Empire Charity Cup- Everything Thread [Archive]

Newmanistan

11-04-2009, 15:38

A group of twelve autistic men and women walk up to the stage. Very soon they will be drawing the ping pong balls to determine who will be going into the two groups of six. No, all twelve people aren’t necessary as with six pots of two you only needed to draw one ball from each, but why deny these people the thrill?

The Empress comes up to the stage and thanks everyone for their interest. She commends all the nations who have shown that they are willing to compete for charity. The 12 nations participating, and their rankings show, but more importantly with the great causes in which they are playing for.

1) Dancougar (11)- Teenage Women Without Hammerspace.
2) Rennidan (25)- D-SEC (Destroy Secristan’s Economy)
3) Newmanistan (31)- Autism Awareness.
4) Peisandros (32)- Peisandros Society for Those Without a House, Family, or Just Generally Poor People.
5) Cassadaigua (36)- Boys Sports Programs
6) Secristan (39)- Retired CEO’s Fund.
7) Sarzonia (43)- Cancer Research
8) Quintessence of Dust (58)- Abolitionism International
9) West Newmanistan (63)- Homes for the Homeless
10) Somewhereistonia (UNR)- Somewhereistonian National Cancer Research
11) Leongo (UNR)- Cancer Research.
12) Norwellia (UNR)- National Lymphoma & Leukemia Research Cooperative.

Format:
– Everyone will play each other once. NO ONE actually ever gets eliminated.

At the end of the group stage, the first and second place teams in each group play for the championship, the third and fourth place teams play for fifth place, and the fifth and sixth place teams in each group will play for 9th place. A nation’s final “placing” will determine the amount of money awarded to their respective charity.

– The first two nations on the list were in the first pot; the next two in the second pot, etc.

Group A:
Rennidan
Newmanistan
Secristan
Sarzonia
Somewhereistonia
Leongo

Group B:
Dancougar
Peisandros
Cassadaigua
Quintessence of Dust
West Newmanistan
Norwellia

Group A Schedule: (Includes the fixture and the location of the game)
MD1 (Apr. 14): Newmanistan v Secristan (Tundra Falls), Rennidan v Somewhereistonia (South Charlotte), Sarzonia v Leongo (Olympia)

MD2 (Apr. 15): Newmanistan v Leongo (Centralia), Rennidan v Sarzonia (Pocono City), Secristan v Somewhereistonia (Brighton)

MD3 (Apr. 16): Newmanistan v Somewhereistonia (Putnam Lake), Rennidan v Leongo (South Tier), Secristan v Sarzonia (Loudon)

MD4 (Apr. 17): Newmanistan v Rennidan (Pocono City), Sarzonia v Somewhereistonia (Dover City), Secristan v Leongo (Southport)

MD5 (Apr. 18): Newmanistan v Sarzonia (Southport), Rennidan v Secristan (Loudon), Somewhereistonia v Leongo (Daytopia)

Group B Schedule:

MD1 (Apr. 14): Dancougar v Cassadaigua (Putnam Lake), Peisandros v Norwellia (Pocono City), Quintessence of Dust v West Newmanistan (Loudon)

MD2 (Apr. 15): Dancougar v Quintessence of Dust (Tundra Falls), Peisandros v Cassadaigua (Southport), Norwellia v West Newmanistan (Fairfield City)

MD3 (Apr. 16): Dancougar v West Newmanistan (Dover City), Peisandros v Quintessence of Dust (Putnam Lake), Cassadaigua v Norwellia (Pocono City)

MD4 (Apr. 17): Dancougar v Norwellia (Centralia), Peisandros v West Newmanistan (Olympia), Cassadaigua v Quintessence of Dust (Tundra Falls)

MD5 (Apr. 18): Dancougar v Peisandros (Hastings), Quintessence of Dust v Norwellia (Hampton), Cassadaigua v West Newmanistan (North Charlotte)

KNOCKOUTS: (Championship Bracket):
April 20th:
Game A: 1st Group A vs 2nd Group B (Putnam Lake)
Game B: 1st Group B vs 2nd Group A (Pocono City)

April 21st:
Game C: (3RD PLACE GAME)- Loser Game A vs Loser Game B (Loudon)
Game D: (CHAMPIONSHIP)- Winner Game A vs Winner Game B (Tundra Falls)

(Middle Bracket)

April 20th:
Game E: 3rd Group A vs 4th Group B (Centralia)
Game F: 4th Group A vs 3rd Group A (Dover City)

April 21st:
Game G: (7TH PLACE GAME): Loser Game E vs Loser Game F (Southport)
Game H: (5TH PLACE GAME): Winner Game E vs Winner Game F (Olympia)

(Lower Bracket)

April 20th:
Game I: 5th Group A vs 6th Group B (Hastings)
Game J: 6th Group A vs 5th Group B (Fairfield City)

April 21st:
Game K: (11th PLACE GAME): Loser Game I vs Loser Game J (South Tier)
Game L (9TH PLACE GAME): Winner Game I vs Winner Game J (South Charlotte)

PRIZE MONEY: In GC (Gold Coins) 1 GC= approximately 1 US Dollar

1st- 10,000,000 GC
2nd- 7,000,000 GC
3rd- 5,000,000 GC
4th- 2,000,000 GC
5th- 1,000,000 GC
6th- 700,000 GC
7th- 600,000 GC
8th- 500,000 GC
9th- 400,000 GC
10th- 300,000 GC
11th- 200,000 GC
12th- 100,000 GC

SCORINATION WILL BE AT APPROXIMATELY 9AM EASTERN US TIME (THE TIME OF THIS POST IS 1 ½ HOURS PAST THAT.) UNLESS OTHERWISE WARNED IN ADVANCE.

Style Modifiers should range between plus and minus 2.

Peisandros

11-04-2009, 21:31

Announcement from PFA

The Peisandros Football Association has decided on the strength of the squad to send to the Empire Charity Cup. It will be an official national team and will be coached by Alexander Pappas. It will consist of a large core of expected players for World Cup 46, but none of the Di Bradini 9 players will make the trip to Newmanistan. We had considered sending a weaker team to continue conditioning for the top flight players, but decided that the importance of the Cup meant we needed a strong team. Also, there is no practice like match practice. We are very grateful for this opportunity and would love to be the first winner of the Cup, which is definitely the aim.

Norwellia

12-04-2009, 04:33

http://i658.photobucket.com/albums/uu303/Norwellia/update.png?t=1239505799
INTERNATIONAL EDITION - SPORT - PAGE C1
APRIL 11, 2010

Second International Football Test for Warriors

NEWMANISTAN - A rousing fervor builds among the world's football fans as this nation's elite prepares to stimulate the growth of twelve charity organizations worldwide, and put on a fine soccer show in the process.

Of particular interest to our colleagues will be Rennidan's D-SEC, or "Destroy Secristan's Economy", a charity to which Norwellia suffers substantial brain drain; the Peisandros Society for Those Without a House, Family, or Just Generally Poor People, another favorite in our homeland; Abolitionism International, whose Winston branch has had tremendous success in lobbying for civil rights here in Norwellia; West Newmanistan's Homes for the Homeless, a favorite spring break destination for our more diligent college juniors and seniors; and, of course, our own National Lymphoma & Leukemia Research Cooperative.

Dr. Alam Danakian, opportunistic infections researcher for NLLRC, was excited to tell anyone who would listen yesterday. "This is just a huge thing for our suffering patients", said the doctor, who added, "no matter how our national team does, the prize money will go a long way toward my stem cell transplant project. Hey, have I told you about my stem cell transplant project?" He had not, and we now wish that he had kept it that way.

Regardless, we face a relatively formidable draw in Group B:

April 14 - Peisandros (Pocono City)
April 15 - West Newmanistan (Fairfield City)
April 16 - Cassadaigua (Pocono City)
April 17 - Dancougar (Centralia)
April 18 - Quintessence of Dust (Hampton)

The Empire Charity Cup will represent the Rainbow Warriors' second exposure to international football, having been eliminated early in the Di Bradini Cup. The tournament roster is expected to be announced in the next two days, and University of Owen football statistician and strategy expert Reed Shelby informs us that there should be no surprises for fans who have been following the team's preparations for AOCAF. Colleague Shelby observed, "They're already on the hook for a certain product in the AOCAF Cup, and they wouldn't dream of losing popular momentum by fragmenting the national support base. There's just no incentive to do it."

Norwellian World Football Association workers are diligently setting up camp in Pocono City, where the Norwellian Village will be situated, and where the team will play two of its games, more than any other venue.

Norwellia

12-04-2009, 05:54

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Y
Godmod Scoring Events: Within reason - rare goals are OK as long as they're *rare*
RP injuries to my players: Within reason
Godmod injuries to my players: N
Hand out Yellow cards to my players: Y
Hand out Red cards to my players: N
Godmod Other Events: N

Time: Summer 2010

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c58/Krytenia/NOR45.png

The nation
Official name: The People's Republic of Norwellia
La República Popular de Noruelia
Common name: Norwellia
Noruelia
Sports nation code: NOR
Motto: Another Way
Otra Manera
Anthem: My People
Mi Gente
Official languages: English, Spanish
Government type: Democratic Socialist collective (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-operative)
Head of state: President Yusuki Watanabe

The team

Nickname: Rainbow Warriors
Los Guerreros del Arco Iris
Manager: Alexandre Fréchette

Preferred Formation: 3-5-2

Roster (starters in bold, league leaders marked with *):

Goalkeepers

Syku Lanja
Age: 36
Club team: Cataluña Heroica
Height: 6'2", Weight: 190 lb.
2008 stats: 28 GP*, 17 SO*, 15 GA*, 0.536 GAA*
2008 team stats: Third place, Globe Cup seed, 13-7-8 (46)

Алексей Александрович Глинка (Aleksej Aleksandrovič Glinka)
Age: 27
Club team: Winston F.C.
Height: 6'3", Weight: 210 lb.
2008 stats: 28 GP*, 17 SO*, 18 GA, 0.642 GAA
2008 team stats: Champions, TQCC seed, 13-11-4 (50)

Павел Ильич Каганович (Pavel Il'ič Kaganovič)
Age: 34
Club team: Forest Glen F.C.
Height: 6'2", Weight: 220 lb.
2008 stats: 28 GP*, 15 SO, 19 GA, 0.679 GAA
2008 team stats: Fourth place, 12-8-8 (44)
Notes: Achieved four straight shutouts to set a record; suffered from team's lack of attacking force compared to Winston

Defenders

백일일
Age: 25
Club team: Winston F.C.
Position: Outside defender (Starts at RD)
6'1", 185 lb.
2008 stats: 27 GP, 4 GS
Notes: Possesses a rare combination of size, speed and skill

Kew Gerry
Age: 33
Club team: Merseault Strangers
Position: Central defender
6'1", 175 lb.
2008 stats: 26 GP, 5 GS
2008 team stats: Seventh place, 4-12-12 (24), 29 GA (4th)
Notes: Strong on the tackle; very effective in the air; strong, physical man-marking ability

Metheven Tangye
Age: 27
Club: Cataluña Heroica
Position: Left/central defender
6'0", 170 lb.
2008 stats: 28 GP*, 5 GS
Notes: Possesses unusual strength, deceptive speed, powerful legs, and an ability to quickly close down attackers

Mason Camus
Age: 27
Club: Winston F.C.
Position: Right-side defender
5'6", 145#
2008 stats: 28 GP*, 0 GS
Notes: Small but swift; great man-marking ability and passing skills; one of few Warrior defenders with little to no emphasis on attack

윤신일 ('Yun Sin-il)
Age: 29
Club: Forest Glen F.C.
Position: Central defender
6'2", 185#
2008 stats: 28 GP*, 0 GS
Notes: Solid CD with good organizational skills and intelligent reading of the game

Hydoc Pedlar
Age: 26
Club: Merseault Strangers
Position: Left/central defender
6'1", 178#
2008 stats: 5 GP, 0 GS
Notes: Smooth and elegant runner with tenacious man-marking ability; strong in the air; 2008 season cut short due to leg injury

Aaliyah Morris
32
Club: Cataluña Heroica
Position: Left-side defender
5'10", 155#
2008 stats: 24 GP, 0 GS
Notes: Speedy winger; strikes dangerous free kicks and serves creative crosses from the left, preferring to assist rather than score

Kentisesh Voreght
Age: 32
Club: Durdenheim F.C.
Position: Central defender
6'1", 180#
2008 stats: 27 GP, 1 GS
2008 club stats: Second place, TQCC seed, 13-8-7 (47), +12 GD (3rd)
Notes: Dangerous in the air on set pieces with his height and vertical leap; has a flair for the dramatic

Midfielders

Barbara Senior
Age: 32
Club: Winston F.C.
Position: Right-side defensive midfielder (starts as RM)
5'8", 155#
2008 stats: 18 GP, 3 GS
Notes: Speedy with tenacious defense; disrupts opposing defenses with speed and tireless work rate on the right side

Sherri McGuire
Age: 24
Club: Oceanview City F.C.
Position: Left-side attacking midfielder
5'8", 145#
2008 stats: 27 GP, 4 GS
2008 club stats: Fifth place, 11-7-10 (40), 35 GF (3rd)
Notes: Lightning speed, quick feet, intelligent defensive instincts

Misina Ponten
Age: 26
Club: Durdenheim F.C.
Position: Left/central attacking midfielder (starts as LM)
5'8", 150#
2008 stats: 26 GP, 12 GS
Notes: Strong and swift; thunderous left foot; can quickly start or join the counterattack

Mia Frost
Age: 26
Club: Durdenheim F.C.
Position: Central attacking midfielder
6'1", 170#
2008 stats: 28 GP*, 8 GS
Notes: Versatile player, high level of technical skill, confidence going at defenders

Sala Ikaru
Age: 24
Club: Winston F.C.
Position: Attacking midfielder
5'8", 148#
2008 stats: 25 GP, 20 GS (2nd)
Notes: Quick of foot and a quick thinker; deadly finisher from set pieces and the run of play

Δημήτρης Ρουβάς (Dmitris Roivas)
Age: 29
Club: Engels F.C.
Position: Central defensive midfielder
5'10", 170#
2008 stats: 23 GP, 0 GS
2008 club stats: 6th, 11-7-10 (40)
Notes: Hard-nosed tackler and tenacious ball winner with speed and exceptional ball control

Chris Padilla
Age: 28
Club: Cataluña Heroica
Position: Left/central defensive midfielder
5'8", 145#
2008 stats: 27 GP, 2 GS
Notes: Sublime ball handling skills; great vision and subtle, intelligent reading of play

James Howe
Age: 29
Club: Forest Glen F.C.
Position: Attacking midfielder
5'8", 140#
2008 stats: 26 GP, 7 GS
Notes: Versatile midfielder, hard worker, with palpable imagination and passion

Mesit Xura
Age: 33
Club: Engels F.C.
Position: Central midfielder
5'10", 160#
2008 stats: 28 GP*, 4 GS
Notes: Incredible skill, vision, composure; experience leading the midfield

Forwards

Alain Vermeeren
Age: 28
Club: Engels F.C.
Position: Center forward
6'1", 195#
2008 stats: 27 GP, 22 GS*
Notes: Excellent work rate, strong finisher; this tall, dreadlocked Achtervolgingan was affectionately nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman" by hometown fans while leading Engels to the league lead in goals scored

Natalia Richter
Age: 22
Club: Cataluña Heroica
Position: Center forward
6'0", 180#
2008 stats: 27 GP, 15 GS
Notes: Physical game, lightning quick first step, clever first touch

Doshese Pagliloe
Age: 34
Club: Durdenheim F.C.
Position: Center forward
6'0", 175#
2008 stats: 24 GP, 12 GS
Notes: A battler with an impressive workrate, prefers to score with her head

Nίκος Αμπάτης (Nikos Ampatis)
Age: 29
Club: Engels F.C.
Position: Right/center forward
5'9", 160#
2008 stats: 22 GP, 10 GS
Notes: Quick, unpredictable; remarkable pace; possesses an ability to create space for himself and his teammates

Richter Vermeeren

Ikaru

Ponten Xura Senior

Roivas

Tangye Voreght 백일일

[Lanja]

Quintessence of Dust

12-04-2009, 09:54

The New Cleethorpes Enquirer
Club dispute solved in time for ECC

Jeremy Dixon, former national football coach, was last night the recipient of praise from most unexpected quarters as arch-rival Arlo Cockbadger, who rarely had a good word to say for Dixon during his tenure with the national side, praised his mediation in a dispute between several clubs in the QuinTel Not-Really-Very-Premier League and the QFA over squad selection for the Empire Charity Cup in Newmanistan. The tournament, not sanctioned by the WCC and played for charity, is considered a minor priority in the context of World Cup 46 preparations, but QFA chair Derek Drake had promised a "full strength" squad would be available.

However, with early rounds of the Crabby Yum Non-Intuitively-Symbolic Metal Ornament already beginning and the clock ticking on the start of Season 2 of the moderately-successful QNRVPL, several club managers - including Cockbadger - rushed to demand they be allowed to retain key players. There was anger from some that the closing days of Season 1 had seen major players sucked into the national squad for the 37th Cup of Harmony, only to play no part.

Acting at Drake's request, Dixon, who as Director of Development for the QFA oversaw the ground-breaking sponsorship deal of Nowy Orpington United by Han electronics giant (not electronic giant, that'd be weird) Samseong, convened a special meeting between representatives of players, managers, and the Department of Sport, brokering a compromise that Bang "Electric Blue Snorkel" Bang, manager of Wow! Health & Fitness FC, said "was acceptable to all parties", though he stressed that in future the agreement might need refinement.

The deal will be seen as another step towards the rejuvenation of Dixon's reputation, which hung in tatters after his post-WC45 resignation. Additionally, The New Cleethorpes Enquirer can exclusively reveal that he has been involved in discussions with the Peisandros Football Association, which would potentially see members of the wildly successful Sandrian pool play in Quintessence of Dust. Dixon was quick to scoff rumours, saying, "To comment at this stage would jeopardise any arrangements that may or may not be being discussed. But it would be a major boon to have foreign players, especially of such calibre, involved in our domestic set-up."

The terms of the arrangement between the QFA and the clubs will require all non-required players to be made available for the national squad. Given the CoH37 squad was still largely drawn from university and union leagues, many players will still be available; additionally, the finish of the CMSC means captain Peter Rogers and former captain Theo Littlefellow will not be required by AFC MN Smith, a major boon for coach Edward "Big Ted" Large. He has insisted that the ECC, a new tournament, represents "an important challenge that we will take seriously". During World Cup 46, clubs will be required to allow their players to be made available for national selection; however, only those required for the matchday in question will be withdrawn, and large squad training will take place only during the rest week.

Many fans will be disappointed not to see Goshinho, whose athletic exuberance delighted crowds and TV viewers during CoH37, as he returns to New Cleethorpes Athletic along with Phillip Hendricks and Billy Hudson. However, Large confirmed the young Brazilian-Icelandic immigrant was "still part of the national squad's long-term plans" and "would play an important part in WC46 qualifying". Jessica Jensen, who endured a very disappointing Cup in which she picked up three yellow cards, and her boyfriend, reserve keeper Hamilton Humperdinck, return to Wow!, while Ronald Johnson and Yua Yua Huang will be required by the Rahlia Regals.

There are some exceptions, however, as Arlo Cockbadger made the unusual decision to free up his son, Woody Cockbadger, for the national team, instead of demanding he play for the Regals, newly promoted to the QNRVPL after winning Season 1 of the Moo Maid Top League. And Greschmeier Mountain Sports Club made the faintly extraordinary announcement that "they would always honour national demands" and promptly freed their players for selection, meaning that Marina Sundqvist and Brikk Schitthausen will remain first team staples. Unnamed sources among the management elite have noted that Greschmeier's generosity is not hindered by their squad's vastly larger size than most other top-level clubs.

Perhaps the biggest changes to the squad, though, have nothing to do with professional intrigue. David Yellowback, the Highmark City policeman who has played at right-back for over 25 years for the national team, announced his retirement from international football, and his intention to pursue his interest in coaching. He will still play for the Highmark City Emergency & Medical Services in the Union First Central League, where they may be contenders for promotion to the Top League next year.

Several other veteran players announced they would not take part in the ECC, though as yet none have ruled themselves out for WC46. Dino Achten, defensive midfielder and vice-captain, and Frederic Renard, the most-capped player in national history and staple of right midfield, will both sit out the games, perhaps mainly to allow potential replacements Ólafur Kjartansson and Woody Cockbadger to gain more playing experience. And Dennis Young, the side's top goal scorer, is yet to recover from his knee operation and will continue his PhD in literary and cultural theory at University College Higmark.

The Cup will see the team play to earn charity money for Abolitionism International, the occasionally controversial anti-slavery and trafficking organization that helps free those held in bondage around the world. The charity was selected by officials at the State Department. Quintessence of Dust has been historically recognised as a leading anti-slavery nation, having authored the prohibition on slavery and trafficking passed by The World Assembly, as well as the former United Nations "Abolition of Slavery" resolution. The team will play CoH37 opponents West Newmanistan (who they beat) and Peisandros (who they lost to), as well as Group B favourites Dancougar, controversial matriarchy Cassadaigua, and untested newcomers Norwellia.

The full squad for the ECC will be released later today.

Rennidan

12-04-2009, 13:54

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk176/rennidan/news1.png

NEWMANISTAN - The new home of charitable goodness, Newmanistan will soon be hosting the Empire Charity Cup, a competition which offers a grand prize of 10,000,000 Golden Coins, which roughly translates into 15,555,000 Rennidanian Gold Crowns. And the charity Rennidan has decided to field for?

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk176/rennidan/dsec.png

D-SEC, or "Destroy Secristan's Economy Charity", is an organization set up by the poorer people in the Industrial District who have grown tired of Secristan's constance flaunting of financial wealth. Through economic sabotauge, they aim to bring Secristan's economy down to that of a third world nation.

And just who are the team Rennidan are planning on fielding?

With the recent conclusion of the Urban5 league in Rennidan, and the whimsical nature of charity events, it's been decided to field Rennidan's premier 5-a-side team, Segabor.

GK: Bradley Nicodemo
DL: Hammond Tex
DR: Micky Lester
MF: Cirillo Bret
MF: Ormonde Griffin
ST: Marco Rowan

Style Mod: +2

Secristan

12-04-2009, 15:21

The SDOS thought it would be difficult to get many bids for a charity tournament. So instead they allowed coach World Cup 45 coach Brendan Bowman to name his own team. Not surprisingly, it looks a lot like that roster. But it’s not exactly the same!

Formation is a 4-4-2

Style Modifier: +2 (The SDOS demands goal scoring)

RP Permissions:
Select my scorers — Yes
Give out yellow cards to my players — Yes
Give out red cards to my players — Yes, only one per game and if you do, make it exciting!
RP injuries to my players — Yes only say they are hurt though.
Godmod injuries — No
Godmod scoring events — Yes
Godmod other events — Yes, ONLY if you are going to do something which incorporates our players or fans doing something extremely arrogant or snobbish. No deaths.

About Secristan fans: Secristan fans do not chant. Instead, they shake a jar of coins repeatedly. The jars are amplified to maximize the sound of the coins inside. Expect many in attendance. We are, after all, right across the river.

Note that all players are free to sign with your domestic teams if you wanted to present them an offer. In Secristan, players have TO PAY to play for a team, so they are hoping for international offers so that they can get compensated to play. No transfer fees are required. Some of them are already playing overseas, and they have been noted.

Here is the roster. Starting with the starters:
GK: Michael Rossiter (Cafundeu), # 1 , 34- Reflexes and can usually force the shooter to commit first. Has been the starter since Baptism of Fire 30.
LB: Jeff Fisher, #4, 26- Plays very conservatively.
LCB: Shawn Wooliver (Dancougar), #6, 25- Hard nosed and aggressive. Starting for the first time, was a sub last time.
RCB: Tyson Cadrette, #7, 17,- Rookie. Appeared on the Di Bradini 9 roster. Bowman wants to see what he can do here.
RB: Eric Fraser (Newmanistan), #2, 22- Extremely aggressive tackler. Captained the Di Bradini 7 winners.
LM: Curtis Coleman (Dancougar), #17, 33- Agility, playmaker.
CAM: Stephen Alexander (Dancougar), #23, 35 - Determination; work ethic.
CDM: Chris Coventry (Candelaria And Marquez), #19, 22, - Good two-way player, hard worker.
RM: Todd Carney (Cafundeu), #12 , 29- Speedster; first time starter.
LS: Kevin Walker (Dancougar), #10, 34- Finisher; will generally be set up by Rogan.
RS: James Rogan (Dancougar), #8 , 34 -Speed, speed, speed, and more speed. Fantastic work ethic. Team captain.

Substitutes:
GK: Brian Carver (Newmanistan), #20 , 24- Starting keeper on the Di Bradini 7 and 8 teams. Goes from reserve in WC45 to sub here.
CB: Keith Cassell, #3, 24- Solid all-around player but stamina issues keep him as a sub.
CB: Kyle Nickson, #26, 32- Despite age, he’s still uncapped at senior level.
MID: Brian Marcott, #15, 30 Keeps it simple; consistent player. Started in World Cup 44.
ST: Kevin Tucker (Cafundeu), #16 , 22- As good as any of the other strikers. Promoted to sub from reserve from the WC roster.
ST: Michael Cardona, #9, 21- Finisher, usually needs someone to set him up. Played in Di Bradini Cups 7 through 9. Captain of #9.
ST: Andrew Bianchetti (Newmanistan), #18 , 22- Lead the Di Bradini 7 championship team in scoring. Will probably be used in an attacking midfielder role here.

Reserves:
GK: Jeremy Sellers, #31, 18- Starting keeper in Di Bradini 9.
CB: Anthony Caruso, #22, 16- Started in Di Bradini 9.
MID: Eric Giguere, #27, 29- Another debutant.
MID: Mark Cross, #28 , 30- He does what his last name is well.
MID: Joshua Stoker, #13, 24- Largely an unknown to the nation, he scored 77 goals in 72 games in his Amherst Law School career. A “project”.
ST: Kevin Polinski, #14, 15- Starter in Di Bradini 9 but unlikely to play.

Coaching Staff:

Head Coach: Brendan Bowman, 50
Assistant 1: Michael Fleming, 45
Assistant 2: Shawn Conboy, 44

Cassadaigua

12-04-2009, 18:19

OFFICIAL ROSTER

We will be using this opportunity to see what some players can do that may not have had the chance to get a lot of playing time so far.

Starters in Green
Subs in Blue
Reserves in Red

Coach: Michelle Baynes, Age: 46. The only coach so far on any of our national soccer teams.

Goalies:
#1- Kristen Stockton, Age: 26, Started DBC7. Sub WC 44 & 45.
#20- Megan Schneider, Age: 20, Reserve WC45. Did not play in DBC9 due to injury.
#21- Brittany Paxson, Age: 19, Starter in DBC9.

Defenders:
#6- Michelle Garrett, Age: 25, Starter in DBC7 and sub in WC45.
#4- Courtney Poole, Age 26, Starter in DBC7, WC44 & 45. (TEAM CAPTAIN)
#5- Allison Endres, Age: 29, Starter and Captain of DBC7 team. Started WC44. Sub in WC45.
#8- Paige MacAdam, Age: 23, Reserve in DBC7 and WC45.
#2- Tori Pleiman, Age: 18, Starter in DBC9.
#3- Kiersten Reschke, Age: 17, Starter in DBC9.
#22- Dana Zeigler, Age: 25, First-time player.

Midfield:
#13- Ashley Nolan, Age: 25, Starter in DBC7, Sub in WC45.
#9- Katie Cincoski, Age: 20, Starter and Captain of DBC9 team.
#23- Kelly Silvestri, Age: 24, Reserve in WC45.
#12- Caitlin Loiselle, Age: 28, Sub in DBC7 and WC45.
#14- Kamisha Poston, Age: 21, Starter in DBC9.
#8- Lisa Toriello, Age: 27, First-time player.
#7- Pamela Linscott, Age: 19, Starter in DBC9.
#16- Matthew Webb, Age: 28, First-time player. First male ever to be included on a roster.

Forwards:
#11- Erica Daniels *, Age: 24, Starter in DBC7, Sub in WC 44 & 45.
#10- Stacie Kerrigan *, Age: 24, Starter in DBC7 and WC45. Sub in WC44.
#18- Emily Haskins, Age: 29, Sub in DBC7, Reserve in WC45.
#15- Hannah Barton, Age: 16, Sub in DBC9
#17- Jessica Schanke, Age: 16, Starter in DBC9.

*- Player is signed to an international contract.

Style Modifier: +1

RP Permissions: Have fun. Just don’t kill or seriously injure anyone.

Dancougar

13-04-2009, 01:49

When Dancougar announced its intention to send a team to the first Empire Charity Cup, the thought was, "Well... we'll send some more college kids." But then the FA balked. They'd already sent one batch to Valanora for the Di Bradini Cup, and they were doing all right. So perhaps they should use professionals. But it was going to be tough to secure the best players for a charity cup... eventually, they came up with a plan: twenty mostly young D-League professionals, with one representative from each team (plus two others). A few of them would have had previous experience at some level - the Oxen Cup or Di Bradini mostly, with two having earned caps in World Cup qualifiers. But by and large, this would be an opportunity for the average D-League to get some reps overseas.

Their coach would be Jericho Leyton, awarded Coach of the Year honors during the 2038/39 Clausura for returning Shuukyuu Kishin to the top four and international play. He'll be playing an attack biased +2 4-4-2. First-choice starters in bold:

GK Roger Brooks-Kennedy (29 - FC Takano 1983)
GK Jeremy Cornelia (24 - Sporting Kildare) DiB

D Tomo Asanuma (27 - Yuki City Athletic) Oxen
D Gino Kryzak (23 - Stoneridge United)
D Brian Lobato (24 - Port Vigilence FC) DiB
D Naoto Ogura (26 - Grandborough FC)
D Annamaria Shoemaker (27 - Raymaley Athletic)
D Yoriyuki Shiomiya (28 - Shuukyuu Kishin)
D Itsuki Ueda (26 - Port Royal FC)

M Matt Crannel (28 - Aiken City United)
M Cody Horrigan (23 - Super Dimension Ogasawara) DiB
M Shoji Ishino (23 - Sporting Lakeport)
M Kent Montego (22 - Dynamo Kalinsk)
M Goro Murakami (27 - King's Eleven Yuki City) Oxen
M Louis Ransberger (26 - Shuukyuu Kishin)
M Josef Rousch (25 - CF America Chuuoushi) DiB, WCQ

F Lillian DaCosta (27 - Eastport United)
F Kou Hirano (26 - Yuki City Athletic)
F Kazuo Hosokaya (28 - Coraopolis FC) Oxen
F Makoto Katayanagi (27 - Mizuno no Juuichi) Oxen, WCQ

Sarzonia

13-04-2009, 02:32

The Incorporated Football Federation does not endorse the product contained herein.

Sarzonia

13-04-2009, 02:34

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/SarzHome4.jpghttp://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/SarzAway4.jpghttp://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/SarzThird4.jpg
Note: Home kits have a primarily navy colour scheme; away kits are primarily white; keeper kits the third set shown.

I Give My Opponent Permission To:
====================
Choose Scorers: Y
GodMod Goalscoring Events: N

Injure Players: Y (within reason; just don't kill someone)
GodMod Injury Events N

Red Card Players: Y (within reason; no more than two)
Yellow Card Players: Y (within reason)
GodMod Other Events: N
====================

Home grounds: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v419/msarzo/marshall.jpg Bryan Marshall Memorial Stadium, Woodstock (nation's capital). Seats 88,920. [OOC: If this image doesn't show up, it's a photo of FedEx Field in Landover, Md. in soccer configuration.]

Alternate home grounds: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v419/msarzo/15x8rnk.png; http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v419/msarzo/dm78g1.png
The Iron Bowl, Portland, Somerset. Seats 46,220. [OOC: Designed by Kura-Pelland!]

Sarzonia Stars

Manager: Franz Braddock (83 years old)
The Cafundelense World Cup Hall of Fame manager returns to the pitch after a 12-year retirement to manage the Sarzonian national football team. By all accounts, he is energised by the challenge of returning the Stars to the World Cup finals.
Assistants: Diogo Avarel (41)
Braddock's youthful apprentice joins the Cafundelense legend as one of two assistant managers, much to the chagrin of the Cafundelense football organisation.
Ganz Ijak (53)
The second World Cup Hall of Famer to join the Sarzonian coaching staff, Ijak is considered by some to be a possible successor to Braddock, but not before Braddock decides he's had enough.
Goalkeeping Coach: Horace Sandt (52)
Sandt, the lone holdover from the previous Stars managerial staff, has a storied history for the Sarzonian national team. He was the starting goalkeeper who led the Stars to the World Cup XXII title. During his tenure with the Stars, the team advanced to four consecutive semifinals, becoming just the third team to do so behind Rejistania and Eauz.

Squad Listing
(Note: Starters in BOLD. Team plays a 3-4-3 alignment with a plus-2.5 modifier.)

No. Name Position Height Weight
1 Cody Taylor GK 6'1" 175 pounds
Taylor, 25, signed with Porto Lacruz of Cafundéu's national league after leading the Woodstock Wild to a Sarzonian Football Confederation championship. He finished the year 18-5-1 with a 1.26 goals against average. He is known for having catlike reflexes and has played as a midfielder for a recreation league side.

2 Ben Davis D 5'10" 160 pounds
Davis, 32, is the Stars captain. He previously served in that role for the Portland Timbers, whom he led to a Sarzonian Football Confederation championship. He prides himself on being able to shut down the opponent's most dangerous forward with combination of speed and smarts. Signed a contract with Atlético Jutense in Cafundéu's national league.

5 Tim Rodney D/M 5'9 150 pounds
Rodney, 30, plays bigger than his height. On the New Jerusalem Nobles, he plays a rugged fullback when the team plays a 3-5-2, but played as a defensive midfielder in a 4-4-2 alignment when the team suffered several injuries among its defensive players. Rodney figures to play defence for the Stars.

6 George Morrison M 6'2 185 pounds
Drafted out of Joe Gibbs University, Morrison, 24, played for the Nicksia Knights in the SFC until he signed with KT Hotspur in Candelaria and Marquez. He is not a particularly pacey player, but has a cannon of a left leg. He will likely be substituted for a player with more flair if the Stars are trailing a match.

7 Tyler McIntosh D 5'11 165 pounds
The young McIntosh (23 years old) just graduated from Syosset State University after setting the school's record for matches played and matches started. He has played forward on occasion and scored five goals in 12 matches starting up top. He has been known to be rather undisciplined in the back, but does not have enough ball skills to convert to midfielder.

8 Laura Grover M 5'6 125 pounds
Grover, 25, dispelled any questions about whether a woman should start for the Stars by drawing comparisons to Jenna Raven, a star player for both Sarzonia's men's and women's World Cup sides. She has strong scoring touch, notching 11 goals in 27 matches for the Woodstock Justice in Sarzonia's women's league. Her coach? You guessed it, Jenna Raven.

9 Ettore Salivani, Jr. M 5'10 155 pounds
The son of former Sarzonia national team standout and Pacitalian emigre Ettore Salivani, the younger Salivani retains his father's flair, but also picked up on his mother's preternatural calm. He also has outstanding ball skill and is surprisingly adept as a defensive player. Plays for América in Cafundéu's national league. Turned 26 the day before World Cup XLV.

10 Zack Wilson F 6'0 213 pounds
The 24-year-old son of Brian Wilson developed some of his father's flair for the dramatic and led the SFC in goal scoring with 28 goals for the Portland Timbers. Pacey player who spends a lot of time in the weight room. Very difficult for smaller defenders to bring down.

11 Ted Philyaw D 5'11 145 pounds
Philyaw, 31, started for the Sarzonian national team during its last international competition (AOCAF XIX), helping lead the team to a shock second round appearance. Philyaw was recently named the captain of the Saugerties Snakes, owing to his leadership qualities. He's not the fleetest of foot, relying on positioning and anticipating opposing defenders' moves.

12 Colleen Barnaby D 5'8", 135 pounds
Barnaby is the second female representing the Sarzonian Football League, Sarzonia's women's professional league. She plays for the Portland Pride, which developed an intense rivalry with the Woodstock Justice. She has some trouble with more physical midfielders and forwards, but usually has the savvy to avoid problems. She's 29 years old.

13 Clayton Bocanegro M 6'1", 180 pounds
Bocanegro, 29, was a reserve for the Stars during AOCAF XIX and starts here. He is deft with the ball and serves as a playmaking midfielder for the Portland Timbers. He's also the designated corner and free kick taker with an educated right boot.

15 Brad Tremblay M 5'9 162 pounds
Tremblay turned 24 earlier in the year. He has had trouble sticking with a team in the SFC before finally finding a home with the Portland Timbers. He is arguably the fastest player on the Stars and fires the hardest shot on the team, but his shot is not all that accurate.

16 Ben Crosley D 5'11" 170 pounds
The 30-year-old was also a reserve on Sarzonia's last competitive national side but will start here. He has had seven seasons of experience with the Tacoma Tigers and is a strong man-marker on the right side. His best asset is speed, though he's also learning the savvy that will help once his speed begins to go.

17 Matt Lynch F 6'3", 205 pounds
The 29-year-old was the top scorer for the Sarzonian national team during its AOCAF XIX appearance. His tall, lithe frame makes him an inviting target for more aggressive players who invariably find out he can take and dish out punishment. Recently signed a contract with A.F.F. in Cafundéu.

18 Pete Weston M 5'10 165 pounds
Weston brings a lot of energy and a great work rate to the table for the Saugerties Snakes. He is easily the hardest working player on the team. Brian Wilson intends to use Weston to provide a spark off the players' bench in the event the team plays lethargically. He turned 23 years old just before the World Cup began.

19 Reese Nichols F 5'11, 195 pounds
Another starter from the AOCAF XIX squad, Nichols was another important player in the Sarzonian offence. The 30-year-old came back from retirement recently to provide some scoring depth, as well as experience and leadership. He has good pace and strikes a solid ball.

22 Kelvin Russell GK 5'11, 170 pounds
Yet another player from the AOCAF XIX squad, Russell is the number two goalkeeper for this squad. The 29-year-old nearly left the squad in a snit when he lost the job to Cody Taylor, but Brian Wilson and Sandt both convinced him that he would get a chance to play in the World Cup. He is known more for reading shots and positioning than his athleticism.

Quintessence of Dust

13-04-2009, 09:24

Nation: The Democratic States of Quintessence of Dust, Delegate of the Green and Pleasant Region of Wysteria
Demonym: Quodite
Code: QOD
KPB rank: 58th
Recent form: WC45 W1D4L9 (DNQ); CoH37 QF
Wiki page: A bit out of date. (http://nswiki.net/index.php?title=Quintessence_of_Dust_national_football_team)

Staff:
Edward "Big Ted" Large (3-1-2) is head coach. A former national rugby coach, he is a stern disciplinarian and mainly interested in improving the team's defence. He is assisted by Frank Ubermeier (assistant coach) and Catherine O'Brien (physio).

Goalkeepers:
1. Benjamin Chang, State University of Pulona (9 caps, 0 goals)
13. Sanne Petersen, University of West Sponson
23. Alex Schwarz, University College Highmark

Defenders:
2. Johannes van Himpfelschnnoorrddt, UWS (2, 0)
3. Cecilia Colombo, New Cleethorpes EMS (4, 0)
4. Brikk Schitthausen, Greschmeier MSC (6, 0)
5. Michel Marberger, UCH (59, 3)
6. Theo Littlefellow, AFC MN Smith [CAM] (61, 8)
12. Chen Tuan, SUP
19. Matthew Cassidy, SUP
22. Hanna van Himpfelschnnoorrddt, UWS (3, 0)

Midfielders:
7. Peter Rogers, AFC MN Smith [CAM] (72, 16) - Captain
8. Masami Tamagotchi, none
11. Woody Cockbadger, Rahlia Regals (4, 0)
14. Brandon Harper, Highmark School of Drama & Dance
15. Wilhelm Biber, GMSC (6, 0)
16. Tommy Lipponen, SUP
18. Leala Lévesque, Kynythin WSC
20. Ólafur Kjartansson, UWS (4, 0)

Attackers:
9. Marko Drescher, UWS
10. Marina Sundqvist, GMSC (5, 2)
17. Jeronim Maciejewski, SUP
21. Texas Axelsson, Combined Veterans

Style modifier: +5

Kit: http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/6205/kitma5.png

If you RP first, you can: Yes

Starting XI: Chang

Hannes Schitthausen Littlefellow

Biber Ólafur

Cockbadger Tamagotchi
Rogers

Sundqvist
Drescher

Peisandros

13-04-2009, 13:07

Peisandros Squad for Charity Cup
Starters in bold.

Goalkeepers:
Calisto Pappas.. Age: 23. WC44, DB8, WC45.
Dorian Theotokis.. Age: 30. WC44, WC45.
Lysander Galatas.. Age: 21.

Defenders:
Narcissus Theodore.. Age: 26. WC44, WC45.
Luke Sisinis.. Age: 23. WC44, DB8, WC45.
George Christakis-Zografos.. Age: 22. DB8, WC45.
Kallias Manos.. Age: 25. WC44, WC45.
Hyakinthos Bion.. Age: 32. WC44, WC45.
Terry Roubanis.. Age: 23. WC44, WC45.
Arthur Vourloumis.. Age: 23. DB8.
Briareus Nino.. Age: 18.

Midfielders:
Urias Halkias.. Age: 31. WC44, WC45.
Zarek Chatzi.. Age: 22. WC44, DB8, WC45.
Athanasios Krestenitis.. Age: 23. DB8, WC45.
Adeipho Fotilas.. Age: 31. WC44, WC45.
Apollodoros Notara.. Age: 27. WC44, WC45.
Paris Sisinis.. Age: 25. WC44. WC45.
Hercules Dragoumis.. Age: 23. DB8.
Demetrius Zurlo.. Age: 27.

Strikers:
Costa Theotokis.. Age: 26. WC44, WC45.
George Theotokis.. Age: 26. WC44, WC45.
Feodras Stamas.. Age: 31.
Vasos Pulos.. Age: 26.

Management:
Two changes as John Voskopoulos and Alketas Alketas were involved with DB8. They will be back for WC46. Eleftherios Deligeorgis moves from the goalkeeping position to a general defensive position.

Coach/manager: Alexander Pappas.
Assistant Coach: David Roufos
Defensive assistant: Eleftherios Deligeorgis
Physio: William Pipinelis

So, the new players are:
Lysander Galatas. The 21yr old was unlucky to miss out on Di Bradini duties but Pappas has had his eye on him for some time.
Briareus Nino. The real bolter of the team whose selection was a surprise to everyone. Should struggle for game-time but will relish the experience.
Demetrius Zurlo. A tried and true club player who has been playing top grade football for ten years. Could be at WC46.
Feodras Stamas. The striker has toiled hard and is rewarded with a chance here.
Vasos Pulos. Another of Alexander Pappas' favourites and if he gets a chance to prove himself, could be at WC46.
Also, Hercules Dragoumis and Arthur Vourloumis played at Di Bradini level, but make their national debuts here.

Style:
4-4-2 and following from the U21 team a +1.6 modification.

RP Permissions:
Anything for this Charity Cup.

Somewhereistonia

13-04-2009, 14:52

The Somewhereistonian Sporting Association has decided that, as this is a charity event, the under 21 team will be used with the exception of the first choice keeper Klug, who is being given practice ahead of the world cup.

http://s156.photobucket.com/albums/t38/unreal229/th_ToughSport3-1.png http://s156.photobucket.com/albums/t38/unreal229/th_ToughSport3away-1.png http://s156.photobucket.com/albums/t38/unreal229/th_ToughSport3third.png
First, Second and third kits.
Keeper kits are white (1st) and Grey (2nd).

Coach
First team coach Toomas Ergma will manage the team through the competition. Having recently left Qasarian Sparta, he is very familiar with much of the squad.

Starting team
Player, Pos, Age, Club
Klug, GK, Age: 23, Dinamo Karrakiv
Grinius, LCB, Age:20, Qasarian City
Luckis, RCB, Age: 18, Qasarian Sparta
Rahnu, LB, Age: 19, Koltelcia
Sokk, RB, Age: 21, Qasarian Sparta
Urbsys, DMF, Age: 17, Dinamo Karrakiv
Nolakk [C], LMF, Age: 21, Skonto
Taska, RMF, Age: 18, Dinamo Karrakiv
Birzin, AMF, Age: 21, Ventspils
Kusnets, SS, Age: 17, Qasarian Sparta
Zoltoks, CF, Age: 20, Kalev Talla

Subs

Oim, GK, Age: 20, Qasarian Sparta
Burman, GK, Age: 18, Atlantas
Ranilas, CB, Age: 21, Qasarian City
Kaball, CB, Age: 20, Koltelcia
Hellat, D, Age: 18, Qasarian Sparta
Kahn, FB, Age: 20, Metalurgs
Kersys, FB, Age: 19, Skonto
Kaiser, MF, Age: 18, Koltelcia
Marek, MF, Age: 17, Metalurgs
Tork, MF, Age: 19, Qasarian Sparta
Volter, CMF, Age: 19, Dinamo Karrakiv
Zuokas, Wing, Age: 20, Atlantas
Alekna, SS, Age: 19, Skonto
Altosaar, CF, Age: 18, FK Kabano
Zaks, CF, Age: 17, FBK Karrakiv

Style
4-4-2 with AMF and SS roaming. +2 mod

RP Permissions
Choose Scorers: Y
GodMod Goalscoring Events: Y
Injure Players: Y (within reason; I choose who)
Red Card Players: Y (within reason; no more than two)
Yellow Card Players: Y (within reason)
GodMod Other Events: Y

Newmanistan

13-04-2009, 14:58

NEWMANISTAN CHARITY CUP ROSTER

General Formation: 4-4-2 or 4-1-3-2, some will call it.
Style Modifier: +1

If my opponent RP’s first they may:

Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: Yes, but just to the extent of saying so and so was injured. I’ll determine the severity.
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes, but no more then one more then you give yourself.
Godmod other events: TG your idea for approval first. No deaths or crazy sci-fi stuff.

**** COACHING STAFF ****

Name: Nelson Yaschter (Head Coach)
Age: 57
Club Team: Galaxia (Cafundeu)
Bio: Took over the head coaching position midway through qualifying for World Cup 45, and led the Rockets on one of their traditional second half charges, going 5-1-1 down the stretch. If only that was good enough. He did, however, lead the nation to the Cup of Harmony 37 title.

Name: Michael McCafferty (Assistant Coach)
Age: 46
Club Team: Brighton Bulls
Bio: McCafferty has all the makings of being a long-time assistant of Yaschter, because Michael also tends to prefer younger players. With Brighton, he took a “B” League team, and made them to a mid-pack NPL team with younger players. Starting senior team defender in World Cup 40-42.

Name: Jeremy McAllister, Sr. (Assistant Coach)
Age: 39
Club Team: Sporting Lakeport (Dancougar)—as a player
Bio: The great J-Mac joins Nelson Yaschter’s staff for the Di Bradini Cup. McAllister led the team to the 4th Di Bradini Cup title, and the final appearance in the 5th. He has retired now from international football, and begins the next phase of his career. Coaching!

(All Caps/Goals are current)

**** STARTING LINEUP ****

GOALKEEPER:
Name: Andrew McClure (Caps: 5 Clean Sheets: 2)
Pos: GK
Age: 24
Jersey #: 1
Club Team: South Tier Seagulls
Bio: McClure started for the Rockets in the 8th Di Bradini Cup and has a ton of talent. Goalkeeper is the position in which Newmanistan will have the biggest transition for World Cup 46 as all three keepers, starter Kusler, sub Hennis, and reserve Allwine have retired. McClure is said to be battling Jennifer Bennett for the starting job. Jennifer showed Yaschter what she could do in the Di Bradini Cup in Valanora. Now, Yaschter will have his look at McClure. Andrew’s strength is certainly his positioning, but one thing opponents must respect is his highly impressive ability when it comes to setting people up with the goal kick.

DEFENDERS:
Name: Shawn Loughran (Caps: 31 Goals: 3)
Pos: LB
Age: 20
Jersey #: 4
Club Team: Gamsuk FC (Daehanjeiguk)
Bio: Loughran is a future superstar who made the jump from sub to starter under Yaschter very impressively, and became the first Newmanistanian to sign with a club in Daehanjeiguk, which is quite an honor. He can be physical, but is very smart about it and has remarkable defensive awareness. Loughran has tremendous speed and agility, and is one of the first people to get to practice every morning and one of the very last to leave. Many feel that he was the biggest beneficiary out of anyone with the coaching change. Yaschter loves this kid, and if he hadn’t been already under contract with Gamsuk FC, he’d bring him to Cafundeu with him.

Name: Scott LaFave (***TEAM CAPTAIN ***) (Caps: 89 Goals: 2)
Pos: LCB
Age: 30
Jersey #: 7
Club Team: Sporting Lakeport (Dancougar)
Bio: After being used as a defensive midfielder in the Cup of Harmony by Yaschter, LaFave returns to his more customary role as a center-back. He has played a big role in the rise of Sporting Lakeport in Dancougar. Now that LaFave has entered the prime of his career, and with Yaschter having complete confidence in him, and making him an even better player, look for LaFave to perhaps take over the “Jeremy Brooker” role as the captain of the defense.

Name: Robert Selvy (Caps: 15 Goals: 0)
Pos: RCB
Age: 22
Jersey#: 2
Club Team: Port Vigilence (Dancougar)
Bio: At 16, Selvy won the league’s Rookie of the Year award with the Mariners, which is pretty impressive because usually the voters in the media get consumed by goal scoring numbers. Robert has maintained a high level of steady performance since then, which he has taken to Dancougar. Unfortunately for Yaschter, Selvy just missed being eligible for the Di Bradini Cup, but he plans on making up for it here by asking Robert to assume quite a bit of responsibility.

Name: Alex Lampert (Caps: 71 Goals: 0)
Pos: RB
Age: 30
Jersey #: 3
Club Team: Cafundo do Juta (Cafundeu)
Bio: Lampert was groomed in the outstanding Centralia defensive system and had a few strong years there before he was purchased by Central United of Cafundeu, before later being moved to Cafundo do Juta. Alex is a very studious person, taking up after his father, who is brain surgeon. Lampert may have gone in that direction too if not for his football ability. He is very fast, with average height, and average physicality.

MIDFIELDERS:
Name: Michael Pattison (Caps: 2 Goals: 0)
Pos: LM
Age: 19
Jersey #: 12
Club Team: Pocono City Capitals
Bio: Relatively untested player, and Yaschter is taking this opportunity to see what he can do at this level. Michael’s lone international experience comes from being a substitute in the 8th Di Bradini Cup. Kyle Carrigan likely will start here in the World Cup, but right now it’s time to see what this gritty youngster can do. Despite being eligible, he was not on the roster of this most recent Di Bradini Cup.

Name: Kevin Taylor (Caps: 24 Goals: 8)
Pos: CAM
Age: 28
Jersey #: 53 (superstition)
Club Team: NAPPC (Nethertopia)
Bio: An experiement of Yaschter’s which is turning out quite well. Taylor had always played up front, even with NAPPC (Where he still does), but Nelson felt as though Kevin could play this role quite well. Taylor accepted the challenge and really blossomed under Yaschter. As he has entered his prime now, look for Taylor to possibly play a huge role on the upcoming World Cup roster.

Name: Brett Taratino (Caps: 17 Goals: 1)
Position: CDM
Age: 28
Jersey #: 6
Club Team: South Charlotte Condors
Bio: A very tall and aggressive defender, Brett did get national team time in Di Bradini 6, but seemed to be a forgotten man after that. Reportedly, Brian Carson thought he was “too” aggressive. Yaschter, however, believes that he should be a regular on this team, and he continues his recent trend of taking a defender and playing him at this spot.

Name: Billy Prescott (Caps: 36 Goals: 7)
Pos: RM
Age: 20
Jersey #: 17 (just like his dad)
Club Team: Tel Aviv Sharks (Jeruselem)
Bio: His father is a legend. Most people somewhat familiar with our senior team know all about Brett Prescott, the aggressive enforcer who is assigned to the opponent’s top forward to rough them up and get in their head. Well, Billy has been watching and learning from the best.. Now it is his time. Is Billy as good as his dad? We’ll see, but he sure plays like him, and he got off to a great start in qualifying, and played very well in the Cup of Harmony. And he has that often forgotten thing his dad could do too, having a very good accurate shot. Oksana Ferris of Jeruselem is his girlfriend. Just because it’s charity tournament, don’t expect him to “play nice.”

FORWARDS:
Name: Matthew Turner (Caps: 16 Goals: 11)
Position: LS
Age: 20
Number: 11
Club Team: Loudon Leopards
Background: Matthew played in Di Bradini Cup 8 as a starting forward and was expected to lead the team in scoring. That didn’t exactly happen, and Brian Carson seemed to lose interest. Not Nelson Yaschter. He believes that Turner is an amazing talent and gave him a shot in the Cup of Harmony. He delivered, now he returns for the Di Bradini Cup, and this time he was the leading scorer of the team. He’s a player on the upswing, keep an eye on him!

Name: Jennifer Vilardi (ASSISTANT CAPTAIN) (Caps: 77 Goals: 27)
Pos: RS
Age: 32
Jersey #: 15
Club Team: Tel Aviv Sharks (Jeruselem)
Bio: Jennifer and twin sister Shannon are a very exciting combination to watch, for many different reasons, and both will be on the national team once again in their familiar roles, Jennifer starting and Shannon on the bench. Jennifer is a very agile player, with good but not amazing speed. Most of her goals are scored when she is the “second player in”, such as off a deflection or a rebound. Her vision is outstanding, and hopefully no defender will make the mistake in thinking she’s soft, because she can be just as physical as the guys. Expected to be appear in all, or mostly all, games as a sub.

**** SUBSTITUTES ****

Name: Justin Graham (Caps: 0)
Pos: GK
Age: 24
Jersey #: 21
Club Team: Thumbria Bay Sharks
Bio: It would put too much pressure on McClure if Jennifer Bennett was the substitute. Plus, Yaschter will want to take a look at Graham as well. Because he plays on a bad team in the NPL, he doesn’t get a lot of recognition, but for that same reason, he faces a lot of shots per game and it has made him get real good real quick.

Name: Keith Capstraw (Caps: 6 Goals: 0)
Pos: CB
Age: 20
Jersey #: 5
Club Team: Daytopia Racers
Bio: Keith appeared as a substitute on the 8th Di Bradini roster as then coach Brian Carson was concerned about his issues with composure. Nelson Yaschter has no worries about that and believes that the hard-nosed and physical defender will be a great asset to the team’s back end. He started in the recent Di Bradini Cup and generally played well. A tad inconsistent, but that’s probably just part of being young.

Name: Timmy Baker (Caps: 0)
Pos: CB
Age: 27
Jersey #: 24
Club Team: Fairfield City Admirals
Bio: A complete newbie to anything. Baker has not appeared on any international roster despite his age. He was a very late bloomer, and in the last few years, he has done an admirable job for the Admirals, making Yaschter curious. Baker is a very conservative player, and not terribly physical, but he won’t let people have their way with him, either.

Name: Brittany Prescott (Caps: 5 Goals: 0)
Pos: MID
Age: 18
Jersey #: 71
Club Team: Dover City Mountaineers
Bio: The scary thing for the world, perhaps, is that the great Brett Prescott has more then just one kid. The second of Brett Prescott’s three children, Brittany also appeared on the 8th Di Bradini Cup & the Cup of Harmony rosters as a reserve, but did not see any action in either, then started in Valanora for the 9th Di Bradini Cup. Don’t think for a moment either, that just because Brittany is female that she is any less of an aggressive agitator then her father and her older brother have been. In fact, Brett jokes that as Billy’s younger sister, and his only daughter, Brittany may have become the toughest of the three of them.

Name: Dale Stevens (Caps: 83 Goals: 7)
Position: MID
Number: 16
Age: 34
Club Team: América (Cafundeu)
Bio: After two tours of duty as a starting midfielder in the World Cup, it may come as a surprise to some to see Stevens sent back into a role of a substitute, which is what he was at the start of WC45 qualifying, until Yaschter named him a starter. Now he is a sub again. He is an aggressive player and somewhat of an agitator like you would expect from a Prescott. He enjoys tackling hard.

Name: Shannon Vilardi (Caps: 41 Goals: 7)
Position: ST
Number: 18
Age: 32
Club Team: Tel Aviv Sharks (Jeruselem)
Bio: She is the twin sister of Jennifer Vilardi, but so far she hasn’t gotten quite the same amount of interregional opportunity that her sister has. While that will continue here, Shannon recently moved to Jeruselem where she was able to, for the first time since playing in their backyard, be a teammate of Jennifer’s at the club level and it seems to have picked up her game.

Name: Jeremy McAllister, Jr. Nickname: simply, “Junior” (Caps: 4 Goals: 3)
Pos: ST
Age: 14
Jersey #: 20 (of course)
Club Team: Putnam Lake Eagles
Bio: Here he is. Little J-Mac is the oldest of son of the great Jeremy McAllister, the most prolific goal scorer in Newmanistanian history. Junior would love to do what his father did and win the Di Bradini Cup in his first ever international appearance. He possesses much of the same skill that made his father famous. Yes, he is still young, but when you got the bloodlines, does it matter? He’s been playing against older kids his whole life, so this will be no different. Here because the fans want to see him, and Yaschter gave in.

**** RESERVES ****

Name: Jennifer Bennett (Caps: 4 Clean Sheets: 1)
Pos: GK
Age: 19
Jersey #: 22
Club Team: Seminole Bay Gators
Bio: Jennifer became the first female goalkeeper ever to make any national side when she was named as the third string keeper to the Di Bradini 8 team. She got more experience training with the best when she was named the third stringer for the Cup of Harmony. Now, she gets her chance to sign. Yaschter is a big fan of hers, and she did well as a starter in Di Bradini 9. She is simply a reserve because it is an intense battle for the starting keeper position for the World Cup, and the other two still need to get their fair look.

Name: Matthew Coulson (Caps: 4 Goals: 0)
Pos: CB
Age: 20
Jersey#: 8
Club Team: Stroudsbourg Panthers
Bio: Coulson is average defender in terms of his appearance and height, but not in terms of heart. He is future captain material who does his best to lead by example. He has played one year in Stroudsbourg, a low-level NPL team, so he has gotten plenty of time defending star forwards. Started in the last two Di Bradini Cups, and also was included on the Cup of Harmony roster.

Name: Meghan Vilardi (Caps: 2 Goals: 0)
Pos: MID
Age: 21
Jersey#: 10
Club Team: Southport Tigers (OOC: Jeruselem, I can’t remember if we had her follow the other Vilardi’s or not)
Bio: Meghan is the younger sister of our well known set of twins, Jennifer and Shannon Vilardi, who each played in the Di Bradini Cup and are presently with the senior team. Meghan probably will not be quite as good as them, but she will be looking to make a name for herself too. Because the Vilardi twins often made Meghan be the goalkeeper when they practiced their shooting as young girls, Meghan picked up some pretty good defensive instincts, which she would build on, she’s become a midfielder while the twins are strikers. Graduated from being a reserve in the 8th Di Bradini Cup to a starter in the 9th Di Bradini Cup. This is the first time all three Vilardi’s have been on the same team.

Name: Andrew Draper (Caps: 3 Goals: 0)
Pos: MID
Age: 20
Jersey #: 14
Club Team: Putnam Lake Eagles
Bio: Draper is a defensive midfielder who figures to be used only when the team is looking to preserve a late lead. Due to great speed, Andrew is a pretty tough player to have to go up against, and he doesn’t mind being an aggressive one himself. Downgraded from a sub in Di Bradini 8 to a reserve here due to having significant injury woes that have derailed his progression.

Name: Tony Dempster (Caps: 5 Goals: 3)
Pos: ST
Age: 22
Jersey #: 19
Club Team: Yuki City Athletic (Dancougar)
Bio: Speedster who just missed being eligible for the last Di Bradini Cup caught the eye of a strong Yuki City Atheltic Club in the 8th Di Bradini Cup, and is working hard to make a name for himself there. Here, he misses out from other positions due to the numbers game more then anything else. His playmaking ability is pretty special, still. Yaschter is looking to get him some playing time.

Quintessence of Dust

14-04-2009, 02:34

Posted on the QBS website http://qbs.qd/sport/589480.

Universities favoured for charity tournament

National football coach Edward "Big Ted" Large today released his squad selection for the Empire Charity Cup in Newmanistan. With all QNRVPL squads except Greschmeier retaining their players for pre-season squad training, the university leagues have been heavily plundered, with 13 of the 23 players based at university sides. Most are students, though Ólafur Kjartansson is a lecturer in the law faculty. Ólafur, who played well during Cup of Harmony 37, will be starting defensive midfield alongside Wilhelm Biber. Biber's return to the squad is something of a surprise: after winning gold in skiing at the Winter Olympics in Kelssek, he captained Greschmeier to QNRVPL victory, but was dropped from national squad selection.

Who's in

Hannes van Himpfelschnnoorrddt gets his chance to start at right-back in the wake of David Yellowback's retirement. His sister Hanna, whose penalty miss put Quintessence of Dust out against Sarzonia in the Cup of Harmony quarter-finals, will be on the bench. Michel Marberger is also on the bench, a surprise return after being dropped by Large for the Cup of Harmony. His participation may be limited by the WorldVision contest, at which he performed yesterday (review). He may feature if the starting system with just 3 defenders fails to contain attacking threats. Masami Tamagotchi, who dazzled at subpar Continuation Railway Biscuit Thickness Spray Farm before being released from her contract, will play in left midfield. Naturally a centre-midfielder, her attempt to fill the classic trouble position for the Quodite side may not be the best start for her. Woody Cockbadger, permitted to compete by his father, will play on the right. Kynythin Mountain Sports Club get their second call-up, as Leala Lévesque joins the squad. University of West Sponson scoring ace Marko Drescher will play in the no. 9 jersey.

Who's out

David Yellowback's retirement leaves a gaping hole that Hannes will struggle to fill. Equally comfortable at the back as going forward, Yellowback's long career saw him regularly outplay his colleagues. Frederic Renard and Dino Achten have stepped aside, but in each case obvious replacements are on hand to step up. More troublesome is filling the goal gap: with Goshinho required by his club and Dennis Young still injured, Marina Sundqvist, not considered strong enough to play as a lone striker, will depend on Drescher, just a few months older than her.

Who's shaking it all about

Jessica Jensen, nominally required by her club Wow! Health & Fitness FC, was snapped arriving in Fatatutti for National Luau Week. After changing into a grass skirt, Jensen shimmied on down to the beach to soak up the sun. Taking a holiday instead of playing for the national team is sure to only further arouse suspicion that QNRVPL clubs are withholding players from national selection not out of necessity but mere spite.

West Newmanistan

14-04-2009, 13:56

Newmanistan does not recognize this country under the name “West Newmanistan” and continues to refer to it under the former name of “Mordavia”. If you are an opponent with an imperial style of government, your country would probably also not recognize the country as West Newmanistan and still refer to it as Mordavia as well. A democratic/socialist type government would likely refer to it as West Newmanistan. Although the tension that has existed may be about to get settled, after all.

Now let’s get to the roster! No domestic league has been formed yet.

Coach- Michael Dressler (48)

Starters: (the team will play a 4-4-2 more often then not)

GK: Sean Morrison #1 (29)
LB:Brad Shackford #4 (25)
LCB: Andrew Seymour #2 (28)- Alternate Captain
RCB: Thomas Morelock #5 (30)
RB: Kevin Moran #3 (27)
LM: Richard Borgetti #8 (30)
CAM: Corey Aguirre #9 (28)- Team Captain
CDM: Scott Hambright #14 (32)
RM: Shane DiCarlo #17 (31)- Most likely to be booked
LS: Michael Haller #10 (25)
RS: Chris Peckham #11 (26)- Is expected to be the leading scorer

Substitutes:

GK: Paul Jannelli #20 (23)
CB: Dominic DeFranceso #6 (30)
CB: Warren Morroni #7 (28)- Top choice of a defensive sub
MID: Edward Glass #13 (33)- Defensive midfield substitution
MID: Qin Chen #12 (28)- Offensive midfield substitution
ST: Neil McHale #16 (26)
ST: Josh Slattery #19 (29)- Preferred forward substitution
Roster Filler: (reserves)

GK: Jason McDonnell #21 (34)
CB: Donnie Willbrandt #22 (24)
CB: Richard Kuehl #23 (30)
MID: Eddie Howells #15 (21)
MID: Luke Chesky #24 (32)
ST: Ross Aarant #18 (26)

Style Modifier: -2
Home Stadium: The 33,000-seat Nicholls Stadium in Morton City. It might look like a small, old, run-down stadium to you, but it actually is the best stadium in the country.

RP PERMISSIONS:
Select my scorers — Yes
Give out yellow cards to my players — Yes
Give out red cards to my players — Yes, but no more then one more then you give yourself.
RP injuries to my players — Yes, but only say they were hurt. I will determine the severity.
Godmod injuries — No
Godmod scoring events — Yes
Godmod other events — TG your idea for approval.

Newmanistan

14-04-2009, 14:18

It's time to get this started! Here is your MD1 cutoff!

A couple things:

-- A couple people provided modifiers outside of the +/-2 range. Your modifier was changed to the maximum on that end, for example a +5 becomes a +2 and a -5 becomes a -2.

-- The first post of this thread has been changed to provide links for all rosters, scores, and the schedule announcement. Very good job with the rosters, too. All but one provided them!

-- Tables will be shown after MD2.

Now, here are the scores:

Group A:
Newmanistan 1-1 Secristan
Rennidan 3-1 Somewhereistonia
Sarzonia 5-0 Leongo

Group B:
Dancougar 1-2 Cassadaigua
Peisandros 1-0 Norwellia
Quintessence of Dust 1-0 West Newmanistan

Newmanistan

14-04-2009, 15:19

The match between One Big Island rivals was set to begin from the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds. What better place then here for the Empress to make her major announcement. What better opponent for it to be against then those Millionaires from across the Penthoria. Empress Jessica, for the past six years has had to deal with the fact that her decision to cut football funding was unpopular. She wanted to promote other sports, and while other sports continued to attract fans, no one was going away from football. Except the Empire’s best football players. She didn’t particularly care when Jeremy McAllister headed for Lakeport. In fact, she saw that as a good thing. Now, things were going to back to the way they were. This Charity Cup was just the start. As the Rockets and Millionaires were on the field, the Empress appeared on the stadium scoreboard with a microphone in her hand:

“My people, welcome to Tundra Falls for the beginning of the Charity Cup. Everyone is welcome here and we hope you all have a great time. For decades, Newmanistan has shown themselves to be one of the best sporting nations in the world. We have won several championships, and have been versatile in the sports that they have been in. Sports that we have not won championships in, we are strive to get there. Just look, we’re even in a cycling competition right now! Football fans are some of the greatest fans in the world, and I have erred in judging their passion. I apologize, deeply, for those errors and vow not to make them again. From this day forward, the Empire is resuming all funding for football and all encouragement of football related activities. We will bring our premier league back to the level it was at before, where it was competing with other premier leagues in the champions leagues. Maybe even one of them will eventually have some success there, but the point is that we will be returning. Our club teams will again hit the transfer market to lure people to the Empire, but that may take some time. The NPL will be great again! Go Rockets!”

On the field, the Rockets players who do not have foreign contracts smiled. This would obviously mean more money for them and more opportunities. The ones who are under contracts overseas were happy for their countrymen. There was even a hint of excitement from the Secristani side of the field. Surely, the NPL would notice them across the river, right? This led to a passionate start of the game, with neither team really playing any differently then they would normally. It didn’t matter that this was just for charity. For those in the stands, and us in the media it was a little hard to keep a focus on the game as we just kept thinking to ourselves, how will the NPL be different now? Can it get back to where it once was, which may not have been super great, but it was respected by most. Could it even become greater. On the field, it was a 1-1 draw, with both goals coming in the second half. James Rogan scored the first, coming in the 54th minute, only to be answered by Michael Pattison’s first career goal in the 70th. Fitting perhaps, that the new young phenom of the Pocono City Capitals, who should have a bright future, would be the one who scored the goal for the sky blue and white.

Somewhereistonia

14-04-2009, 15:36

Qasarian Evening Sport

Shameful Eagles lose to 5-a-side Rennidan

Somewhereistonia suffered a humilating 3-1 defeat to Rennidan on the opening day of the charity event, hosted by Newmanistan. The unaccustomed team, who only began training three days ago struggled to gel.

Rennidan gained an earlyh a lead in the 5th minute with a fantastic solo effort from striker Rowan.

During the first half hour Renniden controlled the game well, despite having only 5 players. By using the long ball up to Rowan, they were effectively able to cut out the attack minded Somewhereistonian midfield.

This culminated in another goal in the 29th minute with Rowan holding the ball up for the incoming Ormonde Griffin, who was able to smash home passed Klug, who had been forced to come off his line.

Due to the dire fortunes of the team, Ergma made an early sub in the 35th minute, bringing on Ranilas for Luckis, leaving the two Qasarian City players in central defence. This worked brilliantly, and Rennidans attacks were reduced to nothing as the more experienced Ranilas time and again cleared the long balls sent up to the tiring Rowan.

Nicodemo made a string of fantastic saves before the half from Nolakk, Taska, Kusnets and Zoltoks who all seemed certain to score against their now overwhelmed competition. It was not good enough and the Eagles went in at half time 2-0 down.

The second half was a much slower encounter with Somewhereistonia keeping possession in the middle of the park, as time ticked on, Ergma ordered the team to push forward. On 72 minutes the breakthrough finally came, with Nolakk passing brilliantly down the wing to the speedy Taska, whose pinpoint cross was volleyed expertly into the top corner by the young Kusnets.

Three minutes later in a similar move, Taska cut in, using Zoltoks as a dummy, his quick shot smashing off the base of the far post. The incoming substitute Tork (who had replaced Birzin on 73') hit the rebound straight onto the Renniden crossbar, with the ball dropping into Nicodemo's safe hands.

The kick upfield fell to an unmarked Rowan, who had been quiet since half time. Rowan then immediately made a beeline for the goal, his run cut short by a late Ranilas tackle. This earnt the substitute a yellow card, and Renniden, a free kick in a dangerous position on the edge of the box.

After some discussions between the Renniden players over who should take it; defender Hammond Tex stepped up. His shot curled over the Somewhereistonian wall before clipping the underside of the crossbar and bouncing gently behind the goal line.

The score now stood at 3-1 and Somewhereistonia were struggling to get past the team of Nicodemo and the Renniden goalposts. With the Renniden keeper making several more exceptional saves and the ball hitting the woodwork on 3 more occasions before the final whistle, Somewhereistonia's team had succumbed to an embarrassing defeat, and one that they should have put away easily.

Renniden (2) 3-1 (0) Somewhereistonia
Rowan (5) Kusnets (72)
Griffin (29)
Tex (77)

Somewhereistonia Subs: Luckis off, Ranilas on(35); Birzin off, Tork on(73), Zoltoks off, Altosaar on (85).

West Newmanistan

14-04-2009, 15:43

President Nicholls heard the announcement from the Empress on TV as an assistant came and handed him an envelope. The President was just about to watch the Patriots’ opener in the charity tournament against Quintessence of Dust from Loudon. He knew that his team was likely to be an underdog in the match, but he was simply happy and somewhat stunned that the team was even allowed to play in the tournament. In fact, when he submitted West Newmanistan’s entry to the Empress, he expected its rejection to just be a mere formality, and then something he could use to stir up passion amongst his people against Empress Jessica. Upon its acceptance, Nicholls was dumbstruck. He quickly called up Michael Dressler, who had led the nation in World Cup 45 and in the Cup of Harmony to quickly assemble a team, and he was told by Dressler that he could easily get the World Cup roster back together, and he would.

The Patriots were playing in Loudon. A coincidence? It was in Loudon where Newmanistan played their first home game after the Empress made her controversial statement six years ago. It is what led to the democracy movement, and what led to West Newmanistan as we know it today. There were riots in Loudon. Protests and deaths of innocent civilians. A small section of the stadium was set ablaze. It was the worst domestic incident that the Empress has had to deal with during her time on the throne. That day, when qualifying for World Cup 44, the Rockets defeated Septentrionia. Nicholls didn’t really notice that. After carrying out his plans, he staged more rallies during the Rockets second game after the announcement. It was a road game. Against Quintessence of Dust. Now, Nicholls was coming back to his roots. (Didn’t that just happen with the Empress). West Newmanistan, in Loudon, against Quintessence of Dust.

He had taken the envelope from his assistant but he hadn’t yet opened it. He was too busy reflecting on the past, which was helped by the ironic matchup of his national team. He listened to the announcement from the Empress, and cracked a small smile. It had been six long years since this mess. The standoff between Newmanistan and West Newmanistan hadn’t really gone anywhere. He waited until halftime to open to envelope. It was from Empress Jessica. “Dear President Nicholls,” the President dropped the letter in astonishment as the Empress had never, ever called him “President” before. He picked it up and continued reading, “The charity tournament is about doing things for the less fortunate, and I have gained so much respect for all leaders that have come to Newmanistan to play for all their great causes that are important within their boundaries. It’s got me wondering. Is it time for us to work things out? It’s time to talk. Please come to Centralia prior to our game with Leongo. Let us watch it together, and then let’s discuss things. Please, Mr. President, it’s time to come to a resolution. I will be sure to prioritize your safety.”

Nicholls got deep in thought as the second half began. Quintessence of Dust scored quickly in the second half. The stadium did not erupt in a loud cheer. Sure, the Quodites who were in attendance were cheering, but there was no real bitter hatred towards the Patriots shown in Loudon. Nicholls began to compose his response. For the first time since this all began, he would meet the Empress. And they would talk, and not fight.

Sarzonia

14-04-2009, 18:47

Franz Braddock looked out at the collection of cameras and assembled media.

His Stars had just dominated newcomers Leongo by a 5-0 scoreline to kick off the Empire Charity Cup. The three-forward offence he'd insisted upon worked to perfection, while Cody Taylor was scarcely tested in goal.

So what did the team learn from its thrashing of Leongo?

"They say you learn more about a team when it loses than when it wins," Braddock said. "We learned what we can do when we're playing to form."

"Coach?"

"Go ahead ... Travis, is it?"

"Yes," Travis West of The Woodstock Daily Mail said as he shot up from his seat. "Did you give any thought to starting the depth players in this match considering it was against a team that hadn't played international competition?"

"One thing you're going to learn about it is I don't believe in sending out a 'B team' as you Sarzonians call it at all," Braddock said. "I told the boys to play every match as if it could be their last. They played with some urgency today."

Braddock waited a few seconds, as did West. The Daily Mail reporter looked around to see if anyone else had a question before resuming.

"What do you think the team's goal is for this tournament?"

"To win it," Braddock said. "That should be the goal of any team that enters a tournament. Obviously, if we win, we'll do good for cancer research."

"Coach," another reporter chimed in. "You say you believe in playing the same way whether your team is in a friendly or in a finals match?"

"Look, I know human nature," Braddock said. "All the years I've been in managing before now have taught me a few things about the way people think and behave. People tend to play harder when the match is more important. I'm trying to show these lads that every match is important."

"Your next match is against Rennidan, which will field only five players. Are you looking at winning by the same margin against them?"

"Travis, one thing you're going to learn about me, and hopefully about this side, is that we don't take anything for granted. They just defeated an 11-a-side Secristonia in their first match. On top of that, they played together as a five-a-side team, Segabor. If anything, that will make it more difficult for us since they're used to playing together as a team.

"If we get enough red cards, it'll likely look like a futsal match."

"Coach, it was your first match without Spencer Hicks on the roster. What impact do you think his departure is going to have on the team, or have we already seen it?"

"This team is about more than one player," Braddock said. "We just send out 11 men and women and hope for the best."

Dancougar

14-04-2009, 22:31

Dancougar News!!
Penguins-Flyers metagame, doo dah, doo dah
End result will be the same, oh doo dah day

Dagans down D-League 'Youngstars': Neither team could boast a lineup with much A-level international experience, with just one World Cup 45 starter among the first-choice twenty two and a plethora of junior cup veterans sprinkled about. It was a chance to see players who don't normally get a look from national selection committees, and it was Dancougar's lot that impressed less by losing 2-1 to Cassadaigua in their first match of the Empress Charity Cup.

It was a fairly even match, with both teams coming out in an attack-biased 4-4-2, but the Dagans played crisper football in the early going. As with the Di Bradini Cup team, the assortment D-Leaguers, which can be called a B-Team at best, had around a week of training time together before making the trip to Newmanistan. They've found that precious few fans have followed, and most Dancougarans that are here are currently gearing up for the upcoming world lacrosse final in Tundra Falls.

The first chances, and first blood, fell to Cassadaigua, with Erica Daniels beating Roger Brooks-Kennedy in the 18th. He'd already been pressed into action before that, palming away an Ashley Nolan free kick which had clipped the wall on the way in. This time, though, there was no mistake. Daniels fired a low shot that no defender had a shot at, and Brooks-Kennedy was late to dive. But within five minutes, Dancougar were level. Makoto Katayanagi, perhaps the most experienced player the Wings brought with them for the Charity Cup, found his way through the defense and beat Kristen Stockton with a high shot from ten yards out.

Cassadaigua regained the lead in the 38th after a few tight passes in the midfield resulted in a wide open run down the left side for Katie Cincoski, who fired a low cross into the box that was met by Nolan. Her run ended with the ball in the back of the net, as she rifled it home straight off her first touch. As with the first goal, Brooks-Kennedy was screened by his defense and reacted late.

"They brought a lot of pressure and made sure there wasn't a lot of breathing space in the box," said Brooks-Kennedy, who made five saves in the contest. "Anytime you have bodies in front of you, you're straining to see where the ball is, and it's the worst thing in the world to have to face a shot coming from one of those dead zones."

The Wings attempted to gain the upper hand in the second half by immediately switching to a 4-3-3. Lillian DaCosta was brought on for Kent Montego, who played well in his first internationally but possible underperformed after being named the college Player of the Year two seasons ago with the Royal Academy. If nothing else, he helped to keep Daniels, his Dynamo Kalinsk teammate, very quiet after her opening goal. DaCosta's entry led to some early second-half chances, including a free kick from Josef Rousch that nearly found its way in off Katayanagi's head.

Dancougar fans had their hearts broken in the 66th when Kou Hirano found his way behind the Dagan offside trap and was gifted a free run at goal. But Stockton showed no hesitation in coming out after the ball, and she closed down the angle sharply. Hirano attempted to lift it over her and watched it sail over the crossbar.

"I thought it was a very even matchup," said coach Jericho Leyton.

The Wings will travel to Tundra Falls to battle Quintessence of Dust in their next match. The teams have never met at any level in any competition.

==============================

The spotlight hit center stage and a woman with an impossible bright smile looked at the camera aimed at her. Immediately behind her were a wall of volunteers manning telephones. This was it, her time to shine. It had been awhile since the last charity tournament, and now it was time to get the word out!

"Hello, everyone, and thank you so much for joining us," she said. "I'm Caroline Bard and this is the second-ever telethon for Teenage Women Without Hammerspace, with an occasional visit from our sister charity, Pants Across Dancougar. As you can see, our donation meter is running strong, but we can do better! Let's keep those phones ringing!"

The camera zoomed out and panned across the stage so that she stood at the extreme left. Two people, a man and a woman, walked in from stage right.

"Today we have some special guests who are about to head over to Newmanistan to play for us in the Empress Charity Cup!" Caroline announced. Yes, through the miracle of fluid time, this skit takes place a couple days ago. "Please welcome Annamaria Shoemaker and Brian Lobato, defenders for the D-League Youngstars!" She walked over to the pair and they shook hands.

"Thanks for having us," said Brian.

"Not at all, the pleasure is ours," Caroline replied. "I asked Annamaria and Brian to come up here because some of our viewers may be wondering, hey Caroline, just what exactly is this charity you've been telling us about?"

"Yeah, about that, this costume..." Annamaria began. She was dressed in a sailor uniform with a fairly short skirt and her hair tied with ribbons. And she was visibly annoyed.

"I'm getting to that," Caroline continued. "We thought it would be a good exercise if we showed the viewers at home why exactly this issue needs to be raised. Now, Brian here is going to play the role of the evil molester."

"HUH?!" Brian and Annamaria both cried at once.

Caroline handed Brian a bunch of long, thin balloons which had been tied together. "You'll play the role of the evil tentacle demon, and here are your tentacles," she announced. "Annamaria is the cute, innocent victim of your malicious fantasies." Her tone deepened a bit at the end. It was kind of frightening. Then, with a lighthearted smile, she said, "Okay, demon, attack!"

Brian looked at Annamaria for a moment, looked down at his balloons, and finally pushed them forward to poke her in the torso. Annamaria looked down at the balloons and then at Brian. Caroline cleared her throat loudly and motioned for Annamaria to respond. Taking the cue, she said, flatly, "Oh. Oh no. Help. No, not there. Please, no." She didn't move or flinch or anything. Just stood there.

"With no effective defense, Annamaria is powerless to face the demon's onslaught!" Caroline announced. Brian was still poking her with the balloons. He was putting as much effort into his assault as she was putting into her muted reaction. "Hammerspace provides the tools to marshal that defense. Now, Annamaria, show that demon who's boss."

"Should I really?" Annamaria asked. "It's a bit of an overreac..."

"He's going to take you, woman!" cried Caroline. "Destroy him now!"

Brian pushed the balloons once more into Annamaria's chest. Giving in at last, she shrieked with as much strength as she could muster. "HENTAI!" she yelled, and she reached behind her body and pulled out a massive mallet. With a mighty swing, she brought it across Brian's body, sending the poor guy flying across the stage and through some drywall on the other side of the set. "Better?" she said, back to her low, flat tone.

"See, that's what I'm talking about!" Caroline yelled, holding up her hand for a high five. Annamaria just stared at her. "If all women had access to hammerspace, then cruel assaults like the one you just witnessed will be a thing of the past!"

"Right," Annamaria said. "Listen, I'm going to go, uh, check to see if he's still alive... soooo... yeah."

Secristan

14-04-2009, 22:55

CHARITY TOURNAMENT BEGINS

The Charity Cup began the same way the recent Di Bradini Cup ended for Secristan, in a draw with the Rockets. However this time, it was not a must win situation for both teams, and it also involved the senior side of each nation. It’s a result that, unlike the Di Bradini Cup, both teams can live with. The game was well played, and each team seemed very excited about the pre-game speech offered by Empress Jessica of Newmanistan who proclaimed that the Empire was going to attempt to bring their professional league back to a strong level, one that will pursue players from foreign countries again. Certainly, this announcement excited more then just the Rockets on the field, but the Millionaires as well since the teams from Newmanistan are sure to notice the best players from their neighbors. For those players, it would be the opportunity to have a professional contract instead of having to pay their club in Secristan for the right to play for the team. Both teams scored a goal, with James Rogan scoring on a great piece of individual skill in the 54th minute to give the Millionaires the lead only to be drawn by Michael Pattison about twenty minutes later.

The Millionaires are playing for the Retired CEO’s fund. One such man who would be benefitting is Clarke Stapleton of Manchester. Stapleton graduated from the Amherst School of Business at the top of his class at the age of 25, which included four years of him earning his “masters” degree. Stapleton found work as an entry level manager for the department store Cliff’s, and worked his way up the ladder very quickly. At 47, he accomplished the biggest dream that one could have in the business world and was named by the Cliff’s Board of Directors to be the new CEO of the organization when the previous CEO had passed away at 58 after a heart attack. Under Stapleton, Cliff’s saw some very productive years, with it’s market share rising from 12.4 before he took over to 19.1 afterwards. He earned millions, and bought homes for everyone in his family. Stapleton also had an “Employee of the Year” program where he also bought a home as a reward for the store’s most productive employee, chain wide. At 65, he retired from his position and bought a multi-million dollar home overseeing the Gulf of South Thumbria. One day, for his granddaughter’s 18th birthday, he had chosen to buy her a home as a present only to have his credit application denied. Confused by this, he soon discovered that someone had stolen his identity and had been tapping into all of his resources. As months went on, creditors were calling, and he owed money. Considerable amounts of money. He began selling his assets, but could not, deep inside, make those he bought homes for, give up their property. It only got worse, to the point where he had to sell his home on the shoreline. With the identity of the person who stole his unknown, Stapleton knew he could no longer make any kind of investments. It also caused his wife of 36 years to get a divorce, and of course, she took him to the cleaners for everything that she could get her hands on as well. Now 70, the good ol’ days are over for Stapleton. He rents an apartment in Amherst. He tried to get a job at Cliff’s again, and does work there now, but his health only allows him to work two-to-four hours per day, and simply as a cashier. When he tries to get people to understand what happened to him, they turned away and are not interested. Somehow, it should have never happened. Even though he was a generous CEO during his time at Cliff’s, he is simply regarded as yet another greedy and selfish former CEO. Stapleton has always been a sports fan, and was honored to be named as one of the retired CEO’s in which the team will playing for. Perhaps, he can get just enough to get his life back together.

Peisandros

14-04-2009, 23:53

I dislike these ads.

Rennidan

15-04-2009, 00:13

You can understand where I'm coming from when I say I was worried about the change.

I come from a league which holds several conflicting ideals to what 'organized football' is.

The way we play back in Rennidan, it's no longer about the money, about the sponsorship deals and the advertising revenues.

Back in Rennidan, we play for our love of the game.

We put our heart and soul into every second we spend playing, whether it's in a supermarket, atop an office block or in a playground.

So when we get told we're going to be representing Rennidan in an international charity competition...

Well...

Like I said, I was expecting a drastic change.

We were about to leave the freedom we'd been granted and play on a boxed off pitch, with real rules, real turf, hell, even real professionals.

We were David about to take on the Goliath.

But what I discovered, when we got out on that pitch, when we took our positions...

What I discovered was that it doesn't matter where your game is played, or how you play it.

You can be playing in the world's biggest stadium with every set of eyes in the world on you, or you can be playing on a parking lot with some mates using jumpers for goalposts...

But as long as you bring that heart, that soul...

That passion...

As long as you bring all that with you to the game.

Well, then nothing's going to keep you down for long.

- Marco Rowan (Rennidanian Striker, after the 3-1 victory over Somewhereistonia)

Peisandros

15-04-2009, 00:17

Empire Charity Cup begins.

Peisandros has started their Charity Cup campaign with an unimpressive victory over unranked Norwellia in Pocono City. The Sandrians were not entirely comfortable with the new attacking style of coach Alexander Pappas, but were still able to manage a goal and keep Norwellia out. They must have learned something from the Sandrian Di Bradini 9 team, who really struggled with the attacking style in their first game but found their mojo soon after. Anyway, the national team while not looking comprehensive, looked good enough.

Hercules Dragoumis, the young midfielder who was lucky to get a call up after playing in the U21's two years ago, was fantastic. His club side Thasos is one of the few who are a true out and out attacking side and that could be one reason for his inclusion. While Hercules was sharp, the other midfielders didn't look quite so fluent in getting the ball forward. Captain Halkias, perhaps one of the best midfielders going around, especially found it difficult and was rushing passes for most of the first half. To be honest, he didn't look much better in the second half and after 73 minutes coach Pappas made a bold decision. He brought in the young but highly experienced Zarek Chatzi. The 22yr old seem to understand the concept of attacking football far better and didn't rush things but was still able to get the ball forward.

Ultimately it was this change which lead to the winning goal. Dragoumis and Chatzi worked well together with an attacking one-two, before Chatzi found Costa Theotokis with a nice through ball, who then put a perfect cross for brother George to tap in. It was a beautiful goal and showed the class this group of players can display when on form. While the rest of the game was a dour affair with Norwellia looking promising at times, but rarely looked like actually scoring a goal. Peisandros on the other hand just seem so rushed and then appeared to get frustrated. However a win is a win and they will definitely take it.

Next up is this crucial Cassadaigua game. Cassadaigua are ranked just four places below the Sandrians and the two teams should battle it out for the second place in the group. Alexander Pappas has not made any changes, but if Halkias is unable to adapt to the new style it is likely he will be replaced again. Up front, there is a chance that the exciting Vasos Pulos could get a run late on if goals are needed.

In related news, there has been some excitement in Newmanistan after it was discovered the football association there seems to have decided to bring back their professional league. The Sandrian players have been curious as to the chances of picking up contracts and this has been an added incentive to play well. With Newmanistan and Peisandros playing out a tense Cup of Harmony final and being so close in rankings, there is a chance the two could form a relationship of sorts, although there has been no official word from the PFA or Newmanistan either.

Stay tuned for continued coverage of this Charity Cup.

OOC: Let me know if you would be interested in having a few Sandrians playing in your league!

Charity Cup schedule:
v Norwellia (Pocono City) 1-0
v Cassadaigua (Southport)
v Quintessence of Dust (Putnam Lake)
v West Newmanistan (Olympia (Not the Peisandros capital, honestly!))
v Dancougar (Hastings)

Quintessence of Dust

15-04-2009, 04:38

The New Cleethorpes Enquirer
Sundqvist impresses amidst first day jitters

A mixed bag performance from a Quintessence of Dust side containing several new players was good enough to see off West Newmanistan, but did little to inspire confidence that the sub-strength squad will be able to compete down the line in the Empire Charity Cup. Marina Sundqvist, the 20-year old Greschmeier striker, had an excellent game, and scored the game's sole goal in the 52nd minute, assisted by Hannes van Himpfelschnnoorrddt, whose performance smoothed over concerns about the right-back position, but otherwise the new arrivals generally struggled to establish themselves. Marko Drescher had a dreadful match and was replaced before half-time by Marine veteran Texas Axelsson, who proved equally out of his depth, while Masami Tamagotchi drifted infield too often.

Theo Littlefellow was hobbled after 26 minutes, replaced by Hanna van Himpfelschnnoorrdt, adding to the injury-plagued former captain's list of woes. He will miss the next match against Dancougar, who lost to Cassadaigua. In other matches, the story of the day was Rennidan's five-a-side team beating Somewhereistonia 3-1.

Quintessence of Dust's performance against the West Newmanistani side this time attracted no great political controversy. When the teams met in the 37th Cup of Harmony (also with a 1-0 result for the Quodites) Professor Michel Fucko was fiercely critical of the QFA for allowing the "oppression of a postcolonial entity"; now, though, West Newmanistan's participation in the Cup hosted in the metropole is being seen as a sign of improving relations between the two nations.

Coach Edward "Big Ted" Large was typically reserved after the performance, saying only that he had expected the squad to require some playing time before building confidence. He defended Masami Tamagotchi's performance, saying that she proved "good options" on the left, but also said that the team was undoubtedly missing Jessica Jensen, allegedly holidaying in Fatatutti at the National Luau Week. He also suggested that Tamagotchi would remain a figure in the national set-up even once Jensen returned, presumably in an enlarged midfield set-up.

Marina Sundqvist's goal, her third in international competition, came as a welcome relief after a dull first half punctuated by only the most occasional tentative attempt on goal. Woody Cockbadger played on Hannes, who ran into space and slid a ball into the box, which Sundqvist turned in at the far post. Moments later Corey Aguirre almost equalised, missing a sitter of a header from a poorly defended after Benjamin Chang was left stranded, and thereafter the match petered out into a slow encounter, with few chances.

Newmanistan

15-04-2009, 05:36

In Valanora, at the start of the Di Bradini Cup, Jeremy McAllister, Sr. was given a bottle from an unknown man, who later he discovered actually was a Newmanistanian citizen. The bottle contained the substance known as Human Growth Hormone, a steroid most commonly associated with baseball players. The man also provided Jeremy with paperwork on avoiding it’s detection. The purpose, to give Jeremy one more shot at qualifying for the World Cup. It’s been a little while now since that in Valanora and J-Mac still hadn’t called the man or opened the bottle. But he hadn’t thrown the pills or the paperwork away either.

McAllister was watching TV, in fact it was a game named as one of the “Top 10 Games in Newmanistan Football History”. It was #6 on the list, the semifinal of the 4th Di Bradini Cup against Sorthern Northland. Yes, that was indeed a classic. It just so happened that the game featured McAllister, then a young pup. But his thoughts weren’t about resurrecting his career, it was about his son, who is on the brink of signing a deal with Sporting Lakeport himself. Suddenly, as if that mysterious man had also been watching the game, McAllister received a text message from the man. At first, he wondered why he gave him his number in the first place. The message was simple. 150 > 134. You have sixteen more in you, Jeremy. He promptly deleted the message but began to think of the message. Then came a second message. 200 > 180. 200 is quite a milestone. Surely the man was playing mind games with him to lure him into taking the HGH. Add up the games that would occur in World Cup 46 qualifying, plus probable friendlies and either the World Cup Proper or that “other” tournament, and he should get the 20 more caps needed to hit the incredible 200 figure. Maybe even, he could sneak in a game or two in the Charity Cup. Could he get sixteen more goals? Jeremy was just fine with his career number having ended at 134 goals. If he started taking the steroids now, he would enjoying the benefits in two years time for sure. And of course, playing with his son. What father would not want that?

J-Mac took the bottle, and for the first time, opened it. He took out a pill and stared at it, debating whether or not he should start. If he got caught, his whole legacy would be ruined. He thought about Bicho Grilo, that man he met in the Baptism of Fire from Terriro de Ogum who had the marijuana smoking habit. The team mocked Bicho Grilo, and several players thought that he should not be allowed to play, because he was doing something illegal in Newmanistan, although fine in Terreiro de Ogum. That was only marijuana. It gave Bicho Grilo no real benefit during the game, other then easing his mind and bringing him closer to the Orixas, the god that his small nation worshipped. HGH was a lot more then smoking a few joints each day. If his teammates blasted Bicho Grilo, what would they think of him?

He put the pill back in the bottle and began to close the lid when the other side began to think. One more chance at qualifying. Damn, that was powerful. If he didn’t get caught, what an amazing story it would be, especially if the Rockets did qualify. “Lucky number seven”, after all, he thought. Suddenly his wife Ashley came into the room having returned from shopping and he placed the bottle back in his pocket. She was looking real good, and he wondered if perhaps, the pills, could have other benefits. For now, he would concentrate on his wife, but on the back of the mind still, he wondered. Should he risk it?

Newmanistan

15-04-2009, 14:41

Cutoff for matchday 2!

Group A:
Newmanistan 4-0 Leongo
Rennidan 2-2 Sarzonia
Secristan 1-2 Somewhereistonia

Pos Group A P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Sarzonia 2 1 1 0 7 2 5 4
2 Newmanistan 2 1 1 0 5 1 4 4
3 Rennidan 2 1 1 0 5 3 2 4
4 Somewhereistonia 2 1 0 1 3 4 -1 3
5 Secristan 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1 1
6 Leongo 2 0 0 2 0 9 -9 0

Group B:
Dancougar 3-1 Quintessence of Dust
Peisandros 3-2 Cassadaigua
West Newmanistan 1-1 Norwellia

Pos Group B P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Peisandros 2 2 0 0 4 2 2 6
2 Dancougar 2 1 0 1 4 3 1 3
3 Cassadaigua 2 1 0 1 4 4 0 3
4 Quintessence of Dust 2 1 0 1 2 3 -1 3
5 West Newmanistan 2 0 1 1 1 2 -1 1
6 Norwellia 2 0 1 1 1 2 -1 1

For now, ties ordered by GD.

Somewhereistonia

15-04-2009, 17:52

Qasarian Evening Sport

Kusnets late stunner seals first Eagles win

We saw some of that in the first game, glimpses of excellence. That is what we got; excellence. Secristan had drawn with hosts Newmanistan in the first set of games and it was always going to be difficult to beat them.

Both teams started strongly, with strong tackles coming in from both teams, keen to get a win. They may need reminding that this is a charity event because four yellow cards were given out in the first half.

The young Eagles set a fast pace in the first half, showing a range of attacking talent, with Zoltoks inches away from connecting with Taska's cross on 32'. At the other end, Klug stayed big to stop Rogan scoring in a one-on-one after some exquisite passing from Secristan in the 35th minute.

Two minutes later, Klug again saved the hopes of the team after nudging an incredible Alexander free kick, away from the top corner and around the post. Just before half-time on 44', Secristan striker Walker hit a shot that Klug managed to nudge onto the post to be cleared by Luckis, who looked a lot better than in the disastrous game with the 5-a-side Renniden. At half time the two teams went in 0-0. During the later phases of the first half, Secristan's experience had helped to ensure that they were in control.

As the second half began, it became clear that Somewhereistonia were more determined. Ergma must have said something good at the break, because Rossiter was worked incredibly hard during the first ten minutes of the second half, with Somewhereistonia getting 13 shots on target in that period alone, but still it was 0-0. The game slowly evened out, with both sides making strong impressions and threatening to score at every opportunity.

It was a wonder that it was still 0-0 but at 68', that all changed. Secristan were having a strong phase, a shot from Rogan being saved magnificently by Klug, the ball dropped to Luckis, who knocked it wide to Taska, who then sprinted all the way to the Secristan box, it was three attackers on 3 defenders on the edge. Taska drew his man before switching it to Zoltoks on the opposite side. Kusnets ran towards the goal, expecting a low cross. Indeed that is what the Secristan defence expected. Zoltoks then knocked the ball back to Nolakk, arriving in the middle, Nolakk drove the ball into the net spectacularly. Amazingly, it avoided everyone on the way through. 1-0 to the eagles, but there was no way either side were going to allow pause now. Somewhereistonia would, as they always will, go for the second. Unfortunately it was Secristan who scored next.

At 77' with both sides having continued to attack, Secristan showed why they had those top sporting facilities with renewed vigour. After some well placed passes in midfield, Alexander came away with the ball, heading to the edge of the box before sliding a brilliant pass between Luckis and Grinius, but beyond Klug to be smashed in by a well timed run by Rogan 1-1.

The game settled, with both teams now looking very tired. Ergma made two substitutions with Birzin and Zoltoks coming off for Tork and Altosaar. This was a bold attacking move, Ergma was going for the win. At 89' this was secured with an unbeleivable Kusnets goal, his second of the tournament.

Urbsys had won possession in midfield and knocked it out wide for Nolakk, who picked out Tork on the edge of the area. Tork backheeled cleverly to Altosaar, whose shot was saved brilliantly by Rossiter. Unfortunately for him, the rebound fell to Kusnets on the line, metres wide of the right post. Kusnets then dummied past Wooliver before curling his shot around the keeper and into the far corner. I'm still wondering how he managed to do that.

Somewhereistonia (0) 2-1 (0) Secristan
Nolakk (68) Rogan (77)
Kusnets (89)

Subs:
Birzin, Zoltoks off, Tork, Altosaar on (83)

Yellow Cards:
Birzin (19), Sokk (33)
Cadrette (22), Coventry (39)

Dancougar

15-04-2009, 21:05

Dancougar News!!
I really want to not care about Valkyria Chronicles, but...

Ashes to ashes; Quodites to dust: Kent Montego scored twice for the Youngstars, including the goal that closed the door on a brewing comeback, as Dancougar defeated Quintessence of Dust 3-1 in the opening round of the Empress Charity Cup.

Montego rebounded from an unspectacular performance against Cassadaigua to lead the charge and give Dancougar its first win of the tournament. Although the team took advantage of some early Quodite mistakes in order to claim the advantage, it had to show some mettle to settle things down the stretch. "Overall, it was a more complete performance, despite the rally," said Jericho Leyton. "I think that it's a good experience overall to have you back to the wall in an international, and to get the result is a huge morale boost for these players."

Quintessence of Dust's early wobbles could be attributed in part to the absence of Theo Littlefellow, easily the team's most experienced defender, who was injured in the team's opening match against West Newmanistan. Hanna van Himpfelschnnoorrddt, his substitute in that match, was given the start against the Wings, who also made changes, albeit for different reasons. Seeing no reason not to spread around opportunity, Leyton brought in five new starters, including Lillian DaCosta at forward and Jeremy Cornelia in goal. Tomo Asanuma was given the captain's armband for the second straight match.

Dancougar were on the board after four minutes when Montego took advantage of the confusion in the Quodite box during a corner kick. He found himself unmarked near the back post and gently redirected Cody Horrigan's kick into the net for a 1-0 lead. "I slipped between two guys, and I guess they assumed the other one had me covered," he said. "I found a soft spot and sat there. Cody's delivery was perfect."

Montego was a staple on the Dancougar Royal Academy team that delivered the school - and the oldest conference in college football, the Yuki Collegiate Premier League - its first ever victory in the College Alliance's national tournament. This helped the school qualify for IUCC XI where it placed third. He won a Player of the Year award for his efforts and was projected to go first overall in the D-League Super Draft once he declared... and he did, ending up in Dynamo Kalinsk. He helped the club rebound from a dismal 2037 Apertura and scored eight goals in thirty appearances, earning him a Youngstars selection as Kalinsk's representative.

Quintessence of Dust shored up their defensive efforts after that but were still lucky not to be 2-0 down in the 12th, when Horrigan fired in another free kick into the box that found a free head. Makoto Katayanagi was the recipient, but his finishing was off and he knocked it over the flustered Quodite 'keeper for a goal kick. The second goal had to wait until the 24th minute and came thanks to hard work by Josef Rousch, who dribbled through Woody Cockbadger and slipped a low cross into the path of Lillian DaCosta, who punched it in from fifteen yards away.

The goal made DaCosta the third Dancougaran woman to score in an international match, although of them, only Karen Stadler can claim a goal in an official WCC event. "I think it's a distinction that's going to lose its meaning over time," said DaCosta. "There are lots of foreign women in the D-League now and that's just going to drive more of us to get out and play back home."

The Wings started to relax and finished the first half with the bulk of the possession but only one or two other scoring chances of note. The second half saw even less attacking play from the Wings, who found themselves constantly losing the final pass to the Quodite defense. Cornelia found himself getting busier, saving twice from Marina Sundqvist in the five minutes before the hour mark. When Dancougar was finally prompted to go forward by this revitalized Quintessence of Dust attack, their opponents pulled one back against the run of play. A turnover in the midfield turned into a lightning counter.

Cockbadger fed Peter Rogers, who immediately ran at the heart of the Dancougar defense. Sundqvist followed his run and caught up with him about twenty yards from goal. The defense had converged on him, leaving her unmarked. Rousch was still five yards behind her when Sundqvist took the pass and set herself up to the right of the penalty spot, where she drilled the ball past Cornelia to make it 2-1 in the 68th.

From that point, the Wings were on the defensive. A Cockbadger effort was blocked by Cornelia just minutes later, and in the 75th, Sundqvist nearly made it a brace when she skipped over a dangerous Annamaria Shoemaker tackle and hit the ball into the side netting. It seemed only a matter of time before someone popped in an equalizer. Then, just as suddenly as Quintessence of Dust had stolen the momentum, Montego took it back for Dancougar. He caught the defense asleep on one of his team's rare runs foward in the 82nd. After a cautious step forward, he accelerated past van Himpfelschnnoorrddt and fired a shot that swerved away from the 'keeper and in to make it 3-1.

"They were asking too many questions, and Kent came up with the answer we were looking for," said Leyton. "He showed good instinct to create his own shooting lane. A more cautious player would have laid it off."

Quintessence of Dust continued to push forward but were unable to match the pressure they'd created in the minutes after their first goal. The win keeps Dancougar in the cluster near the top of Group B. Their next match will be against West Newmanistan in Dover City.

==============================

Once the dust had settled on the set, Caroline had her guests set up on a sofa while she sat off to the side on her own poofy chair. Annamaria was still in the sailor uniform, so her face still reeked of unpleasantness. Yet she was sitting very properly with her legs together and touching the floor, totally conscious of her skirt's length. Brian was propped on the couch next to her with his arm in a sling and bandages wrapped around his head.

"Thank you for cooperating in our little demonstration," Caroline said, holding some index cards in her lap. "It's a big help to show people what it's like to be in that kind of frightening situation, and how hammerspace can help you feel comfortable and safe in a trying environment."

"I'm not sure that Dancougar's the kind of place where horny octopus men just wander the streets looking for eighth graders," Annamaria replied, "and now that I think about it, I'm not sure that sex crime is actually a serious problem in..."

"Oh, come now, I'm sure all those statistics and press releases you have backing you up are merely distracting people from the unsavory truth," Caroline said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Even if it isn't a problem now, can you say it won't ever be? And if it won't ever be, is it because Dancougar isn't, as you claim, crawling with tentacle monsters like Brian here, or because of preventative measures taken today by supplying full access to hammerspace for Dancougar's women?"

"I'm leaning toward the first option," Annamaria responded. "What do you think, Brian?"

"I think you enjoyed that a little too much!" Brian gasped. "Look at this! How am I going to play with a broken arm?"

"Well, you use your feet for football, I thought," offered Caroline.

"It was the quickest way to shut her up," Annamaria said. "Well, at least I thought it was." Brian gazed at her with squinty, accusing eyes. "Look, if it makes you feel better, I only used about half power."

"Let me see if it does," Brian said. He leaned his body away from Annamaria so his broken arm would slam against the couch armrest. He squealed and instantly used his hips to rock himself back. "No! It's still broken! You fail!" But the recoil was too great. He landed with a thud with his head on Annamaria's lap.

He laughed nervously as he soaked in the warmth. Annamaria's face turned a bright shade of red as Brian slowly rotated his head so he could apologize, but in a second he was lifted off the couch and dangling in midair and she shook him violently back and forth with her hands around his neck. "DIE!" she cried. "Die a thousand deaths for my honor!"

Caroline sighed and turned to the camera. "It's an important thing we're doing!" she said cheerily. "We'll be right back after these important messages."

Quintessence of Dust

15-04-2009, 21:52

The following article was published today, though the interview occurred before the tournament began.

Ski Monthly Magazine

As the deep snow fades away the slopes are falling quiet, but in one of our customarily desperate bids to justify the price of a 12-issue subscription for a winter sports magazine, we've been scouring the newswires for ski-related news, and we're in luck! I mean, you the lucky reader, are in luck! Ski Monthly Magazine presents an exclusive interview with Wilhelm Biber, gold medallist in the men's alpine combined at the Winter Olympics, and club captain of Greschmeier Mountain Sports Club.

SMM: Wilhelm, thanks for joining us. Everyone in the ski world is pleased to see you've recovered from the nasty fall on your final slalom run in Alavaria.

WB: Thank you. For a while I thought I was in trouble, but fortunately there was nothing broken - just a lot of rips and tears. Sore legs, and of course a bit of bruised ego.

SMM: And of course, you needed surgery to remove the skipole from your -

At this point the interview was discontinued. Fortunately, fellow skier Johann "The Jorgenator" Jorgensen was more forthcoming.

SMM: Johann, many thanks for joining us.

JJ: I would remind you this interview was arranged subject to the condition I be referred to as "The Jorgenator" throughout.

SMM: Ok, Wilhelm, if we promise not to talk about your third buttock, can we get you back.

At this point the interview was discontinued, and the original one resumed.

SMM: So, Wilhelm, recently it's been football, not skiing, that's been attracting the attention. Were you surprised to be recalled to the national side?

WB: I was. In fact, I almost considered declining: I thought they'd give some younger players a chance. But in the end, when the Club [Greschmeier] asked us all to be made available, I felt it was my duty to go.

SMM: You had a fantastic Season 1 in the QuinTel Not-Really-Very-Premier League.

WB: Uh, no, the team had a fantastic season; I was but one part of that.

SMM: What are your hopes and expectations for Season 2?

WB: First, though the call-back was nice, I don't really anticipate being part of the national set-up for a long time, so I'd like to play a major role with the Club's Season 2 activities. It'll be very tough to defend both trophies, but we'd certainly like to be competitive in both the League and the Ornament.

SMM: Obviously, two of your colleagues have got a great deal of publicity: Brikk [Schitthausen] and Marina [Sundqvist].

WB: Yes. I'm sure they'd be the first to say that it was still a team effort. But they did excel, and I'm not surprised they've been called up to the national squad.

SMM: Will that be a major loss for you?

WB: Yes, of course, but I think we have plenty of strength in depth.

SMM: What's your view on the club-country rift?

WB: That's a myth. Everyone wants to play for their club, and everyone wants a chance at representing their country. The two go hand in hand, not in opposition, and part of good management is developing a squad to cope with multiple demands.

SMM: Finally, what are your thoughts on the choice of Abolitionism International as charity of choice?

WB: I think it's a good, relatively uncontroversial choice. I know the Abolitionist Coalition, for whom I've raised money, were disappointed not to be chosen, but I respect the need for secularity in these cases.

SMM: Thank you for talking with us.

JJ: I AM THE JORGENATOR!!

At this point the interview was discontinued.

Sarzonia

15-04-2009, 22:23

They didn't need to hear it, but they knew they would anyway.

As the 11 Stars players trudged off the pitch following a disappointing, but not surprising 2:2 draw to Rennidan, they knew they'd hear manager Franz Braddock harp on their inability to take advantage of wide open space created by Rennidan only fielding five players.

They knew they'd be chided for failing to close on defence, allowing striker Marco Rowan the space to score both Rennidan goals at the 11th and 17th minutes. They knew they'd be berated for being forced to send midfielder Brad Tremblay onto the pitch in the 63rd minute ... as a fourth forward. Even Matt Lynch scoring his third and fourth goals of the Empire Charity Cup didn't act as a salve for their coach's speech.

And yet, the words stung when the 83-year-old Braddock delivered them. It wasn't the volume. Braddock didn't scream at the lads. Rather, he spoke in a tone of voice dripping with disappointment and calculated anger, along with four words that cut to the core: "You let me down."

It got worse.

"You let yourselves down. You let Sarzonia down. You let the organisers down. Today is not a good day to don a Sarzonia kit. Think about that before we convene tomorrow for training."

Braddock looked out into the eyes of his players. He knew they'd chew on this result for a while. Good, he thought. He wanted them to remember this day, and how disappointed he and they were. Most of all, he hoped the lessons the team learned from this lost opportunity would stay with the team long after the scoreline itself was long forgotten.

As he stepped out of the taxicab that took him to the team hotel, Braddock thought to himself as his briefcase rolled behind him.

What am I doing wrong?

Rennidan

16-04-2009, 01:45

The flashing lights, the microphones being shoved into my face...

It's a whole new world I've stepped into here.

I come from a place of dust, bullets and blood.

Everything here is just too...

Tidy.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk176/rennidan/news1.png

When a Rennidanian sportsman calls a press conference, you can almost always guarantee it will be full of controversy and hateful rants against their competitors.

So it is, perhaps, with a sigh of relief that Marco Rowan's speech started with a disclaimer to differ the standing opinion.

"I know the reputation we Golden Islanders get for being a bit brash, a bit harsh and more than little crude when it comes to speaking in public, but that's not what I've asked you all here for today."

The Rennidanian striker and star player of the Urban5 league was walking with his head held high after Rennidan's convincing draw over Sarzonia earlier today. Considering the Golden Isle is only fielding five players on the field, this is quite an achievement against a team as strong as Sarzonia.

"The reason I called you here is that this is perhaps the most public way I can express my feelings. A letter to Mr. Braddock would have done right, but it wouldn't have gotten the message out to all the players and staff in the Empire Charity Cup like this will. This is not a complaint. This is not some trivial smack talk. What this is, is a plea. A plea to bring the heart and soul back into this game we all devote our lives too."

"Today, my side walked out onto a foreign field to take on the Sarzonia Stars in a game of 'football'. I use the term loosely, because what ended up happening on that field is not what I know to be football. What happened on that pitch was my team taking on a group of eleven individuals who have had patterns, training exercises and fat pay cheques drilled into them. What we faced today was the monster that is killing football."

"Where I come from, we play for the passion. Whilst I was out on that field today, I saw that very same passion in each and every Sarzonian player's eyes. I saw that same fire burning away inside their souls, yearning to feel free through the art they create. But their bodies, their instruments for the sport, they were restricted. Bound and gagged and thrown into a corner where they were tormented with rules, and orders and damned organization."

"Franz Braddock, this is a plea to you. Stop killing your players creativity. You have at your hands a team capable of extraordinary feats, yet you insist on having them play like every other team out there. Forget being Mister Reliable, stop trying to stick to the rules and live up to the expectations. Take a chance here, take a fall there, and in the end, carve your own path to victory."

Newmanistan

16-04-2009, 06:23

Newmanistan’s 4-nil victory over Leongo wasn’t actually a stunner. Sarzonia had destroyed them last week, and the Rockets were looking to deliver another knockout punch. Leongo, while we are grateful for their interest and devotion to the Charity Cup, looks like they could have a hard time against their more seasoned opposition in the group unless improvements are shown. One person suggested more press releases, but we don’t really know how that would relate to on-field success. Defender Shawn Loughran continues to show offensive might by scoring in the 12th minute, with Jennifer Vilardi adding a pair, coming in the 27th and 61st minutes, and the fourth goal scored by Matthew Turner between those of Jennifer’s, in the 54th. Andrew McClure didn’t have to do much work, but a clean sheet is a clean sheet, and when the battle is on between him and Jennifer Bennett to determine the World Cup 46 starter, that will help his cause.

Following the game and meeting with the players, Jeremy McAllister, Sr and fellow assistant Michael McCafferty had dinner in an upscale Centralia restaurant. McCafferty spent over 12 years as the anchor of the Centralia Cougars’ defensive end, and was the mentor for their current captain, Dancougar’s Casey Berber, when Casey was a youngster. (He presently coaches the Brighton Bulls of the NPL) They had played together on the national team on many occasions, so this is someone Jeremy placed a lot of trust in.

McAllister: Centralia’s new stadium is nice, I’m glad they tore that old one down. The fans deserve it.

McCafferty: I wish I could have played here. The locker room facilities are a hundred times better. They don’t know how good they have it.

McAllister: Some good Putnam Lake versus Centralia memories in that old joint though.

McCafferty: No doubt.

McAllister: Michael, how disappointing was it for you to retire knowing that you would never qualify for the World Cup?

McCafferty: It was, but I started a lot later. I was 26 when I began, so I knew I wouldn’t have a whole lot of time to play.

McAllister: The way we rolled through the Baptism of Fire, man, who woulda thought that no one from that team would ever get to play in the Proper. Remember, we almost did what Peisandros did and qualified in our first try. Losing out on the away goals tiebreaker.

McCafferty: We had a lot of tough luck. That was maybe the toughest. I still look at World Cup 42 as our biggest opportunity that we missed.

McAllister: Or 44.

McCafferty: Yeah, I didn’t play in that one though. But I am sure that it was tough. 43 was tough too.

McAllister: 43 was a little different. We were charging late and missed. 42 we blew, 44 we blew.

McCafferty: They are tough memories, for sure.

McAllister: Did you ever consider, after you retired, giving it one more shot?

McCafferty: Sure, but I knew we had better talent at that time then myself, I didn’t want to be a distraction.

McAllister: Michael, when I was in Valanora, a man gave me this. (Pulls bottle of HGH out of his pocket briefly to show Michael, then puts it back in pocket).

McCafferty: Jeremy, don’t.

McAllister: That was my immediate response too. But the more I have thought about it, the more difficult it is to say no. I could play with my son, I could play in the World Cup. It’s lucky try seven. How many times did the Jeruselem media remind us it took them seven tries?

McCafferty: If you caught, everything about your career will be considered a fraud. You have a wonderful legacy. Kids look up to you, idolize you. If you get caught, you will let all of them down.

McAllister: But the man also gave me information on avoiding it’s detection on drug tests.

McCafferty: Maybe so. But all it takes is one slip up. Say if the bottle fell out of your pocket right now and the waitress picked it up. The Centralia media would love to bust you.

McAllister: I doubt our waitress would recognize it. She looks like she hits the dessert bar way too much to know about something like this.

McCafferty: (laughs) Probably right, but still, you get my point.

McAllister: On a side note, why couldn’t we get that nice blonde over on the other side.

McCafferty: I was thinking the same thing.

McAllister: But yeah, playing with my son. I know you would love to play with your daughter, Megan, if you could.

McCafferty: I can see that. That has got to be powerful. Junior’s not likely to start in World Cup 46 though, remember that. Not over Turner and either Vilardi, and especially not if you were in the mix. Megan hates football. She’s too obsessed with cheerleading.

McAllister: Don’t be so sure we wouldn’t start together.

McCafferty: As an assistant coach, if you were in the mix, I start you and Turner. Matthew is ahead of your son, Jeremy, and Nelson loves him. Junior starts in 47, not 46, in my opinion.

McAllister: Still, coach would find some time to play us together.

McCafferty: Would that be worth it?

McAllister: If we qualified for the World Cup. It may just be worth the risk.

McCafferty: Jeremy, please don’t.

McAllister: It's hard, man.

McCafferty: Our food is coming. Let's enjoy the meal.

McAllister: If she doesn't eat it on us first.

West Newmanistan

16-04-2009, 06:48

President Nicholls made it to Centralia to mixed emotions when his plane landed. There were some protestors at the airport, who wanted him to have to pay for the atrocities that they felt he was responsible for. Feelings that were correct, but unproven. Others welcomed him with open arms, realizing that this was a significant event. For them, they weren’t terribly fond of him either, but they knew that this standoff had to come to an end. Nicholls, was protected by Newmanistanian secret service who were wise enough to carry a bullet proof shield on each side of the president just in case someone tried to do something. If anyone had it on their mind, this had deterred them. He had arrived five hours before the match, and was scheduled to meet Empress Jessica at an undisclosed location in the city. He was brought there, and for the first time ever, they shook hands.

“Good morning, Mr. President.” The Empress greeted.

“Good morning, Your Highness.” Just like the Empress never referring to him as a President before, it was the first time that he offered the Empress her proper greeting while he was in office. “Thank you for this opportunity.”

“Brian, if I may call you that, we have a lot to work on.”

“Yes, Jessica, we do. And we could start with the recognition of our land as West Newmanistan and not Mordavia any longer. The people have long since moved on since the old regime there. I am a respected leader, and if you look at the legislation I have passed, it proves that.”

“We can also start with every time you refer to me, it’s not as a corrupt and evil ruler. You know, deep down, that I care for my people. Obviously, you want Newmanistan to be a democracy, but just because it is not does not mean I am evil. There are sadistic dictators out there, and it offends me that you lump me in with them with the things you say about me.”

“You can be overbearing at times. You have passed some poor legislation. Such as the parental licensing program. Are you kidding me? The government has no place doing that!”

“It works.”

“But it’s why you are corrupt. Things like that.”

“It’s not as if we make it difficult to obtain a license, but there are a lot of unfit parents out there…. Anyway, you didn’t come here to debate this issue, let’s get back on track.”

(A long discussion of political issues takes place)

“We’ll see how long this truce lasts. We will begin the demobilization of the military from the border immediately.” The President said.

“Likewise. We will open trade with the country once again.”

“It’s a start, anyway. See you in Morton City in six weeks.”

“Yes, any progress is good, I will be there. Game’s about to start. Hope you will root for the Rockets.”

“As long as you root for the Patriots.”

“It’s a deal!”

Secristan

16-04-2009, 10:23

STUNNING LOSS

The Millionaires and Retired CEO’s were dealt a huge blow as the team found themselves on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline against Somewhereistonia, a nation debuting in the upcoming Baptism of Fire, and one that they should have beaten. The game was fairly entertaining, however, as the team’s showed their commitment to their respective charities by racking up two yellow cards apiece in the first 39 minutes of the match. Of his card, Chris Coventry told reporters that, “I didn’t agree with it, but coach told me at halftime, that as long as the referee is consistent both ways, you just go with it. I guess he was. Still, let us play, because I thought the first half was pretty good except for the bookings.” The goals came over an hour into the match with both teams having squandered a handful of opportunities, and those goalkeepers weren’t too bad either. Michael Rossiter and (first name unknown) Klug were both very effective, and even though there were some friendly bounces, they each will tell you it was because of the great positioning. In the 77th minute, James Rogan responded to a score from Nolakk nine minutes earlier to tie up the match, and it looked as though we were heading for our second draw in as many games. Sadly, a great piece of individual skill by Mister Kusnets in the 89th minutes wowed those not wearing green and white, and sent the Millionaires to a pretty bad defeat. Up next will be Sarzonia, in Loudon.

Another former CEO in which the Millionaires are playing for is 57-year old Diane Watson. Watson spent 20 years as the CEO of Penthoria Technologies, a high tech firm which was taken over by the larger Megabyte Industries five years ago. It was in the takeover in which Watson was replaced. It wasn’t originally going to be like that, but after she spoke out against the policies of Megabyte, calling her former company far superior, she was terminated. Watson did not go to college and started as a secretary to the CEO’s assistant at the time, Barry Hammersby. After seven years of providing her services for him, Hammersby promoted her to assistant CEO when he himself took over the CEO reigns. This caused a lot of tension with Penthoria Industries, because there were hundreds of more qualified people then Watson and they knew it. For them, it obviously just how Miss Watson got her job, and they were exactly right, though it never was something she ever would admit too. The move was protested, and a week later, Barry Hammersby was found dead in his office. This really wasn’t a bright thing to do, because by company law, if the CEO did die suddenly, the assistant would take over. So now, Watson, who’s only credentials were being able to make an awesome cup of coffee and handle two phone calls at once was in charge of massive technology company. Many of her decisions were whimsical, but the results were shockingly effective. She made millions upon millions of rusass, and the company was succeeding, until the takeover. Watson didn’t care when she was terminated by Megabyte, and told them to shove her pension where the sun don’t shine. She thought she had millions to retire into. Unfortunately, she made one horrible mistake. Her financial advisor, Thomas Greenberg, was a thief. Greenberg knew Watson was clueless and spent her money lavishly. Watson wasn’t the only person he did this too, and he is now wanted by authorities. However, he has eluded police for years. It has left Diane Watson with absolutely nothing. She attempted to get other jobs in her field, but her lack of real knowledge has shown, and she has not been able to hold a job. The former CEO now lives Lakeland, with very little money, because what she does make at her current position, constantly goes off to creditors. Diane, who doesn’t necessarily like soccer, but finds soccer players attractive, hopes that by being named one of the retired CEO’s that the team is playing for, she can make enough money to at least, pay off her debts.

Cassadaigua

16-04-2009, 13:00

Ashley’s Space

Good morning, Cassadaigua! I am midfielder Ashley Nolan and I come to you from Southport in Newmanistan, where we have unfortunately just been defeated by Peisandros by the score of 3-2. After we had just came off a win over Dancougar, who is the highest ranked side in the Charity Cup, and as Courtney Poole called it our “makeup game for the cancelled post-qualifying friendly”, we wanted to follow it up with another good result. Peisandros is a strong team, and most people will consider us fairly equal. If that wasn’t enough, you could always look at those rankings in which they are 32nd and us 36th. There’s a few of us packed in there together in the 30's, which makes these games for charity pretty interesting, even if this is not a WCC-sanctioned tournament. It doesn’t need to be sanctioned to keep us from wanting to beat the teams that are closest to us on paper. I thought we played well against Peisandros. The game was quite wide open and we both got good chances. Normally one of the last things you do when the final score is 3-2 is compliment your goalkeepers, but if not for them, this may have been a 6-5 result. Kristen was fantastic for us, and Calisto Pappas proved very difficult to beat. It was a battle, for sure. Stacie Kerrigan got us rolling in the 20th minute only to be answered by the Mighty Hercules in the 26th. Costa Theotokis gave them a 2-1 lead heading into the break with a score in the second minute of the allotted two minutes of stoppage time. Some of us thought the referee’s whistle was a little late and it went into the third minute, but that’s no excuse. Caitlin Loiselle put us on even terms in the 68th, but we could not answer the goal from the other Theotokis, George, in the 80th. Though if you were watching the game, you already knew about all the goals! I was pretty happy with my effort overall, but as a team, we were stronger against Dancougar.

We will play Norwellia next in Pocono City, and would like to get three more points. It doesn’t matter if this is only for charity, we all want to win and at the same time do something for the organizations that we are representing. Some of the charities we look at and think they are little odd, but apparently even a retired CEO can fall on bad luck and need a break. I guess. Well I have to go, I am getting something that looks very important over the fax.

Newmanistan

16-04-2009, 14:08

There will be no cutoff here.

Newmanistan

16-04-2009, 14:09

But there will be here..... MD3 cutoff

Group A:
Newmanistan 4-2 Somewhereistonia
Rennidan 4-1 Leongo
Sarzonia 1-2 Secristan

Pos Group A P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Newmanistan 3 2 1 0 9 3 6 7
2 Rennidan 3 2 1 0 9 4 5 7
3 Sarzonia 3 1 1 1 8 4 4 4
4 Secristan 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
5 Somewhereistonia 3 1 0 2 5 8 -3 3
6 Leongo 3 0 0 3 1 13 -12 0

Group B:
Dancougar 2-0 West Newmanistan
Peisandros 1-1 Quintessence of Dust
Cassadaigua 5-2 Norwellia

Pos Group B P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Peisandros 3 2 1 0 5 3 2 7
2 Cassadaigua 3 2 0 1 9 6 3 6
3 Dancougar 3 2 0 1 6 3 3 6
4 Quintessence of Dust 3 1 1 1 3 4 -1 4
5 West Newmanistan 3 0 1 2 1 4 -3 1
6 Norwellia 3 0 1 2 3 7 -4 1

Ties sorted by GD for now.

Leongo

16-04-2009, 16:17

Still no points on the board for Leongo!

Dancougar

16-04-2009, 21:49

Dancougar News!!
Cheaper than any hit in a Flyers-Penguins playoff game!

Westerners downed in lazy contest: Before the match, there was a question... would Jericho Leyton address his team with West Newmanistan as the opponent, or Mordavia? "I don't like it when politics get mixed up in football," Leyton responded. "It doesn't matter what you call them, the objective is to get three points, and that's where it ends."

Whatever he called them, his pre-match talk didn't seem to get a rise from his team, as the Wings would not get on the board until the second half. But they faced no real test from West Newmanistan, which played listless football for the first 45 minutes, and Dancougar eventually went out 2-0 winners. Although the tempo picked up after the break, it was the kind of performance that's not likely to earn any of the players extra points when it comes time to make selections for World Cup 46.

"You have to win these kinds of matches, too," said Makoto Katayanagi, who punched home one of the Black Wing goals. "It wasn't one of our better games; not the most entertaining you'll ever see. But I think we did a good job closing them down, and we made good on a few chances."

The match took place following a high-profile meeting of political minds, with West Newmanistan's president Brian Nicholls and Newmanistan's Empress Jessica negotiating a truce that could lead to a lighter military presence in the disputed regions and the establishment of fresh relations in other areas such as trade. Expecting his opponents to be inspired by the progress, Leyton started off the game with a tight defensive strategy that was designed mainly to prevent attacks rather than spring them.

It turned out to be unnecessary. West Newmanistan managed a single shot in the first half hour, a half-cross half-shot lob that Roger Brooks-Kennedy had no problem snagging out of midair. But the Wings weren't playing clean attacking football, either. They started to go forward with more purpose after the first fifteen minutes, but the West Newmanistan defense was an even tougher nut to crack. The Wings registered three first-half shots and only won a single corner, which was easily headed clear by Thomas Morelock.

"We didn't have any presence up front," said Katayanagi. "And we weren't really giving them any pressure, either. It was just possession, possession, possession, but we weren't able to create anything from it."

But Leyton must have said something right, because the Wings grabbed the lead in the 53rd after they began the second half with more aggressive play. Katayanagi willed himself past two defenders and was lucky that the ball, which took a few deflections on his run through, ended up rolling not far off his intended path. He pushed past one more defender before beating the goalkeeper with a low shot to give the Wings a 1-0 lead. The pressure continued to mount, as Sean Morrison was called into action repeatedly.

"We started to wear them down and that opened up some space," said Katayanagi. "We were admittedly lazy in the first half."

West Newmanistan were completely on their back heels. Kent Montego hit the post in the 68th with a late-dipping shot that sent Morrison scrambling across goal, and in the 70th, Shoji Ishino headed in a Cody Horrigan corner kick to double the lead. Ishino's goal drew a favorable response from the locals, who were biased in Dancougar's favor because of the political tension. And because Ishino is an up-and-coming midfielder for Sporting Lakeport, he gained even more recognition because of the club's ties to Empire Motors and Jeremy McAllister.

West Newmanistan's best chance of the half, and of the game, came in the 76th and was a free kick won by Richard Borgetti about 25 yards from the Dancougar goal. It was the result of a clumsy foul by Annamaria Shoemaker that earned the tomboy defender a yellow card. Corey Aguirre tried to find Chris Peckham inside the box, but Shoemaker cleaned up her own mess and headed clear.

The Wings nearly added a third goal ten minutes from time when Kou Hirano hit a shot that Morrison spilled almost at the foot of Katayanagi. But the forward, almost unable to believe his good fortune, delayed his reaction and was immediately surrounded by defenders, and in that time, Morrison had recovered and dove for Katayanagi's feet, sending him stumbling and winning the ball.

==============================

Things had finally calmed down again on the set. Annamaria sat on the couch, still as properly as possible, but her face had degenerated into a more fearsome scowl. A small vein was protruding from her forehead, which Caroline did her best to ignore. Meanwhlie, on the other side of the couch, Brian was propped up with even more bandages than before, and exaggerated tears were affixed to the sides of his face as the dull pain lingered from Annamaria's thrashing.

Forget woman... was she even human?!

Caroline tried to play it down and laughed. "Oh, don't look so sad, Brian!" she said. "Any injuries you receive during this omake really don't count, so you'll be able to play in the tournament, no problem!"

"What's an oma..." Brian began.

Annamaria whipped a paper fan out of nowhere and brought it across her body, stopping just short of his face. That shut him up. "Quiet, don't carelessly break the fourth wall!" she ordered.

"But Caroline just..." Brian complained.

"Never mind that," Annamaria responded. She pulled the fan away from Brian's head and used it to mask her face. "We're her guests. It wouldn't be proper, now would it?" Her harsh, deep tone had given way to a softer, gentler voice that reeked of maturity.

Brian would have facepalmed if he could. I swear, there's something about you two that's horribly, horribly broken. Anna was just as bored by this when we started, but now... Her character isn't being consistent at all! he thought. He turned his head to Caroline, whose beaming smile provided a stark contrast to the pitch black aura he felt surrounding her. It's all her fault; Annamaria's heart is being twisted by that witch! It's not safe here!! ... Or something like that. His mind trailed off, realizing he was sounding like those poor guys in the cartoons his kid brother used to watch after school.

"Moving along, then," said Caroline, "why don't we talk a little bit more about your careers? Annamaria, you in particular, I'd like to ask your opinion about the state of the game for women. I've heard that only about three percent of college players are women, and in the D-League, foreigners outnumber natives. What can we do to change that?"

"Well, it's not something that's going to just happen overnight," replied Annamaria. "You know, for a long time, they had us play separately and there wasn't any real support. But we saw teams like Jeruselem go out and start women, at a very high level, and it made us start to think that we could do it, too. Then when Jennifer Sloan actually came here, I think the idea that women could play along men was finally accepted, but as with any kind of social change, it takes time to filter down. In my case, I got rejected by the first four schools I applied to and I wasn't a starter until my junior year, and I had to fight for it."

"I know at least when I played, coach said..." Brian began.

"Nobody cares what you think, Brian," Caroline interrupted cheerfully.

Quintessence of Dust

17-04-2009, 01:48

The New Cleethorpes Enquirer
Yet another political row overshadows surprise draw

Woody Cockbadger scored his first international goal to equalise in Quintessence of Dust's third round tie against Peisandros in Newmanistan at the Empire Charity Cup, as the side held on for an expected 1-1 draw against higher-ranked Peisandros, who had crushed them in the Cup of Harmony. Coach Edward "Big Ted" Large, who played an extra defender in order to reduce the Sandrian attacking threat (and removed Wilhelm Biber from the starting lineup once the match officials rather unsportingly insisted only 11 could be on the pitch), said he was "very pleased" with the performance, but admitted the team still faced a battle to progress. They return to Tundra Falls to play Cassadaigua, and then meet Norwellia in Hampton. To play football - not like meet for a beer or something.

However, an exciting game of football is being somewhat overlooked in the domestic press as preparations for the Dagan encounter begin as, not for the first time, political wrangling moves centrestage. While Quodite participation in the Olympics led to the present division in the Cabinet, and the decision to bid for the Rugby World Cup caused rioting in the streets of North Island West, the prospect of facing a team representing a matriarchy has aroused fierce passions on all sides of the aisle. The entire day's business in Congress had to be put aside as one Member after another rose to either declaim or enthuse about the match, while Party leaders and the executive branch scuttled around trying to preserve neutrality.

Things began badly in the Senate when Rasool ur Ra'ahmah bin Siratum Mustaqeem of the Islamic People's Party declared the match an "abomination". No Colonial players have ever featured in the Quodite national squad, but Mustaqeem, who has previously condemned the participation of female players in the national team as well as almost every other facet of the culture of a nation whose government he nominally participates in, went on to declare that the match would bring "shame" on the nation. There were angry retorts from both Social Democratic and Liberal members, with Eli L. Baker snorting that it was Mustaqeem who brought shame on the country. The two have clashed on many previous occasions, with Mustaqeem once facing a vote of expulsion after calling Baker, the son of former President Eli F. Baker, a "kike".

Mustaqeem's colleague, Arthur Varieur of the Socialist Party, then pitched in to suggest that the bigger problem was the non-representation of Colonial players in the side. In Season 1 of the newly organized national football leagues, United Anti-Colonialist FC were ranked bottom of the elite 16 teams and relegated, to be replaced by Le Singe Est Sur La Plage FC. Football was at one point more popular in parts of the Colonies than on the metropole, where rugby has always been favoured, but in recent times basketball and other non-traditional sports have gained greater followings.

While much of the morning's discussion revolved around the possibility of establishing a minimum quota for national teams - no Colonial players were in the rugby, hockey, or Olympic teams either - with the Social Democrats tentatively in favour and the Liberals against, things soon changed in the afternoon once matters moved to the House. Fina Reshing of Ingrit, historically one of the staunchest supporters of internationalism and a devoted enemy of Secretary of State George W. Madison, submitted a non-binding resolution honouring Dagan women. This was immediately met by opposition from several Liberal members, who criticised the oppression of men within Cassadaigua. During World Cup 45, representatives from Men's Equality Now (MEN), an equal-rights advocacy group, interrupted Dagan games with protests.

By the evening, things had spun out of control, so much so that none of the Congressmen are actually believed to have watched the exciting game against Peisandros, as Liberal members tried to amend the foreign aid budget to direct a foreign assistance grant to MEN. Social Democrats retaliated by accusing the Liberals of "promoting phallocracy and the retrenchment of gender achievement", and the move was finally killed off by Prime Minister Erica Ornan, who returned to the Chamber, visibly irate at both sides, to confirm that she had "no interest" in the fundamentals of what she characterised as a "petty squabble", while denying the motion on a technicality.

All had almost blown over when an intra-SD fight broke out after Adam Czerwinski of Nowy Orpington submitted a new resolution wishing the team luck, and adding that if they lose to Cassadaigua the Secretary of Sport should be directed to conduct a review. When pressed, he admitted he thought "women are less strong" and should be easy opponents (despite Cassadaigua being far above Quintessence of Dust in official WCC rankings). This prompted outrage from Reshing, who challenged him to a football match between five male and five female Congresspeople. Ornan once again returned to the Chamber to suspend the session in order to prevent them turning her Speaker's Chair into a goalpost, but then surprisingly volunteered herself as a player for the women, cancelling tomorrow afternoon's discussion of aquaculture subsidy provisions to schedule in a 30-minute indoor 5-a side game, which will take place in the hall of the Congressional Gymnasium before the Dagan match.

Teams for the Congressional game:

Women: Congressperson Daniela Lehrer (RK-SD), Prime Minister Erica Ornan (PU-SD), Congressperson Fina Reshing (IN-SD), Senator Naomi Richardson (GR-SD), Congressperson Darla Thibodaux (DA-NL)

Men: Senator Eli L. Baker (ST-SL), Congressperson Adam Czerwinski (PU-SD), Congressperson Johnny Dahl (LA-G), Congressperson Jun Hsüeh (HC-SD), Senator Arthur Varieur (NW-SP)

Somewhereistonia

17-04-2009, 04:36

It was a mild mid-afternoon across Somewhereistonia, and the manager for Qasarian Sparta, Tarmo Mäe was watching the sports news. The football season had recently ended, and after Ergma left for the national team, Mäe had been promoted from assistant to manager of the league winning club. He was looking over some minor transfers, mostly for the youth team, but wished that he could bring in some overseas talent, just to liven things up a bit, of course to do this he would have to sell some players.

He looked up to the TV.

"Welcome to SomeSports, bringing you the latest sporting news 24/7

We now take you live to Newmanistan to an exclusive interview with rising Sparta star, Mart Kusnets. Who has scored 3 goals so far in the first Empire charity cup.

Reporter: So Kusnets, another goal against Newmanistan, at only 17, thats quite a tally.

Kusnets: Well I just have to work hard, for myself and for the team, we showed some great spirit again, but it wasn't enough.

Reporter: Are you disappointed with the result?

Kusnets: I'm always disappointed to lose, and even to draw, whatever the game. We managed to get two goals, from me and Taska. We are really working well as a team now. But Newmanistan are a strong team, I think we just need more experience to deal with that. Hopefully we can win our next two games and win some money for Can Stop.

Reporter: Why are you playing for Can Stop, as opposed to another charity?

Kusnets: Well, cancer is a serious problem, and finding a cure will help a lot of people, and bring a lot of families together, and thats worthwhile.

Reporter: There are rumours going round that teams back home are looking at the other teams here to bring in some foreign talent. What do you think to this?

Kusnets: Well, I don't really know about that, most of these players play in well established leagues. Its going to be difficult to bring any major stars in, but any new talent will be good for the league and football in Somewhereistonia in general I think.

Reporter: What about the possibility of you playing overseas?

Kusnets: Heh, I don't know about that, at the moment I'm happy where I am and I think I'm too young to move, but in a couple of years, maybe after the world cup. I'd like to play abroad somewhere, yes."

Mäe switched off the TV, there had been a leak! This probably would only help him bring in new players, so he decided not to search for the culprit. Mäe had always looked up to Ergma, and to see him struggling to a 4-2 defeat to any team was slightly unsettling, he decided to message the board, he wanted some new players.

Newmanistan

17-04-2009, 06:01

Following the victory over Somewhereistonia, Jeremy McAllister and wife Ashley relax in their hotel room.

Jeremy: Oh come on, they suspended him for that?!

Ashley: Who for what?

Jeremy: Empire Hockey League highlights. Brett Prescott would never survive in that league. Hockey needs players like that.

Ashley: Putnam Lake trails the series?

Jeremy: Yes damnit!

Ashley: Speaking of Putnam Lake, what’s up with Junior’s move?

Jeremy: Their squabbling over the transfer fee, but it will get done. Lakeport wants it to happen, so does Empire Motors. Putnam Lake wants the money. Just one of those business things, Junior will be in Lakeport by the start of the next season.

Ashley: What about Jennifer and Ryan?

Jeremy: Putnam Lake might pursue an agreement in principle with Jennifer. She has to turn 14 first, they can’t sign her until then. Jenn knows not to sign with anyone else.

Ashley: I’d like to see one of them have a career here, in Newmanistan.

Jeremy: Well Jenn, I don’t know. Let’s face it, she needs to get better if she wants to have a football career. Ryan, who knows?

Ashley: All but one of the opposing coaches in Ryan’s league want him out of the eight year old bracket now.

Jeremy: Screw them. He’s eight, he plays with eight year olds. I don’t care how much he dominates the league.

Ashley: By the way you left this medication in your coat pocket from Centralia. Found it before putting it in the laundry. What is it?

Jeremy: (About to lie, but then decides its time to tell his wife): Sweetie, that’s something we need to talk about. I got it in Valanora from this guy who lives in Southport. It’s a steroid, HGH. The man wants me to prolong my career to have one more shot at the World Cup, and it’s also appealing to play with Junior while representing the Empire. It’s so appealing that I can’t just say no so easily. I haven’t taken any yet, but it’s just something I cannot discard or ignore.

Ashley: I see.

Jeremy: Please don’t be mad at me.

Ashley: Not at all. I can understand why you would be thinking about it. You told me why you want too. Now tell me why you don’t.

Jeremy: (a little surprised by her response): I don’t want to get caught. I have paperwork that shows how you can avoid having it detected, but if I get caught my career becomes a fraud.

Ashley: Yeah, well you’re good at keeping secrets.

Jeremy: (again, stunned by the response): Uh well. What?

Ashley: Like you’re little rendezvous with Jennifer Vilardi during World Cup 42 qualifying that you don’t think I know about.

Jeremy: (completely shocked now): What? I mean? Ok, I guess, but why didn’t you say something. I’m sorry about that.

Ashley: Oh no you’re not. If you were sorry about it, you would have admitted it to my face. I just chose to be accepting of it. I know that you probably just lost control of yourself that night and nothing more ever came of it, so it wasn’t worth bringing up.

Jeremy: Still sweetie, I am very sorry about that and sorry that I wasn’t honest with you.

Ashley: It’s over with. Our marriage is strong now. I trust you and know that you trust me. I know there are many women out there that want you, and you are faithful other then the one slip up. And being it was with Vilardi and not some groupie, helps too.

Jeremy: Sorry, though. Really.

Ashley: I accept. And for the record, I knew it was HGH.

Jeremy: Really?

Ashley: Yes, and by not trying to lie to me about it, you showed me that I can trust you. I had been thinking about how I respond to it for a few hours now when it came up. This stuff is pretty powerful.

Jeremy: Thanks for being so cool about it, sweetie.

Ashley: You’re welcome, that’s why we fell in love, wasn’t it?

Jeremy: Yeah! (insert more lovey-dovey talk). So what do you think, should I?

Ashley: I don’t know.

Jeremy: McCafferty, the only person I asked about it, said I could probably pull it off but it would be a careless slip up that would keep me from doing it and I would get caught.

Ashley: Yeah, probably. But not if I kept it in my purse at all times.

Jeremy: (stares at her intently): You think?

Ashley: Just tell me when you needed a pill and I give you one.

Jeremy: It’s a risk, a big one.

Ashley: I know. Just saying I’ll be there for you however you wanted me to be.

Jeremy: Thanks.

Quintessence of Dust

17-04-2009, 07:38

Posted on the Prime Minister's blog, which is hosted as "My Blog" on the Prime Minister's webpage.

Women beat men in Congressional football game!

Yesterday saw some ugly scenes in Congress that I hope will not repeated again, but today many came to the Congressional Gym to watch a fun game of 5-a-side football between representatives of the female and male members of Congress. Secretary of Sport Alfred Cynus kindly agreed to act as referee, and there was a good mix of parties and regions represented. Of course the result didn't "prove" anything about men and women, but it did prove that we in Congress are capable of settling disputes amicably.

The game lasted half an hour, and was extremely tiring. The relatively small space meant there were plenty of goals, and eventually we won, 11-7. Congressperson Darla Thibodaux of Dallervale was our secret weapon; Ms Thibodaux has competed in competitive sports for the prestigious Greschmeier Mountain Sports Club before, but many of us were unaware of how good she was at indoor football. She scored 6 of our goals and was undoubtedly the difference between the teams.

Ms Reshing and Mr Czerwinski conducted things very sportingly, and agreed to put their dispute behind them. That didn't stop some rather fierce tackling, though, and I had to insist both of them take a brief time-out. As it turned out, there were plenty of volunteers for substitutions, and I took a brief rest near the end. I played in goal and let in a few, but also pulled off some saves. It's been a long time since I played sport, but it was great fun.

As I'm writing the others have gone to the Congessional Bar to watch the match; I may join them later once I've finished using Senator Baker's absence as an excuse to ram an oil conservation bill through his committee.

-- Erica Ornan

Secristan

17-04-2009, 10:31

TIDE TURNING ON STARS

The rivalry with Sarzonia was becoming very one-sided, and as we all know a rivalry can’t really be a rivalry if the same team keeps winning. They had our number in the 3rd World Lacrosse Championships and International Basketball Championships. They kept us from advancing to the knockouts of Di Bradini Cup 8. They always seemed to have the edge until the Millionaires got a big victory over the Stars in the semfinal of the last World Lacrosse Championships, before going on to beating Dancougar for the championship. The Charity Cup isn’t quite as big of a deal, but after a stunning loss to Somewhereistonia, Secristan needed a rebound. They went to The Jungle and got it. Secristani fans did a good job filling up Loudon Stadium for the game, and were loud throughout, even after the team fell behind 1-0 in the 4th minute. The Stars may have taken their early result for granted, and started getting sloppy in the rest of the first half, something that was making Franz Braddock visibly upset on the sidelines. The Millionaires could not make them pay for it until the 37th minute, off a corner kick, by the veteran Stephen Alexander. The match looked to be headed for a draw, until Kevin Tucker, who entered the game in the 78th minute, showed what fresh legs can do late in a match on an 82nd minute goal that showed some incredible individual skill. The Stars could not answer back, despite a decent effort to try, and the Millionaires get their first victory, at last, of the Charity Cup. Number two should come against Leongo in Southport and make sure that they continue to have no points on the board.

(Yeah that’s it, no creativity to write a retired CEO story right now.)

Cassadaigua

17-04-2009, 13:05

Ashley’s Space

Norwellia is new to the international sports scene. We felt as though we needed to welcome them to the best of our ability in the Capital of Newmanistan, Pocono City. The atmosphere was pretty nice, and we found that most of the people in attendance were rooting for us. Maybe because we’re a more familiar name to them. Anyway, we enjoyed everything about our surroundings for this match as we looked to avenge our loss to Peisandros, and we didn’t waste much time, now did we? I can’t remember the last time we scored in the first minute of a match, but that definitely set the tone. Everything just worked, from the opening touch. Their defense was very flatfooted too, or maybe they just didn’t realize that the woman wearing number ten is pretty darn fast and can do some shifty things with the ball. Stacie Kerrigan blasted the ball by Lanja and we were up immediately. With confidence brewing, we pushed the envelope again and got repeated chances in the opening minutes of the game, and yet another one went in. Would that be Stacie Kerrigan again? Oh yes, Mr. Lanja, it would. Minute eight, and we are up by two. They’re quick answer may have been a mistake. Alain Vermeeren seemed to give them life with the 17th minute goal, but all that did was fire us up, and before they could collect themselves it was 4-1. Erica Daniels in the 25th and toss the hats for Miss Kerrigan, as she scores in the 33rd. We settled in after that, both to close out the first half and begin the second, being conservative and all that. Even in being conservative, we scored. Katie Cincoski, our recent Di Bradini Cup Captain who is now proud to be a member of Albrecht Independent FC in Candelaria And Marquez. Yeah, she couldn’t stop talking about that in practice the last few days. Her and Courtney Poole, as they are about to become rivals. 5-1 in the 67th was the result and from there we started experimenting and trying to make sweet fancy passes. Yeah, it cost us on the Xura 83rd minute goal, but at that point, did it really matter? I didn’t think so. Especially not in a charity tournament.

Next up would be Quintessence of Dust, and Michelle Garrett noticed this website from their Prime Minister. Just the simple fact that a Prime Minister keeps a blog that’s not full of six syllable words and other political jargon is pretty cool if you ask me. I guess we inspired them to have a battle of the sexes Congressional game, which further proves the point that this has just gotta be a fun country to live in! My curiosity got the best of me, and their government was rated last on a WA Most Corrupt governments list in a pretty big region. Cassadaigua did not fare nearly as well, but I guess we know why. I think I am going to visit Quintessence of Dust for a vacation when I get some free time. By the way, the women won that game. Way to go ladies! We will not be as nice to them on the field, and that field is the prestigious Tundra Falls Proving Grounds. We have heard a lot about this place, but it is the first time that we have been there. When we walked out on the field for practice, you could just tell that there is something different, something special about this place. It should be a great game. We are excited!

Newmanistan

17-04-2009, 13:54

Time for your morning dose of RP cutoff.

Group A:
Newmanistan 1-2 Rennidan
Sarzonia 3-1 Somewhereistonia
Secristan 2-0 Leongo

Pos Group A P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Rennidan 4 3 1 0 11 5 6 10
2 Sarzonia 4 2 1 1 11 5 6 7
3 Newmanistan 4 2 1 1 10 5 5 7
4 Secristan 4 2 1 1 6 4 2 7
5 Somewhereistonia 4 1 0 3 6 11 -5 3
6 Leongo 4 0 0 4 1 15 -14 0

Group B:
Dancougar 5-1 Norwellia
Peisandros 0-0 West Newmanistan
Cassadaigua 1-1 Quintessence of Dust

Pos Group B P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Dancougar 4 3 0 1 11 4 7 9
2 Peisandros 4 2 2 0 5 3 2 8
3 Cassadaigua 4 2 1 1 10 7 3 7
4 Quintessence of Dust 4 1 2 1 4 5 -1 5
5 West Newmanistan 4 0 2 2 1 4 -3 2
6 Norwellia 4 0 1 3 4 12 -8 1

Ties sorted by GD for now. Sarzonia-Newmanistan play in MD5. No "Q" or "E" tags since everyone plays for a position after knockouts.

Quintessence of Dust

17-04-2009, 15:15

The New Cleethorpes Enquirer
Quodites salvage draw as domestic interest withers

Peter Rogers, captain and most-capped player of the Quintessence of Dust national team, scored his 17th international goal to give the team their second 1-1 draw against higher-ranked competition. But post-game statistics revealed QBS are having difficulty retaining viewers for the tournament. Football has always struggled to attract a significant audience share, but with the World Cup over and the Rugby World Cup potentially looming in the staggeringly unlikely event anyone ever votes on the pending bids, the round ball is failing to impress on screen.

Additionally, QBS-1 coverage of the ECC match was badly affected by commercial rival FTV's show, Quintessentially Talented, which featured Belinda Scroggins singing an aria from the classic opera "Monsieur Moth". Although Scroggins lacked basic technical skills and exhibited poor breathing control, her performance was widely acclaimed because she's a bit of a munter, and the show garnered massive ratings for FTV as thousands of Quodites tuned in to watch an ugly girl sing.

The match itself was a tense affair that saw two goals in the first twenty minutes; the remaining time was filled with a number of half chances, but both side perhaps paid the other too much respect. Up front, Marko Drescher's performance showed marked improvement, mainly because he almost never got to touch the ball. Hanna van Himpfelschnnoorrddt, playing again in Theo Littlefellow's stead, made a disastrous error to concede a 14th minute penalty, duly converted to give the Dagans a one-nil lead, but atoned five minutes later with a sweeping cross that Rogers neatly headed in. He moves into 2nd place in the all-time goal-scoring list for Quintessence of Dust.

Meanwhile, there was little sign of the political trouble that flared during the pre-game discussions in Congress, with the matter of playing against a matriarchy effectively put aside. There were some minor protests in the Colonies, about which Interior Department spokesman John Keith said, "Well, there's always protests about something in the Colonies." Protestors on the Stop Nailpainting March judged his comments "ill-advised and in poor taste". The Quintessential team face a statistical challenge to progress to the tournament finals, but stand a better chance of at least finishing in the top 8. Their final group stage match is against Norwellia. In other games, Rennidan's 5-a-side team engineered an even more staggering upset, this time beating hosts Newmanistan 2-1.

Somewhereistonia

18-04-2009, 07:51

A press release was issued today to news agencies across Somewhereistonia.

With the Baptism of Fire tournament fast approaching, the Somewhereistonia Sporting Association has decided to send those selected for that tournament as well as manager Ergma to prepare and acclimatise. This mean that those players will no longer take any part in the charity cup. Qasarian Sparta manager Tarmo Mäe has agreed to take control of the Charity cup team for the remainder of the tournament.

We kindly ask the organisers, Newmanistan for permission to call up some other players to bolster our squad for the remainder of the tournament.

List of players to leave for Baptism of Fire:
Klug
Sokk
Grinius
Nolakk
Taska
Kusnets
Zoltoks
Tork
Oim

Tarmo Mäe then was forced to pick a new group of players for the match against Leongo. Until word came from the officials; he was stuck with a very small squad to choose from. The statement was surprising even for Mäe; who had only received a telephone call a day before the statement was made. He thought that there was still plenty of time to prepare; but it was not his decision. He was just getting payed for some extra work, so he wasn't going to complain.

Burman [Klug], Kahn [Sokk], Ranilas [Grinius], Marek [Nolakk], Zuokas [Taska], Alekna [Kusnets] and Altosaar [Zoltoks] were chosen to become part of the new 1st team for the Empire Charity Cup team.

Quintessence of Dust

18-04-2009, 08:16

"...but missed the conversion to lose the game. Onto minor sports: football. A small and hardy bunch of Quodites have been in Newmanistan following the Empire Charity Cup there, and we're now joined by some of them, live from Hampton, on the morning of the final Group B match against Norwellia."

"Hello Alyssa!" Vague cheers in the background. "I'm Enid Kerfowsky and this is Per-Axel Nordsson."

"Hi Enid, hi Per-Axel, great to have you on [I]Talk Sport Gort. What's the mood like in the Quodite camp prior to kick-off?"

"Well, there's only 4 of us, but we're all pretty excited. I think it could be a good game for us."

"Many have commented on the much-improved discipline of the squad under Edward 'Big Ted' Large. Only one booking thus far this tournament: do you think the players are behaving better?"

"I don't think they were behaving badly before, but there do seem to be fewer desperate tackles. So far as I know they've been real ambassadors off the pitch too."

"Well, on that note, what do you think of Jessica Jensen taking a holiday instead of representing the nation?"

"Our players do play a lot of matches, so I wouldn't be too hard on her. It's better she takes a break, then comes back refreshed, than picks up an injury. If you ask me, that's what happened to Theo Littlefellow: coming straight of the CMSC to this tournament, it was bound to cause problems."

"Ok, and we've got some exciting news this morning - I wonder if it's made its way out to you yet? Marko Drescher, formerly of the University of West Sponson, has agreed to sign on to the Loudon Leopards for a record 4 million gold coins - the highest ever paid for a Quodite footballer."

"That's remarkable, Alyssa! No, we hadn't heard that, perhaps it's being kept under wraps. Well, it's good to see some of our younger players getting a chance overseas in better leagues. I think everyone can see how much good it's done Peter Rogers."

"Ok, and one final question: will you be following the team through World Cup 46 qualifying."

"Absolutely: we've already pre-booked our Cup of Harmony tickets!"

Newmanistan

18-04-2009, 11:16

Scorination of MD5 will occur around noon eastern US time, or three hours later then normal.

Newmanistan

18-04-2009, 16:29

DAYTOPIA TIMES-HERALD

After an announcement by the Somewhereistonia Sporting Association that their players who are also participating in the Baptism of Fire will be sent to Errinundera immediately to prepare for that much more meaningful tournament, the Somewhereistonia vs Leongo match may have just become even less interesting for Daytopians.

But it is after all, the first ever international game played in Daytopia, so we still expect the small 27,000 seat stadium to be full, they just won’t really know who they are cheering for. In a very brief statement, Empress Jessica said she understood the move, “As a former Baptism of Fire Champion, we certainly are aware of the meaning of that tournament. In can do great things for a nation, and we would like to wish Somewhereistonia the best of luck in Errinundera as the competition gets set to begin.”

Newmanistan

18-04-2009, 17:02

Time now to cut off the final matchday of the group stage!

Group A:
Newmanistan 3-1 Sarzonia
Rennidan 0-1 Secristan
Somewhereistonia 2-2 Leongo

Pos Group A P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Secristan 5 3 1 1 7 4 3 10
2 Rennidan 5 3 1 1 11 6 5 10
3 Newmanistan 5 3 1 1 13 6 7 10
4 Sarzonia 5 2 1 2 12 8 4 7
5 Somewhereistonia 5 1 1 3 8 13 -5 4
6 Leongo 5 0 1 4 3 17 -14 1

Group B:
Dancougar 3-1 Peisandros
Quintessence of Dust 4-0 Norwellia
Cassadaigua 2-0 West Newmanistan

Pos Group B P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Dancougar 5 4 0 1 14 5 9 12
2 Cassadaigua 5 3 1 1 12 7 5 10
3 Quintessence of Dust 5 2 2 1 8 5 3 8
4 Peisandros 5 2 2 1 6 6 0 8
5 West Newmanistan 5 0 2 3 1 6 -5 2
6 Norwellia 5 0 1 4 4 16 -12 1

Group A 3-way tie: SEC 1-1-0 in H2H, REN 1-0-1, NEW 0-1-1
Quintessence of Dust over Peisandros on GD. H2H was a draw.

Sunday is an off-day. Take advantage of it!

KNOCKOUTS: (Championship Bracket):
April 20th:
Game A: Secristan vs Cassadaigua (Putnam Lake)
Game B: Dancougar vs Rennidan (Pocono City)

April 21st:
Game C: (3RD PLACE GAME)- Loser Game A vs Loser Game B (Loudon)
Game D: (CHAMPIONSHIP)- Winner Game A vs Winner Game B (Tundra Falls)

(Middle Bracket)

April 20th:
Game E: Newmanistan vs Peisandros (Centralia)
Game F: Sarzonia vs Quintessence of Dust (Dover City)

April 21st:
Game G: (7TH PLACE GAME): Loser Game E vs Loser Game F (Southport)
Game H: (5TH PLACE GAME): Winner Game E vs Winner Game F (Olympia)

(Lower Bracket)

April 20th:
Game I: Somewhereistonia vs Norwellia (Hastings)
Game J: Leongo vs West Newmanistan (Fairfield City)

April 21st:
Game K: (11th PLACE GAME): Loser Game I vs Loser Game J (South Tier)
Game L (9TH PLACE GAME): Winner Game I vs Winner Game J (South Charlotte)

Quintessence of Dust

18-04-2009, 18:26

The New Cleethorpes Enquirer
Sundqvist trio grants surprise third place

In 79 games of international football, Quintessence of Dust have beaten teams ranked 10th in the world, twice, only to succumb to weaker opposition, twice, faced down robots, elves, and psychic dreadlords of hell, and spawned myriad domestic political complications and feuds - and theirs has, perhaps, been one of the more sedate sporting histories. Nonetheless, until last night's game against Norwellia no Quodite had ever scored a hat-trick in international football, a drought finally ended by Greschmeier star Marina Sundqvist, who extended her tournament goal tally to 5 in 5 as she found the net in the 34th, 68th, and 83rd minutes of the match.

As the players celebrated the 4-0 victory over Norwellia at Hampton they received an additional piece of good news: Dancougar's 3-1 win over Peisandros meant the Sandrians slipped to 4th in the group, thanks to Quintessence of Dust's superior goal difference. As such, after the rest day they travel to Dover City to face Sarzonia for a 5th place playoff qualification match. "If they win that, they'll be in a match worth up to 1 million gold coins, so obviously it's very exciting," said Abolitionism International press relations officer Đemka Frakelj.

Coach Edward "Big Ted" Large admitted he was disappointed not to have made the final four, but said the team had outperformed themselves as fourth seeds to finish third in the group. The prospect of playing Sarzonia should be especially motivating: the Stars twice beat Quintessence of Dust without reply during World Cup 45 qualifying, and then knocked them out of the Cup of Harmony quarter-finals in a tense penalty shoot-out. Sarzonia have never conceded a goal to the Quodites in 270 minutes of regular time, meaning puncturing the defensive wall will be a priority.

The 4-0 scoreline probably did not fairly reflect the run of play. While Quintessence of Dust had the bulk of the possession and looked stronger over the course of 90 minutes, Norwellia were not short of chances, and were cruelly denied a goal that would have brought the score back to 2-1 midway through the second half when Chris Padilla, on as a substitute for the injured Dmitris Roivas, burst into space and slammed home a quick ball, only to be ruled offside. Credit was due to Brikk Schitthausen, who marshalled the defensive line effectively all night and had the confidence to make good use of the offside trap.

After the offside decision, some of the stuffing seemed to go out of Norwellia, and Padilla's colleague at Cataluña Heroica, Aaliyah Morris, also on as a substitute, ended up making a critical error from a Woody Cockbadger corner, seeming to use her hand to brush the ball away from the rather more sprightly Marko Drescher, his spirits were evidently brightened by news of his move to Newmanistan's Loudon Leopards. A penalty was awarded and subsequent dissent led to her being booked, with animated discussion continuing even as captain Peter Rogers moved clear of Roger Longhorn in the all-time scoring record with his 18th goal.

Early signs in the match had not been quite so promising for the Quodites. Hanna van Himpfelschnnoorrddt gave up an obvious shove to yield a dangerous free-kick, ultimately pulled well wide, and then a tumultous scuffle at the other end from a Cockbadger corner ended up with Wilhelm Biber facing an open goal, only to drill the ball into the post. It rebounded, hitting him square in the face, and he was forced to leave the field with blood gushing from his nose. Tommy Lipponen struggled to make much of an impression on his second appearance as a substitute.

But then, there was Sundqvist. The stylish 20 year old who led the scoring in Season 1 of the Not-Really-Very-Premier League has been thus far struggled a little within the national set-up, too often forced to play too high on the pitch; today, with Drescher able to hold up Voreght, she had the freedom to roam just in front of Rogers, and made the most of it. With 33 minutes played and the scoreline still 0-0, few would have bet on a goal explosion, but a clever ball from Cockbadger found Drescher, who flicked on for Sundqvist, who skilfully slotted home from 8 yards. She picked up a booking for simulation after a rather dramatic tumble without contact, but ended the first half looking in control of things, playing on Ólafur Kjartansson, whose shot zinged off the crossbar to oohs from the assembled crowd.

The first chance of the second half fell to Drescher, who could only tamely sidefoot a beautiful cross from Masami Tamagotchi, who excelled herself. Tamagotchi's first genuinely superb performance at the international level showed what she is capable of, and yielded rich rewards. After Alain Vermeeren came close with a header, only to be denied by a save about which Benjamin Chang seemed to know little, she broke quickly upfield, and kept ahead of the onrush of returning Norwellian players, threading through an inch-perfect ball for Sundqvist to neatly chip neatly over the stranded Syku Lanja, Norwellia's Rejistanian-descended goalkeeper.

Then came the penalty, and immediately on the restart was on hand to exploit a careless slip by Barbara Senior, and quick thinking from Rogers set her up for a long-range volley that Lanja scraped out by their fingertips. A few minutes later, Tamagotchi and Sunqvist again teamed up to seal the result and win the young Greschmeier striker the historic honour, Tamagotchi zigging past 백일일 and hitting a dipping cross for a flick header into the far corner. There was time for a final, rather ambitious lob attempt from the left midfielder, setting up yet another Cockbadger corner, this time successfully defended by the straggling Norwellian line.

Large is unlikely to make changes for the Sarzonian game, while Hanna remains in the side as Theo Littlefellow continues to undergo physiotherapy on whatever the hell it is he claims to have injured this time - he probably doesn't remember. The encounter should prove especially poignant for Hanna, whose abysmal penalty sealed defeat against the Stars in the quarter-final match-up. "This is a charity tournament, but we won't be approaching the game with any less intensity," she said after learning of the pairing.

Norwellia

18-04-2009, 22:18

Bit of a scrambled RP for ya, honestly thrown together mostly for my record-keeping:

Peisandros 1-0 Norwellia
Scorers decided
Lanja, 1 GA (1)

West Newmanistan 1-1 Norwellia
Nothing RPed
Mine:
Peckham (WNM) 41'
Vermeeren (NOR) 65' (1)
Lanja, 1 GA (2)

Cassadaigua 5-2 Norwellia
GK: Lanja, 5 GA
Kerrigan (CAS) 1'
Kerrigan (CAS) 8'
Vermeeren (NOR) 17' (2)
Daniels (CAS) 25'
Kerrigan (CAS) 33'
Cincoski (CAS) 67'
Xura (NOR) 83' (1)
Lanja, 5 GA (7)

Dancougar 5-1 Norwellia
Nothing RPed
Mine:
Katayanagi (DAN) 4'
Horrigan (DAN) 12'
Katayanagi (DAN) 32'
Ikaru (NOR) 38' (1)
Hirano (DAN) 55'
Montego (DAN) 83'
Glinka, 5 GA (5)

Quintessence of Dust 4-0 Norwellia
Sundqvist (QOD) 34'
Sundqvist (QOD) 68'
Sundqvist (QOD) 83'
Roivas injured
Cap for Padilla
Cap for Morris (substitute)
Yellow Card: Sundqvist (QOD) 38'
Yellow Card: Morris (NOR) 68'
Lanja, 4 GA (11)

Tournament stats:
Vermeeren, 2 GF in 5 caps
Xura, 1 GF in 5 caps
Ikaru, 1 GF in 5 caps

Lanja, 11 GA in 4 caps
Glinka, 5 GA in 1 cap

Caps:

5 D 백일일
5 D Kentisesh Voreght
5 M Barbara Senior
5 M Misina Ponten
5 M Sala Ikaru
5 M Δημήτρης Ρουβάς (Dmitris Roivas)
5 M Mesit Xura
5 F Alain Vermeeren
5 F Natalia Richter
4 G Syku Lanja
3 D Aaliyah Morris
2 M Chris Padilla
2 M Mia Frost
5 D Metheven Tangye

Roivas' injury was a simple ankle sprain. Team physicians have determined that there was no further damage. Dmitris will miss the game against Somewhereistonia. Chris Padilla will start in his place.

Roivas will be on bed rest until that game, and immediately after the final whistle blows, he will begin rehabilitation, closely supervised by team doctors. An intensive course of proprioceptive re-education (retraining the muscle senses) will be joined with a regimen of walking and jogging in a pool and some light cycling. Colleague Roivas is expected to be fit for the Baptism of Fire.

Somewhereistonia

19-04-2009, 10:55

Qasarian Evening Sport

Depleted Eagles poor against minnows Leongo

A poor perfermance all round by the depleted squad. With Grinius gone and Klug not there to back up; the defence conceded 2 goals to a team that has only managed a single goal up to now.

The Leongo goals came in the 14th and 29th minutes both from a vaguely impressive [unknown player] in a dreadful first half where neither team held possession well. A poor backpass was easily picked up and slotted in for the first whilst the second came from a poorly defended corner.

The Eagles went in at the break 2-0 down and the depleted squad was showing the effects of the Baptism of Fire call up. The second half was a much better performance, so whatever Mäe said in half-time had a strong effect on the players.

The second half was still slow with few chances, but with 75% possession, they can take many positives into the next match. A brilliant solo run and shot by Zuokas gave the Eagles renewed hope of a comeback in the 80th minute.

A whole (extremely slow) six minutes passed before the next goal with Altosaar picking up a Marek through ball before delicately flicking it over the oncoming keeper.

Despite two more late efforts from Zaks and Zuokas Somewhereistonia did not get the result. It ended a disappointing 2-2.

Somewhereistonia (0) 2-2 (2) Leongo
Zuokas (80) [Unknown player] (14, 29)
Altosaar (86)

Substitutes:
Birzin off, Kaiser on (50), Alekna off, Zaks on (65)

The newspaper article on the charity cup was cut-down severely to be replaced by more important news, such as preparations for the baptism of fire, news on the first signings of foreign players to the league and the potential hosting of the Rugby World Cup.

Newmanistan

19-04-2009, 13:24

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS WIN BUT LOSE

Southport- Newmanistan did a lot right during the Charity Cup, winning three of their five games including their 3-1 victory over Sarzonia last night. However, it proved to not be enough as the one scenario that could play out that would keep the Rockets from playing for the grand prize despite a win did. Perhaps motivated by Rennidan’s charity, Secristan pulled out a 1-nil victory over the Urban5 squad, the only loss by Rennidan in the group stage to win the group. Newmanistan, Rennidan, and Secristan finished in a three way tie atop group A with identical 3-1-1 records, but because the Rockets were 0-1-1 in head to head meetings with those two, they dropped to third. The Millionaires, by virtue of a 1-1-0 same head to head record, end up winning the group and will play Cassadaigua in one of the two semifinals. The other semifinal should be a good one between Dancougar and Rennidan. Unfortunately, Newmanistan finds themselves playing for fifth place against Sarzonia, Quintessence of Dust and Peisandros. The Sandrians, who like the Rockets, had a disappointing final matchday result, will be the next opponent for Newmanistan, at Centralia Stadium. Both teams will probably be feeling a letdown from missing out on the championship bracket on the final day.

The Rockets got goals by Matthew Turner and Jennifer Vilardi in the first half, taking a 2-0 early lead over Franz Braddock and his Stars. Reese Nichols cut the lead in half in the early stages of the second half, it stayed that way until the waning moments. Shannon Vilardi, who was inserted as a substitute for her twin sister in the 78th minute, fired the clincher by Cody Taylor in the 86th minute. Taylor did not seem to get a good read on the shot and seemed to be disappointed that his defense did not help his cause more effectively. After the match, the two Cafundeu-based head coaches shook hands in their first head to head match since, well, a long time ago sometime in Cafundeu. They may be playing soon again as it is possible the two teams will meet for either 5th or 7th place in the Charity tournament, a finish that would probably be disappointing to both, but especially the Rockets. There have been some rumors this morning floating around that Jeremy McAllister, Sr. may play in the match against Peisandros to have one final game in front of his home fans, or perhaps two more games. However, this was shot down by Nelson Yaschter who told us that, “The only Jeremy McAllister that will be on the field will be the fourteen year old.” Some have wondered if the McAllister’s would use the Charity Cup, which is a relaxed non-WCC sanctioned event, as an opportunity to play on the field at the same time. That will not be the case, or at least not against Peisandros. Jeremy McAllister, Sr. has 180 international caps, scoring 134 goals in his career. However he called it a career at 37 following, ironically, Cup of Harmony 37. Though there has been a lot of pressure for Senior to return to the Rockets and perhaps have one more chance at playing for the World Cup Proper, the elder McAllister does not seem interested in that at the moment, though his non-verbal signs lately make us wonder if he just may be reconsidering.

Secristan

19-04-2009, 16:13

MILLIONAIRES WIN SHOCK GROUP TITLE

They want to destroy our economy, those jealous bastards. With a few nations playing for Cancer Research, and the others playing for other worthy causes, we have Rennidan, who wants to destroy the foundation of our economy. They may be disappointed to know that on a recent WA poll, Secristan’s economy was rated as the 6th fastest growing in One Big Island, so for them to get their way, things will be rather difficult and they will need a lot more money then what even the grand prize of the charity cup will provide. Rennidan plays with only five players and a goalie and have done a terrific job playing against the national teams which field twice as many people. Possibly, Rennidan benefits from their players knowing each other quite well, while a national team is often a team assembled from players who are not used to playing with each other as teammates. One thing we do know is that Rennidan plays with the same strong work ethic that we have seen from their World Bowl entries. Tonight, they met up with our Millionaires, and we were not expected to do much as we seemed destined for third or fourth place in the group. But the defensive effort was strong and Segabor had a difficult time getting any quality opportunities. When called upon, Michael Rossiter came up with big stops. A 34th minute score by James Rogan, which came after a brilliant display of speed and individual skill, was the only score of the match, and gave Secristan the victory. With the announcement that Newmanistan had defeated Sarzonia, we were told that we won out on the three-way tiebreaker due to head to head advantages. The Millionaires did not expect to win this group, and maybe they were riding in the coattails of their lacrosse team who recently won the World Lacrosse Championships 4 crown over Dancougar.

Speaking of Dancougar, they are also in the final bracket, but they are Rennidan’s opponent. That sets up a pretty good clash between the two highest ranked teams in the field. Meanwhile, we get to play those pesky Cassadagans. With Baptism of Fire 33 about to begin, it’s easy to quickly remember some of the history that exists between Secristan and Cassadaigua, which all started in Baptism of Fire 30. Who could forget that memorable brawl between the teams because they didn’t like that we were being rough with their precious blogger Courtney Ferguson. The tension was supposed to continue in Di Bradini Cup 7, but instead saw the young teenagers rebelling and the romance that ensued between Eric Fraser and Stacie Kerrigan. They have remained strong.

And why not, this is a good time for it. Cassadaigua, Eric Fraser will be proposing marriage to Stacie Kerrigan prior to the opening kickoff. You can choose whether to accept or reject his proposal.

Quintessence of Dust

19-04-2009, 16:51

Charity Profile
What we're playing for: QFA press release

Abolitionism International are one of Quintessence of Dust's most famous charities. A people with a long history of anti-slavery activism, many Quodites strongly support the actions of AbI, but it has always been dogged by controversies in its international operations, particularly with regard to its perceived attempts at religious indoctrination. Mainly devoted to advocacy and policy research, its impact on global slavery has been more significant than many other organizations, but it retains limited name recognition in most other countries of the world.

Founded in the late nineteenth century by labour activist Thelma Pedersen, immigration officer Jurgen Pedersen, and lawyer Jens Schweizer, its early offices were two small rooms above a textile shop in downtown New Cleethorpes, but by the early twentieth century it had grown substantially, operating two separate headquarters. Unfortunately, its longtime affiliation with the Industrial Socialist Party hurt it badly during the Second Civil War, and afterwards it endured decades of mistrust by President Artellius Kyrager, who privately ordered surveillance of some its activities.

Today, its fortunes improved by the patronage of several of Quintessence of Dust's leading political figures, it has the largest membership of any charity in the nation. It successfully lobbied for a global anti-slavery treaty at the World Assembly, which became the "Ban on Slavery and Trafficking" that passed in late 2008, and has since consulted with the Office of WA Affairs on improving compliance with the measure.

The charity aims at assisting those freed from servitude, whether indentured bondage, sex slavery, forced labour, or illegal imprisonment, and a key aim is the route to economic self-sufficiency. It runs a series of small businesses around the world that employ ex-slaves in food production, jewellry manufacturing, or other small crafts, helping to reduce economic pressures that might induce concession to enslavement.

Undoubtedly the most controversial aspect of its mission is its rigid secularism, including its rather stark refusal to abide by Frederick Douglass's famous maxim, "I would work with anyone to do good and no one to do evil" by insisting on only very limited cooperation with religious charities. Numerous of its past directors have issued critical statements on the relationship between world religions and the practice of slavery, and a part of its social transition program for assisting the assimilation of ex-slaves into the real world includes a course of instruction on "Independence of Body, Independence of Mind" that some believe is essentially a crash course in religious scepticism.

Abolitionism International have as yet not announced what they will do with the money from the tournament, which will depend to a certain extent on its amount, but a major cash influx would most likely to spent on manumission.

Dancougar

20-04-2009, 02:02

Dancougar News!!
Another CMU Carnival come and gone.

Five past Glinka as Wings burn Norwellia: After Syku Lanja gave up five goals against Cassadaigua, perhaps Norwellian manager Alexandre Fréchette thought it would sent a strong message if he started backup Aleksej Glinka against the Wings. Turns out, his team didn't receive that one, either, as Dancougar cruised 5-1 to give themselves an excellent chance to reach the Empress Charity Cup's Championship Bracket.

The match was all but decided in the first half hour, although Norwellia finished the first half strong and could have turned it around if the Wings had gotten as sloppy as they were against West Newmanistan. It was also the second game in the tournament which saw the Wings start the scoring within five minutes of the opening whistle, instantly forcing the relative newcomers into a match-long uphill battle. It's experience that, while unpleasant, should prove useful when they tackle the Baptism of Fire, as they should arrive more tested than most of the field.

Makoto Katayanagi put the Wings ahead in the 4th minute after slipping behind the offside trap. That put him one-on-one with Glinka, and Katayanagi coolly slid the ball toward the far post. It was the beginning of a long afternoon for Glinka, who would be forced to pick the ball out of the net minutes later. Cody Horrigan set up a free kick twelve yards from the end line. Norwellia just put three men on the wall, figuring that the angle was too extreme. Horrigan still tried to place it close to goal and fired an inswinger to try and find a teammate's head. There was so much spin that it ended up fooling Glinka and popping into the goal for 2-0.

"I was as surprised as he was when it went in," said Horrigan who got just his first goal of the tournament despite having provided countless scoring chances with his set pieces. "I saw Shoji sliding around near the edge of the box and then, it's a play we'd practiced, where he fakes a run across the top of the box and instead cuts back towards the post."

The Wings continued to attack and dominated possession throughout the first half hour. The Norwellian midfield fell back to take a more defensive role and prevent the game from being a rout. In the 32nd, Katayanagi made it a brace when he fired a shot past Glinka from fifteen yards away, but this time, the Norwellians had a response. Finally given an opportunity to go forward, Natalia Richter won a free kick near the top of the arc, giving the team their best scoring opportunity of the half. Sala Ikaru went directly for goal from the set piece and Roger Brooks-Kennedy never budged.

At 3-1, Norwellia pushed to make it a one-goal match before halftime. Ikaru created more offense in the 44th that Alain Vermeeren was unlucky to head over the crossbar. Still, the Wings ended the first half on the back heel, making the second half an exciting prospect. And for the first ten minutes, it played out as expected, with Norwellia continuing to pile on the pressure. Brooks-Kennedy had to make two saves to keep the score steady. Then, in the 55th, the Wings put the game out of reach and broke Norwellia's spirit. Against the run of play, Kou Hirano was gifted a look at goal and he sent a hard shot past Glinka to make it 4-1.

"You want to make the most of your chances, and I think we did that," said coach Jericho Leyton. "We were able to capitalize on our early shots and that made life more difficult for them. At the same time, it let us dictate the pace and pick our chances, although they did have that surge, and we did a good job on team defense."

Hirano's goal took some of the life out of the match, and as the minutes ticked away, Norwellia found the uphill climb to be that much more tiring. Kent Montego put the final nail in the coffin with a late header in the 83rd to complete the scoring.

Wings take Charity Cup group with Peisandros win: The people manning the phones for Teenage Women Without Hammerspace can expect the Black Wings to be calling in a big-money donation within the next few days. A 3-1 victory over Peisandros in the final game of the Empress Charity Cup group stage puts the Wings in the championship bracket, where the minimum they can bring home is a cool 2 million gold coins.

"It's a big deal to be able to guarantee a pretty massive donation," said defender Annamaria Shoemaker, one of two women on the Youngstars team. "And we want to win that top purse. But to a lot of us, the football's more important, because it means a lot to get to wear a Dancougar shirt."

After stumbling against Cassadaigua in the tournament opener, the Wings have been on cruise control, outscoring opponents 13-3 in what is now four straight wins. The Youngstars, most of whom can only count the Di Bradini or Oxen Cup for international experience, will face their stiffest test in the final two matches of the tournament, which the D-League hopes will provide some validation of its talent pool after a string of lackluster international performances by its clubs.

Makoto Katayanagi almost put the Wings up in the 10th minute, but Calisto Pappas was saved by his post. Midfielder Josef Rousch whiffed on the rebound and the defense cleared. That was the closest Dancougar came to scoring until Kou Hirano put them on the board in the 26th. A cautious buildup from Dancougar midfield suddenly exploded into aggression with a Rousch long ball. Katayanagi poked it between defender Narcissus Theodore's legs and continued his run down the touchline. Katayanagi squared it for Kent Montego, who rifled a low shot on goal. Pappas parried wide, but Hirano made good on the rebound to make it 1-0.

"It's the kind of football that's so exciting to watch," said Jericho Leyton. "When a team's starting to click, you can produce things like that. You get so much offense from a simple pass, and the ball starts to just flow along with the team."

But the Sandrians, also playing for a berth in the final four, were not about to let the match slip away. Although they were playing a more attack-biased strategy than usual, they were able to counter the surging Dancougar attack with solid team defense, and that produced counterattack chances that led to the 40th-minute equalizer. A turnover in the midfield led to a hard run on goal by George Theotokis, who slipped the ball behind a retreating Shoemaker which was met with a one-time shot past Jeremy Cornelia from Apollodoros Notara to make it 1-1 going into halftime.

That let to a nervy fifteen minutes of football following the start of the second half. Dancougar were safe with a draw, but Peisandros needed to win to put qualification beyond doubt. Possession was about equal, as each team looked for an opening. None could find it, with Shoji Ishino voluntarily withdrawing from the midfield to create a five-player defense in front of Corniela. The first team to blink was Peisandros, and it was Katayanagi to deliver the blow. A long cross into the box was headed down by Cody Horrigan, and the ball was allowed a single bounce. That was enough time for Katayanagi to fight his way through for a shot, which caught Pappas out of the goalmouth attempting to make a play on the ball. He was over-committed and beaten; 2-1 to the Wings.

Six minutes later, the Wings doubled the lead through Rousch, who got his first goal of the tournament with a low shot that Pappas got fingertips to and nothing else. It was another catastrophic defensive breakdown for the Sandrians, as good off the ball movement by the Wings drew the defenders out of position. This gave Rousch a lane to run into, and when Terry Roubanis finally broke away to issue a challenge, Rousch was able to sidestep to put the ball on his favored right foot with nothing in front of him except Pappas and the net.

"We were patient in the second half, and that paid off for us," said Rousch. "We knew that we only needed the tie, but we also knew that we were going to find some seams in that defense if we just poked at it long enough."

Leyton to match Rennidan tactics: After seeing Rennidan have its way with several conventional teams with its Urban5 Segabor team, coach Jericho Leyton has decided that the best way for the Wings to defeat them might be to mimic them.

Leyton surprised fans - and his own FA - by naming only six players to the starting lineup, five field players and a goalkeeper, for the match with Rennidan, which finished second in Group A and has an impressive resume which includes a win over Newmanistan and a draw with Sarzonia. Segabor is a member of Rennidan's new Urban5 indoor football league, and they've made the transition to the outdoor game with little difficulty. While there is no equivalent in Dancougar, Leyton says that his players are no strangers to hard work and should be able to handle the added physical demands of a small-sided game.

"As with any new style of play, it's going to take some getting used to, and we may not play the prettiest game against Rennidan," said Leyton. "But I don't think anyone expects that. What's important is that we go into the game with the correct mindset, that we can meet any team in the world on their terms and still perform at a high level."

Analysts wonder if the move is also a response to the public calling-out of Sarzonia manager Franz Braddock after his team's 2-2 draw with Rennidan. Striker Marco Rowan, the leader of the Segabor team, said that the result was due to the institutionalization of football, which Braddock was furthering by sticking to a derivative style in the face of Segabor's radically different tactics.

Regardless of the reason, Lakeport Times columnist Jay Adonis has already panned the move, saying that it's playing right into Segabor's hands. "To say that we can simply cut the number of players in half and play the same game as the Rennidan Urban5 power is ludicrous," Adonis said on DSPN's [I]Around the Horn. "Segabor is much more creative out of necessity, and the Wings are going to end up trying to run the same stuff they're used to with fewer people. You can copy the formation but you can't copy the passion."

Roger Brooks-Kennedy will play in goal as part of Leyton's rotation scheme, and in front of him will be a 2-2-1. Tomo Asanuma and Annamaria Shoemaker will be the starting defenders, the midfield will be covered by Cody Horrigan and Kent Montego, and Makoto Katayanagi will be the sole striker. Leyton believes that Asanuma and Shoemaker have been the most solid defenders at his disposal, and the more open spaces created by the lack of players will most benefit Horrigan and Montego's speed and dribbling abilities.

Cassadaigua

20-04-2009, 02:39

Ashley’s Space

When the Charity Cup began, we weren’t quite sure how well we’d do, but here we are now with a chance to win the grand prize. By making the championship bracket, we are assured of making 2,000,000 GC which when you convert the currency is like saying $2,000,000. That has the potential of increasing all the way up to $10,000,000, and a win in our next match would mean a minimum of $7,000,000. Our big result was the opening match win over Dancougar, which we can compare to our win in World Cup 45 Qualifying over Daehanjeiguk. Like then, we took care of the games that we were supposed to win, and with the addition of one unexpected result, we end up finishing in the top two. Our performance against Quintessence of Dust was positive even though it was only a draw. The Quodites had a pretty good tournament themselves and actually finished third overall. We finished things off against West Newmanistan by scoring two goals, and it was great to get one of those two. As we were controlling play down low, both myself and Katie Cincoski decided we would push up more then normal. Stacie Kerrigan caught on to this quite well, and delivered the ball to me. I had room for a brief run and a good shot opportunity and I was able to capitalize. It seemed to deflate West Newmanistan a little bit, but they kept on playing hard. Erika Daniels put them away in the second half to make it 2-0, and from there we could tell that our opponents lost interest. They had only scored one goal during the entire Cup, and with just nineteen minutes to go, they seemed to lack any confidence that they could come back. Which is fine with us.

There are two games left now, and our next match will be against Secristan. The Millionaires won Group A thanks to tiebreakers and it should be another great showdown. We have actually not played Secristan in soccer for a while, but the matchup immediately brings back memories of the Baptism of Fire and the Di Bradini Cup 7 where we had two classics. On our side, the hatred of the Millionaires has really gone away. Maybe it’s just time, but it’s also because after the Di Bradini Cup, we felt that everything that had happened in the Baptism of Fire had been forgiven. It could also just be us, as the current group of players. We are not the primary senior team, and many of us played on the Di Bradini team, but not the Baptism of Fire team. Stacie Kerrigan, who’s relationship with Eric Fraser has been well documented, is very excited about this game. She tells me that Eric is really pumped up about it but also seems a little nervous, which isn’t really like Eric. But I’m sure he and the rest of us will be fine.

Newmanistan

20-04-2009, 04:41

A father and son chat (Jeremy McAllister Sr +Jr)

Junior: Dad, am I going to go to Lakeport soon?

Senior: Soon, they’re still squabbling over your transfer fee but they are getting closer. I wouldn’t expect to be playing for Putnam Lake and I think coach Gratton realizes that.

Junior: Yeah, I can’t wait to go there. Do you think I will get a lot of playing time?

Senior: You’ll get quite a bit. They aren’t going to pay so much money to have you ride the bench and not play though you will probably be a late game substitute more at the start.

Junior: That’ll be ok, I suppose!

Senior: Yeah remember that things are a little different in Dancougar. The age of majority isn’t 16 and people don’t normally sign their first professional contract at 14.

Junior: Yeah.

Senior: Son, have you ever wanted to play together in the World Cup. Me and you?

Junior: That would have been cool and very special.

Senior: I’ve been thinking about maybe coming back for World Cup 46. If I do a lot of working out I may be able too.

Junior: I think it’s special that you are a coach, too.

Senior: Maybe but it is not the same.

Junior: I know but. I (stutters a few times). I just don’t know if that’s the best thing for us.

Senior: I can be as good as I was before. Me and you on the same team, leading Newmanistan into the World Cup Proper for the first time, it can happen.

Junior: But, I (Stuttering more) I…

Senior: What?

Junior: I’m not going to be starting in World Cup 46. Nelson says it’s going to be Jenn (Vilardi) and Matt (Turner). If you were there then I don’t think we would really play together a lot. And, well…

Senior: I thought you would be more excited about this.

Junior: It would be exciting dad, but, Matthew is my friend. We like playing together. Don’t be mad I guess I want to be my own player.

Senior: You will, son.

Junior: I hope so. Please don’t be mad. But Matthew and I are excited about creating our own legacy like you did with Shawn Drummond. I also remember how happy you were at the end of the Cup of Harmony.

Senior: Well I was happy to win the Cup of Harmony. It might not be the World Cup, but it’s not an easy Cup to win.

Junior: You also told me that you were so happy to finish your career as a champion. You started with a trophy and you finished with a trophy. You went out celebrating and you were happy with that and could live with the fact that you would not play in the Proper.

Senior: I know I just would love that one more chance.

Junior: You are going to have one more chance and many chances as the assistant coach, Dad. It’s my time and Matthew’s time now.

Senior: (sighs) I guess you’re right.

More father and son talk follows and Senior walks back to his hotel room. He takes the bottle of HGH and remembers the words of his son. Why didn’t Junior share his enthusiasm about playing together? Was it just him being a teenager, or should he really forget about this whole come out of retirement thing. He remembered the glory of winning the Cup of Harmony. He won three of them. He won a Baptism of Fire, and a Di Bradini Cup. He scored 134 goals in 180 international caps. Though never playing in the World Cup Proper, his career was a success. And with a son about to play for the national team in World Cup 46, and a great marriage with wife Ashley, his life off the field has been a success as well. He was ready to make his final decision concerning the HGH. There was no reason to be selfish and there would be no guarantee anyway that the Rockets would make the World Cup even he did play.

The time had come. He walked outside and dumped the pills down a sewer drain. He drove off far enough from the hotel and tossed the empty bottle into the river. Jeremy McAllister, Sr was not a cheater. He was a champion, and content with what had happened in his life. Driving back to hotel, he felt as if a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulder. On the way back, he got every green light, as if a higher power was thanking him for making the right decision.

Newmanistan

20-04-2009, 14:07

It's cutoff time!

Newmanistan

20-04-2009, 14:15

KNOCKOUTS: (Championship Bracket):
April 20th:
Game A: Secristan 1-2 Cassadaigua (1-1 FT, 1-1 AET, Cassadagiua win 3-2 on PK's)
Game B: Dancougar 3-1 Rennidan

April 21st:
Game C: (3RD PLACE GAME)- Secristan vs Rennidan (Loudon)
Game D: (CHAMPIONSHIP)- Cassadaigua vs Dancougar (Tundra Falls)

(Middle Bracket)

April 20th:
Game E: Newmanistan 2-1 Peisandros
Game F: Sarzonia 2-3 Quintessence of Dust (2-2 FT, 2-3 AET)

April 21st:
Game G: (7TH PLACE GAME): Peisandros vs Sarzonia (Southport)
Game H: (5TH PLACE GAME): Newmanistan vs Quintessence of Dust (Olympia)

(Lower Bracket)

April 20th:
Game I: Somewhereistonia 2-1 Norwellia
Game J: Leongo 0-1 West Newmanistan

April 21st:
Game K: (11th PLACE GAME): Norwellia vs Leongo (South Tier)
Game L (9TH PLACE GAME): Somewhereistonia vs West Newmanistan (South Charlotte)

Prize Money at stake: (1 GC= approximately 1 US Dollar)
1st- 10,000,000 GC
2nd- 7,000,000 GC
3rd- 5,000,000 GC
4th- 2,000,000 GC
5th- 1,000,000 GC
6th- 700,000 GC
7th- 600,000 GC
8th- 500,000 GC
9th- 400,000 GC
10th- 300,000 GC
11th- 200,000 GC
12th- 100,000 GC

Newmanistan

20-04-2009, 14:53

Jeremy McAllister and family arrive in Olympia for the final game of the Charity Cup.

Ashley (wife): Jeremy, even though I said I would be there for you either way, I am so glad you made that decision.

Jeremy: Yeah, I don’t want to go down as a cheater. And Junior is right, he needs to be his own person.

Ashley: I agree. Now we can put this behind us and move on.

Jeremy: Agreed. I love you.

(Meanwile, at the Centralia hotel that they checked out of that morning, housekeepers Shaina and Louise have a spat over who cleans his room, mainly, because they are sure there is a big tip in there.)

Shaina: The supervisor assigned me these rooms today, sorry.

Louise: I always clean this wing!

Shaina: Not today, sorry.

Louise: This is so unfair. They’re playing favorites again. She knows this was Jeremy McAllister’s room and there is probably a nice tip in there and you’re her favorite so you get this room.

Shaina: Well maybe if you didn’t call in sick three times a week, she’s like you more.

(Louise goes to complain to her supervisor and Shaina begins to clean the room).

“200 GC, thank you Jeremy!” She thinks as she pockets the money and begins to clean the room. “Damn, couldn’t you clean out this drawer..... nah this isn’t important, toss it in the garbage. Now what’s this.... Oh my.... Ways to avoid the detection of HGH in your system.” She dropped the pamphlet in shock and picked it back up. Jeremy meant to dispose of it, but now it was in Shaina’s hands. She was going to dispose of it but then thought, “If I report this to the police, I can bail my boyfriend out of jail and be rich! Jeremy McAllister is a cheat! I have proof! It has the doctor's name and number on it and everything. This can be a major bust!”

Shaina calls the police to report this......

(To be continued during World Cup 46 Qualifying.......)

Quintessence of Dust

20-04-2009, 16:10

The New Cleethorpes Enquirer
Cockbadger stars in thrilling comeback

Exhilarated Quodite fans, all five of them, erupted in joy as Quintessence of Dust ended their losing streak against Sarzonia to claim a place in the 5th/6th place play-off of the Empire Charity Cup in Newmanistan. For the leading footballing nations of the world, such enthusiasm over an extra time victory for the chance of finishing 5th in a minor tournament might seem a little odd, but for a country that has little to celebrate in sporting terms, it at least served as vindication after a humiliating penalty shoot-out exit to the Stars in the Cup of Harmony. Even the usually taciturn Edward "Big Ted" Large was obviously overcome with joy at the result, speaking at length to reporters. "Is good," he said.

The hero of the evening's dramatic events was undoubtedly the 18 year-old Woody Cockbadger, the Rahlia Regals midfielder whose father, Arlo Cockbadger, was formerly the head coach at the State University of Pulona and a long-time central defender for the national squad. Cockbadger worked hard all night, and then produced two outstanding goals - the first to bring the score level, and the second in extra time to give Quintessence of Dust the victory they had so desired. Wysteria has typically not been involved in World Cup football, reserving its sporting exertions for regional contests with The Heartland, and only Achtervolging has featured in recent years, leaving the Quodites with a - perhaps fortunate - lack of natural rivals. The Stars, the only team they have played 4 times, are now becoming such a rival.

The game took an unexpected turn from the beginning. The Sarzonians, usually favouring heavily defensive play to grind out 1-0 wins, made all the early running, while Quintessence of Dust, again fielding an extra defender, sat back and held tight, limiting themselves to just 2 attempts on goal in the entire first half, a Cockbadger drive that Taylor could safely parry, and a rather ponderous long-range effort from Marina Sundqvist that caused him even less trouble. After her delightful performance against Norwellia, she was a disappointment against the Stars, who assigned Salivani to mark her out of the game. She still came close to scoring in the second half, but Taylor got to a ball from Rogers that had half a lick too much pace on it, a deft chip from a corner grazed the crossbar, and then she struck the inside of the post from the edge of the penalty area. She was pulled off for Texas Axelsson after 70 minutes.

KT Hotspur midfielder George Morrison scored the opener after 17 minutes. Although Brikk Schitthausen and Cecilia Colombo coped admirably with the early Sarzonian onslaught, they found themselves outnumbered after a swift counterattack and, facing 4 on 2, picked the wrong target. Reese Nichols found Morrison in oceans of space, and he neatly chipped with his unfavoured right foot past Benjamin Chang. Chang had a dreadful game, of the sort that many had hoped they'd seen the last of with the departure of Winchester Furman, the haplessly incompetent former No. 1 who was selected as the worst goalkeeper of World Cup 45 qualifying.

As a tired team limped into injury time of the first half, he made a catastrophic blunder to leave the half-time score at 2-0, with almost no one believing the Quodites could manage three goals against the solid Sarzonian defence. Salivani chased down a flick on from Zack Wilson, who had a fantastic match but was unable to get the better of the physical game with Schitthausen, but tripped and fell to leave the ball to roll to Chang. He duly rolled it out, looking up to see who was free in midfield, while seemingly forgetting that Salivani was lying just behind him. The young Pacitalian-Sarzonian proceeded to execute a calm but astonishingly cheeky bit of thievery as he nipped round and planted the ball in the net, Chang so oblivious to what was happening that he continued his follow-through, his boot meeting air.

The goal may have been flukey but 2-0 was not an unfair reflection of the gap in abilities on display between the former world champions and their unfancied adversaries. The Stars dominated first half possession and already fatigue was obvious in the Quintessential side. Peter Rogers was playing well below his best, as rumours about a potential split with his girlfriend, TV presenter Alyssa Banana, circulate. Whatever the reason for his performance, he was completely surpassed by Masami Tamagotchi, who for the second game running proved her worth in the national lineup with a delightful two hours of football, showing off every trick in the back. She was soft in the tackle and slow to get back, but made up for it with inventive running and precise crossing from the left, despite preferring the central position. Many believed she would use her relegation clause option to go overseas, but with no international clubs expressing interest, she is likely to sign on to another Not-Really-Very-Premier League club.

Early in the second half a swerving Bocanegro free-kick zinged off the right post, but after that the Quodites, by now having brought on Marko Drescher for extra firepower, threw everything into attack, only for Sundqvist to meet frustration after frustration. From two consecutive corners they attacked with nine players, leaving Schitthausen and a rather nervous Chang in splendid isolation, and nearly yielded a third, surely decisive goal as a result, only for substitute Matt Lynch to be denied by a superbly timed sliding tackle from Hannes van Himpfelschnnoorrddt. Play hopped to the other end again, with his sister Hanna winning a corner, and this time it yielded results, Sundqvist cleverly flicking a header to the far post for Biber to charge in and stab his first international goal with an outstretched foot. The Greschmeier captain's celebrations were muted, perhaps conscious of the spectacle he made with a large bandage over his nose from the Norwellian game.

Still, as the clock ticked on, Sundqvist left the field and Tamagotchi increasingly found herself running three paces ahead of her colleagues, supporters began leaving the stadium, no one believing Quintessence of Dust could manage the equaliser. No one had told Cockbadger. Tyler McIntosh, on as a sub for Morrison, gave up a free-kick for a clear foul in a match otherwise played in remarkably clean style, and with 7 seconds of normal game time remaining, Cockbadger hit a sweet, curling effort that dipped in front of the line of onrushing players to evade Taylor at the far post. The young man went berzerk, but as two minutes of injury time were added celebrations had to be curtailed for one last defensive effort, Schitthausen staying cool when Hanna left Wilson past her to clear off the line.

It was heart-pounding stuff, but the prospect of another half an hour on the pitch, and, even worse, the looming threat of a penalty shoot-out, leading to tactical substitutions for both sides, did not brighten anyone's outlook. The first half of extra time was played out in cautious style, both sides seemingly wanting to wait for an unforced error, but none was forthcoming. Cockbadger himself looked ready to leave the pitch until Drescher pulled up with a twinge, and Large had to use his last substitution for him. With fifteen minutes left, then ten, then five, at last some invisible accord was reached and both sides abandoned any pretence of defensiveness, charging end-to-end in an attempt to avoid a decision based on spot kicks.

Hannes made Herculean efforts to score an own goal, perhaps out of a desire to prevent his sister taking another penalty, striking his own post with a header from a scrappily defended corner and then playing a back pass that Chang had to slide in to clear, while at the other end Tamagotchi hit the left post, collected the rebound only to hit the right, and completed an agonising trifecta by volleying the third chance into the crossbar. Finally, just when the state of the match could most effectively be measured by the volume of perspiration pouring off the goalkeepers' forehead, Rogers dug out a last measure of effort and began an enterprising run. Chased down by Grover, he met support from Hannes, who found himself staring into a penalty box so packed with bodies one could have mistaken it for a subway train. The cross was, inevitably, headed clear, but Ólafur Kjartansson, who'd had a quiet but dependable game, hit a driving volley that Taylor had to punch out for a corner.

With barely three minutes left, even Brikk Schitthausen was in amongst the Stars' defence, jostling for position. Cockbadger's corner found Axelsson, who headed down for Rogers to shoot; the shot was blocked and swiftly cleared, but only as far as the Rahlia prodigy who, with chants of "We Wub Woody" and "Cockbadger! Cockbadger! Cockbadger!" echoing out from the tiny but noisy Quodite fan section, darted inside, chipping on only to seemingly lose the ball forward. Stretching, he got in a shot from an impossibly tight angle, and 20 players turned to watch it find its way into the net, somehow. While he was busy trying to stuff the corner flag into his shorts the Stars had just enough legs for one very last effort, but the immovable, brilliant Schitthausen was, for one last time, up to the challenge, putting in a crunching tackle to dispossess Wilson and putting a clearance into orbit to the sound of the final whistle.

Speaking after the game captain Peter Rogers described his elation. "I know this isn't the most prestigious tournament, but we haven't had a great deal to celebrate lately as a team, and to know we'll at least be finishing in the top 6 of a tournament we were seeded 8th for is a start to the recovery that we've all been working for. Woody was fantastic tonight, Brikk was a monster, I've never seen Masami play so well and, well, it's just such a high right now. Tomorrow is Newmanistan, who are obviously favourites, and we're going to have to adapt to their system better this time, but tomorrow is tomorrow. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go crawl into a ball and sleep for 18 hours."

Somewhereistonia

20-04-2009, 16:38

Qasarian Evening Sport

Yes its still going, and we won!

All eyes have turned to our preparations in Errinundera, but the Eagles played another game last night. Its the Empire Charity Cup, and we won our play-off against Norwellia.

The game started slowing, with both team looking nervous early on and as was rare for us, we weren't pushing for a goal. 1664 goals had been scored in the league in the last season, and now players were holding back.

Norwellia kick started the match in the 23th minute when Vermeeran latched onto a through ball, sending the shot crashing off the post. This sparked the young Eagles into life.

In the 27th minute, Zuokas picked up the pass from Marek, after cutting inside the left back he flicked the ball across the face of goal, Alekna nodded home from literally a foot out, his first goal of the tournament. The rainbow warriors were now force to attack after going a goal down. The game opened up after this, with both teams having efforts on goal, but most of these were from distance and only two were on target. So, Somewhereistonia went into the break 1-0 up.

During the second half, the Eagles showed much more of our attacking flare, Zuokas could have had a hat-trick if it wasn't for the experience and great reflexes of Syku Lanja.

Norwellia was starting to look tired, they were laboring to get the ball past the half-way line. A set of substitutions soon reignited the rainbow men as they began to threaten again. It was this, that seemingly ended Norwellia's hopes. Norwellia had pushed forward for a corner on 73'. A strong clearance by Ranilas sent Marek away on the break, with Altosaar and Alekna running up the middle, Zuokas was clear on the right. A great pass switched the ball to the winger and his dash left him with only the keeper to beat.

Zuokas slowed as he reached the edge of the box, Lanja came forward to close the angle and a perfect chip slipped into the goal mouth, with Lanja looking bemused near the spot. It was now a deserved 2-0 lead, and the Eagles settled into a relaxed pace, controlling the play.

In the 88th minute Rahnu got too relaxed, his pass to Zuokas was short and easily cut out by Ikaru. His pass flew to the edge of the box, where an oncoming Vermeeran took it on the chest brilliantly, before sliding it across the keeper into the bottom right. 2-1 The final score, not the best of games, but a win gives them the chance to win 400,000 gold coins for Can Stop. Although the chance of winning a place in the first team may also help to inspire the Eagles to perform well.

Somewhereistonia (1) 2-1 (0) Norwellia
Alekna (27) Vermeeran (88)
Zuokas (73)

Quintessence of Dust

20-04-2009, 21:10

Posted on QBS sports page.

Littlefellow to return for clash with hosts

Edward "Big Ted" Large has confirmed that Theo Littlefellow will return to the starting lineup for the 5th/6th place playoff with Empire Charity Cup hosts Newmanistan tomorrow. The MN Smith left back who became the youngest national team captain in history, only to become the youngest ex-captain after the disappointments of World Cup 45, has been plagued by injury throughout his career, and has played just 36 minutes of football since the close of the CMSC season, limping off the pitch in the opening encounter with West Newmanistan.

He will take the place of Hanna van Himpfelschnnoorrddt, who may be disappointed to miss out on the culmination of the tournament, after contributing impressively to the team's surprise win over Sarzonia in extra time yesterday. With Littlefellow her senior by just a year, her future in the national squad set-up seems uncertain. Large is expected to name his squad for World Cup 46 qualifying at the end of the tournament, in order to allow QNRVPL teams time to prepare.

Probable starting XI:

Chang - J. van Himpfelschnnoorrddt, Schitthausen, Littlefellow - Ólafur Kjartansson, Biber - Cockbadger, Rogers (c), Tamagotchi - Sundqvist - Drescher

Norwellia

20-04-2009, 21:39

Somewhereistonia 2-1 Norwellia

27' Alekna
73' Zuokas
88' Vermeeren

Second half substitutions:
Gerry for 백일일
Frost for Ponten
McGuire for Xura

Lanja: 2 GA

Stat Tracker:

Syku Lanja: 7 caps, 19 GA
Aleksej Glinka: 1 cap, 5 GA

백일일: 8 caps
Metheven Tangye: 8 caps
Kentisesh Voreght: 8 caps
Aaliyah Morris: 3 caps
Kew Gerry: 2 caps

Mesit Xura: 8 caps, 1 GF
Sala Ikaru: 8 caps, 1 GF
Barbara Senior: 8 caps
Misina Ponten: 8 caps
Dmitris Roivas: 6 caps
Chris Padilla: 4 caps
Mia Frost: 3 caps
Sherri McGuire: 1 cap

Alain Vermeeren: 8 caps, 5 GF
Natalia Richter: 7 caps, 1 GF
Nikos Ampatis: 1 cap

Next match:
Ampatis will start for Richter again.
Ponten will start for Frost.
Padilla will continue to start for the injured Roivas, who is optimistic about being fit for the Baptism of Fire.

Cassadaigua

20-04-2009, 23:07

Ashley’s Space

We’ve made it to the championship game following a 2-1 victory over Secristan in a penalty shootout, setting up a showdown with Dancougar and an interesting coincidence when looking at our charities. Dancougar, predominantly a male squad, is playing for a cause to benefit teenage women. Cassadaigua, a predominantly female squad, is playing for a cause to give better spoting opportunities for young boys. The third place game is also pretty interesting since Rennidan wants to destroy Secristan’s economy. To finish third they must defeat Secristan. Obviously we have confidence that we can defeat Dancougar because we have done it already during the Charity Cup, but to defeat a team like them twice a relatively short span of time is going to be a tough chore. We’ll be up for it, as you know by now that we never back down from anything. Winning and finishing second means three million dollars and that’s a big deal for both of us. It’d also be nice to win a championship. We still have never won a title in anything, although friends say we are the real Baptism of Fire 30 champions because we were the first of the bunch to qualify for the World Cup!

Well before the game, Stacie Kerrigan got quite a thrill. We all knew it would be hard for her and Eric Fraser in this match, but no one would have expected this. It is true. Eric got down on one knee and proposed to Stacie. I think everyone on the field was stunned by what they were witnessing and there was no way the referees could tell them to hurry it up so we could get on with the game. Stacie burst out into tears and accepted Eric’s marriage proposal. I am so happy for them! It may have been fitting that this happened in Newmanistan, as after all they are teammates with the Springfield Thoroughbreds out here in Rocketland. On a soccer field is the way it should be and everyone was applauding in the stands. Fortunately, Stacie put her emotions in check and had a pretty good game for us, scoring a big one in the 20th minute. Fraser probably could have been more aggressive with her. After Stephen Alexander tied it late in the second half, we were heading to extra time, and then a shootout. I was the third kick taker and beat Rossiter to his left. Stacie and Erika Daniels also scored in the shootout to give us the victory. So now we have just one more game left in the Charity Cup, and will look to win this championship. From there, we will await qualifying for World Cup 46. If you can’t get enough international sports, you can check out the newcomers in the Baptism of Fire which is now underway, or World Bowl 6, which starts very soon.

Dancougar

21-04-2009, 01:11

Dancougar News!!
Paul's QoTD: "Just because the halting problem returns boolean doesn't make it easy!"

Wings through to final in five-a-side frenzy: Cody Horrigan received a long pass from Annamaria Shoemaker and, with acres of space in front of him, he confidently surged forward. He decided to take on defender Micky Lester one-on-one rather than play a safe pass behind him, and launched a routine that included stepovers, cutbacks, and finally an attempt to flip the ball over the back of his head. This ended in failure, and Lester cleared the ball. But rather than frustration, the look on Horrigan's face was one of quiet joy, and even Jericho Leyton seemed to enjoy the display despite the loss of a scoring chance.

Perhaps there's something to this Urban5 style of play after all.

The Dancougar Black Wings showed an affinity for the small-sided style of play, despite sticking more to fundamentals than bags of tricks, and defeated Rennidan 3-1 in the semifinals of the Empress Charity Cup behind two more goals from Makoto Katayanagi, who upped his team-leading total to seven. Stunt-laden attacks like Horrigan's were the exception rather than the rule, as they often lacked the flair and fluidity so often demonstrated by their opponents. It was as pundits said before the game - there was no way to recreate the passion of Segabor, the Urban5 team representing Rennidan, in only a few days of practice, but Leyton knew that he'd have to shift his tactics with only five bodies in the field.

"We knew we weren't going to surprise anyone with our technique, but I told the players that they would need to put a lot of work into ball skills because they'd be absolutely necessary in this game," said Leyton. "We did rely on a few set plays and strategies to get us through, but we tried to leave room for a little bit of creativity. With that much free space on the field, it's natural to want to try a few things."

Although they seemed to know what they were getting themselves into, the Wings found themselves in unfamiliar territory in the 14th minute... behind. For the first time since the opener, Dancougar ceded the first goal of the match when Marco Rowan used his ability to change direction on a dime to fake out Shoemaker and earn himself a shooting lane just ten yards from goal. He drilled the ball past the helpless Roger Brooks-Kennedy to make it 1-0.

Rennidan were easily the more comfortable team in the early going, enjoying the majority of the possession and moving the ball with little difficulty with short passes and lots of off-the-ball movement. But this was part of Leyton's strategy, as he figured the team would tire itself out by staying in high gear for too long. The Wings ensured that Rennidan were forced to keep the ball moving on the periphery, further adding to fatigue, by switching to a tight man-to-man defense and guarding routes inside.

"We decided it would be best to let them knock it around and when we got possession, we'd spread the field and force them to chase it," said Katayanagi. "If we got lucky, we'd lure them to sleep and get a good scoring chance."

The chance came in the 33rd off a long Horrigan cross. After winning back possession, the Wings moved the ball slowly upfield and, after slowing the pace considerably, struck with a long ball aimed at Katayanagi. The forward controlled it with his chest and pushed the ball wide to create some space between him and defender Hammond Tex. Tex and goalie Bradley Nicodemo both converged on the ball, but Katayanagi was faster, and he chipped the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-1.

Montego grabbed the lead ten minutes later after winning a rare free kick. He found himself in a footrace with Tex for a loose ball that was rifled upfield by Shoemaker to try and spring a counterattack. The long sprints were having an effect. The fitness of the Segabor players was never in doubt, but the kind of running the Wings were forcing them to do was definitely testing their limits. Tex reached for the ball and clumsily sent Montego clattering to the turf, resulting in a yellow card and a free kick inside 25 yards. There wasn't much of a wall, so Montego let one rip at full strength. It sailed nearly straight and settled in the back of the net for a 2-1 lead.

In the second half, Dancougar started to bring a little more flair into the game. The long sprints were tiring them out, too, which meant that it was getting harder to just outrun defenders. It became necessary to trick them. Their best efforts were ineffective against Segabor, though, who seemed to relish every takeaway as the Wings attempted to mimic their style. But Dancougar continued to use its defensive shell to great effect, and Brooks-Kennedy maintained the lead as the second half ticked away.

Katayanagi made it 3-1 in the 71st with a long swerving run that saw him split the defense with a few simple cuts and mostly just the will to keep running. His finish was a simple one, too, a low shot to the far post after he'd forced the 'keeper to come out and challenge for the ball, and there was no way for Nicodemo to change direction as the ball rolled past.

"It's probably a bit of anticlimax to go out and play keep-away half the game and put five behind the ball for the rest of it," said Leyton. "But this was about adaptation. We took their style of play and munged it into something we could use effectively."

Rennidan came close to pulling a goal back. The Wings were growing more confident, up two goals as the game entered the final ten minutes. Rowan was given a little too much space to operate by Tomo Asanuma in the 85th, and he ripped a shot on goal that Brooks-Kennedy just barely parried wide. He was tracking Rowan's progress and dove across his goal to push the ball out for a corner kick which was then cleared by Shoemaker.

The Wings will play in the championship game against Cassadaigua in what is a rematch of their first group stage game. Then, Cassadaigua beat the noticeably flat D-League Youngstars 2-1 on goals from Erika Daniels and Ashley Nolan. But since then, the Wings have come together and have won five straight, each by at least two goals. Then again, championship games bring out the best in every team, and the Dagans are no pushovers.

Leyton doesn't plan to make many changes to the lineup, but says that forward Lillian DaCosta will likely start over Kou Hirano so that both women on his squad are able to start against the Dagans.

Newmanistan

21-04-2009, 14:12

It's Cutoff time, and before we get to the scores I'd like to congratulate the real winners of the Charity Cup. Here they are:

Dancougar- Teenage Women Without Hammerspace.
Rennidan- D-SEC (Destroy Secristan’s Economy)
Newmanistan- Autism Awareness.
Peisandros- Peisandros Society for Those Without a House, Family, or Just Generally Poor People.
Cassadaigua- Boys Sports Programs
Secristan- Retired CEO’s Fund.
Sarzonia - Cancer Research
Quintessence of Dust- Abolitionism International
West Newmanistan- Homes for the Homeless
Somewhereistonia-Somewhereistonian National Cancer Research
Leongo- Cancer Research.
Norwellia- National Lymphoma & Leukemia Research Cooperative.

The Empress will be proud to present each of these organizations with a check in these amounts depending on where each team finished.

PRIZE MONEY: In GC (Gold Coins) 1 GC= approximately 1 US Dollar

1st- 10,000,000 GC
2nd- 7,000,000 GC
3rd- 5,000,000 GC
4th- 2,000,000 GC
5th- 1,000,000 GC
6th- 700,000 GC
7th- 600,000 GC
8th- 500,000 GC
9th- 400,000 GC
10th- 300,000 GC
11th- 200,000 GC
12th- 100,000 GC

So it's kickoff time now. Here are the results!
(11th PLACE GAME): Norwellia 4-1 Leongo (South Tier)
(9TH PLACE GAME): Somewhereistonia 1-0 West Newmanistan (0-0 FT, 0-0 AET, SOM win 2-1 on PK's) (South Charlotte)
(7TH PLACE GAME): Peisandros 2-1 Sarzonia (Southport)
(5TH PLACE GAME): Newmanistan 4-3 Quintessence of Dust (Olympia)
(3RD PLACE GAME)- Secristan 0-3 Rennidan (Loudon)

Finally, the Championship:

Cassadaigua 1-2 Dancougar

Congratulations to Dancougar and Teenage Women without Hammerspace!

Thank you everyone for your participation and proving that it's not the amount of teams that's important, it's the quality of the actual teams.

Quintessence of Dust

21-04-2009, 15:31

The New Cleethorpes Enquirer
A comeback too far as Quintessence of Dust finishes sixth

The Quintessence of Dust national football team finished sixth in the Empire Charity Cup in Newmanistan, losing 4-3 to the hosts. There was obvious disappointment as they came back from 4-0 down at the hour mark but were left unable to scrape a final crucial goal, but captain Peter Rogers, who scored his 19th international goal with an 82nd minute penalty that briefly gave their hopes a flickering chance, said the team had nonetheless benefitted a lot from the extra tournament as lead-in preparation for World Cup 46 qualifying. Marina Sundqvist scored her sixth goal of the tournament and Woody Cockbadger his fourth.

Ultimately, the team was undone by the attacking potency of the Newmanistanis, who threatened from the outset. Barely ninety seconds into the game Matthew Turner hit a blazing strike that Benjamin Chang just managed to tip over the bar. Chang lasted only 15 minutes in goal, though he was kept busy for the duration, fingertipping Kevin Taylor's header from the first corner, punching clear the second, and eventually managing to catch a swerving shot from Billy Prescott. But then he fell in agony as he got to a loose ball first only to meet Taylor's upturned studs. The attacking midfielder was booked, and Hamilton Humperdinck earned his first cap after numerous games on the bench. Humperdinck, along with Masami Tamagotchi, Knut Knäckebröd, and members of the Secristani and Sandrian national teams, has signed onto BobBank FC for Season 2 of the QNRVPL after leaving Wow! Health & Fitness FC, where his girlfriend, absent star Jessica Jensen, currently plays.

Taylor atoned for his earlier indiscretion after 26 minutes when he ran onto a clever through-ball from captain Scott LaFave and slotted under Humperdinck. Within a minute, the scoreline was 2-0 as the experienced Alex Lampert broke past Theo Littlefellow, whose return from injury produced a not entirely convincing performance, and hit a cross for Taratino to head home from the back of the box. Just as the first whistle approached, Newmanistan took a 3-0 lead for a confident half-time position when Billy Prescott's corner found the experienced Jennifer Vilardi, who scored against Quintessence of Dust during the 5-0 rout in WC44 qualifying.

Quintessence of Dust had their chances - buoyed by his goal against Sarzonia, Wilhelm Biber showed renewed attacking instinct and skidded a lob header across the goalline, Littlefellow came close with a thunderous free-kick, and Cockbadger was well-saved by Andrew McClure - but perhaps their best opportunity to score came when Marko Drescher hassled Taylor into a rare error, hitting a back pass that McClure had no hope of reaching; Drescher couldn't quite get his foot to the ball in time to hook it into the net, though.

Both teams resumed in high spirits, Sundqvist hitting a dipping volley to produce a brilliant save from McClure, and then Taratino played on Prescott, whose outstanding performance earned him the unofficial QBS.qd online match award, whose cross was resoundingly finished by Lampert for what is believed to be the seasoned defender's first international goal. At 4-0 down things looked worse than hopeless, but a disallowed goal may actually have helped rally the forlorn troops when Hanna van Himpfelschnnoorrddt, on as a replacement for Littlefellow, found Woody Cockbadger's head from the corner, only for him to be pulled up for shirt-tugging. Four minutes later Masami Tamagotchi, in her third successive stand-out showing, but the sequence of events repeated, this time Cockbadger's header standing. His goal celebration earned him a booking from the non-plussed second official.

Rogers hit the post with a low drive, and then Cockbadger burst past Timmy Baker, on as a substitute for Loughran, and Marina Sundqvist leapt to flick his cross into the far corner for her sixth goal of the tournament. Shortly thereafter she found herself in space, only to be elbowed aside by the otherwise impressive Selvy for a penalty. Rogers converted, although McClure got a hand to it, and the game looked all set for an exciting climax, but the Newmanistani midfield rallied and shut things down for the remaining ten minutes, allowing not a single chance. Prescott sent a long shot inches wide to bring the final whistle.

Sixth place earns 700,000 gold coins for Abolitionism International, who have said the majority of the funds will go into a major awareness campaign targetting industries traditionally susceptible to trafficked labour. In footballing terms, the QFA were quick to congratulate the Empress on her organization of the tournament, saying they hoped it marked "the continuation of Newmanistan's strong record in international football", while declining to comment on a new round of critical comments about the West Newmanistani situation by anti-colonial advocates.

Dancougar

21-04-2009, 16:09

((Thanks to Newmanistan for hostinating!))

Dancougar News!!
Who was the idiot who thought that water decals made sense?

Ten million reasons: Wings win title, charity windfall: It was a tournament in which they were the highest-profile team in the field, and that only because of the crest on the front of their shirts. But the Dancougar team, a collection of D-Leaguers who have never played in the World Cup proper, celebrated the win as if they'd won the big one.

Hey, a trophy's a trophy.

A 2-1 victory over Cassadaigua gave them the Charity Cup title and earned 10 million GC for Teenage Women Without Hammerspace, making it the largest single donation in the charity's history. In fact, it's the largest since the national American football team took top honors in the Charity Bowl, which was also organized by Newmanistan. The Wings beat the Dagans then, too, albeit in the opening round.

"We've shown that there's talent to be found in our league," said Makoto Katayanagi, who added an assist to his team-high seven tournament goals. "We're not the all-stars or anything, but we're hard workers. We proved it out there."

"It's a huge lift for all of us to know that we can play at this level," added Lillian DaCosta, who snagged a goal in a rare start.

It was a rematch of the first group-stage game, which the teams played fairly evenly but Cassadaigua won 2-1 as the Wings made more mistakes. This one was just as hotly-contested, as both teams attempted to apply the lessons they'd learned from the first meeting. There were few openings to be had in the first ten minutes, and even the first half hour. The only real danger was provided by Katayanagi, who fired a 20-yard bullet in the 24th that Kristen Stockton easily tracked and parried.

As in the first match, Cassadaigua opened the scoring, as hard work by Stacie Kerrigan and lax defending from Naoto Ogura produced a tap-in in the 37th minute. Kerrigan was finally given some space to operate on the left side and took a through ball from Ashley Nolan, but she was quickly closed down by Annamaria Shoemaker. The two jostled for position and Kerrigan finally ripped a low pass across the face of goal before tumbling over the endline. Kate Cincoski dipped in front of Ogura and met it by the near post, slamming it home for the lead.

The tug of war continued until halftime and into the second half as the Wings searched for the equalizer. They found it in the 59th minute. Cody Horrigan, whose set pieces had been causing problems in the air all day, finally turned one of his corners into a goal. Josef Rousch outjumped Courney Poole and snapped home a powerful header to tie it at 1-1.

"We knew we had an advantage in the air," said Rousch. "We were consistently getting higher and winning those balls, but our accuracy was terrible all day. But we were patient and it finally paid off."

Four minutes later, Katayanagi thought he'd given his team the lead. A strong run saw him burst into open space to receive a long pass from Kent Montego, and he buried it past Stockton without pause. But the referee's assistant had flagged him for offside, which replays showed was a mistake. While he was behind Michelle Garrett at the time of the pass, he was in line with Poole, who was 30 yards away.

He would contribute to the go-ahead goal in another way. In the 77th minute, Katayanagi fought his way into the box and looked for an opening to shoot. When he couldn't find one, he did a turn so he could see who was trailing the play. DaCosta, who'd had a quiet game, was making a late run that nobody had picked up. He slotted a low pass through the box and DaCosta pounded it past Stockton for the lead.

"The five had her back to me, so I had time to line it up," said DaCosta. "I knew I wouldn't have much time on the ball, but I didn't want to miss from that close!"

Dancougar pressed for a third, but they had to contend with the frantic attacks by the Dagans, who came close to equalizing in the last ten minutes. The best chance came from Kerrigan, who found herself alone in the box when a pass got through Shoemaker's legs. But her first touch let her down, as she ended up tapping it right into Cornelia's waiting arms.

Jericho Leyton now has an international trophy as both a player and a coach: he was a member of the Baptism of Fire 26 championship team while in college.

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