While we recapped the GPSD Championship matches in the last entry that saw FC Portlandia lose a tough battle to SDFC EastBurn and North End United lost a bitter affair to Ronler Hacres after beating them earlier that week just before the Thanksgiving holiday, official match reports were submitted for the NEU matches.

You can read more about the bizarre circumstances that caused North End United to have to play a previously cancelled match against Ronler Hacres under rather nasty conditions and win 6 to 0 convincingly to set up a rematch on Sunday November 20 between the same clubs for the GPSD Division 4 title.  The November 17 match was played under nasty conditions with driving rain and sleet but NEU gained an advantage with Ronler only fielding nine field players for the affair.  Joel Weaklund and Marcus Nelson scored braces in the second half while Allen Cook and Shiloh Rodriguez added single tallies for a convincing 6 to 0 win to propel them into the championship match undefeated.

Under slightly better conditions on November 20, the same two clubs met for the Division 4 title with better numbers as both sides fielded full teams.  Under a warning from the official to not let things get out of control in the first half, both teams played to a scoreless draw going into the break.  Unfortunately, strange circumstances led to a Ronler Hacres free kick to put them up by one that also led to the ejection of Rem Evert, although it’s still unclear what happened to lead to the call.  The player that drew the first free kick for Ronler then used a series of flying elbows to score a second tally, but NEU wasn’t going to give up.  Marcus Nelson got them back within one, but tensions flared between NEU and the official because of a delayed restart.  The final whistle blew moments later before NEU could earn the leveling goal, but it didn’t put a damper on a successful campaign that saw all sorts of unusual events.  Congratulations to NEU for a spectacular fall run and it will be interesting to see if they can repeat their efforts in the upcoming spring season.

We’ll post more about FC Portlandia’s final championship match once the official match report is available, but as with NEU, it was a hugely successful season for the boys in purple as they earned promotion to GPSD Division for spring 2012.

—by Garrett Dittfurth

I suppose that's not the most entertaining headline I could write. To be honest this isn't the most exciting content matter either. I've been asked to write just a bit about the time requirements of a 107ist board member since we're now accepting applications for the 2012 elections.

If you choose to run and are elected by the membership you are making a three year commitment to the membership that voted for you. This is truly one of the most rewarding volunteer jobs you could ever do but there is a significant weekly time commitment involved. Every month the board meets at least once. Usually these meetings take place on a Sunday at a location of our choosing that does change every once in a while. These board meetings are usually written into the agenda to take about 2 hours but often run over into a 3rd hour. This board meeting is required and if you can't make it there needs to be notice given and a reason why. If a board member neglects their position it is at the board's discretion to dismiss a board member for neglect. Thankfully it's never come to that but I wanted to make it clear how important these monthly meetings are.

Past the required monthly meeting there are sometimes emergency meetings called. These are usually called on short notice and typically take about an hour to get through. As the "emergency" part suggest these are unpredictable but not common. Typically a board member will also be on a committee. I serve on the communications committee and we usually have a meeting every other month or so to talk about initiatives we want to have some outreach to the press about. We have a travel committee, community service committee, etc. Each of these meets once in a while to discuss topics relevant to their group.

The main time suck is email. A lot of the day to day discussion is done by email. If you're not able to access your email for days at a time expect A LOT of email to build up. The more you're on it the easier it is sort through. There are also certain events that the board is recommended to go to. Those are pretty typical of what you would expect and board members aren't required to be in attendance. A few good examples of these types of events would be the recent field dedication at James John Elementary by AC Portland that many 107ists worked on and our regular Third Saturday meet ups.

I want to reiterate to everyone that although this may sound like a lot for me it's an acceptable amount of time for the rewarding experience I get serving the membership on the board.

With the short week because of the Thanksgiving holiday, I wanted to get out a report of the happenings from this weekend, as two TAFC clubs were participating in their division's respective championship matches. While the official match reports haven't been published yet, I wanted to share the results as reported to me by each manager and post a full recap once those recaps are available.

For FC Portlandia, they lost 4 to 3 in the GPSD Division 2 championship match against SDFC EastBurn but both clubs will be officially moving to GPSD Division 1 in the Spring. Meanwhile, North End United played Ronler Hacres for the second time in four days for the GPSD Division 4 title. NEU beat Ronler 6 to 0 on November 17 to secure their spot in the final against Ronler who led D4 in total points, and the same two clubs would battle for the final. After a scoreless first half, Ronler would put in two contested goals to take a 2 to 0 lead. While the NEU boys fought back to within one, they ended up losing 2 to 1.

I'll have a more complete wrap up to both games soon, but I wanted to publish the results to all the Timbers Army members. Regardless of the result, however, it was a great season for both teams and they should be congratulated on a stellar fall campaign!

—by Chris Rifer

Welcome, Montreal!

Just a year after the Timbers went through this same process – albeit with some expansion competition in Vancouver – the Montreal Impact are preparing for Wednesday’s Expansion Draft. With protected lists due out Monday, it is time to look ahead to what the Timbers’ protected list might look like.

We start with a point that may make this entire section moot. During the season, the Timbers sent longtime favorite Ryan Pore to Montreal on loan. At the time it was hinted that the move had expansion draft implications. The Impact have reportedly been satisfied with Pore’s services and have him in their plans going forward, despite Portland holding his rights in the future.

It is entirely possible that as part of the loan the Timbers and Impact made a handshake deal whereby Montreal can take Pore in the Expansion Draft in exchange for the Impact leaving the rest of Portland’s roster on the board. If that’s the case, well, fantastic. Love me some Ryan Pore, but the Timbers have better options on the wings.

Unfortunately few outside of Morrison Street really have much insight into such deals, so assuming the entirety of the Timbers are fair game, here is who the Timbers ought to protect.

First off, as a Generation Adidas player, Darlington Nagbe is not eligible for selection. So that frees up one spot on the protected list. He is the only Timbers player that is ineligible for selection, however, as Portland does not have any Home Grown players on the roster. Here is who I would protect.

Mortal Locks

1.  Troy Perkins – Still has plenty of years ahead of him in goal and provides the Timbers the medium-term stability between the posts to give time for Portland’s young goalkeeping talent to develop.

2.  Diego Chara – Best player on the team. Reasonable salary number. Has at least a half decade of peak performance ahead of him.

3.  Eric Brunner – Good young central defender. Has shown he can anchor the defense and, again, provides great value and good promise for quite a while.

4.  Kalif Alhassan – Way too much potential to be leaving unprotected.

Worthy of Protection

5.  Rodney Wallace – Given my rather turbulent relationship with Rodney as a player (I’ve never met him, but he seems like a standup guy) this makes me cringe a little bit, but he’s only 23 and if needs be could fill a very valuable position for a long time. One thing nobody has been talking about, though, is that rumor has it Tigres wouldn’t mind parting ways with Jonathan Bornstein. If that’s the case, and he wants to come back to MLS, then Portland is his home. Should that be in the works, Rod drops of this list in a hurry

6.  Futty – Gets a slight edge over David Horst. I see them largely as equals in defense, but Futty showed some serious prowess in the air on set pieces this year. He’s just a little bit better rounded player than Horst, and accordingly gets a coveted spot on the protected list.

7.  Sal Zizzo – He’s a good young wing. As discussed at the end of the season, the Timbers need more scoreboard production out of him, but he’s only 24 and has shown promise.

8.  Eric Alexander – Really didn’t get much of an opportunity to see him demonstrate his full range of talents, but he’s young, has a ton of potential, and the front office appears to be high on him.

On the Good Side of the Bubble

9.  Jake Gleeson – It’s a bold strategy to protect two keepers,[1] but Gleeson is a tremendous talent. On top of that, with a strong veteran presence in goal right now, Jake is in a prime position to develop into an outstanding keeper.

10.  Jack Jewsbury – It’s unlikely he would get picked considering his age, but to lose Jack for nothing would be awful for the Timbers. He showed this year that he is the leader of the team and very much a contributor. He is also a powerful bargaining chip for Portland. Either he will be in the Timbers uniform next year or he will help bring something else of great value.

11.  Lovel Palmer – I agonized a bit over this spot, but the reality is the Timbers would be in trouble if they lost Lovel without having something else come in at that spot. If the Timbers do have something else on the way, this spot goes elsewhere. But absent that, Palmer is a passable – if perhaps a bit vulnerable – incumbent.

The Tough Omissions

The Starting Forwards – Yeah, I know, I didn’t protect a true forward. Two reasons for this: First off, especially with Cooper’s salary figure, I think it is unlikely they get plucked. Anyway, if either of them did get picked, would you be devastated? With Nagbe’s emergence up front, Perlaza may be on the outside looking in anyway. Cooper showed promise toward the end of the season, but something tells me if Gavin had an extra $267,000 to bandy about he could find a replacement. The point is, and this is the second reason, attacking talent is not that hard to come by. If Montreal decided to loot the Timbers strikeforce, I have full confidence Gavin and Spencer could find a fitting replacement before January.

David Horst – Very nearly gave him the last spot instead of Palmer. Also very nearly gave him Futty’s spot. I’ll be very disappointed if Horst is pilfered, but tough decisions have to be made when you can only protect 11.

Mike Chabala – Another tough decision. I fell out of love with Chewy a little bit in the last month or so of the season, and Rodney Wallace’s advantage in potential made me gravitate to Rod. That said, this is the omission that I feel I would have the greatest possibility of regretting.

Brian Umony – I don’t think he’ll get picked, but it would be a shrewd gamble for Montreal. I’m curious to see what Umony could do in another season in Portland, especially if he can stay injury-free. I would rather Montreal not have the opportunity to see that through.

James Marcelin – To be honest, there are three guys on the protected list that can play central mid (including Alexander) that have greater value than Marcelin. I already have two goalkeepers protected, I can’t possibly protect four central midfielders.

Bright Dike – Again, this came down to whether he could be replaced. I think Bright brings some things to the field that would be tough to replace, but ultimately he is a decent reserve forward in this league. Good thing to have, but not a terribly hard thing to find.

The Cup

Predictions are dangerous because, more often than not, they make you look stupid. That said, I’m making an MLS Cup prediction.

2-0, L.A Galaxy. Yeah, okay, not exactly a bold prediction. I just don’t think the Dynamo attack will be able to function effectively against a pretty good Galaxy defense without Brad Davis. The Galaxy attack has been pretty darn good, with Mike Magee and David Beckham starring. Imagine what would happen if Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane come to play today as well. I think they will, and I think that will make this a bit one-sided. Houston has arguably been the best team to date in the playoffs, but no team can lose somebody like Davis and maintain their level of quality. Personally, I would rather see Dynamo win, but I’m prepared for disappointment.

The Good Cannoli

I don’t fancy myself a food critic, but I hit up Zizzo’s FC for the first time at lunch on Friday. Very impressive.

I got the Salsiccia sandwich and some cannoli for dessert. The sandwich was great. The sausage was tasty, but the peppers stole the show. I don’t know if it’s how they cook them or where they get them, but the peppers were some of the most flavorful I have ever had. Add in some grilled onions and a slice of provolone and you have yourself a pretty happy lunch hour.

The cannoli was top-notch as well. The filling of knock-off cannoli is often little better than miracle whip. This is no knock-off cannoli. The filling was delightfully rich with a good hint of cinnamon, and was well accompanied by the crunch of the shell and a perfect dusting of powdered sugar.

I’m a sucker for tomatoes, and the Caprese sandwich was the David Horst[2] of my lunch order. If you haven’t tried it yet, you really should go. There’s a decent chance you’ll see me there.

Onward, Rose City!

—by Abram Goldman-Armstrong

107ist board members Joanne Coachman, Garrett Dittfurth, Fernando Machicado, Jeremy Wright, and Abram Goldman-Armstrong are attending the MLS Supporters Summit and MLS Cup in Los Angeles. The weekend started with the supporters meet and greet at the Marriott Hotel in Torrance, where board members were able to network with supporters from clubs across the league. The was a presentation on the brewing process by Anheuser Busch InBev brewmaster George Reisch, including samples of AB Budweiser in malt, wort, and part way through the fermentation process. Goldman-Armstrong discussed security issues with MLS security consultant Jeffery Stonebreaker. A No Pity scarf was one of the most sought after items in a charity raffle put on by Angel City Brigade.

Saturday morning all board members attended the Independent Supporters Council Meeting at el Pescador Restaurant organized by Goldman-Armstrong and facilitated by Wright. Supporters from teams from across the US and Canada gathered at el Pescador Restaurant to discuss issues facing supporters, including security, away support, and game day ops. The Council developed several Position Points:

An Unbalanced schedule lowers the integrity of the league

When does MLS set up schedule? When Can we Have Input?

-Schedule regional and rivalry games (as determined by supporters) for Saturday rather than mid week

-Away Supporters Group Ticket Allotment- The ISC supports the FIFA 5% recommendation That 5% of stadium capacity of tickets be held for away supporters until two weeks before the match.

-The ISC opposes a league-wide banned supporters list. (too much chance to be arbitrary)

The Council also discussed a number of other pertinent issues including the following topics:

Designated Supporters Sections should be controlled by the supporters groups.

MLS has to hold clubs accountable for not following Away Travel plans (need to stick to security plan outlined in conference call).

The ISC will take a stance against violent SGs.

Saturday afternoon the group attended the Supporters’ Roundtable with Evan Dabby of MLS, and MLS club liaisons including Chris Wilson. Topics discussed included:

o Communication Strategy between Supporter Groups, Front Office and League Office

- Finding effective ways to build rapport between stakeholders - Improved communication tools to facilitate traveling supporters

o Supporter Group Committees

- Continuation and growth of existing committees

- Sub-committees (e.g. Hispanic and/or Cascadia Clubs)

o Growing and Enhancing the Game Day Experience

- Pre-match Communication and Planning

- Prohibited Items with Supporter Group Exemptions (see below)

- Minimum Ticket Allotment and Pricing (see below)

- Security

- Eliminating YSA/Foul Language Chants

o League-Wide Spectator Misconduct Tracking

- Establish a reporting process and plan to disseminate the information with all clubs

- Consistency in response and enforcement

o Self-Policing Strategies for Supporter Groups

- Identify successful models from individual groups and how it evolved

- Developing a system with discipline and rewards

o Partnership Marketing Opportunities

- Ideas for future growth, as well as finding a balance without “selling out”

- MLS and Club partners

- TEAM Coalition and “Responsibility Has Its Rewards”

o Supporter Group “Certificate of Authentication”

- Criteria to be recognized as an official supporter group

- Motivate and incentivize supporter groups

o 2012 Supporter Summit

- Review of the organization and approach

- Evaluating on the best location and timing for 2012

Though supporters and the MLS did not agree on all points there was a lot of good information sharing. 107ist, along with Section 8 Chicago, and ECS seem to be among the forerunners of the groups in many areas including self-policing, relations with the club front office, and travel organization. SUNDAY Nov. 20 You can virtually join in the conversation with Commissioner Don Garber tomorrow at 11 am via live webstream.

With the GPSD fall season winding down, there was an undecided manner in GPSD Division 4 that involved one of the TAFC member clubs.  North End United, the only undefeated club in the table going into the final regular season weekend, thought they just had to win their final fixture against Oregon National Guard FC to secure a championship berth.  While the NEU lads took care of their result, they were unaware that the team leading the standings, Ronler Hacres, was upset in their final schedule match versus Mayday.

 Mayday was hoping to overtake NEU and jump into the championship match, but the results ended up causing a tie in second place on the table.  This necessitated a rather strange circumstance where a cancelled game would need to be completed before a championship pairing would be determined.  Ironically, that cancelled match was North End United versus Ronler Hacres, and GPSD put the rescheduled match on Thursday, November 17 at LaSalle High School in SE Portland.  With an NEU win or draw, they would secure second place and the same two clubs would meet on November 20 at Gladstone High School for the GPSD Division 4 title.  A Ronler Hacres win would put the result into a tiebreaker situation and since Mayday and NEU drew back on November 6, it would mean GPSD would have to determine the participant.

While we didn’t get an official match report, we did get an email from Steve Joinson, the NEU manager, who happily reported that NEU had defeated Ronler Hacres 6 to 0 under blustery, chilly conditions.  Joel Weakland and Marcus Nelson scored a brace while Allen Cook and Shiloh Rodriguez added single tallies in securing the big win.  The result means that NEU finishes the 2011 fall season undefeated and has the momentum going into November 20’s championship match.  The championship event will take place under the lights at 6 PM in Gladstoneat Dick Baker Stadium just off the campus of GladstoneHigh School.  As a reminder, FC Portlandia meets earlier in the day at the same location in the GPSD Division 2 championship against SDFC Eastburn at 12 noon.  Good luck to both teams in their matches this weekend, and up the TAFC!

The final weekend of the GPSD regular season was looming over the TAFC clubs going into the second weekend of November.  With the holidays coming up on the calendar and visions of the region’s first official snow watch rumored for later this week, visions of championship games danced in the heads of some of the clubs while others hoped for great results to end their fall campaigns before looking forward to the spring season. 

FC Portlandia was hoping to secure a berth in the GPSD Division 2 championship match and guaranteed promotion into Division 1 for the spring term as they prepared to battle Sporting Commando.  They had played their previous four matches on turf, so the switch to the grass at Columbia Park had both sides struggling to adjust to the different surface.  Anthony O’Reilly took a great pass from Devin Chapman in the 30^th minute to put FCP up 1 to 0 and they held the lead going into the halftime break.  Nabil Zerizef doubled the lead quickly into the second half before Sporting Commando broke into the scoreline with a well placed free kick.  Zerizef and O’Reilly notched additional goals later in the second half as FC Portlandia held on for a 4 to 2 result.  The win secures their berth in the GPSD D2 championship versus SDFC Eastburn on November 20 at 12 noon at Gladstone High School.  The two sides met earlier in the year with SDFC getting a 2 to 0 win, but both teams have secured promotion to D1 for spring. 

North End United was the other club hoping to win a championship berth, making it all the way to November as the only club in GPSD D4 that had yet to lose a match.  A win in their final regular season match versus Oregon National Guard FC would keep the losses at zero and give them an expected championship berth depending on results from other fixtures.  Playing under the lights at Delta Park’s Strasser Field, NEU got some early bad news when striker Rem Evert had to leave the match with an ankle injury, and they ran afoul of the offside violation repeatedly all match.  However, Sam Nicholas picked up the scoring slack with a hat trick while goalkeeper Chad Nelson held strong against a relentless attack as NEU defeated the Guard FC 4 to 2.  In an odd bit of scheduling, NEU will be asked to play a midweek fixture versus Ronler Hacres on November 17 at LaSalle HS at 8 PM that was originally slated for October 9 but was postponed.  Ronler Hacres was in first in GPSD but lost to Mayday on November 13 thus making the cancelled match necessary to play because Mayday and NEU are currently tied in total points.  Depending on the result, it could be the same two teams meeting on November 20 in the GPSD Division 4 championship at 4:00 PM.

Rose City Athletic was playing their final match of the fall at Sherwood’s Snyder Park against the Fiji Islanders.  While the RCA boys were floating about the middle of the table standings wise, they wanted to end the season on a strong note against a very good side.  The fall conditions were great for soccer, but RCA found themselves struggling to hold possession although they had chances to score all match.  Jose Lopez got his sixth goal of the season, but the Fiji Islanders were able to tally three to win the match 3 to 1 to end RCA’s season.  RCA ends the 2010 fall season with a 5 win, 5 loss record putting them smack in the middle of the table, while Bryan Boen ends up as RCA’s top scorer for the fall with 11 goals.  Knowing the brains behind RCA, I can imagine the managers are up to some secret strategy for the next term of soccer, or they could just be interested in trying to eat all they can eat at Izzy’s.

TAFC has experienced an up and down season due to injuries that have kept their numbers down, so they were happy to simply have a sub available in their final fixture against BDFC at Gladstone High School.  The first half displayed a wonderful defensive effort by TAFC to hold their opponents scoreless while Jesse Wagner converted a first half penalty kick to put them up 1 to 0 at the half.  The second half was temporarily delayed because of lighting issues on the field, but once play resumed,BDFC finally found space to work and scored three goals in the second half while holding TAFC scoreless.  TAFC had their chances, including a wonderful run by Wagner that was saved by the BDFC keeper that was very much Troy Perkins like, but in the end, TAFC fell to 1 win and 9 losses on the year.  The offseason for them will be extra special, as the team will undergo their long awaited rebranding project which promises to be something to behold.

—by Lucas Grzybowski

The University of Portland Pilots men's soccer team yesterday lost a bleak 0-1 contest to Santa Clara at Merlo Field, but there was a silver lining.

Through donations and the volunteer efforts of TA/UP stalwarts Tim Chamberlin and Seth Hunt, $120 was raised for the Gisele Currier Memorial Fund, which was created in honor of our dear friend Gisele after she passed away suddenly last spring. Admission was free for anyone wearing Timbers Army gear, and a few dozen TA came out to support the Pilots in their quest to qualify for the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship.

Santa Clara broke the deadlock in the 81st minute with a header off a corner kick, and though the Pilots had a couple of good chances to equalize during a frenetic finish, it was not to be. The loss means Portland finishes in 3rd place in the West Coast Conference and could only qualify for the NCAA tournament through an at-large bid (which they unfortunately did not get).

Thanks again to everyone who donated, and to Seth and Tim for working the booth.

Learn more about the Gisele Currier Memorial Fund, and make a donation to support local soccer.

—by Roger Anthony

November is a big month of AC Portland, with two open-to-the-public-but-especially-to-the-Timbers-Army events on the schedule.

To refresh memories, AC Portland is an after-school program from grade-school kids ranging from Grades 3-8. Kids take part in two-sets of school curricula focused on literacy, health and nutrition – and supplement that with some small-scale recreational soccer. The project was launched this summer with a fund-raising and awareness campaign powered by the TA, the 107ist and Operation Pitch Invasion, as well as a field-construction project at James John Elementary School in North Portland.

So far, 400 kids and seven schools have taken part in AC Portland activities, not to mention several Timbers Army volunteers who’ve stepped up to help coach the kids.

Over the next week, you’ll have to chances to see the payoffs from all that hard work:

On Tuesday, Nov. 15, there will be a dedication and celebration of the new artificial turf mini-field at James John. (Turf better than Seattle’s!) Ceremonies will begin at 3:45 p.m. and continue for about 45 minutes to an hour. James John is located at 7439 N Charleston Ave., a short stroll from the St. Johns Bridge or the McMenamins St. Johns Pub, depending on your points of reference.

On Thursday, Nov. 17, you can see some of the kids in the program compete on an entirely different playing field. Starting at 6:30, the kids of AC Portland will be raising their voices as part of the Get Loud! Poetry Slam. Winners could qualify to take part in the America Scores National Poetry Slam to be held at the fabled Apollo Theater in New York City.

Admission is free, and because the Slam is being held in the Benson High auditorium, plenty of good seats will be available. Benson is located at 546 NE 12th Ave.; the Slam will last until about 8:30.

With just two weeks left in the regular season for the Timbers Army football clubs, there was plenty of excitement going into the November 5 and 6 fixtures.  Rose City Athletic played a rare Saturday date in the afternoon, while FC Portlandia and North End United were playing for potential berths in their respective division championship matches.  TAFC, meanwhile, had some players saddled with injuries return to play for their match in the hopes from rebounding from their last match out inWashington County. 

For FC Portlandia, their Sunday match against Por Que No had plenty of importance associated with the result.  A win for the lads in purple would almost guarantee them into the GPSD Division 2 championship match.  Under the lights at Oregon City HS, FC Portlandia debuted their new sky blue look sponsored by Cartlandia and used a lone goal by Nabil Zerizef in the first half to earn a 1 to 0 victory in an extremely competitive match.  Por Que No put the Portlandia defense under pressure the entire match, but FCP held them off to earn an advantage in the berth for the championship.  They finish their regular season on November 13 against Sporting Commando atColumbiaPark inNorth Portland at 2 PM.  A win in that match not only assures the championship match berth but it would secure them promotion to Division 1 for next season.

I had to read about North End United’s match versus Mayday a few times to make sure that I caught all the nuances, and apparently the match report doesn’t even begin to underscore the craziness of their 2 all draw.  Apparently, the match featured some trash talking, great passing, and a bizarre penalty kick situation.  The contentious chatter continued after the final whistle apparently as there was some spirited banter amongst the participants that I’m sure wasn’t for the faint of ear.  It was a great result for NEU, however, as they fell behind 2 to 0 in the first half, but used second half goals from Marcus Nelson and Shiloh Rodriguez to earn the point.  If NEU wins this weekend against Oregon National Guard FC at Delta Park Strasser Field at 6 PM, they will assure themselves second place in Division 4 GPSD and play in the title game the following weekend.

Rose City Athletic played the rare Saturday at Glenhaven Park against long time Division 4 participants the Onetouchables, and the boys in red came out firing.  Bryan Boen continued his torrid goal scoring pace in getting his eleventh of the year, but he was outpaced by a hat trick for Eduardo Ramirez and a brace for Jose Lopez as RCA beat the Onetouchables 6 to 1.  Apparently the cold and windy conditions didn’t stall the RCA offense while they held the Onetouchables’ offense in check.  RCA will finish their fall campaign in Sherwood atSnyderPark on November 13 at 2:30 PM when they meet the Fiji Islanders.  A word of warning for RCA – theFiji guys might be big, but they are really quick as well.

TAFC was excited to welcome the return of midfielders Jesse Wagner and Eben Crawford back to the team, and they actually had available subs for the match against Sasquatch Gang FC at Columbia Park on November 6.  The pre-match festivities were highlighted by a pre-match kit switch for Sasquatch from their green to white, and a colorful discussion between TAFC manager Jerry Makare and the center official about clock management.  Once the match got started, TAFC held their ground for most of the first half but gave up 2 goals on great individual efforts.  Whether it was the lingering effects of the previous match or the sloppy conditions that made passing difficult, TAFC started to falter as the score tally rose for Sasquatch.  They did earn some redemption when Chris Tschirley scored in the second half, putting him officially in the top 10 of all time TAFC goal scorers over his career.  TAFC finishes the Fall Session this weekend against BDFC at Gladstone HS at 4 PM on November 13; while TAFC beat BDFC during the Spring 2010 season, BDFC is a much improved side.

The weekend also marked the first ever practice for the newest Timbers Army FC club, Old Growth FC.  Slated to join one of the over 40 divisions in GPSD for the Spring 2012 season, team founder Todd Diskin welcomed 12 participants to a rainy, drizzly practice on Saturday but everyone was smiles as they worked through various drills and a short scrimmage.  The motto on this day was just having fun and work on getting better, but knowing the participants on this club, I’m sure the competitive juices will start flowing once the fixtures begin in March.