DEA Bedford Masters 2

Due to the weather, we have moved the game to the Hampshire Dome in Milford, NH. It is a very nice indoor facility with a high dome roof and a full size turf field. Very easy to find. Follow route 101 WEST into Milford. Get of at the Route 13 exit. Take a left on Route 13. Go 1/10th mile to a stop light and take a left on Emerson road. Field is 1/2 mile on the right.

On a Hot Memorial Day weekend game, it was good to be home. DEA showed up with a good squad to take on the Lynnfield Raiders who currently are right behind DEA in the standings. DEA's sweeper/striker, Ray Luscinski was even on hand to see this match. Ray is recovering from his knee surgery he suffered a three weeks ago in a game with Burlington. Lynnfield would show up with only nine players and it would cost them in the end as they were blanked by DEA 3-0. It was hard to get going for this one, knowing that the opposition was short handed and there were too many options when you got the ball. DEA would control the possession of the ball but could not find the goal in the first half. On the other side, the Great Pumpkin came up with some very good saves to keep Bedford off the score board. John Guild and Stan had good chances early but rang the post. Lynnfield survived the first half 0-0. In the second half the fatigue started to show on the Lynnfield side. Jeff Guild would get things going for DEA as he would rip a nice shot passed the Lynnfield Pumpkin. Nick Masci would get credit for the assist. Nick would starts things off again about 5 minutes later as he would find Rick Plichta at the 18. Rick would blast a low right footer right passed the keeper to the left. DEA was up 2-0 and the crowd was going wild... Lynnfield managed to get a couple of shots off. Their best attempt was actually a ball that was launched from midfield that caught Jim Goddard at the 18 yard line. Jim was force to make an open field trap which he did with style. Other than that, Goddard was in his lawn chair. Brother Jeff would end the scoring and the misery for the Lynnfield bunch. John Valickus, who controlled the midfield for DEA would make a great pass to Jeff. Guild would turn and find nothing but net. The referee would blow the final whistle and DEA would get some payback for their defeat they suffered to Lynnfield earlier this season. DEA has won there last four games in a row and are still only a point out of first place. Next week, DEA takes on Woburn. This is the other team that stained DEA's record earlier this season on their postage stamp sized field. Woburn is in for it as they must play on a real field now. Sportsmans Field will be looking awfully large. Other game notes: Mark Major wins a head ball over the top of a 6 foot striker. Captain Jim McCall shows up at the end of the game to check out things after his kids tournament. Mitch Green didn't go to the Luscinski striker school, and refuses to crack that shot. Mitch did have a very good game at sweeper to allow Goddard to nap. Ok thats enough... GREAT WIN DEA.

DEA traveled to Glouster this past weekend to face the last place team in our division. The predominately Italian team did not seem to be cohesive in team play which has obviously showing in their record. Within the first 20 minutes of the game the DEA blasted through with several goal. The 1st and 2nd goal found the feet of Jim McCall breaking out from the mid-field to knock each one by the keeper. A pass from John Valickus then one from Jeff Guild started each run. The 3rd goal was rocketed home from Nick Masci off of a great pass from George. A few minutes later John Morin sends Jeff Guild in for the 4th goal in such a short time. This prompted a sideline discussion to change up the DEA alignment for the rest of the game. Defenders went up on the forward line and into the midfield, and forwards and mid's went into the back field. Play changed dramatically with the unknown positions for many players. This presented some new challenges for the Bedford team but they managed to hold tight. The second half brought more opportunities to the Glouster group who had gained a bit of momentum mid way through and managed to finally get one by net master Jim Goddard. A few small adjustments in the midfield brought DEA back on track providing high pressure with the sole purpose of helping our new defender/forwards get a goal. Mitch Green after having several feeds to him and working hard to post one, got in front of a nice cross from John Guild and chested one in, in front of the goalie. Dave Poole also had several attempts on goal but was not able to convert one. John Guild was desperate all half to put on past the keeper, but seemed to put the ball everywhere else but in the back of the net. This moves the teams record up to 4-2. Next up revenge time with the Lynnfield team who we lost to after going up at the half with 2-0 lead. It must be noted that Jim Pellerin did show some significant speed improvement this game, seems he was able to hold off on filling up on cookies before the game. Doug also made an appearance this game after being on the injured reserves for the past few games. Stan still remains home with a sour ankle, but is expected to return soon. Stay tuned for more, Reporter in the Field.

A last minute tactical decision by DEA management to find a dry location to play soccer, seemed to by the right move. While the rest of the state was bailing out, we were playing soccer indoors at Rising Stars. Windham showed up with 10 players to start then the 11th showed up 30 minutes into the 1st half. Bedford had 14 strong and by far out-matched their opponents. Playing stopper/sweeper/forward at the same time, Jim Kellogg scored the first goal with a great cross coming from George, then finding Nick Masci and Jim running into the goal with a quick double header between them. Next goal coming from a pass by Jim McCall to Jeff Guild, seeing the goalie a bit out of position sends a downward bending shot over the head of the goalie and just under the cross bar. George knock's in the next one with a solid header off of a corner cross from Nick Masci. Half time 3 - 0 and DEA with gaining strength. Second half was completely dominated by the Bedford team, with play mostly in the opponents end. Nick Masci gave a pass to Jim McCall in the middle of the field who takes a quick shot, deflecting off the shinny headed sweeper and into the net. John Guild steals a ball in the defensive end then beats a defender to strike a low hard shot past the keeper. Windham did manage to get one back after that, but the energy had gone out of the team. The final goal came from a John Guild pass to Bill Jean who had been working hard all day to get on the board. Bill got in close and put one past the keeper to send DEA into the win column with a 6 -1 victory. Next game in Gloucester. NOTES: Jim Pellerin having eaten several cookies on the sideline was not able to get on the board during this match. Another injury to the defense with Sean having muscle pull problems and sitting out most of the second half. GM Notes: Another solid Win for DEA on their way to the top of D5N. We need a good squad next week to travel to the coast to take on the fishermen of Gloucester.

With heavy pressure from management, and the threat of replacing the captain. DEA brought on their A game to the #1 seated team, Burlington. The first home game of the season with lots of space to work with seemed to be just what was needed to open the flood gates. Bedford has been struggling with small cramped and hard surface fields all season. DEA struck first with a Jim Pellerin feed to Jim McCall beating the last defender then chipping one over the on-coming goalie. The second goal, 10 minutes later, came when John Morin sent Jim Pellerin a great through ball and Jim knocks it by the keeper. The Jim's were not to be denied today. Signs of deflation started showing on the Burlington faces. Rick Plichta, John Guild, John V, and Bill Jean all worked hard on keeping the pressure on their opponents and then moving the ball through the midfield. The Bedford "D" was as strong as always with Mitch, Ray, Sean, Mark, Steve, Bruce, and Dave all working like a fine oiled machine. George seemed to be rid of recent injuries running back and forth, and John M, and Jeff threatened opportunities several times. Half time 2-0. This was not enough. Burlington got one back with a nice shot coming out of the mid-field. This seemed to push Bedford a bit further. Jeff Guild snaps a short quick pass to Jim McCall, who one times it into the near corner while the keeper could only watch. With continued pressure, Bill Jean sends a great through ball to Jim McCall breaking to a 1V1 with the Burlington keeper. A quick touch side to side left the keeper on the ground leaving the open net to finish the 4th goal for DEA. A solid win for the team, with hopes of knocking down the top ranked teams at this point. A late injury dampened the day when top scoring key defender, Ray Luscinski, who has been nursing a sore knee, finally took the final blow to that knee. The injury sent Ray hobbling off the field, and later to be escorted by ambulance to the hospital for further evaluation. Looks like Ray will be done for the season. More details to follow, big loss for the defense. In other news the team would still like to see the Cheerleading squad promised by DEA Management. Since they will not need to replace the captain, who had a hat trick on the day, they now need to build the cheering squad. And no we will not accept the ugly bunch of mugs that played in the previous game wearing skirts and waving pom poms. Management did come through with new matching shorts, and the team will uphold their bargain by winning the division, we only hope that management will live up to theirs. Although it must be noted that Jim Pellerin did bring his own personal Cheerleader, it certainly seemed to improve his game greatly. That will be a prerequisite for future games. Signing off - Reporter in the Field.