
Eh, somewhat right...they're two guys that both played for me in those church basement Chicago ethnic leagues...LOL! Along with Gordy Gurson, Bobby Hurwitz, Peter Sliwa, and Derek Huffman!!!! I'm pretty sure I could compete in the MASL with that type of lineup. If I threw in the others who have played in those church basement leagues...the Chicago Mustangs, Tony Aguilar, Jonathan Pachar, Brett Petricek, Marek Golik, Armando Tello, Nestor Hernandez, Ian Bennett, Guilherme Vega, Bato Radoncic, Danny Waltman, Elvir Kafedzic, etc...I think I'd do all right, no? LOL!
What Church basement leagues are you playing in? I have seen a few of the players you mentioned play at the Odium in the NSL They are still pretty good players. Definitely stand out at that level of competition. I think that the best players in that league are pretty darn good! If you are at that level, that's not too shabby. These guys will never make big bucks playing the game of soccer, but I definitely appreciate the skill levels that they have. That is why I still enjoy watching indoor soccer. There are some talented players out there. Having played on some pretty awful Friday night teams, I definitely can appreciate talent when I see it.
ALL of the above have played in the NSL. Church basement leagues is what some so called "experts" on these threads call the top amateur ethnic leagues in Chicago (National, Metro, CLASA, Hispano). My contention was that the top teams in those leagues (Adria, Eagles, Atl Nacional, San San) could definitely play in the MASL....and I made this assertion BEFORE all of the Chicago guys infiltrated the league. Some of the "experts" on these threads mocked and derided me, insulted me and those players/leagues, and went so far to tell me Gurson was a flash in the pan playing in the weak western conference for Seattle, and that guys like Bond, Beard, and Huffman weren't "proven" in the league. Lo and behold, a year later what do we have? Every single week some Chicago guy is making the MASL Team of the Week. The fact of the matter is, when most people on these threads are watching the MASL, they really don't know what they're watching. It's basically minor league indoor soccer, not all that different than the top amateur leagues around the country. Some are too soccer ignorant to see it, while others have dug their heels in and are too proud to admit it. Oh, and a few of the aforementioned played for me on Friday nights. Some others on Sundays, and a couple in various summer tourneys including one of the big ones in July where we finished second a few years back.
And some of us live 800 miles away from Chicago, such that those particular local leagues provide us no benefit whatsoever.
^^^^^ Agreed, but that wasn't the point.....at all. Nor is Chicago the only place in America with such leagues/amateur teams
^^^^^^ Could be....but they still play in the "pro" MASL. This afternoon, Peter Sliwa, Gordy Gurson, Bobby Hurwitz, Jonathan Pachar, Mark Golik and Tony Aguilar all played on the same "amateur" team in one of those church basements....lol!
Nacho Libre played in goal for the Mustangs for the 3rd quarter of today's game. I think he was grazing the concession stands in those church basements when everyone else played there. I'm not happy with how blurry the photo is, but Jose Resendiz is one big mammal...
It's quite possible, don't know, don't follow the Mustangs, but they would probably be better off signing Sliwa who lives 20 minutes away!!!
He is a big player. The Mustang really need to get a decent keeper if they want to remain competitive in this league.
Sliwa is a very solid GK, the Ambush were sad to lose him. If they can afford it, the Mustangs should make a run at Marcel Feenstra. Feenstra looked pretty decent in a couple games for the Tropics, despite not having played much in a couple years. Sliwa would probably cost somewhat less than Feenstra (if Sliwa isn't already under contract with the Tropics for next year).
That would be great. Hopefully Sliwa will be back in the pro's with the Florida Tropics, but if that is over, then it would be a great fallback.