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Pacific SportsBlogOkinawa-based sports reporter Dave Ornauer on military-related sports in the Far East. |
Pacific high school soccer Top Ten, two weeks before Far East edition
Posted May 4th, 2008 by Dave OrnauerCan it really be possible that Far East will be here in less than two weeks at this writing (6 p.m. Japan time; whistle blows on first Class A matches at 5 p.m. May 18)?
Here we go:
Boys
1. Seoul Foreign (23-0). Season complete, though it would be great to see how well the Crusaders match up with the Class AA field.
2. Kadena (7-7-1). "The Big One" looms Friday at Kubasaki, for island bragging rights and early Class AA tournament favourite label.
3. Kubasaki (4-9). See Kadena. Season series even 2-2, goal differential even at 8-8.
4. Yokota (14-2). Six straight wins, including first victory over Christian Academy In Japan in five years.
5. Christian Academy In Japan (5-1). Still a threat, despite losing to Yokota 3-0. Their season series is even 1-1 with Match 3 slated for next Tuesday.
6. Yongsan International-Seoul (13-3). Season complete; Guardians stand an excellent chance at Class A.
7. Seoul American (10-5-3). Season complete; only Far East left.
8. Zama American (10-3). Six starters were missing in Trojans' 4-2 loss Friday at Robert D. Edgren. Still, you can't sleep on Brandon Massie and the Eagles.
9. E.J. King (8-10-1). Two matches at M.C. Perry remain, dress rehearsal for Class A title defense.
10. Seoul International (7-6-2). Season complete.
Girls
1. Seoul American (17-0-1). Season complete; can Falcons reach Class AA championship match for the first time?.
2. American School In Japan (9-0-1). Mustangs' veneer finally pierced; they allowed two goals last week, but remain in the runner-up spot (see Yokota, Zama).
3. Kubasaki (10-5-1). Aiming to win four of five matches over Kadena on Friday, but season series remains remarkably close; goal differential is only 9-6.
4. Yokota (14-3-2). What started as a great week, 1-1 tie at ASIJ, went downhill quickly, ending with a tie and varsity-first loss at Matthew C. Perry.
5. Zama American (13-2-1). Trojans also took a surprise on the chin, tying 0-0 at Robert D. Edgren on Saturday.
6. Kadena (10-8-2). A victory at Kubasaki would lend some momentum to Panthers heading into Class AA.
7. Faith Academy (15-1). Idle last week.
8. Seoul Foreign (14-5-4). Season complete.
9. Matthew C. Perry (8-5-3). A tie Friday and a school-first win Saturday over Yokota? This may be the team that nobody wants to face at Class A.
10. Osan American (14-5-2). Season complete; chance to reclaim Class A title last won in 2006 is next.
Your thoughts? Shout it out! And remember, you've entered THE "No-Hate Zone." *smile*
Zama Vs. Yokota
Zama beats Yokota 3-2..
looks like you better move zama up the list..
oh gotta agree with BS1025
oh gotta agree with BS1025 here, with a fair ref Zama ends up winning.
Not So Fast
With Zama's 4-2 loss to CAJ on Saturday to close out league play for this year, the final league standings will be (1) CAJ; (2) Yokota; and (3) Zama, so Zama most likely won't be moving up. Congratulations to Zama's Sean Kee for scoring two goals against the defending Far East champions, though!
Outstanding Game
Congratulations to both Zama and Yokota for a great, hard fought game that was marked by fair play and good sportsmanship by all involved!
Zama should deservedly be pleased with the result and please now give the referee excuses from their previous 3-0 loss to Yokota a rest. When you lose 3-0, it's not the referee's fault.
LAWL when you lose 3-0 is it
LAWL when you lose 3-0 is it obviously the ref's fault. Any play that would be run was called against Zama the first game. The previous Main Ref was the sideline ref in the 2nd game and I believe everyone that was watching the game noticed that the ONLY call he made was completely wrong as the ball nutmegged a Yokota player clearly hitting his legs and he called it as Yokota's. The new Head Ref overturned this call, but it was a preview of what the game would have been had he stayed the Head Ref of the second game as well. Ref's calls makes all the difference in the game. Oh and why would the referee excuse stop being used? Its obviously correct seeing as Zama won because there was a different head ref.
Contact Guinness!
Sounds like we have a new world record to report - a scheduled 80 minute game with a total of 6 minutes of loss time added on in which the ball only went over the touch line one time and there were zero times a judgment had to be made as to whether or not to call offsides - yeah, that sounds like exactly what "everyone that was watching the game" saw. Since the assistant referee is apparently so biased against Zama, I wonder why there were no offsides calls against them in that 86 minutes? Hmmm..... The facts can be so disturbing sometimes.
Zama BEATS yokota
series is 2-1. This last game was very well played by both teams with fair judgement from the ref and very fair play from the players on the field. Yokota fought hard and were unlucky in the dying minutes as Jonathan Kimball took a perfect p.k.
Of course when you lose 3-0 it's not the refs fault. Even zama players understand that whether it was that ref or not they would've lost the game. Zama got knocked down in the first half and a defecit of 3-0 is very tough to come back from. But zama's play in the second half was so much better after changing their formation just the score didn't reflect it and the score is what matters. But honestly that game is over and don't take away from their victory by bringing up a story that is old and irrelevant to the great play by the trojans last night.
Oh, come on now. I was at
Oh, come on now. I was at the game, and although the 2nd game was not very well called, neither was the 3rd. Had a PK been called for Yokota for the same exact reason (a yokota player tripping) then you all would be sitting here saying the ref sucked. Zama won, but don't say you lost the 2nd game of the series due to refs if you don't want Yokota to argue we lost the 3rd due to refs. Good luck in Far East, seeing that's what matters.
seeing as how Zama didn't
seeing as how Zama didn't TRIP anyone in their PK box that argument is unjustified. a few plays earlier yokota had fouled in their box and the ref didn't call it, but due to that play I believe the ref waching closely when the second fould in the box occured. and go ahead blame the 3rd gam on the refs, they ARE yokoto refs, thats just going to put their own base down.
Far East
Does anyone know what team are in which pool for boys far east?
omg chill.
ok. one. refs are not the reason zama lost the second game. was it a factor? of course. did it decide the game. no..
now stop taking away from zama's play and yokota's play by complaining about something that is totally irrelevant. They were two teams trying their best and were either lucky or unlucky.
All three games were played hard and zama came out on top of 2. that's the end of it.
Zama didn't trip our guys in
Zama didn't trip our guys in the box? Then why was a yokota player the one that fell down, face first? Makes sense to me, great P.K. decision.
Comment shutdown
All:
Matches are decided on the field between the teams. Some referees call a good match; others not so good. Much of it is in the eye of the beholder. Somebody makes a comment about referees and it can escalate into ugly discourse, which is against this forum's purpose. I've requested once before that we cease commentary on the referees. Since that request was not heeded, I have shut down comments to this thread.