CLASS ACT - SGV PISTONS
First LA Galaxy Women's Open Tournament in the Books

Picture taken on Day 2; players missing unavoidably include
Natalie, Renee, Sarah G, and Heather

Dateline – LA Galaxy Classico Tournament 2006, San Bernardino, CA

SGV Pistons this weekend got yet another opportunity to showcase the stuff that makes for good sportsmanship – grace and composure. The team played three games on Saturday to qualify for the final match of the Women’s Open Division on Sunday.

The weather eased from a generally mild and cool morning to a toasty noon by the time we got to our second game at 2PM. Our first game was against Maya SC who brought a terrific game, hitting our woodwork twice (first the left upright in the first half, then the crossbar in the second) with no luck. Half-time 0-0.

We made our chances count in the second half. First, Keji found Sarah T with a through pass to beat the scrambling goalie. Maria was at the end of a long, cross-field free kick from Laura to give us a 2-0 win.

We scored last to drop the second game 1-3 to Kung Fu Hustle (KFH).

In the final game of the day, No Drama also brought a surprisingly big game. They had lost their first two games by a goals aggregate of 1-9. We got our first goal early enough through Sarahlyn on Natalie’s assist but couldn’t score again. 1-0 in the first half. I reminded the team how risky it is to sit on a lone goal lead and encouraged them to put some more gap between them and the opposition.

On resumption, No Drama equalized on a powerful left footer to the roof. We went back ahead with Kristen assisting Sarah T. Again, they equalized. Then Natalie turned it on with a hat trick, scoring three unanswered goals. 5-2 Pistons. We qualified to play in the finals.

Sunday morning, it was another Pistons/KFH encounter. SGV Pistons arrived on the field promptly, warmed up, and were ready to go by the scheduled 10AM kick-off. The referee came over to explain that the opposition was yet to be fully represented on the field. They eventually showed up and the game started.

We gave up a penalty at the tail end of the first half, and were a bit lethargic responding to a free-kick toward the end of the second half. Lesson reinforced – once the ref calls a foul especially in your third of the field, figure most any good team would be opportunistic with regards to taking a quick restart before your defence settled.

All in all, a super sweet tourney! My words to the players – You guys are champions in my book. Nothing determines class better than civil attitude, and you clean any other team’s clock on that account and more. Great job!

More pictures on SGV Pistons Team Page. 

Bolaji (May 21, 2006)