DEA Bedford Masters 2

DEA beat the roosters' calls and saddled up the ponies for an 8:00 match against Irish Village.  The Irish were the only team to blemish DEA's record this year when they laid a 2-1 "L" on DEA to start the season.  Since then, DEA won four straight games while the Irish stumbled, allowing for DEA to head into today's showdown with a four-point advantage.  They would leave West Roxbury with a one-point advantage as Irish again topped DEA, 4-2.

The refereeing, while not the cause of the defeat, certainly didn't help DEA as the ref stood tethered to the center-circle and waited for players to yell loudly before making a call.  Since yelling on the pitch is one of the Irish' strong points, this tactic would prove fruitful. 

The first half saw very few chances on either side cause much worry.  The whistle would blow with the score 0-0, and DEA feeling good since they had weathered the high winds in their face and would be playing with it at their backs for the second half.

Five minutes into the half, Jim Walker tracked down a loose ball in the corner and after a scrum in the middle, vaulted home from close range to give DEA a lead and the momentum.

The Irish, however, came right back with a scorching drive two minutes later to level.  Even more disheartening for DEA, a midfield turnover allowed for a fast break down the right wing.  The Irish fired from 25 yards out, and it somehow sneaked by DEA Keeper Doug Henion to the short post and DEA was suddenly down a goal.

Just after the clock recorded it's 80th minute, Walker again tallied for DEA when he beat the keeper to a head-ball and touched home from close range to level for DEA.

Incredibly, DEA allowed Irish right back into it with another turnover, and another short side shot and DEA was back down.  

Irish would again intimidate the referee and slotted home from close range in the waning moments to close out the scoring.

A disapointing effort for DEA.  Having allowed a six goals in the first five games, they allowed the Irish to put up a four-spot and close the gap to a single point.

DEA now looks to run the table in their last four games.  With the Irish close on their heels and holding the tiebreaker advantage, it would behoove DEA to not drop any points to maintain their slim lead.  Fortunately, DEA is home for 3 of the last 4 games.  However, if they don't get better midfield play, goaltending, defensive marking, and improved offensive finishing, their chances of taking the title looks dim.

On a more positive note, after being shooed away from the pitch after the game, DEA sauntered over to another pitch for the 3rd half festivities.  The final quartet of Dale, Bic, Chris, and 'Berg decided to call it a day around 3:00 pm.   The may play sloppy on the pitch at times, but there isn't a team in the state that can touch them in the 3rd half.

DEA shook off a slow start to pull away from Peabody SC in a 4-1 win today at the elusive Connelly Park Field in Peabody.  After opening the season with a 2-1 loss to Irish Village, DEA has run off four straight victories while tallying 14 goals and giving up just four.

After everyone rode the merry-go-round trying to find the parking for the field, DEA was ready to go with nine players as three more were still circling for a parking spot.  You could see the field...you just couldn't get to it.

Before the match got under way, however, DEA had a more-important task at hand.  DEA called for a moment of silence before the start, as news was beginning to filter in that Jeff Guild's son, Evan, had passed away the day before.  A truly tragic event, many DEA players were visibly shaken by the news and wanted to recognize the Guild family in some way.  The entire DEA organization wishes the entire Guild family well in this time of need.

Playing down a couple of players, DEA decided to box it in while the reinforcements made their way.  They held Peabody to only one shot at goal before they got to full force.  Unfortunately, moments after getting everyone on board the Peabody striker got one of his only clean looks at goal and fired from just outside the area.  Sweeper Rob Easton had channeled him to the right side smartly, but the shot took a deflection and just change of direction gave keeper Doug Henion no chance.  For just the second time all season, and the first time in the first half of any game, DEA was behind.

After about five more minutes of getting their feet under them, DEA became accustomed to the small field and started attacking at goal.  The forward combo of Jim Walker and Steve Bicknell were dangerous inside the area.  DEA thought they had sprung  Walker free off Dale Dubois' long pass, but the ref -not accustomed to seeing the pace of a player like Walker- assumed he was offside based on the separation he had created.  The whistle blew and DEA could only rant on the injustice.

Walker thewas then sprung free, this time off Easton's great through ball.  After dribbling the keeper, he woefully touched wide from close range and DEA remained snakebit.  That would only last for a few more minutes, however.

Mike Robichaud, who had another quality game, this time from the left midfield position, latched onto Jim McCall's lofted pass.  After the keeper was caught out in no-man's-land, Robichaud only had to dribble freely into the vacated goal to level it for DEA.

As the first half matured, it became all DEA.  The pace of their outside players were giving Peabody fits.  They began each foray with a touch in the middle, pushed outside, and a dangerous cross into the box.  Halftime came with the score 1-1, but DEA feeling confident they had played into the wind, short numbers, and were level.  Second half started with a bang and never let up.

Not five minutes into the second half, DEA broke the spirit of division-dwellers Peabody with a clinical finish.  DEA strung together five straight passes before Walker volleyed home McCall's cross and DEA had a lead they would never relinquish.  Peabody's defenders had their heads on a swivel as DEA picked them apart in impressive fashion.

Not to be outdone, Jim Eilenberger, making his debut wearing the DEA colors, then stormed down the right side and received a long goal-kick by Henion.  'Berg beat his man and cut inside.  With defenders laying off and looking at a cross, 'Berg pulled out a toe-poke from his deadly arsenal and snuck it by short side to give DEA some insurance.

DEA now was looking to run up some away goals, as Peabody was looking for some shade and began to argue amongst themselves.  The defensive quartest of Woody Harper, Dubois, Easton, and Joe Masci were outstanding all day.  After the initial warming up period, they locked down everything in the box and gave Henion his easiest effort of the season.

DEA would get one more late.  When Bicknell fed McCall about 20 yards from goal, he made a run (or, in Bic's case, a walk, but you get the point) to the right side and drew two defenders attention.  McCall then dribbled through another and lashed a drive to the far side to close out the scoring at 4-1.

DEA absolutely dominated the third half.  With some quality pickups in the offseason, DEA's third half team just might be the best in the business.  With Giselle McCall's cookies on hand, the combo of Woody, Bic, Dale, 'Berg, Chris Cloutier, and Rick Plichta sunned themselves for a few hours and enjoyed their status as division leaders.

In a suprising result, Irish Village was levelled by Westford, 1-1.  Since starting the season at 2-0, the Irish have only taken two points in their last three games.  The other interesting tidbit was Groton topping NS Internationals, 3-1.  These favorable results give DEA a four-point advantage heading into next weekends rematch at the Irish.  DEA is in danger of losing points due to yellow-card accumulation, so three-points next weekend give DEA a much-needed 7-point advantage.  After that, DEA finish with 3 of 4 matches at  home, and are already holding a huge advantage in goal differential and 'away-goals'. 

The surest way to ensure promotion?  Keep winning.

 

The youngest of the DEA squads, the U-14 DEA Team that competes in the MAYSL in Manchester, opened their season with a 7-0 win over Crown Trophy at Rock Rimmon last night.   This DEA team looks good all around as they were quickly placed at the top of the division with such an impressive win.  "The passing was good and the finishing was even better.  They played as if it were mid season, not their first game."  Coach Dubois said after the game.   This DEA team goes back at it tonight at 6:15 PM at Rock Rimmon, as they take on Kurt Wicks Insurance in a rare back to back game. 

DEA won their third straight, leapfrogging over NS Internationals and now find themselves at the top of the table after yesterday's pulsating 3-2 victory at Bedford's Sportsman's Field.

It was a cold, rainy Sunday morning.  It was the type of day where nipples get rubbed raw, and where the washing machine works double-time.  It was DEA weather.

After an early morning debate by DEA Management if the game should go on, it was decided that Sportsman's was holding the deluge well and the field looked to be in fine shape.  DEA then started quickly.

The opening minute saw a cross into the box met with Steve Bicknell's audacious overhead volley attempt.  The mere fact he got his foot that high was a physics-defying attempt; the result didn't match the effort, however.

By five minutes, DEA was in the lead.  After Scott Sharby tracked down a ball in the lower left corner, Chris Cloutier came over to help.  Sharby laid off to Cloutier, tucked inside the box to the left of goal.  Cloutier, unaccustomed to playing with his back to the goal, looked to feed an open Jim McCall who was camped out at the 18-yard marker.  Instead, Cloutier, suprised to hear the calls of "TIME!" from around him, calmly whipped out his Blackberry, read through his e-mail, got an update on the stock-ticker, and scanned the baseball scores from yesterday.  Still with nobody on him, he then made himself a rather fetching peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  After finishing his sandwich and topping it off with a glass of milk, he turned to goal chipped into the side webbing to give DEA an early lead they would never relinquish.

Five minutes later, DEA doubled the lead when Jeff Bailey's cross into the box was lasered home by Sharby on a half-volley.  Not taking the time to see his options, Sharby just ripped a drive short-side and DEA looked to be off and running.

Instead, NS sent a few sorties into the area and looked to get on the board.  A mis-hit cross seemed destined to sneak past DEA keeper Doug Henion low to his short side.  Instead, Henion scrambled back and just palmed aside the low drive.  Some debate ensued as to whether the ball completely crossed the line or not.  It was close, but television replays seemed to back up the call.

It wasn't long after, though, that NS did break through after a scramble in the area allowed for an open look and the lead was halved.

NS thought they had levelled with ten minutes left, but a player was offsides and they were not happy campers to see the goal called back.  They were even more furious when the ensuing restart sent Jim Walker in clean.  He took one touch before calmly depositing to restore DEA's 3-1 advantage.

In the waning moments of the first half, Henion again came up big.  After a corner saw the clearance attempt by DEA go awry, NS biggest crybaby (apparently recovered his debilitating injury that seemed to cause him so much consternation) fired from close range but Henion palmed it aside with a great reaction save.

NS threw everything at DEA in the opening moments of the second half.  Henion came up huge twice within five minutes on clean breaks.  He punched aside the first; then, in a mirror image, another opportunity was kicked aside as NS would rue their misses.  Audible groans were heard from their bench.

NS did pull one back midway through to make it a hairy one-goal lead again.  The save of the match was then waiting for Henion in the final 15 minutes.  After a corner was flicked to far side, their left back -channeling his best Roberto Carlos impersonation, ripped a fully volley that elicited "oohs" from the crowd as it streamed toward the upper-ninety.  Henion laid out horizontal and punched aside with another outstanding save.  As the crowd stood to applaud, even some of the better mannered NS players had to comment on the save's quality.

DEA had put 8 defenders behind the ball, and were content to try to play for the break.  However positive their chances started, they weren't linking up and succeeded in only turning the ball over in the final third.  The DEA backfield of Rob Easton, Bailey, Dubois, JD, Woody Harper, Paul Cote, and Joe Masci weren't going to allow anymore chances as the clock ran down.

An NS player then completely lost it in comical fashion.  After beating a player to a loose ball, he brushed aside a knock before screaming expletives at the player and the ref with nobody around him and foraging for a chance.  In what is possibly unheard of, he managed to get a red card, with possession, while looking for a levelling strike.  I have never seen such mayhem.

With the late news that Irish Village had drawn, 0-0, with Peabody SC, DEA climbed to the top of the table with a two-point advantage.  They travel to the same Peabody SC next Sunday.  This is Mother's Day, so the recommendation is to get up early, make breakfast, wake up the wife, shovel the meal down her throat, and then get out of her hair on this special day.  While you are out of her hair, you can drive to scenic Peabody for the contest. 

GREAT WIN, DEA!!!!!

DEA, coming off a three-goal away victory last week against Westford, was looking to stay on track on the road against Groton United. Impressively, they did just that with a 4-1 victory in running their record to 2-1. DEA is now +6 on the road, scoring seven away goals which could become crucial by season’s end.

DEA came out flying, getting a two-goal lead ten minutes into the match. As the OTHSL is quickly finding out, DEA’s Jim Walker is difficult to impossible to contain. His pace is unmatched in the league, and the Groton backfield had their hands full all match.

Walker would get his first of the year by powering home an impressive head at the six-minute mark. DEA had built up down the right wing with a patient, clinical passing effort. As is often the case, a goal was the result of solid defensive play in DEA’s own half. After Dale Dubois won a 50-50 ball near midfield, he played a short ball to John Demeritt on the left sideline. JD then found John Guild streaming down through a gap in defenders, and slipped a nice through ball onto Johnny Red’s foot. Guild held for a moment, and thought about tossing a ball into the box. Instead, he patiently held and Jim McCall slid over and looked for an opening. After looking off one option, he picked up Walker steaming through the area unmarked. McCall dropped a beautiful ball about 8 yards from goal, where Walker rose to meet it and nodded home to give DEA an early advantage.

About three minutes later, DEA took a 2-0 lead. Again, it was a defensive win by Rob Easton (who was outstanding all match from his sweeper position) picked off a through ball and found Walker in space about 18 yards from goal. Walker settled, and held the ball while waiting for help. He found Jeff Guild open on the left, and laid the ball off. Guild stepped into it nicely, and scorched home to the short side and DEA looked liked they were rolling. They barely had any action in their own third, and instead were already up by two. Could a blowout be on the horizon?

Instead, Groton stormed right back within seconds to make it 2-1. They took the retouch, and started moving down the right side. A cross filtered into the box, and with the wet turf it skipped through a maze of defenders before picking up Groton’s Barry Doust, who had sneaked through unmarked. He touched home from close range and DEA was disappointed to allow so quickly after getting the early lead.

DEA’s quiet keeper, Doug Henion, has been a find so far this year. Solid as a rock against Westford, he was just as impressive on this day. With Groton unable to make any headway against the Dubois/Easton combo in the middle and the outside backs of Woody Harper, JD, and Mike Robichaud, they had to settle on slipping through balls into the seams or trying long range feelers. Henion twice had to get to the bar to parry shots over to keep DEA in the lead.

DEA then got their insurance back. After Walker won a ball in the right corner, he beat a man before gaining momentum in the area. He took a knock, and went to the pitch as the ref waisted no time in pointing to the spot. Jeff Bailey took the PK, and quietly finished off to restore DEA’s two-goal cushion.

With five minutes left in the half, Groton made their best sortie into the box to try to get the lead back to a goal before the whistle. First, Doust again took a long ball  for Groton and was one-on-one with Henion. After closing the angles down, Henion forced him to drive which looked to be heading for the corner. Henion stretched out to his right, saving spectacularly and swallowing the rebound. A great save that even had members of the Groton squad commenting on the save.

In the final minute, two more slips through the defense caused Henion to be quick off his line, but he cleared easily and DEA went into the half with a 3-1 lead.

Groton threw everything at DEA in the opening moments of the second half, with George Methous for Groton creating much havoc, the center midfield trio of Steve Bicknell, John Valickas, and McCall had their hands full tracking all over the pitch. DEA were on their heels, but locking down 20 yards out from goal and not allowing anything through. Two more long range drives were parried over the bar by Henion.  JD pulled one off the line, making up for his clumsy tackle moments earlier.

DEA salted it away with 15 minutes left, and again it was a header as the last touch. After Valickas won a ball 30 yards from goal, he slipped to Chris Cloutier on the left with space. With Bailey making a great diagonal run, he called for the ball and Cloutier dropped a nice pass into space. Bailey received well, turned and while holding off his defender sent an ‘outside-of-the-boot’ chip to the back post. McCall was waiting for it, nodding home from close range to give DEA a 4-1 advantage they would never relinquish.

Both sides saw the end of the match run out, and DEA had another solid road performance in the books. They ran their record to 2-1, and also now have a +5 goal differential after three games.

DEA also pounded Groton for the third half, even upending the Groton Seniors Team for both of their halves AND their third half as well. This reporter was pretty pooped after the six-half showing today….In the afternoon results, NS Internationals upset Irish Village, 2-0. This vaults NS Internationals to the top of the table with a 2-0-1 record and a +5 differential. The Irish fell into a second-place tie with DEA, both with 2-1 records. DEA hold the goal differential advantage, Irish hold the head-to-head advantage. NS Internationals travel to Bedford this Sunday, with a top-of-the-table battle looming. Sunday’s match will go a long way to deciding how this table will look come season’s end.

GREAT, GREAT win DEA!