SOUTHWEST ADULT SOCCER LEAGUE

LEGEA FRIENDSHIP CUP 2003

PLAYER OF THE WEEK (1-10)

 

WEEK 1:     Lori Callahan (Venezia)

With only one minute left in the game Lori Callahan rescued 2 points and brought victory for her team, when she broke what seemed to be an inevitable tie between Venezia and the Strikers in game one and gave Venezia its first win.

 

WEEK 2:     Abel Ramirez (Milgard FC)

Abel’s performance, in game two, showed everyone how good of a forward he is by scoring 5 goals, that added to his first 3 from week one, placed him as the scoring leader with a total of 8 points.

 

WEEK 3:     Renzo Del Aguila (FSC Scott’s)

After a two game drought, Renzo Del Aguila came out strong to win the honor of Player of the Week when he led his team FSC Scott’s to victory over Mutiny with a record 6 goal performance.  His efforts put Scott’s in the winning path for the first time this season.  Well-done Renzo!!!

 

WEEK 4:     Adriana Aguillon (Strikers)

With her 3 (double-point) goals over the weekend, including a decisive 30 yard-long shot in the last few minutes of the game, Adriana helped her Striker teammates pull-off a key two-win run over the weekend that puts the Strikers temporarily in fourth place and opens the possibility of clinching the last spot for the league play-offs in January. Way to go Adriana!!!

 

WEEK 5:     Kelley Graham (Ford Rangers) 

The stamina, speed and motivation that the Rangers needed was brought in by Kelley Graham whose contribution included 4 goals during the 2 matches the Rangers won over the weekend.  Graham and his other teammates made their team look like a championship contender when they demolished the skillful Temecula Strikers 12-3.  Kelley, great work and welcome back to soccer!!!

 

WEEK 6: Manny “El Mago” De Leon (Venezia)

Manuel De Leon continues to consistently score key goals for his well-suited Venezia team.  This time, “El Mago” (The Magician) pulled-off a hat trick to temporarily placed the Italian squad on top of the standings for the first time this season.  Manny with his unique style, graceful moves and high quality dribbling skills has managed to make watching Venezia play a treat every Sunday.  For those reasons, “El Mago” has been chosen Player of the week!!!  Congratulations Manny, keep up the good work!!!

 

WEEK 7: Khaled Al-Shafie (SW/Remax)

At age 47 and at his day-view game in the SWASL Open Division, the Jordanian national not only scored a key goal to tie the closest game yet in the race for 1st place, but he also played a game of high caliber showing calm when needed, accurate passes, defending consistency, tactical awareness, positive charisma and high sportsmanship during a not-so-well refereed game.  Khaled provided a lesson in teamwork for the surprisingly disorganized SW/Remax.  SW/Remax was able to pull off a victory despite its difficulty finding itself on the field in week 7.  Khaled, our hats come off after your performance on Sunday. Hip-hip, Hooray!!!

 

WEEK 8: Jennifer Palmer (A.C. Roma)

With her explosive speed, good finishes and witty game, JP has shown how difficult it is to mark her during a game.  With 4 goals already in only 2 games, Jennifer can take plenty of credit for making A.C. Roma a very solid team and a very hard team to beat.  It’s been no surprise, then, to see A.C. Roma come into the middle of the season and in only 2 games be on the verge of making the play-offs. With a strong team and solid performances, the Romans have quickly escalated to 5th place and have now the chance to take the 4th spot with a win over the dormant Strikers team next weekend.  Jennifer, congratulations and thank you for your contribution to the game!!!

 

WEEK 9: Justine Guidos/Valerie Lanni (Scott’s/Rangers)

There were 2 individuals who stand out from this past weekend.  Justine Guidos has been a tremendous force in the turn around that the Scott’s team has taken.  Justine has added quick touches, smart plays and finishing consistency with 10 points so far.  As a result, FSC Scott’s had a great performance over the weekend as they defeated the short-handed Venezia.  This win guarantees the green squad a spot in the play-offs. 

The other impressive individual this past weekend was Valerie Lanni.  Valerie undoubtedly reflects one of the highest degrees of joy and love for the game that I have ever seen.  A very devoted and committed individual, Valerie can have a good time no matter the score, the level of play or any other circumstance for that matter.  She has the record with most games played in one day: 4.  These 2 young ladies are an excellent example of why we play and enjoy this game so much.  Thank you ladies for taking this league to the next level, you rule!!!

 

WEEK 10: The good sport that YOU are

This past weekend, like every weekend, I saw a couple of individuals who did a magnificent job for their teams and had great performances during their games (These players were Chris Wagner and Jose’ LLano.)  However, this week, I would like to recognize instead those of you who every Sunday come out and play ---whether one, two or three games-- and simply have a good time giving your best effort on the field while keeping a good attitude no matter how things go.  I agree that we all want to win but at the end of the day, we all know it, it’s just a game.  It takes class to know that we are all out there to enjoy ourselves, get some exercise, make friends and just put up a good fight, as opposed to making fools of ourselves by antagonizing opponents, harassing referees and offending others with our bad attitudes.  If you are incapable of staying in control of your emotions when you play, then you might be better off staying home.  There, you can act any way you want and no one will care.  Out here though, there are children and respectable people who don’t come out to see adults acting up.  So, to those who know what I am talking about, congratulations, it’s people like YOU who make Sunday Soccer a fun activity to be part of.  Thank you!