Bella Vista FC

The weekend action started with Fuego and Bonte at Sacks at high noon.  Fuego, armed with everyone sans Keith “sunshine”, controlled much of the midfield.  Bonte played with 9 in the first half, and 10 in the second half.  The strategy for Bonte was counter attack and set plays.  Early opportunities fell for the burritos with some fabulous through balls which barely missed the target.  Eventually, a counter attack gave Andy a freekick which ended in the net.  It was 1-0 Bonte at the half.  Fuego came out strong as habanero, inclined bring the score level.  One obvious chance was Elana’s shot off the post after she was one-on-one with Josh the Bonte Keep.  Bonte’s D played like warriors, with Geoff, Leah, Daniel, Adam and Steffen proving to be a solid wall against the maestros Riqui and Zach.  The addition of Glenn for Bonte proved valuable when he put a second one in from 25 yards.  The score was 2-0 Bonte.  Nachman, the Israeli international, was a thorn in the Fuego side playing through balls and creating chances.  Thank you Conrad for great reffing.

At 2pm, Vesuvio defeated an undermanned Brauhaus squad yesterday by a score of 5-0. Goals were scored by Mike Geller (2), Scott H, James and Marcus. Thanks to Conrad for reffing.  No further details of the game are available.

In an entertaining and well played game on Sunday, Race Street came away with a 5-1 victory over BVFC.  Race Street took an early lead with Heri Ali scoring on a breakaway following a through ball from Cullen Meade.  Moments later, Race Street made it 2-0, when Heri set up Vatche Manoukian all alone in front of the net.  BVFC, to their credit, continued to work hard at creating chances, but the Heri-Vatche connection proved to be too much, as the strikers worked well together, each adding a second goal.  Cullen rounded out the scoring for Race Street.  Anthony Williams scored for BVFC off a low, well struck corner from Q.   Thanks to Jerry for referring, and thanks to all the players for a clean and well played game.  Q commented: “Good summary for a well played game by Race!  Despite the continued losses, BV still manages to get players to show up and work hard.  Gandhi once said, Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.  For better or worse, this quote nicely covers both our poor performances and excellent effort.”

In a much anticipated showdown, Bonte and Race came to battle at Palumbo.  Bonte is playing against 8 players from its 2008 championship team.  The first goal came from none other than Glenn Wilken, with a pass from Bula that he then deftly used to split the Race defence and score with his left.  In the second half, Race st were awarded a penalty after Chris Bull seemed to be pushed during an opportunity to head the ball.  This drew much criticism of diving…   Mr. Bull, who ironically scored the 2008 championship goal, may  have earned his Oscar for this performance by convincing Englishman James who pointed to the spot.  Armenian international Vache scored the penalty with a pin point shot in the top right.  The score was 1-1.

Italo is out for the season with a torn ACL, and Puma aka JP had a scare when Nachmy’s shot smashed his eye.  Puma is now recovering.

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Brauhaus and Bella Vista played a match of equals.  Brauhaus, despite having 2 penalties saved, managed to win 3-2 with goals from Loren Stata, ….  BV scorers were…  What is mind boggling is BV’s decision not to put more strikers in the last minutes despite being a goal down.  BV had a ample opportunities to draw the game, but lacked the finishing.  Still, BV had a solid performance in an entertaining encounter, and Brauhaus now share the top spot in the league with 7 points.

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Standings Updated

The BVFC 2009 championship kicked off with long time rivals Bonte and Vesuvio.  Bonte, a brand new squad, and Vesuvio, a roster that boasts some of the league’s finest players.  Vesuvio began with an unrelenting assault on the Bonte D, that resulted in half a dozen chances, and a goal by Marcus, who was able to navigate some muck to get by Haines and finally Josh the keeper.  Bonte got better as the game went on, and began to create chances.  Before the end of the first half, a cross from Billy on a counter attack left Bula alone against former waffle Fabio.  The score was 1-1.  James, Vesuvio’s star midfielder, pulled his hamstring, and he may be going to England for treatment.  In the second half, chances were plenty for both teams.  Bonte capitalized with a blistering shot from 24 yards by Glenn Wilken, that was perfect.  2-1 Bonte.

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Other results:

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Race St (a concoction of last years champions Bonte and finalists Race), were impressive with a 3-1 win over Brauhaus. Race St. striker, Vatche, came up big with 2 goals, while Chelsea Ben put the third in from an impressive free kick outside the box.

The Beer boys managed to get on the board after a blistering shot from inside the box from newcomer Chris Arnold was saved most impressively by Race keeper Alex only to be cranked in on the follow up by BH all Italian striker, Vincenzo Berghella.

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On Sunday, BV, playing with only 8, were able to hold League favorites El Fuego to a 0-0 draw until halftime.  In the second half, the Burritos scored  1 to win.

The 3rd Annual BVFC indoor soccer benefit held Saturday was a big success thanks to the incredible organization of Dave and Sarah, and Ricky for the refereeing.  We had over 48 players, and raised over $1000 which will benefit Palumbo and Starr Garden fields.

The winner of the tournament was the team comprised of James, Sarah, Omar, Marcus, and Laura.  They defeated Said, Dave, Tim and others in a one sided final 5-1.  Omar (Omardihno), with his amazing goalie skills, and James (Big English) with his incredible ball shielding and sharp shooting ability, could both vie for players of the tournament.  An exhausting day but fun!  See you all next year!

More Pictures here

Hello Friends,

This year, the Bella Vista Football Club Annual Indoor Benefit Tournament will be held on May 9th. We had a ton of fun last year, and raised money for a good cause. This year, all funds raised from the tournament will benefit our very own Starr-Garden and Palumbo Parks! So, ready for a fun indoor soccer tournament? Only $20 bucks for a great cause. May 9th at Palumbo on 10th and Bainbridge. More Information to come.

As Milli (or was it Vanilli?) used to sing..”blame it on the rain”…No games at Sack’s today.

The Final of the 2008 BVFC season was played today between Race Street and Bonte. The two teams played one of the best games of the season, with Bonte edging Race with a second-half goal to take the title for the second consecutive year.

The weather finally cooperated, although it was windy and chilly at game time. Although there were some wet spots, the field dried out fairly well after Saturday’s heavy rains.

The first half was well-fought and even. Race Street had some first-half chances, including a nasty, knucking, free kick by Dave Petit that missed the upper-right corner of the goal by inches. Bonte had some tantalizingly close chances throughout the first half, but some nice defense by Juan, Lance and the Racers back line as well as some nice goalkeeping by Victor kept the game tied at the break.
In the second half, Bonte gained some control. Fabio arrived at halftime and took over goalkeeping duty from Chris H. The Bonte defense did a nice job of controlling the Race Street attack, with Doug, Kevin V., and Chris H. tying up the outside and Jared and Keith doing their usual excellent job in the center. Big Kev and Chris Bull ran the offense from the center half, and frequent substitutions among the wings and forwards allowed Chelsea Ben, Dominic, Heri, Matt, Rob, and Nathan to make timely, spirited runs well into the 90th minute. Bonte’s persistence paid off, and Chris Bull found the back of the net in the 70th minute with a blistering volley.
Race Street pressed the attack in the remaining minutes, with Mike Carter, Dave, Nachmi, Tim and others working nicely, but the Bonte defense held firm to take the title. Thanks to Diego for refereeing and to Ricky for running the lines. Thanks also to the fans who braved the wind and cold, including 2007 Bonte member Deger Becer, whose clutch scoring touch is remembered fondly. (We remember Ricky’s scoring touch as well.)
“This was an extremely-well played game by both teams, and a testament to the quality of play in our league. Both teams played hard and spirited, but fair. My joy at winning is tempered somewhat by the knowledge that the Bonte juggernaut will be broken up. It’s been a true pleasure playing with such a fine group of footballers and friends for the past two years. See you at Starr Garden!” – Chris H.

Come out to Starr Garden playground next Sunday (November 23) at NOON for their Fall Clean Up day. Help us keep our parks and playgrounds in good condition for all of the community.

Palumbo called us yesterday and told us to please refrain from using the Palumbo field today because of the muddy conditions.

The Board has started contacting the captains in order to reschedule the games and this will be posted soon.

In the meantime, I know we were all ready for some action on such a fine day so don’t fret. We will be playing pick-up at Starr-Garden instead.

The BVFC 2008 championship match now has its participants after Race St. Cafe narrowly defeated Vesuvio in the semi-final game last night at Sack’s. This was a true battle that went into double overtime and then penalty kicks where it was decided in a truly unique fashion. More on this later.

Vesuvio turned up with 11 players (they gained a sub halfway through the game) while we had 14. Still, Vesuvio is never a team to underestimate even when their numbers are lower. From the starting whistle it was like a war. Both teams played very hard and physical. Vesuvio attacked early and effectively, but was swallowed up by the Race back line. Meanwhile, the Race offense found their usual groove of quick passes and a lot of movement. The first goal came from a lovely serve by Nachmy from the right side that floated into the path of left midfielder, Mike Carter. Mike hit an absolutely perfect header that arched past Joe the Calamari keeper.

Race kept up the pressure and momentum and were rewarded with a free kick right outside the Calamari box. The kick was taken by Cullen Meade, who drove a low, hard shot around the wall. Joe the keeper managed to deflect the shot but it rolled out towards Race striker, Dave Petite who screamed in for the follow-through and blasted the ball into the back of the net. Race was up 2 - 0 with little time left in the half. A last minute save by Victor Balta (Race keeper) off of a scorching header (from James Holt, I believe) denied the Calamaris of any points going into the half-time.

The second half was another story and proves that Vesuvio was one of the powerhouse teams this past season. Loaded with talent, they came out blazing and Race spent most of the first part of the half beating off determined attacks. Vesuvio’s first goal (forgot the player) came off of a quick shot near the 6 that just slipped under Victor. Not 15 minutes later, Abdou (who we had managed to contain most of the game) managed to place a perfect outside of the foot shot into the corner of the net. There was nothing Victor could do, and lets be clear, Abdou had not broken the back line, he just put a little vertical distance on Lance and executed his cheeky tap for the goal. The score was 2 -2. By this point, frustration had reached the breaking point on both sides and the game was getting testy. Ricky the ref, Chris on the line and the captains did a good job of controlling the player’s emotions and not letting the game get out of hand. When the final whistle blew, we were headed to OT.

The 30 mins of OT were as intense as the regulation time had been with multiple opportunities from both sides that were so close…yet could not connect. When OT concluded, the teams knew they were headed to PKs…and that’s when everything went black! Since it was after 9:30 PM the field lights went off and the captains and refs were left wondering what to do. After some discussions and negotiations we decided the game would go on but we would have to move one of the goals to where the park lights were still operating. So yes, the final chapter of this game was not decided on the “regulation” field, but on a side patch of grass where we had man handled one of the goals and painted a penalty spot.

PKs are PKs but I will say that we were rewarded with 10 truly wonderful shots from each team and the whole game came down to the last two attempts. Since Race was the first to kick, the clincher came when Victor guessed a Vesuvian kick and came up with the save. The last kick was then taken for Race by Cullen Meade who calmly put the ball into the corner and that was all she wrote. Race Street wins and advances to the Finals against Bonte.

Cell phone Video by roving fReporter, Charlie Flowe. (See a larger version.)

This was a great game and it caps off a wonderful season. Big thanks to Ricky and Chris for officiating, and Ben Graff and his team for a magnificent game. We salute you!