Bethesda Internationals

11 Apr. '10.  Another splendid, sun-filled day at the MD SoccerPlex for a noon match with KSC Nemesis who have been struggling this season, losing yesterday to SAC, and 0-3 in the Standings at kickoff with Sal at the helm.  It was a night and day difference performance by Inter against a less superior opponent. 

Pachuca controlled play throughout the match with strong offensive play and strong defense.  KSC was held to just 1 shot on goal late in the 1st half which went wide right and 1 unsuccessful corner kick while committing 5 fouls.  Inter committed 10 fouls (including 1 handball and 5 offsides) while taking 10 shots and 5 corner kicks -- but could not finish.  At the 7 min. mark, Nate collected a ball on the left, dribbled upfield to near 20 yds. left and fired a hard blast which hit the cross-bar and bounced away.  Patrick sent a solid shot from 20 yds. center which went wide right.  Another shot by (?) at the 15 min. mark was deflected to the right by the GK.  At the 22 min. mark, Nate maneuvered another ball upfield to around 22 yds. left and struck a hard ball which the GK punched out away into the goal area where Schillo took a shot which went wide left over the end line.  Three mins. later, Matt collected a ball deep in his left corner, dribbled upfield to KSC's right corner and served a nice ball into the box where Schillo's header missed wide right.  At about the 32 min. mark, Erik collected a pass near 22 yds. left and fired a strong shot which sailed over the cross-bar.  Nate possessed a ball on the left mid-field, dribbled upfield to the left corner and served a ball into the box to Erik whose shot went wide right, and the half ended scoreless.

Pachuca continued its strong offensive play and strong defense in the 2nd half, holding KSC to  2 shots on goal and 3 corner kicks, all which were unsuccessful except 1 PK while committing 3 fouls.  Inter committed 11 fouls (including 4 offsides and 1 handball) while taking 11 shots on goal and 3 unsuccessful corner kicks.  At about the 7 min. mark, Philip sent a nice through ball from left 35 yds. upfield to Dom who kicked a shot on goal which the GK deflected out into the goal area where Trevor's header went over the cross-bar.  At about the 12 min. mark, Dom rcvd a ball near 18 yds. left and fired a shot which went over the cross-bar.   Just 1 min. later, Vitalis maneuvered a ball upfield deep into KSC's right corner and fired a hard-angled shot across the goal mouth which the GK caught.  At the 23 min. mark, Dom rcvd another ball near 18 yds. center and fired a hard shot on goal which the GK caught.  At about the 32 min. mark, Stephen sent a nice pass on the right side to Patrick near 25 yds. center who then passed into the box to Dom for a hard shot past the GK to put Inter up, 1-0, alas.   At the 35 min. mark, Stephen's right corner kick into the box was punched out by the GK but Schillo collected the ball for an easy score to put Inter up, 2-0.  At about the 38 min. mark, Patrick served a ball into the box to Trevor whose shot was deflected out by the Gk but Trevor repossessed the ball to punch in an easy shot to put Inter up, 3-0.  One min. later, Trevor found another ball in the box and kicked it in to put Inter up, 4-0,.  Two mins. later, at about the 41 min. mark, a handball was called on Stefone in the box and KSC finished the PK, and the match ended several minutes later, 4-1, Inter.

10 Apr. '10.  On a pleasant late afternoon at the MD SoccerPlex, Pachuca faced its long-time rivals from PA-E, LMSC Velez, in a pivotal match with both teams vying for playoff hopes later this month.  In the 1st half, just 2 minutes into the match, a ball bounced up from the ground in Pachuca's box and off of Stefone's hand with a resultant PK being called and a quick 1-0 lead for Velez.  Inter was held to 1 shot on goal just after kickoff which the GK caught, and 1 unsuccessful corner kick.  Inter committed 7 fouls (including the handball and 1 offsides) while Velez committed 6 fouls (including 1 YC #17).  Velez took 6 shots on goal, including a hard shot from 20-22 yds. left center but Seth came out large off his line and deflected the ball over the end line for an unsuccessful corner kick.  However, at the 39th min., an unmarked played on Inter's left corner collected a ball and pushed it deep towards the end line and fired a blast from a sharp angle which slid across the goal mouth and into the net far post, and the half ended several minutes late, 2-0, Velez.

In the 2nd half, the physical play intensified with Inter committing 6 fouls (including YC’s on Patrick and Nicholas for hard fouls from behind, 1 handball & 1 offsides) while Velez committed 7 fouls (including YC’s #3 and #13 for hard fouls from behind).  Inter managed several scoring opportunities, including 2 corner kicks but both were unsuccessful and 2 shots on goal, one of which the GK caught and the other was successful coming off of a foul on Dom in the box and a resultant PK by Patrick, which cut the score to 1-2, Velez.  But Velez’s strong defense held Inter off of the boards from the rest of the match.  On a counter-attack around the 31^st min., Velez broke through the middle and slammed a hard shot on goal which deflected off the left post and back out to around 6 yds. in the box where a Velez player collected the ball for an easy finish, and the match ended several minutes later, 3-1, Velez.

28 Mar '10.  Thanks to Potomac Academy, several scrimmage/exhibition matches were setup at Georgetown University over the weekend between Potomac Academy vs. JBS FC Premier and FC Westchester (Academy), as well as a friendly between JBS FC Premier (NY-E) and the Internationals on Sat., 27 Mar.  The Internationals were schedueld to play JBS at this past Jefferson Cup, but it never came to fruition as the tournament was canceled due to heavy/field conditions. 

JBS is a tournament travelling team only with having achieved solid results at the recent Disney President Day's Cup last month, going 4-0-0, and faired well at the Disney Showcase (Predator) last Dec., going 2-1-1, and at the previous CASL Showcase, going 1-1-0.

Yesterday's match was the 3rd contest between the two evenly matched foes, with JBS winning the 1st, 1-0, in the Bethesda Thanksgiving 2007, and, Inter winning the 2nd, 1-0, in the Jefferscon Cup 2008.  The first half was par for the course, with both teams attacking, counter-attacking and defending well, but neither able to finish a goal.

In the 2nd half, at about the 28 min. mark, Stephen took a ball down the right side corner and sent a crisp pass into the box where Dominique timed his leap up to head strike in the go-ahead and game-winning goal.  JBS had a couple of chances but Mike made some solid grabs/saves, as did their GK off of a couple Inter shots, and the friendly ended, 1-0, Pachuca.

24 Mar. '10.  The Internationals have been accepted into the local, premier Memorial Day event which will be held at the Maryland Soccer Plex over Memorial Day weekend.  Brackets/schedule will soon be setup of the following Accepted teams:

21 Mar. '10.  In yesterday's contest vs. Rochester FC, Inter controlled play most of the match, although neither team able to finish a goal and the half ended, 0-0.  Inter continued its solid play in the 2nd half, moving the ball well and setting up a number of scoring chances, but would finish just two goals coming from Ben, who Sal utilized offensively up top and another from Schillo, his 2nd of the season, and the match ended, 2-0, Pachuca.

 In the 2nd match vs. Bealing SC, and a more evenly played contest, but late in the 1st half around the 37th min. after a mishap in Inter's middle, Beadlling was able to score for the go-ahead goal and led, 1-0, at the half.  In the 17th min. of the 2nd half, Ben was playing up top and collected a ball which Beadling did no clear away and punched in tieing goal, and the match ended later in a 1-1 draw.