SF Spikes I started out in a much easier group than Spikes II, beating NY, Toronto, Chicago and Boston, all without allowing a single goal.  In the 4-0 win against NY Waldorf, Thorsten and Rio scored and Brian Burns scored twice.  In the 5-0 win against Toronto, Thorsten and Rio scored and Adel scored three times.  In the 2-0 win against Boston White, Jason and Thorsten scored.  In the 3-0 win against Chicago Right, Thorsten, Brian and Adel each scored a goal.

The second round schedule was quite a bit more formidable, consisting of Florida, FTSC Spin, Team Americas and NY Empire (considered the best of the 4 NY teams).  Against Team Americas, Barry and Brian scored and Rio scored twice, while we let in our first goal of the tournament in a 4-1 win.  Next came our shakiest game defensively, a 5-3 win against FTSC Spin, in which Rio, Adel and Jason scored and Thorsten scored twice.  Next came perhaps our best game of the tournament in which we beat Florida 4-1, with Barry and Brian scoring and Rio scoring twice, with all four goals coming in the first couple of minutes to essentially end the game early.  Florida put in a late goal to recover just a little, but the Spikes controlled this game entirely.  The last game was a 1-1 tie against NY Empire in which Jason scored.

This moved us right into the Division 1 semi-finals against the winner of the Florida-Team Americas game, which turned out to be Florida, looking for revenge for the sound spanking we had given them a few hours earlier.  They came out strong, with both teams trading many dangerous chances.  Adel scored for the Spikes first, who then started to play a little more defensively.  Spikes then got two yellow cards in quick succession.  Rules stated that when a yellow card is awarded that team must play a man down for two minutes, so after the first yellow card, the Spikes were playing a man down, and after the second soon after, the Spikes were then playing two men down.  Rio, Brian Burns and Matthew Shambroom fought valiantly, holding off Florida for an impressive and ultimately very critical amount of time.  A two minute penalty is erased if a goal is scored, allowing the offending team to return to full strength.  Florida did not score until the end of the two minute penalty for the first yellow card, while the goal ended the two-minute penalty for the second yellow card.  Therefore the Spikes were again at full strength as we were allowed to bring back both players.  Florida argued this point strongly, since it wasn’t made clear at the time as to why the Spikes were allowed to bring back both players when only one goal was scored.  A yellow card was awarded for the continued loud arguing, and when it continued even more, a second yellow card was awarded to the same player which equals a red card, meaning Florida was then playing a man down.  A red card meant that the player who received it could not return during that game, and the team must play a man down for 5 minutes, or until the other team scores.  When play resumed, Brian Burns eventually scored the game winning goal during the power play.  The game ended shortly after, with the Spikes winning 2-1.

The Spikes met NY Empire again in the final, whom we had tied 1-1 during the second stage games.  The Spikes controlled the game throughout, creating many more chances, and diffusing all of the NY attacks, winning 2-0.  While it was a close score, there seemed to be little doubt as to who was the better team.  Adel scored first for the Spikes and Bobby’s late goal sealed the game for the Spikes.  The Spikes completed the tournament with a record of 9 wins and one tie, scoring 32 goals and allowing only 7, winning the tournament for the second year in a row.

Spikes II started out in a very tough group that included Florida and Team Americas, both of whom have been formidable opponents in recent years in various tournaments.  On top of that, there was no opportunity to find their form against an easier team, as their very first game was against Florida and their second was against Team Americas.  They lost both, 4-1 vs. Florida and 4-0 against Team Americas.  Scott Toucher put in the goal against Florida.  They lost the next game against Chicago Left 4-1, in which Thang Huynh scored.  The last game of the first stage ended in a 3-0 loss to NY Chrysler.

The second round brought much progress and some success, with four tight games that all could have gone either way.  The first game was a 2-1 loss to Chicago Right, in which Brian Cox’s brother JJ scored.  Next was a 2-1 loss to Chicago Left in which Patrick Unemori scored on a nicely taken free kick.   Next up was a hotly contested tie against Hotlanta Heat that ended in a 1-1 tie, with Brian Cox scoring the goal.  The last Stage 2 game was a 0-0 tie against NY Trump.

After the second stage of round robin play, the Spikes were placed into the Division 3 bracket, playing a quarter final against NY Waldorf.  It was a tight game, with both teams creating chances, but with neither one able to poke in a goal, with the final score 0-0.  To determine who advanced, a shootout followed, with Carlos Alvarado coming up with many impressive saves.  It was played with successive rounds of 5 penalty kicks, with the score remaining tied after each of the first two rounds.  All ten Spikes players got a chance to take a kick, and in the third round many players got to take a second kick.  Nerves were tested on both teams as the tension mounted.  The Spikes finally pulled ahead by a decisive margin at the end of the third round, claiming victory and moving on to the semi-finals against Hotlanta.  They lost 2-0 and then were scheduled to play the third place match.  When the opponent decided they were too tired to play, the Spikes were awarded a forfeit victory and third place in Division 3.  Great job!