Sunday September 25^th, 2011 – Broomfield, CO (Broomfield Commons)

Starting XI: Fulton, Burstein, Miller, Gonzalez, Woodworth, DelPiccolo, Burns, Ogletree, Greenley, Marks, Bravo

Subs: Best, Harrison, Kroening, Yarletts, Elbin, Imbrogno, Wilson

Despite not having lost a contest all season and being on a 15 – 0 goal differential through the past five games, FC Denver Premier came into their final regular season match without an assured spot in this upcoming weekend’s championship match.  It would take a full 90 minutes of effort before FC Denver would know if they could book their tickets to the clubs fourth consecutive CASL League 1 championship game.  With a place in the ‘Ship on the line, FC Denver Premier would have to take on a talented Rush side that is capable of beating most teams (when their player’s show up).

FC Denver would start the match without having their safety blankets of Ian Campbell and Greg Hengeli between the sticks.  Fortunately, club founder Eric Fulton was able to clear his schedule and fill in as the anchor to the finest defense in all of Colorado armature soccer.  From the first whistle, Rush showed that it was not afraid to pass the ball around and try to find the seams in FC Denver’s formation.  Unluckily for Rush, FC Denver had come to play and every player was getting behind the ball and cutting off passes before they could build into an attack on goal.  With the small ball cut out, Rush looked to hoof it up to their speedy talented striker.  This too would prove unsuccessful as FC Denver’s superior aerial prowess would cut out most opportunities for a Rush squad that was somewhat out of answers.  After winning the battle on defense, FC Denver Premier did a decent job of working to get the ball out wide and attack from the flanks.  Also working hard were the player’s in the middle of the field for FC Denver who not only played hard on defense, but also worked hard to give options for balls worked out of the back.  With the pace and intensity of the game, it was important for Coach Elbin to keep fresh legs on the pitch and the pressure on the opposition.  Now some would call it luck, but I will mark up to tactical genius the first goal, which was made through the combination of two substitutes.  Tyler Imbrogno, who was making his first appearance since the second week of the season due to an ankle injury, would puncture the Rush defense off a pass from Chris Harrison.  Imbrogno tracked down Harrison’s through ball on the right hand side of the goal and bounced his shot off of a Rush defender to make the score 1-0.  After the goal, FC Denver kept the pressure on and was able to come close on several corner kick opportunities and a well placed free kick, with Vitor Bravo providing the service on both.   However, it was all for naught as the half ended with the score still 1-0.

Half number two would provide some of the most exciting soccer that FC Denver had played all season.  Despite being down a goal and only having a couple of subs, Rush looked to make a go of it in the second half and would force FC Denver to win the game.  FC Denver Premier would have multiple opportunities to put the game away, but were stifled by the Rush keeper, who made multiple highlight reel saves.  It was good soccer though that FCD were playing, working the ball around, making runs, and tracking back on defense.  It was only in front of the net where the play refused to translate into goals.  Rush to their credit continued to play hard and worked to get their small game going again.  After a couple of missed opportunities by FC Denver Premier, Rush was able to break the almost season long shut out, with a quick combination of passes that ended with a Rush midfielder hitting a low shot across goal that just barely beat Fulton to the far post.  Tied at 1, FC Denver did not let go of its game plan, rather it increased its pressure on Rush and find more opportunities on goal.  The combination play of Tyler Wilson, Kyle Burns, Bravo, and Harrison would lead to the go ahead goal around the 80^th minute mark.  The four aforementioned players did their own impersonation of short quick passing and moving that led to Harrison getting in on the keeper one v. one, before slotting the ball below him.  In the final 10 minutes, FC Denver was all over the field  working to cut out attacking movements by Rush before they could happen.  After their goal, Rush had almost no shots on net, which is a testament to the team regrouping and finding their defensive chops after a momentary lapse.

This next week is the championship game.  Time and place TBA, but it will give FC Denver the chance to correct the only blemish on their record this season, when they play FC Alamo.

Coach Elbin’s thoughts on the match:

It was great to see everyone focused and ready to play (I think some of the guys discovered DVR technology over the week and realized they could watch football after our game). Rush brought everything they had in the match. Their defensive pressure on our backs forced us to play more direct, and we did so with some great success. After Rush scored to bring the match to a draw, we quickly regrouped and showed our character by scoring maybe my favorite goal of the season. The match felt like a semifinal, and was an excellent tune up for the final this coming week. Thanks to Eric for filling in in goal. And thanks to the guys for being flexible with the line up. If we approach the final with the same intensity, we will surely see Coach Firebaugh drinking cheap champagne from a trophy next week. 

Man of the Match:

Congrats go out to Tom Marks. As coach Elbin states, “(h)e contributed up top. He contributed in the back. His pace and energy got everyone going right from the whistle he was unfortunate not to have a couple of goals to show for it. His defensive work helped seal the deal at the end of the match. Oh yeah, he also kept his cool, and let his play do the talking. Just an admirable all around effort for the club’s most tireless and flexible player. “

Written by Brandon Best - Pictures by Destiny Fernandez

Sunday September 25^th, 2011 – Broomfield, CO (Broomfield Commons Park)

Starting XI: Campbell, Marks, Kroening, Ogletree, DelPiccolo, Woodworth, Burns, Bravo, Greenley, Firebaugh, Marchant,

Subs: Best, Elbin, Bourland, Yarletts

This past Sunday, FC Denver Premier found themselves squaring off against one of the better recently promoted squads; AC Legends.  From previous experience, FC Denver knew that the Legends players were skillful and could be dangerous if they let them stay in the game.  Additionally, a greater goal differential could also potentially help out FC Denver United, who is jockeying for position with AC Legends in the table.  The FC Denver Premier players would have no lack of motivation as a late arrival by their opponents seemed to indicate a lack of respect for the top team in the league.

From the start though it would have appeared that AC Legends was the more motivated side as they applied early pressure on FC Denver players and had some success finding open men in the middle of the park.  Fortunately for FC Denver, their defense shut down any opportunities within the final 30 yards and AC Legends was unable to produce anything that could be Ian Campbell from that far out.  Once Premier found their legs and began to switch the point of attack, they began to find greater success getting the ball forward and creating opportunities on goal.  Having worked the past couple of weeks on finishing crosses, it would only make sense that FC Denver’s first goal would come from out wide.  A pass out of the middle from Marco DelPiccolo to Curtis Greenley, found the outside midfielder with a good amount of space to dribble into and hit a pass on the ground to Vitor Bravo, who was good from 6 yards out for a right footed finish.  After the goal, FC Denver continued to switch the point of attack and look for opportunities coming from the widths.  It was a job made easier, by the fatigue of AC Legends and the continued dominating play of the FC Denver defense.  It was only off a long attempt from an AC Legends player that Campbell had to do any real work to tip a shot over the crossbar.  The first half would end with a disappointing 1-0 score line, but the belief that more goals were on the horizon.

It would not take long after the break for FC Denver Premier to increase their lead in the game.  A long diagonal ball was being contested by Curtis Greenley and an AC Legends defender, when the defender used his forearm to introduce himself to the face of Greenley.  The ensuing penalty kick was calmly slotted home by Bravo for his second goal of the day.  As is a common occurrence with tired legs and a sense of impending defeat, the game became a bit chippy and players on both teams were shown cautions as the referee tried to settle the game down.  It probably would have been more effective to get the calls right, but that is more of an editorial.  Either way, with the game opening up even more and the chances on goal for FC Denver Premier increasing, it was only a matter of time before a third goal would be scored.  Bravo would complete his hatrick by beating a defender or two down the sideline, trying to cross the ball, only to have it bounce off of a defender and back to him, before he slotted home his shot from a tough angle.  Soon after, in a bit of controversy, FC Denver had the chance to go up by four, but an AC Legend’s player who was not the goal keeper, denied Greenley a goal by punching the ball with his hand.  The foul was deemed to only be a cautionable offense by the center referee, because I guess it was not apparent that the shot was going in the net six inches from goal.  From the penalty spot, the shot was put just to the side of the net.  A fourth goal would come in the dying minutes of the game off of the boot of Kevin Bourland, who beat the keeper to the near post with a 25 yard knuckler.  At the final whistle it was 4-0 for FC Denver Premier against a side that really could be in the top four each season.

Next week, FC Denver Premier will take on the Colorado Rush at 3 PM at Broomfield commons.

Coach Firebaugh’s thoughts on the match:

Truthfully, there was little to like about the game on Sunday. I think the best thing that comes to mind is how Dave, Tree, Tom, and Marco played a little out of position in defense and really succeeded. It’s nice to know that we have that type of versatility in our roster. I also thought Ian made a few brilliant saves on shots that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Let’s talk about the things I didn’t like starting with our own efforts: 1) I thought we were lazy in our ball pressure. 2) Our positioning and recovery from offense to defense was bad. 3) Our creativity around the box was shocking. 4) Our ability to show up to games on-time seems to depend on if our NFL teams are on TV. 5) Our attitudes toward the refs were shit. All in all, I really hope our guys left the game doing exactly what Luke and I said, “whatever we did today, forget about it and don’t do it again.” Simply said – We stunk and we won 4-0.

Now if the league wants to proportionally fine me $10 for my comments – I thought the refs were absolutely atrocious Sunday. It’s unfortunate that our league can have these type of people working games. Lastly, I thought the other team and coach were an insult to what a successful league should be about. Showing up late, arguing every single call, kicking at our ankles from behind, etc.

Man of the Match: Congrats on this weeks man of the match goes to Vitor Bravo and Dave Kroening. Coach Firebaugh says, ” I honestly don’t like to give it to Vitor and Dave because they showed up noticeably late to the pregame… but Vitor did put up some nice goals and Dave solidly anchored a depleted defense.”