After the international break, the Cup resumed this morning when #6 Arsenal F.C. hosted #11 Metropolitan Screaming Eagles in the final First Round matchup. The home team got on the board early when newly signed midfielder Turi Mendoza ripped a shot past Metro Eagles goalie Zapotocky Pustejovsky in the 7th minute to grab the early lead. Albin Isaksen got the Swedish side level in the 21st when his header painted the corner and Gunther Assmann put the 11 seed in the lead after his off-balance shot caught Arsenal goalie Gerrard Fleisch leaning the wrong way to make the score 2-1 at halftime. Read Lennon then got the equalizer towards the midway point of the 2nd half when Pustejovsky was screened from seeing the shot clearly and the game looked as if it would end 2-2. However, with about 5 minutes to go, Decker Bucher redirected a cross with a glancing shot that changed the angle just enough to have the ball sneak into the far corner and give the visitors the 3-2 win.

Tomorrow morning, the return game is played as the Metro Eagles try to become the only lower seed to advance and Arsenal tries to keep the streak going.

For the first time in Cup history, the higher seeds made a clean sweep of the First Round. #9 Metropolitan Screaming Eagles went back home to Sweden to protect its 1 goal differential against #8 Arsenal F.C. and couldn't get the job done. Teague Guildford tied the aggregate in the 1st half on an unassisted play right in the center of the penalty area and Read Lennon's header in the 53rd minute proved to be the series winner. The Metro Eagles dominated the stats line, generating 30 opportunities, 12 shots on goal and 10 corners but it all came to nothing as Arsenal veteran German goalie Gerrard Fleisch pitched the shutout when his team needed one most. The 2-0 win gave Arsenal the 4-3 aggregate and moved them on to the next round.

I'll need an hour or so to get the Quarterfinals set up and then scheduling can begin.

We started off with 32 teams and have eliminated 75%. The time frame for scheduling in the Quarterfinals is Dec 5th thru Dec 14th but you can start scheduling now.

We have a three-way tie for the Golden Toe between Heinz Hagelin (crutchanators) and Cannavaro Maccarone (Rushmore) who are eliminated but can still share the honor and Vincente Ocampo (Ants,) whose team is very much alive.

Good luck and happy hunting.

My season just ended and I do not have a full squad. I will need some time to sign some players.

The first couple of Quarterfinal games were just scheduled and they are all the way out on the 13th and 14th. It looks like a lot of worlds are flipping right now so we'll just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Half of the quarters have been scheduled with the 1st game on the 12th so hang in there.

My season just flipped, once I fill a couple openings I will be able to schedule my games.

Live action resumes tomorrow when #6 Arsenal F.C. hosts #3 Fighting Ants to get the Quarterfinals rolling.

The playoff in Cup XIII have resumed and an entertaining contest between #3 Fighting Ants and #6 Arsenal F.C. has now entered the history books. Arsenal was playing host to the two-time Cup Champions and immediately drew first blood when midfielder Lucio Doblas chose a perfect time to score his 1st goal of the tounament as his header cleanly beat Ants goalie Nacho Moran in the 6th minute to give the home side a 1-0 lead. Arsenal extended the lead to 2-0 several minutes later when Read Lennon redirected a corner cross into the far corner. The Ants were able to stabilize their defense after that point and actually clawed one of the goals back after Vincente Ocampo's diving effort skipped by Arsenal netminder Gerrard Fleisch in the 37th minute to send the game to halftime at 2-1.

The 2nd half looked to be more of the same as Arsenal controlled possession and both teams had limited scoring chances until a defensive collapse in the 63rd minute doomed the home side. A failed offside trap left the center of the penalty area wide open and Burhford Sigismund made Arsenal pay with an easy score to tie the game at 2-2 in the 63rd followed by Tyesone Hainsworth striking a grass-burner a minute later to give the Ants a 3-2 lead. The final nail was hammered in by Ocampo's 2nd goal of the game in the 78th minute that proved to be the game winner. A late goal by Lennon limited the damage but the Ants take the 1st leg of the series 4-3 and head home to Poland for the return game tomorrow.

Vincente Ocampo has established himself atop the Golden Toe leaderboard with 12 goals, making him 3 goals clear of the next active player remaining in the tournament.

A pair of playoff games this morning saw our first team advance to the Semifinals. #3 Fighting Ants had a 1 goal differential heading into the return match at home in Poland and made quick work of #6 Arsenal F.C. to win the aggregate 9-3. Vincente Ocampo scored a hat trick and has now built himself up a huge lead in the Golden Toe with a whopping 15 goals scored. The Colombian superscorer was a perfect three shots on goal and three tallies as he drilled two ***** within 6 minutes of each other past Arsenal goalkeeper Gerrard Fleisch to lead the rout. Arsenal could get nothing going and ended their successful tournament. No shame in being beaten by a better squad.

The 1/8 matchup also got underway and the top seed #1 Swamp City Dragons was unable to hold serve in Canada. #8 kangaroo fc clamped down with a punishing defense and finally broke the 0-0 tie in the 52nd minute when Naum Desny clubbed a shot off the side of his foot and into the back of the net to give the Croatian club the 1-0 lead. The roos were able to put the game away late when Evgeny Fokine nutmegged the centerback and painted the corner to close the scoring on a 2-0 roos road win. The series heads back to Croatia tomorrow where the Dragons must solve the roos defensive riddle.

6 out of the 8 quarterfinal games have now been scheduled.

Oviedo has had an outstanding challenge on offer to VB Hibernian for about a week now. That challenge has been moved back twice. It is currently in slot #6.

I haven't seen a challenge back to Oviedo yet, though I do not check every day.

I see that the roster for Hibs is up to 14 players (4F-4M-4D-2G) so hopefully we will be able to schedule the #4 vs #5 matchup soon.

Posted by scottml on 12/13/2023 1:03:00 PM (view original):
Oviedo has had an outstanding challenge on offer to VB Hibernian for about a week now. That challenge has been moved back twice. It is currently in slot #6.

I haven't seen a challenge back to Oviedo yet, though I do not check every day.

I see that the roster for Hibs is up to 14 players (4F-4M-4D-2G) so hopefully we will be able to schedule the #4 vs #5 matchup soon.

Yeah, his league games start on the 19th so he should be wrapping up recruiting in the next couple of days. He probably is needing another defender and midfielder. That game in slot #6 should be more than good enough.

I am still signing players. I only have 14 thus far, and unfortunately I lost some of my best players to free agency and retirement. So, I wouldn't sweat it Oviedo. You will have a cake walk with the JV team that I am assembling.

Half of the Semifinals spots are now filled as #8 kangaroo fc punches its ticket to the final four. Up 2-0 in the aggregate against the #1 seed Swamp City Dragons, the Croats didn't have much problem maintaining their lead to knock the Dragons out of the tournament. Russian midfielder Naum Desny gave the roos a 3-0 lead in the 25th minute when his shot from straight away deflected off of a defender and easily past Dragons goalie Huenu Palomino. The roos defense was smothering for a 2nd game in a row as the top seed couldn't generate any offense and only a goal midway through the 2nd half by Derrik Ishihara prevented the series shutout. The game ended 1-1 and the roos take the series 3-1 on aggregate as another strong tournament showing by Swamp City comes to an end.

The 2/7 matchup begins tomorrow as we pass the halfway mark of the Quarters. I am extending the time frame to schedule quarterfinal games until the 16th so that Hibernian can get those games on the docket.

First off, I am happy to announce that all Quarterfinal games gave now been scheduled. The 4/5 matchup between Futbol Club Oviedo and VB Hibernian will take place on the 20th, with both teams racking up frequent flier miles as they commute between Spain and England to play both legs on the same day.

About this morning's action, #7 butterfiles united did a little hammering at home on #2 Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi, mistaking the Colombian side as a collection of nails. 45,047 French fans were treated to four straight goals to open the contest, led by the young American Vance Lewis, who scored twice in as many minutes. By the time Cotopaxi goalkeeper Rose Luyten could take a deep breath, the score was 4-0 and the game effectively over. Ariens Mathijssen and Sceley Ballouchy did tally to lessen the hole the Colombians find themselves in but the 5-2 final score will be a difficult hill to climb when the return match is played tomorrow...at least Cotopaxi will be able to engineer any comeback from their home stadium.

We have that lone game tomorrow and then get to take a few days off before this round of the Knockouts wraps up next week. Barring tiebreakers, the Semifinals should get underway starting on the 21st.