DC Stoddert's Adult Coed Team Surprises at Sharks v. Suits Shootout
Saturday afternoon squad, with coach Len Oliver (in red), sqaushed Venable 4-2.
As a veteran board member of DC SCORES, a nonprofit that reaches hundreds of academically underserved kids through poetry, writing and soccer, DC Stoddert Coaching Director Len Oliver knew the odds were stacked against the club's first-ever team to enter the annual Sharks v. Suits Shootout. Sure, Stoddert Soccer pioneered the game in the metro area. And yes, our coaches and young players are top notch. But local law firms and business packed some serious muscle, including former Stoddert Soccer coaches, referees and other seasoned athletes!
While the 7 v 7 matches were no cakewalk, and the goalkeeper failed to show for Game 1, the home team managed to make it to the semifinals, losing by a hair to perennial powerhouse Clark Construction.
Here's Len's blow-by-blow from training sessions through the matches:
Convening the Team: When Len Oliver in early May convened DC Stoddert coaches and parents to create a first-ever DC Stoddert team in the popular annual Sharks v. Suits Shootout for the benefit of DC SCORES, he assumed the team would play their three games and go home. Having served on the DC SCORES’ Board for 12 years, he knew the Tournament and the intensity brought to it by strong teams from Marriott, Clark Construction, Zuckerman Spaeder, and Latham & Watkins, among others, who had previously won the event.
The Workouts At Jelleff: Working with a mix of enthusiastic adults, some of whom had grown up with soccer and others who were novitiates, Len’s practices at Jelleff consisted mostly of playing small-sided games and scrimmages, “teaching from the game,” in order to meld a team. Since the tournament consisted of 7 v 7 games on a reduced field, with 25-minute halves and two female players on the field at all times, we went to work.
The Games: When the team arrived for its first game at Trinity College on a glorious Saturday, June 13, we counted some 14 players—but no keeper! Sholto Stewart, Coed U11 Commissioner and our keeper, had a conflict. In steps Ivan Fadul, product of Columbia and a DC Stoddert Coach, who had a “blinder,” as they say overseas, in thwarting the Marriot attack. With the score 0-0 at the half, DCST’s ragtag bunch sensed an upset. It wasn’t to be, with the Marriott players, mostly young guys and gals, getting four goals in the second half.
Not to be outdone or discouraged, DCST’s team faced Nathan Associates in its second game that morning, coming out a winner by 3-2, after being down 2-0 in the first few minutes, in a highly spirited game! Our first ever win as a Club team! Sholto was back in goal, we lost several players and gained a few others, and everyone played with great energy and team identity. Little did we know but this game would set us on a winning streak that would carry us over to Sunday’s Semi-Finals! We defeated Venable 4-2, with a great assist and a goal from veteran high school travel-team player Amelia Landay, another nice goal from James Louis-Charles, and on to Sunday!
Reaching the Semi-Finals: In Sunday’s first game, a quarterfinal match against the DC SCORES’ team, mainly composed of young coaches, we pulled out a difficult win with several second half goals to advance to the Semi-Finals. Hopes ran high, until we ran up against a young, fast, and talented Clark Construction team. Although the score was 1-1 at the half, we couldn’t keep the pace and fell 6-1 to a good team.
To recap, with Marriott winning the championship, we were able to hold the eventual winners to a 0-0 halftime score, to hold the Runners-Up, Clark, to a 1-1 halftime score, and to dream about what might have been. Our scorers were Mustafa Aksakal, Nick Alten, Neal Liberman, Aron Gyorgy, James Louis-Charles, Dave Sarley, and Amelia Landay. Congrats to the scorers and the hard-working mids and defenders who got them the ball!
In Retrospect: The coaches/players had a wonderful time, competing against some very good talent. But most importantly, with DC SCORES raising $50,000 from the Tournament for its inner city soccer/writing program, we all felt a sense of accomplishment for our good soccer, our great “esprit-de’club,” and for contributing to inner-cities’ kids lives through the program.
Will we do it again? All the coaches and parents who played volunteered a hearty yes to this question. So we’ll see them all next year, if not before. Thanks for the opportunity to coach a really wonderful bunch of soccer enthusiasts!
Len Oliver
Director of Coaching
DC Stodder Soccer
posterd 6/17/09
