Bethesda Internationals

10 May '09.  On a splendid sunny but breezy day at Episcopal HS, the Internationals hosted the newly organized Real Maryland squad who will start Super Y League play next weekend.   The Real Maryland SYL team kicked off in the 1st half with a strong cross-wind blowing.  They played hard and were very physical, committing 8 fouls.  Pachuca's strong defense held RM to just 2 shots on goal and 1 corner kick which were all unsuccessful.   Inter also played very physical and moved the ball around well.  It managed 6 shots on goal and no corner kicks while committing 9 fouls.   Early on, Vitalis attemped a hard, free kick from about 25 yds. center which went wide left; and Skylar's direct kick from 20 yds. left bent around the wall but was caught by the GK.  Ebo passed a nice ball from near 25 yds. center to Chris about 18 yds. left but the shot went wide right.  And, Erik passed a nice ball from around 25 yds. right to Chris in the goal mouth whose kick went over the cross-bar.  But, at the 20 min. mark, Erik sent a pretty through-ball from around 35-40 yds. right to Nate around 18-20 yds. right, who juked a defender to open up a clear path for a clean, hard shot into the net past the GK to put Inter up, 1-0.  At the 35 min. mark, Schillo rcvd a pass on the left side, dribbled into the corner and crossed a well-placed ball into the box where Skylar was in position to easily kick in the 2nd goal, and the half ended, 2-0, Pachuca.

In the 2nd half,  Pachuca kicked off, setting up another 6 shots on goal and 1 corner kick but could not finish.  At about the 8 min. mark, Erik collected a ball in the mid-field, worked it up to around 20 yds. center and fired a shot on goal which the GK caught.  Two minutes later, Philip pushed up on a counter-attack, collected a ball near 20 yds. left and kicked a ball on goal which the GK caught.  At about the 21st min., Skylar rcvd a ball near 22 yds. center and sent a shot which went wide left.  Around the 24 min. mark, Chris collected a ball near 20 yds. right and passed it over to Ebo near 18 yds. left whose shot on goal was also caught by the GK.  And, at the 28 min. mark, Erik collected another ball in the mid-field, dribbled to near 22 yds. center and took another shot on goal which the GK caught.  About the 30 min. mark, Erik passed a ball from near 25 yds. left to Chris just inside the box near 16-18 yds. center whose shot went wide right.  Pachuca committed 9 fouls (including 2 handballs).  The Real team played more determinedly in the 2nd half and created 5 shots on goal including a finger-tip-save by Seth and another shot which Seth caught but the other 3 attempts went awry as well as 2 corner kicks which were unsuccessful.  RM committed just 4 foul, and the scrimmage ended, 2-0, Pachua.

10 May '09.  The Internationals have been grouped in Potomac-Red division along with other top teams from Region I-II:

Gold:

Pachuca Internationals (MD)

Metro FC Rapids 91 (OH-S)

SYA Copperheads (VA)

Bruno United FC (RI)

Red:

YMS Xplosionn (PA-E)

South Jersey Barons (NJ)

Beachside SC (CT)

Freestate Elite (MD)

White:

 LMSC Velez (PA-E)

GFA 91 Elite (VA)

TSF Academy Celtic (NJ)

Bayside SC (RI):

Black:

Team Ohio (OH-S)

Manhattan Phoenix (NY-E)

Seacoast United Maine (ME)

West Hartford Premier (CT)

In last year's contest, the Internationals fell to YMS on PK's after a hard-fought, thrilling 2 x OT contest.   

3 May '09.  The only 3 seniors on Pachuca have been accepted/committed to play soccer this fall at these outstanding academic schools with excellent soccer programs:

Patrick Ebobisse:   Willams (NESCA)

Max Kanner:            Colby (NESCA)

Skylar Olson:           Drexel (CAA)

         -- Congratulations Ebo, Max and Skylar! 

26 Apr. ‘09. It was another hot day under the sun at Harford County Polo grounds for the Semi-Final match against the FC Frederick U17 Premier, who bested the Calverton Spartans in a hard-fought Round 3 contest yesterday, tieing Calverton in the final minutes of Regulation, and then winning 2-1 in 2 x OT. And, it was the 4th match in 72 hrs. for Pachuca (2 at the Blue Chip on Fri., and Round 2 yesterday). Although starting off sluggish for the 1st 20 mins. vs. MSC Scorpions in Round 2 yesterday, the Internationals had a relatively easy go, winning, 5-0, but expected the upstart Frederick team to be pumped up and focused to upset Pachuca — and they got off to a good start towards that end due to a Pachuca defensive miscue around the 14th minute. Inter kicked off with a slight wind to their backs in the 1st half. Just 2 mins. into the match, the very physical and hard-working Frederick team countered with a long-ball up top to a player who beat the back line – who were pushed up almost mid-center – and took a blast from 20-22 yds. center which sailed over the cross-bar. At the 10 min. mark, after a foul by Frederick, Patrick served a nice free kick from about 25 yds. right into the box where Skylar’s header attempt missed wide right. Four mins. later at about the 14 min. mark, Frederick again sent a long-ball upfield on a counter attack, but Pachuca’s back line – who were again pushed up almost mid-center – were unable to control the ball as a Frederick player possessed it and raced towards goal to fire an easy shot from about 18-20 yds. center past Seth’s right into the net to put the Frederick team up, 1-0, and the Frederick sideline crowd went wild sensing an upset in the making. But, the Internationals kept their composure and controlled play for the rest of the match. At about the 20 min. mark, Nate collected a pass near 20 yds. left and took a shot which the GK caught. One min. later, Skylar served a right cross from near 18-20 yds. right sideline into the goal area where Nate collected the ball around 10-12 yds. left to fire a shot which the GK caught. One min. later, Skylar sent a left cross from 18-20 yds. left sideline into the box where Erik’s header was finger-tip-saved by the GK for an ensuing right corner kick which Patrick sent into the box and another header attempt by Erik sailed over the cross-bar. At about the 26 min. mark, Vitalis served a nice pass from 20 yds. left into the box where Schillo’s shot was finger-tip-saved by the GK for an ensuing leftcorner kick. One min. later, Skylar crossed a nice ball from about 20 yds. right into the box where Chris’ header went over the cross-bar. Around the 39 min. mark, Patrick sent a nice free kick from about 25 yds. right into the box where Vitalis’ hard blast went over the cross-bar. At about the 43 min. mark, Skylar served a right corner kick into the box where Nicholas’ header attempt sailed over the cross-bar. One min. later, Schillo sent a shot on goal which the GK caught. Inter held the Frederick team to just 2 shots on goal and 1 corner kick while they committed 7 fouls (including YC’s shown to #5 and #17 for hard fouls on Schillo and Skylar, respectively). Pachuca committed 7 fouls (including 1 offsides), set up 5 corner kick situations and took 10 shots on goal but could not finish a goal, and the half ended, 1-0, FC Frederick U17 Premier.

In the 2nd half, Frederick kicked off with the wind. Inter’s defense tightened up after the 1st goal and continued to play solidly, allowing Frederick to take just 1 shot on goal which came late in the half at the 44th minute off of a long free kick from 35+ yds. out which Seth caught, and 1 corner kick which was unsuccessful while committing 11 fouls (including a YC shown to #3 for? aned a 2nd YC shown to #5 who was sent off with a resultant soft RC). Pachuca kept up its offensive barrage, taking 13 shots on goal and 5 corner kicks while committing 4 fouls (including 2 offsides). At the 4 min. mark, Schillo sent a pass from 25 yds. left into the box near 18 yds. center where Chris’ shot on goal was stopped by the GK. Four mins. later, Skylar sent a right corner kick into the box and Chris’s header attempt was deflected away for an ensuing corner kick. Then, at about the same time when Frederick scored in the 1st half, or at the 14th min. mark, Jamie collected a ball deep in the right back, dribbled upfield in between closing defenders and switched a ball from 30-35 yds. right over to the left into the box far post where Schillo timed his header to knock in the equalizer goal. Two mins. later, Schillo sent a pass from 20-22 yds. right over to Chris near 18 yds. center whose shot went over the cross-bar. One min. later, Vitalis’ shot from 20 yds. left was stopped by the GK and cleared up. At about the 24 min. mark, Alex received a pass, worked his way near 12-15 yds. on the right to take a shot which went wide left. At the 33 min mark, Vitalis’ attempted header was deflected for a right corner kick which Patrick served into the box where Nicholas’ header attempt was caught by the GK. One min. later, Schillo’s shot from 22 yds. right was caught by the GK. Two mins. later, Patrick collected a ball near mid-field, dribbled a couple of yards around 25 yds. center and kicked a hard shot on goal which went over the cross-bar. Then, at the 37 min. mark, Ebo was fouled in the box., and Alex stepped up to take the successful PK to put Pachuca up, 2-1. At the 43 min. mark, Vitalis sent a nice cross from 20 yds. left into the box where Ebo’s close-in shot was caught by the GK, and one min. later, Alex passed a ball from 18-20 yds. right side-line into the box to Ebo near 10-12 yds. on the right but his shot went wide left, and the game ended, 2-1, Pachuca Internationals.

Pachuca Internationals will go on to play in the Final, 30th May, vs. its cross-town friends/rivals, Freestate Elite, who bested their sister team, Freestate Dragons, 3-1, in the other Semi-Final action. It will be the 2nd year in a row that the Internationals and Elite have met in the Final, with Freestate prevailing in last year’s U16/Final 2008, 1-0, and it also prevailed in the U13/Final 2005, 1-0. It will be the Internationals’ straight 5th year in the Final, also succumbing to the then mighty but now defunct Bethesda Roadrunners, 0-2, in the U14/Final 2006, and the U15/Final 2007, 1-2.

25 Apr. ‘09. Since the MSC Scorpions were unable to agree to play Round 3 during mid-week, or late Sat. evening or early Sun. morning (nor would MSYSA require them to agree), Pachuca coordinated with Blue Chip officials if possible to play a two game format on Fri., 24th Apr., and forfeit a 3rd match in order to be able to return to MD to play the now-scheduled Round 3 match at 12:45pm. Fortunately, the Blue Chip officials were able to work out a reschedule whereby Pachuca would play Manhattan Phoenix (NYE) at 8:30am and Javanon (KY) at 2:40pm, and not play either Scott Gallagher or Eclipse as was originally scheduled on Sat. (10:40am) and Sun. (8:00am), respectively. The Internationals also had to forgo the return leg of the AirTran flight from Dayton on Sun., 26th Apr., and booked a one-way flight out of Columbus on the evening of Fri., 24th Apr. – at significant additional expense.

Pachuca kicked off against the moderate wind in the 1st half. Inter’s strong defense contained the Scorpions and did not allow any shots or corners while they committed 4 fouls (including a YC shown to #5/Alex D. for a hard foul on Alex S.). Pachuca controlled play for the entire match and would take 8 shots on goal and setup 4 corner kicks while committing 8 fouls (including a YC shown to Alex for a hard foul). At about the 8 min. mark, Matt collected a ball on left side near 25 yds., turned inward and fired a shot which went over the cross-bar. One min. later, Alex attempted a shot from the right side of the box which was deflected out for a corner kick. At the 20 min. mark, Alex served a ball from the right to Nate around 15 yds. whose shot was deflected out for a corner kick. Patrick served the right corner kick into the box where Erik’s header was deflected away. At the 27 min. mark, Patrick sent a pass from around 20 yds. on the right to Schillo near 12 yds. right who dished the ball into the box to Nate whose shot from around 15 yds. went past the GK into the net to put Inter up, 1-0. One min. later, Patrick collected a ball in mid-field, dribbled up near 22 yds. center and fired a shot which went over the cross-bar. At about the 35 min. mark, Skylar served a right cross into the box where Chris’ header was caught by the GK. At the 40 min. mark, Jamie was fouled in the box and Skylar’s PK whizzed past the GK to put Inter up, 2-0.

In the 2nd half, Pachuca continued its strong defense, stymieing the Scorpions once again to no shots or corner kicks taken while they committed 3 fouls. The Internationals committed 4 fouls (including 2 offsides), and would take 13 shots on goal and setup 3 corner kick opportunities. At the 5 min. mark, Alex S. was fouled in the box by #5/Alex D., and Alex S. finished the PK to put Inter up, 3-0. At about the 8 min. mark, Patrick served a ball into the box where Alex’s header went over the cross-bar. One min. later, Stephen crossed a nice ball from the right side into the box and Alex’s header attempt near far post was caught by the GK. At about the 14 min. mark, Patrick sent a nice through-pass to Chris near 25 yds. right and his hard shot went past the GK’s right into the left lower corner of the net to put Pachuca up, 4-0. Two mins. later, a nice socring sequence ensued where Patrick sent a nice pass from the middle over to Skylar on the right who gave it back to Patrick and then back to Skylar who passed upfield to Stephen near the right corner who crossed it into the box where Chris timed his leap to head in the strike to put Inter up, 5-0. At the 20th minute, Stephen took a shot from near 20 yds. right which went wide left. Three mins. later, Nate collected a ball near 10-12 yds. left but the shot went over the cross-bar. One min. later, Schillo sent a nice pass through defenders into the box to Nate whose shot went wide right.  At about the 29th min., Chris collected a ball near 35 yds. center and kicked a hard shot which went wide right.  One min. later, nate rcvd a pass on the left and pushed it through to Schillo near 18 yds. left but his shot went into the left outside of the net.  At the 31st min., Erik collected a ball near 20 yds. on the right side and sent a pass to Chris in the middle whose shot was stopped by the GK.  One min. later, Vitalis passed a ball from the left side to Schillo near 20 yds. left whose shot went over the cross-bar.  At the 43 min. mark, Nate took a hard shot near 15 yds. left which the GK bobbled and Chris's subsequent header attempt was negated due to an offsides call, and the match ended, 5-0, Internationals, who will go on to play in the Semi-Final tomorrow vs. FC Frederick U17 Premier.