The Girls Soccer schedule for 2002 is now on the web.

http://tk-jk.net/gradyproject/girls_soccer_2002.htm

Let me know when the Boys schedule is available.

-- Terry Kearns (gradyproject@aol.com), February 12, 2002

Answers

Wolves Came Out Hungry! Grady Boy’s Varsity Soccer Team Loses to Wesleyan 5 – 0 (April 23, 2002)

Tuesday night’s game started out poorly for the Knights and end strongly for the Wesleyan Wolves. The Wolves’ first goal was scored within forty-five seconds into the game and pretty well set the tone for the evening. The Grady defense could not clear the ball at times and in the fourth minute of play, Wesleyan had goal number two. Jack Giardina was kept busy in goal and Trevor Garner, Marek Maryncak, Jacob Dean, Bryan Heery and Sam Garr fought valiantly on the defensive half of the field. A beautifully executed crossing ball was headed into the net for Wesleyan in the seventh minute of play. Then, about ten minutes into the game, the Knights appeared to have settled into their game and we enjoyed a competitive match, with the ball moving up and down the field by both teams. Jonathan Holman and Misha Bagautdinov played strongly up on top with support from midfielders John Paul Brule, Will Brewer, Walker Rick, Joel Dean and Breen Chambless.

The Wolves did not score again until the seventy-second minute of play when a bobbled ball in front of the goal found its way into the net. Four minutes later, just prior to the close of the game, a run on the Grady goal, which began with a punt by the Wesleyan goalie, lead to the fifth and final goal of the evening.

The highlight of the evening was seeing David Suitts up and about. David broke bones in his wrist in a junior varsity match, as goalie for the Knights. He appears to be on the mend with some new steel in his arm. We hope to see him back on the field soon. The young Knight team will be back next year without the services of the exchange students, John Paul Brule and Will Brewer. Best of luck to each and every one until next time.

By the way, Decatur beat Greater Atlanta Christian Academy leading to a division final game at Decatur against Wesleyan on Friday evening. Good luck to both teams!

-- Randy E. Pimsler (randy@pimslerhoss.com), April 25, 2002.

Winning Team is Not Always the Best Team! Grady Boy’s Varsity Soccer Team Loses to Buford 2 - 1 (April 17, 2002)

Wednesday night’s game started out well for the Knights. They looked good and passed the ball well. Numerous shots on goal during the first half, let the weak Buford defense know that Grady had come to play. The only problem was, not enough goals went into the net for the Knights. Shot after shot ran wide or to the talented Buford goalie. The first goal was scored in the thirty second minute of play, starting with a good defensive play by Trevor Garner. Trevor sent the ball to John Paul Brule who fed Joel Dean a lovely pass. Joel ran onto the pass and through the defenders, including the approaching goalie and Grady lead one to zero. Marecio Rodriguez, Marek Maryncak, Joel Dean, Jacob Dean and Bryan Heery contributed strong defensive efforts throughout the game.

In the sixtysecond minute of play, a direct kick was awarded to Buford just outside the eighteen yard line. The Knights have had a hard time defending set shots from this area of the field, all season. This evening proved to be the same, as Buford scored handily on a header just outside the six, received from the direct kick. The offensive attack was lead by Jonathan Holman who was frustrated by the lack of support he received from the far post on offense, as many of his passes were not ran upon. Misha Bagautdinov, and JP supported the offensive attack with very strong games up on top. In the mid field, was fielded by Will Brewer in the middle and Breen Chambless and Walker Rick making great runs up and down the field. The Knights looked good through much of the game, but as we know, one goal makes all the difference in this game. With about fifteen minutes left in the game Buford recovered a loose ball just inside the eighteen. Marecio approached the attacker and actually committed a foul as the ball rolled into the net for their second score. While the bench for Grady provided a great deal of assistance and the Knights dominated much of the game, they lost this evening to a determined Buford team by two goals to one.

-- Randy E. Pimsler (randy@pimslerhoss.com), April 23, 2002.

What a Thriller! Grady Boy’s Varsity Soccer Team Loses to Decatur 4 – 2 (April 19, 2002)

Friday night’s game was perhaps the best game that the Grady Boys Varsity Team played all season. The boys rose to the challenge without out their first or second-string goalie and played their hearts out against an older and more experienced team. For the first fifteen minutes of the game, you could not tell which team had the advantage. Jack Giardina stepped in to start at goalie and played a fantastic game. He kept the Knight’s in this one with an impressive performance. In the eighteenth minute of play a ball bobbled across the goal mouth and young Adam Urban was on hand to score Decatur’s first goal, with his left foot. The Knight’s put their heads down and within a minute of the restart of the game, Decatur scored their second goal, which was uncontested in front of the Grady box. Then, just four minutes before the whistle for the close of the first half, Misha Bagautdinov hit a nice ball into the Decatur eighteen-yard line and Will Brewer played the rebound perfectly and scored the Knight’s first goal. The half ended on a very nice note with the Knights down by a goal. Jonathan Holman threatened to score all evening.

The Knight’s came out for the start of the second half, with a great deal of energy and enthusiasm. Aggressive play continued all around and the defensive pressure by Trevor Garner, Marek Maryncak, Jacob Dean and Bryan Heery contributed to a strong stand. John Paul Brule and Marek were all over the field. Joel Dean and Breen Chambless fought hard for every ball in the defensive half of the midfield. Then, in the fifty-eighth minute of play, Walker Rick hit a rebounding ball off the Decatur goalie and much to everyone’s surprise the game was tied.

In the seventy-sixth minute of play, the defensive half of Grady’s game began to look worn out and the Decatur team made a strong offensive run on goal. A nice crossing pass was headed in at this time for Decatur’s third goal. Within one minute of that goal, Decatur pounded the eighteen with a large number of players and scored their fourth goal with a decisive run on the ball and a strong finish into the net.

The Knights played a game full of heart, with incredible efforts all around the field. The Knights will visit Wesleyan, once again for a playoff game on Tuesday, April 23, 2002 at 7:30 pm.

-- Randy E. Pimsler (randy@pimslerhoss.com), April 23, 2002.

Back From Spring Break - Grady Boy’s Varsity Soccer Team Defeats WD Muhammed 8 – 1 (April 15, 2002)

Following a rainy spring break, the Knight’s Boys Varsity Soccer Team returned to their stadium, full of energy and played a convincing game against WD Muhammed. In the eighteenth minute of play, Breen Chambless was literally tackled by the Muhammed goalie, inside the box and a penalty kick was awarded to the Knights. John Paul Brule took the kick and scored the Knight’s first goal. A minute later, Jonathan Holman scored the second goal of the evening by dribbling up the center of the field and placing the ball convincingly into the net. Jacob Dean and Misha Bagautdinov had several nice runs on goal playing up top, but neither could find the goalmouth successfully, this evening. In the twenty-fifth minute of play, John Paul made a throw in from the far right side of the field and Walker Rick, leaping well above the defenders headed the ball into the upper half of the net for Grady’s third goal. During the thirty-sixth minute of play, Jonathan Holman received a ball, settled it nicely and struck the ball strongly into the right side of the net. During the first half of play, Grady dominated WD Muhammed and everyone received playing time, which was very nice to see. Jack Giardina played for Joel Dean, Jacob Dean played for Jason Pimsler, John Fettner relieved Walker Rick, Bryan Heery spelled Breen Chambless and Lucian Dodan and John Fettner rotated in at right midfield.

Within two minutes of the start of the second half, the Knights scored goal number five by attempting three shots on goal, one by Rick, one by Holman and the finish by Will Brewer. Brewer and Jason Pimsler, both played aggressively at midfield, creating numerous opportunities for their teammates. The sixth goal of the evening was scored on a lovely pass from Walker Rick to Marek Maryncak who finished the play in the forty- seventh minute of the game. In the early part of the second half, Maricio Rodriguez starting at goal made two very significant saves, keeping WD Muhammed out the net and holding them scoreless. In the sixty-eighth minute of play, Lucien sacrificed his body, very boldly as the Muhammed goalie came out to clear the ball. The rebound off of the missed clear was taken up by, whom else, Jonathan Holman and the Knight’s had their seventh goal of the evening. In the eightieth minute of play, John Paul ran up from the midfield and the only means of stopping him was to foul him as he advanced. The referee pulled a card and a penalty kick was rightfully awarded. JP finished his own penalty kick and the Knights lead eight to zero. Trevor Garner played a strong defensive game overlapping and supporting Marek, as he made his runs up the field from the sweeper position. WD Muhammed made several nice runs on goal during the second half of play and with just three minutes left in regulation play, they scored their first and only goal off of a direct kick awarded by the referee in the area of the thirty yard marker. The ball was struck well, hit the top post and then was successfully finished by an offender.

Special thanks to Lisa Pastoria, who continues to be a faithful ball person, despite the apparent lack of appreciation by the players on the field. The Knights play their next game against Buford on Wednesday evening at six in the evening up near the dam.

-- Randy E. Pimsler (randy@pimslerhoss.com), April 15, 2002.

Grady Boy’s Varsity Soccer Looses to Druid Hills 4 – 1 (April 2, 2002)

Druid Hills Varsity Soccer Team showed up ready to play on Tuesday evening. Under overcast skies, with temperatures in the sixties, Druid Hills scored their first goal in the first minute of play. A fast burst off of the kick off sent one of their players inside the eighteen with a relatively easy shot on goal. In the eleventh minute of play, a poor goal kick lead to another easy shot on goal by Druid Hills and they lead two to zero. Within two minutes of the start of the second half, Druid Hills pulled almost the same play that lead to their first goal and they scored their third goal of the evening. Fifty-three minutes into the game, a familiar face from the Druid Hills team, a rather lumbering Mr. Goodman, scored Druid Hills fourth goal as he snuck up from the sweeper position, unmarked. Grady answered with a goal in the fifty-ninth minute of play as Marek Maryncak made a good run from the defensive half, passing the ball to Misha Bagautdinov who crossed the ball to Jonathan Holman. The game ended with a loss for the young Knight team. Three games await the Knights upon their return from spring break. Monday the fifteenth of April the boys play W. D. Muhammed at seven pm at Grady. The Buford game has been rescheduled for the middle of the week and then the Knights close out their season with an intense game anticipated against Decatur High School on Friday the nineteenth at seven thirty at Decatur High School.

Special thanks to Lisa Pastoria who has been a diligent ball person for the team throughout the season during the boy’s home games.

-- Randy E. Pimsler (randy@pimslerhoss.com), April 05, 2002.

Parents/Fans:

In the week before Spring Break, we logged a 1-0 victory over Holy Innocent's and a 3-1 triumph over Chapel Hill. We're now sitting at 9-6 w/ three more regular-season games. Our girls have grown steadily as players and as a unit.

I'd also like to thank our fans for being positive, supportive people at the games. While our opponent's fans have sometimes been nasty, y'all have been classy. And that makes our jobs as players/coaches easier and MUCH more enjoyable.

-- Bob Usselman (bosselman@earthlink.net), April 05, 2002.

One for the Books! Grady Boy’s Varsity Soccer Team Defeats Greater Atlanta Christian Academy 3 – 2 (March 26, 2002)

A full moon hung over the Grady Knight’s stadium, under cool and clear skies. The alumni represented by Jack Senterfitt and David Bourdeau enjoyed a great evening of soccer. The ball moved up and down the field for a full eighty minutes of some memorable and very entertaining soccer. The Knight’s fell behind in the twelfth minute of play as GAC scored on a fast run up the right side of the field. Within one minute, the Knights retaliated with a strong shot from just outside the eighteen-yard line by Misha Bagautdinov. The game was tied in the thirteenth minute of play. In the fifteen minute, Jason Pimsler made a very soft pass off of a corner shot to Will Brewer. It did not appear that Will would win the ball, but his efforts prevailed and he struck the ball soundly from just outside the eighteen to put the Knights up by one goal. Over the course of the next several minutes of play the ball moved up and down the field. In the nineteenth minute of play, goalkeeper David Suitts showed that he had indeed come to play, with a tremendous save of a shot on goal. The ball turned up field quickly and Jonathan Holman made a strong run on goal with a missed shot. Walker Rick followed the play and missed his shot as well, but the Knights were very much in the game, as the half drew to a close. John Paul Brule seemed to keep the midfield moving in both directions this evening, making a huge difference in the play by the Knights.

Throughout the evening strong defensive play was noted. Grady kept the ball moving towards their offensive half under the defensive watch of Trevor Garner and Marek Maryncak in the middle. The two Dean brothers, Joel and Jacob held fast at defensive backs, shutting down many offensive runs by GAC. A slight lineup change placed Will Brewer in a defensive midfield position along with Breen Chambless and the Knights seemed comfortable with this arrangement. On the GAC side of the field their defensive trap seemed to hold the Knight’s offense in check, at times.

With the second half underway, the fans were treated to more hard play and a great deal of ball movement, up and down the field. In the sixty-fourth minute of play, Jason Pimsler made a great defensive play, stripping the ball from the GAC mid fielder and then headed towards the goal. Jason managed to slip past two defenders who accompanied him to the goal and he scored Grady’s third goal, unassisted in the sixty-fourth minute of play. This was the cushion that the Knights had been looking for. However in the seventy-fourth minute of play, GAC answered with their second goal after the Knights could not clear the ball from inside their own eighteen. Play was aggressive for the remainder of the game. The officials denied Grady an excellent goal scoring opportunity with a poorly called offside as Jonathan Holman and Misha headed towards the GAC goal, side by side. For the most part the officiating was well handled this evening, with this rather major exception. No harm, the Knights left the field victorious and ready for their next rivalry on Thursday evening against Northgate High School. The game is scheduled to start at 7:30 at Grady High School.

-- Randy E. Pimsler (randy@pimslerhoss.com), March 26, 2002.

Long and Cold Night! Grady Boy’s Varsity Soccer Looses to Wesleyan 4 – 0 (March 21, 2002)

By game time the clear skies above the Wesleyan High School stadium, had brought in noticeably cooler temperatures for Friday night’s game. Wesleyan showed up to play and kept David Suitts quite busy in goal for about the first ten minutes of play. One shot on goal struck the cross bar and the Knights were saved from an early goal. It took Wesleyan about twenty-two minutes into the game to score their first goal. They passed the ball around the field masterfully and ran the defense hard. After the first goal was let in, Wesleyan came back and scored their second goal within a minute of the first goal, with a strong shot from just outside the eighteen-yard line. Marek Maryncak alternated with Trevor Garner in the backfield at stopper and sweeper. Joel Dean was a busy defender all night on the right side of the field and Jacob Dean did a fine job defending on the left hand side. Prior to the close of the first half, in the thirtieth minute, Wesleyan scored their third goal off of a header following a very nice crossing pass at the six-yard line.

Jonathan Holman and Misha Bagautdinov played with determination up front, but were held scoreless throughout the match. A few good runs on goal were made, but Wesleyan had an easy time shutting down Grady’s offense. John Paul Brule, Jason Pimsler, Breen Chambless, Will Brewer and Walker Rick ran in the midfield attempting to stop balls and move the play onto the offensive side of the field. Jack Giardina looked good as a defensive midfield. In the forty-fifth minute of play, a missed clear by the defense allowed an easy shot on goal by Wesleyan and the game finished at four to zero, in Wesleyan’s favor. David Suitts played an impressive game in goal and was pounded throughout the evening by continuous runs toward his goal and numerous shots on goal. He managed to keep the Knight’s in the game.

Grady’s next game is at home on Tuesday, March 26th at seven in the evening against another private school, Greater Atlanta Christian Academy. This promises to be a good match and let’s hope it will be a little bit warmer.

-- Randy E. Pimsler (randy@pimslerhoss.com), March 25, 2002.

The Grady girls are at their highest point of the season after a successful showing at the Jekyll Island Coaches Showcase.

We lost to Duluth 5-0 in the first game, but played extremely tough and didn't back down. Duluth - a huge school w/ huge athletes - was just better than us. But I was extremely impressed w/ our mental toughness - especially that of sweeper Camden Janney. Leigh Auerbach made five or six more great saves, following her stellar game in the Wesleyan game (5-1 loss), in which she stuffed two break-aways and stonewalled a penalty-kick attempt.

In the second game, we lost to Providence 2-1, after falling to them 7-1 earlier this season. Rachel Kearns came off the field and said, "Seriously, I'm really proud of ourselves right now." And I agreed b/c we dominated for the last 70 minutes after starting sluggishly and falling into a 2-0 hole. Kearns set up Chelsea Futterman for the lone goal.

In the third and final game, we disposed of W.D. Mohammed 3-2, in a game that truly could have been 5-0. Mohammed's two goals came on free kicks after tick-tacky calls deep in our end. Two legit goals were also taken away from us. First, on a long free kick, Janney put an unstoppable shot in at upper-90. But the linesman took the goal away, saying two Grady players were offside. But anybody who knows the offside rule understands that if a player is not in the play, she cannot be offside. Also, Christina Gibson had a goal which wasn't counted. The keeper clearly made a save inside the goal. As far as the scoring that did count, Kearns scored twice on assists from Jaimie Spetseris and Chelsea Futterman. Ariel Rosenbaum scored the other goal off a far-post pass from Bevelyn Ukah.

Kearns is still leading us in scoring w/ eight goals, followed by six apiece from Futterman and Ukah. Janney and Ariel Rosenbaum have each tallied five goals.

With her helper against Mohammed, Ukah leads with six assists, followed by Futterman, Claire Rosenbaum and Janney with five apiece.

Janney, Courtney Lambert and Amanda Goldberg are tied for the team lead in toughness.

This Tuesday, we host GAC at 5 p.m and travel to Westminster on Wednesday for a 5:30 match.

-- Bob Usselman (bosselman@earthlink.net), March 24, 2002.

Here are the Boys JV Soccer results so far:

Game 1 Grady 3 - Lovett 1

Game 2 Grady 3 - Druid Hills 3

Game 3 Grady 2 - North Atlanta 4

-- Barb Hopkins (blhopkins@mindspring.com), March 20, 2002.

Good Game! Grady Boy’s Varsity Soccer Team Defeats Walker 4 – 3 (March 18, 2002)

Monday evening, under clouding skies, the Knight’s played against a reasonable adversary and managed to pull out a victory over Walker High School. Walker High’s varsity team scored their first goal, nine minutes into the game on a crossing goal after a run up the right side of the field. In the fifteen minute of play, the Knight’s returned a goal on a very strong play, which started in the backfield with a stop by Marek. Marek made a smooth pass to John Paul Brule who laid a fine pass off to Jonathan Holman who finished the ball strongly into the left side of the net. In the twenty-seventh minute of play, Jason Pimsler placed a soft pass to Misha Bagautdinov from the right side of the field. Misha finished with a striking shot on goal that landed strongly in the left side of the net. Breen Chambless continued to harass the Walker defense with numerous strong runs up the right side of the field. The first half ended with some very strong defensive play by Lucas Rentch at sweeper. Trevor Garner played a fine game at right defense and Joel Dean looked strong on the left defensive position. David Suitts ended both halves of play with extremely strong play and some fine saves, keeping the Knights in the game.

In the forty-eighth minute of play, John Paul hit a nice lofting pass to Will Brewer. Will placed a fine pass in front of Jonathan who finished off the play with a strong shot, placing the Knights up three goals to one. In the fifty-third minute of the game, Misha was awarded a penalty kick for a hard tackle inside the box. Holman lined up on the penalty mark hit the ball hard and the Walker goalie made a great save, preventing the goal. The ball played up and down the field for the next twenty minutes and then Walker High had a break. A miskick by the Knights landed the ball in goal, sliding just passed David. Jonathan retaliated with a strong crossing pass after a save at the goal line, having beaten two defenders. He sent the ball across the net and Misha finished the play by placing the ball in the net. David made several good saves in front of the Knight’s goal and with one minute and thirty-five seconds left in the game he prevented a breakaway goal. With thirty seven seconds left on the clock Walker scored their third goal and the game ended as a four to three win for the Grady Knights Boys Varsity Soccer Team.

The Knights’ next game is Thursday evening at Wesleyan High School at seven pm.

-- Randy E. Pimsler (randy@pimslerhoss.com), March 18, 2002.

The last eight-day period hasn't been a great stretch for the girls squad, but the team is upbeat and ready to get back on track.

Following two jaw-dropping losses to Athens Academy and Providence Christian Academy by a combined score of 10-2, the girls were primed to get back in the win column against North Springs. Unfortunately, referees failed to show for that tilt and we ended up playing a "friendly" w/ no implications. We won 3-0.

We've got a busy stretch on the horizon. Thursday, we visit a VERY talented Wesleyan team. After that game, we're jetting to Jekyll Island for games against Mohammed, McEachern and North Gwinnett. Following the games on the island, we have GAC Tuesday at home and Westminster Wednesday on the road. That will be the critical period that will truly reveal where we are as a team and who we are as athletes.

Please continue to come out and support us. We really need your positive influence!

Regards:

Coach Bob

-- Bob Usselman (bosselman@earthlink.net), March 17, 2002.

Second Time’s the Charm Grady Boy’s Varsity Soccer Team Defeats Southside 8 – 0 (March 14, 2002)

Following Tuesday evening’s rain out against Buford, the Knights looked well rested and took early command of the game against Southside High School. The last time these two teams met, they played on a very small field and this worked to Southside’s advantage. Thursday night Grady worked the larger field to their advantage, controlling the ball and the game for the full eighty minutes of play. Fourteen minutes into the game, Jason Pimsler lofted a corner kick into the box and Marek Maryncak scored the Knights first goal off of a beautiful header. Three minutes later, Jonathan Holman attempted a penalty kick and scored off of the rebound from the shot. Southside’s goalie had made a fantastic save, but could not hold on to the ball. In the thirtieth minute of play, John Paul Brule made a delightful pass to Jonathan who finished a shot on the ground past the goalie for the Knight’s third goal. Breen Chambless played a solid game with numerous shots on goal and good runs up the right side of the field in both halves of play. Four minutes later, Jonathan came back up the middle of the field with some wonderful footwork, dribbled inside the eighteen and scored handily. Half time ended with the Knights leading four to zero.

In the fiftieth minute, another corner kick by Jason landed inside the six yard marker and after touching a player or two, Walker Rick handily placed the ball in the net off of his head. Nine minutes later John Paul made a lofting pass to Misha Bagautdinov who dribbled smoothly past the Southside defense and scored his first goal of the evening, in the right side of the net. John Fettner and Lucian Dodan supported the offensive attack and played well. In the seventysixth minute of play, a strong throw in by Jason landed inside the goal box and Marek made a strong run on the goal, finishing with the ball in the net. A minute later, Walker Rick dribbled handily up the middle of the field and scored easily against a worn out Southside team.

While the defense was not challenged often, solid play was demonstrated on that half of the field by Trevor Garner, Jack Giardina, Joel Dean and Bryan Heery. David Suitts had two shots on goal, which were readily stopped. The second shot was actually high into the net and David made a leaping save in the first half, to maintain the shutout.

The Knights will take advantage of the three day break, rest up and be ready for their next game, at home against Walker High School on Monday, March 18th at 5:00 pm.

-- Randy E. Pimsler (randy@pimslerhoss.com), March 16, 2002.

Overtime Victory Grady Boy’s Varsity Soccer Team Defeats Landmark Christian 3 – 2 (March 8, 2002)

Landmark Christian Academy lumbered off of the bus and had quite an intimidating presence on the field. They were a physically large team, but one could tell from the start of the game, that the Grady Knights were a more skillful team. The Knights just needed some time to adjust to the size of the Landmark Christian team.

It took twenty-five minutes of the first half before either team could score a goal. Landmark packed the box with quite a few players and scored goal number one off of repeated shots on goal. The half ended with the Knights down one to zero.

After the half time break, Landmark Academy waited eighteen minutes and scored their second goal from just outside the eighteen-yard line. David Suitts had made numerous saves prior to this second goal as the ball moved up and down the field, as both teams continued to play aggressively.

Then, in the sixty-second minute of play, the Knights were awarded their first break of the evening. Walker Rick was fouled hard inside the Landmark goal box and Will Brewer failed to convert the penalty kick into a goal. This could have been the end of the evening for the young Knights, but eight minutes later, Lucas Rentch made an extremely strong throw in, from just outside the eighteen and Marek Mayncak headed the ball into the net. The Knights picked up the pace of the game. Forty-five seconds later, on almost the same play that lead to the first goal, Lucas made a throw in to Marek, who touched the ball but did not score. Walker Rick ran onto the ball from outside the goal box and finished up strongly with Grady’s second goal. This tied the game with nine minutes left to play. The game ended with an overtime period to be played.

The Grady Knights came out strong. They took control of the ball and the game for the first portion of the overtime periods. Two minutes into the first ten-minute overtime, the Knights scored a tie-breaking goal. Jason Pimsler placed the ball just outside the six on a corner kick and Lucas Rentch headed the ball smartly into the goal. The first period of overtime ended on a fast paced note.

The second overtime period showed that the Knights could control the ball and the field, as they needed to. The game ended with an exciting set of defensive plays by Trevor Garner, Jack Giardina and Jacob Dean. Another great team effort and the Knights had their first division victory. The next game is Tuesday night against Buford, at Buford High School at 6 pm.

-- Randy (randy@pimslerhoss.com), March 11, 2002.

Mercy, Mercy! Grady Boy’s Varsity Soccer Team Defeats Washington 13 – 0 (March 6, 2002)

Wednesday night’s game started out on a lackluster note, for both teams. No one seemed to be taking things too seriously and three minutes into the game, Jonathan Holman set the tone for the evening with the Knight’s first goal. Grady controlled the ball for most of the game and seemed as though they could, for the most part, score at will. This was evident as Jonathan scored his second goal of the night; seven minutes into the game with a very soft, well placed shot right up the middle of the goal. Four minutes later, Will Brewer made a beautiful lofting cross into the box and Lucas Rentch finished the pass off with a header into the net. As Jason Pimsler came off the bench, his corner kick arrived at the six-yard marker and Marek Maryncak placed a header into the net for Grady’s fourth goal at the fourteenth minute of play. In the twenty-third minute of play, Walker Rick placed another corner kick Marek who was completely unmarked from the sweeper position and Marek headed the ball into the net. Three minutes later, Walker saved a run away ball at the Washington goal line and made a soft cross in front of the net, which was finished by Jonathan Holman. Grady led six goals to none. In the twenty-ninth minute, Jason struck a corner kick that landed inside the box, which was touched by Walker and then finished off from the six, by whom else, Jonathan Holman. With just two minutes left in the half, Marek made a run from about thirty yards outside the Washington goal area and scored handsomely, unassisted. In the final minute of the half, Walker Rick made a similar run up the middle and scored Grady’s ninth goal. This might have been a good time to impose the “mercy rule” as the Knight’s clearly dominated the game and much of the play.

Three minutes into the second half, Will Brewer approached the Washington goal area and was tackled very hard. A penalty kick was awarded and Will scored goal number ten of the game. Another three minutes passed and Trevor Garner stepped up from the mid field and dribbled smoothly past the defense and set the ball in the net. Fifteen minutes passed without another goal. A real dry spell! Washington bunched up in front of their net and prevented numerous shots on goal by Jacob Dean and Walker Rick. In the sixty-first minute of play, Lucian Dodan was able to place the ball in the net for goal number twelve. With approximately eight minutes left in the game Jason made a run from just over the midfield and scored Grady’s thirteenth and thankfully, final goal of the evening.

It was a good practice game for the Knights. They started the game by controlling and moving the ball nicely around the field. A great deal of respect should be given to the Washington Boy’s Varsity team, as they maintained their composure and good sportsmanship throughout and after the game. The Knights play their first division game on Friday evening, March 8th at five pm against Landmark Christian Academy.

-- Randy E. Pimsler (randy@pimslerhoss.com), March 11, 2002.

Grady Boy’s Varsity Soccer Team Defeats Clarkston 8 – 2 (March 5, 2002)

A beautiful evening at the Grady Knight’s Stadium was the scene for a major victory for the boy’s varsity soccer team. The boys were slow in entering the field from the locker room at the start of the game, but within eight minutes scored their first goal. Jonathan Holman led the attack with a strong shot along the right side of the field just inside the eighteen. Five minutes later, Walker Rick made a wonderful crossing pass to Misha Bagautdinov in front of the Clarkston goal, but no score occurred. In the fifteenth minute of the game, Clarkston made a strong run on the Grady defense and the right midfield scored Clarkston’s first goal. For about ten minutes following this score, the ball seemed to be bounding from one end of the field to the other with neither team creating any plays. In the twenty-second minute of the game, Clarkston had a shot on goal and a very convincing save was made by the Knight’s goalie, Maricio Rodriguez. Then, in the twenty-sixth minute of play, the Grady Knights seemed to string together a decisive series of passes lead by Will Brewer and Misha. A shot on net did not lead to a goal, but certainly awakened the crowd. In the thirtieth minute of play, Walker made another strong crossing pass, which the Knights could not finish. Strong defensive play by Lucas Rentch, Marek Maryncak, Jacob Dean and Trevor Garner held the Clarkston offense to very few runs on goal and even fewer shots. In the thirty-first minute of play, Misha struck the ball hard from inside the eighteen and scored Grady’s second goal. Within two minutes, Jonathan Holman scored his second goal and the Knight’s third goal. For the last seven minutes of the first half, the Knights dominated the field, controlling the ball on their offensive half. A series of runs by Jason Pimsler, including a well executed direct kick, followed by a rebound from the defense and a strong corner kick, ended the first half of play.

The second half started off with the Knights looking very strong. Jason took a direct kick in the forty-third minute of play, awarded after a hard tackle on Misha, just outside the eighteen. Marek made a nice run on goal and scored off of the direct kick. Within four minutes, Clarkston came back with a score of their own off of a direct kick just outside of the opposite eighteen-yard marking. In the fifty-second minute of play, Clarkston made another strong run on goal, which was stopped handily by Bryan Heery, preventing the back door scoring run of the Clarkston forward. Grady played aggressively for the next five or six minutes and in the fifty-eighth minute of play, they efforts were rewarded by the third goal for the evening by Jonathan Holman. In the sixty second minute of play, Walker Rick set up a delightful corner kick which landed just outside the six and was finished handsomely off the head of Jacob Dean. The Knights had all but put this game away. In the sixty-eighth minute of play, Clarkston made a strong run on goal and Maricio made another save inside his own eighteen. In the seventy-first minute of play, Trevor Garner trapped the ball on the Knight’s defensive half of the field and fed Breen Chambless a pass as Breen headed towards the goal. Inside the box, Breen was tackled hard which lead to a penalty kick for the Knights. Breen finished the shot smartly with a low right-handed placement and the Knights continued to build their lead. Jack Giardina looked great up front for the Knights, as did John Fettner. In the seventy-second minute of play, Jack headed up the field and struck the ball well. As it rebounded off the goal, Breen scored again and gave the Knights their eighth goal of the evening. Saji Girvan played well at right forward and Lucian Dodan looked good at right defense. It appeared that the entire team had a fair amount of field time, putting forth a great team effort, in this very convincing win. The next game is Wednesday, March 6th at six p.m. against Washington High School.

-- Randy E. Pimsler (randy@pimslerhoss.com), March 06, 2002.

Parents/Fans:

Thanks again for supporting our girls Thursday night against Greenforest. We play next Saturday at Athens Academy. I'll give directions to the girls for those who plan to attend.

One housekeeping note first - Please make a mental note to never insult, yell at or criticize the game officials. It hurts our team if any kind of negativity comes from the stands. Please offer positive comments only, please. We will undoubtedly get some terrible refs and some terrible calls. But it just makes our job as coaches and athletes more difficult if fans/parents get after the refs in any way. First of all, refs will rarely change the way they call a game. Moreover, they usually won't swallow their pride and change even if they know they're wrong. Rather, they'll just be stubborn and keep making the same calls. I try my best to schmooze officials, and fan taunting dissolves all of my efforts. So please let me be the ONLY person to talk to game officials. Don't forget, soccer is a very physical game.

In the Greenforest game, our girls made some huge strides in the right direction. The 13-0 score was a non-factor. Our improvement, however, was wonderful. I was happy w/ our play in several portions of the game. I was particularly pleased w/ our starting defensive unit becoming more of a major part of our attack. Anna Roberts filled in very well for Courtney Lambert, who was at a visitation for her grandfather Chester, who passed away late Wednesday night. Morgan Marshall, Katie Ross-Kinzie and Amanda Goldberg turned in their normal, rock-solid performances. Leigh Auerbach and Alice Bufkin combined for five saves and the team's third shutout of the season. I was also very happy w/ reserve midfielder Kallio Hunnicutt, who played through a physical game of soccer with guts and determination.

Chelsea Futterman notched four goals and an assist, while Rachel Kearns scored twice and assisted on two others. Camden Janney continued to dominate the midfield winning ball after ball after ball, scoring twice and adding one helper. Claire Rosenbaum turned in another stellar effort with more active, aggressive play. She paced our team w/ three assists. Rounding out the scoring were Bevelyn Ukah (2 goals, 2 assists); Jaimie Spetseris (1, 1); Ariel Rosenbaum (1 goal); Morgan Marshall (1 goal); and Amanda Gross (1 beautiful, smart assist to Bevelyn).

I was also extremely pleased w/ our reserves and encouraged about the future of our program. Freshmen Amanda Lochridge, Bevelyn Ukah, Christina Gibson and Alice Bufkin all shined in reserve roles. Christina has been tough, aggressive and bold; Lochridge impresses us all more and more everyday. Alice is a huge asset as a keeper or field player and Bevelyn is already one of the most natural goal- scoring threats on our team. Sophomore Lauren Bishop has showed a lot of promise in the defensive third and Rebecca Tolmach also continues to play well.

Stats update:

Scoring: Ukah 6, Futterman 5; Kearns 5; Janney 4; A. Rosenbaum 4; Six players tied w/ one.

Assists: Ukah 5; Janney 5; C. Rosenbaum 4; Futterman 3; Kearns 2; Spetseris 2; Three players tied w/ one.

Goalkeeping: Leigh - 5 saves, 0.00 Goals Against Average; Alice - 2 saves, 0.00 Goals Against Average.

-- Bob Usselman (bosselman@earthlink.net), February 28, 2002.

Grady Boys Varsity Soccer Team Defeats Carrollton 4-0

Tuesday night, February 26th, as the temperature continued to drop down, the Grady High School Boys Varsity Soccer Team showed that this young team could play some soccer.

Within four minutes of the opening of the game, a crossing pass from Jonathan Holman to Meisha, who touched the ball in front of an open goal, was finished strongly by Lucas Rentch for the first score of the game. The ball moved up and down the field for the next twenty minutes or so, but the Grady Knights continued to dominate play for much of the first half.

In the thirty second minute of play, a very strong throw in by Lucas Rentch, allowed Walker Rick to turn just outside the Carrollton eighteen yard line and take a shot on goal. The rebound was struck soundly by Meisha, an exchange student playing for the Knights this season, and Grady lead at the half two to zero.

After a half time break of fresh coffee, for the parents in the stands and sweat suits for the players, the Knights opened the second half looking strong. The ball remained on the Knights' offensive half of the field for much of the start of the half and in the fifty third minute, Lucas Rentch struck the ball from the right inside corner of the field and with a little assistance from the wind, the well hit ball floated into the net giving Grady a commanding and comfortable lead.

David Suitts made several significant saves for the Knights and stopped at least six shots on goal from the Carrolton forwards. In the seventy-second minute of the game, a beautiful string of one touch passes involving Lucas at mid field, Breen Chambless running up the middle and a strong finish by Meisha, put the game away with Grady's fourth goal sliding past the Carrollton goal keeper.

The boys worked as a team for a solid eighty minutes dominating Carrollton for the most part. This was a great start for the very young boys team after a preseason tournament that placed the Knights in a second place finish, losing only to North Atlanta in the final game of the tournament.

There are bright lights ahead for this young team. The next game is on Thursday, February 28th at six thirty against Douglas High School.

-- Randy Pimsler (randy@pimslerhoss.com), February 27, 2002.

Please contribute your old soccer shoes.

The Grady Soccer Teams are collecting old shoes to help the soccer programs at other Atlanta high schools. Just bring your old shoes to the soccer coaches. They will do the rest.

Get those old shoes out of your house and help a soccer team. If you can get them to us by Friday, March 1, that would be great.

Thanks, Sally Ferguson

-- Sally Ferguson (jimtolmach@aol.com), February 27, 2002.

Parents/Fans:

Thanks again for being so supportive. Winning the APS championship was nice and fun, but we've still got greater goals.

Unfortunately, I made the call to scrap the Southside game. With glass and several huge divots on the field, I thought we'd be risking injury. Obviously, that's not worth it as health is always my top concern. But thanks to all who found the school and to Kallio's mother for coming and providing snacks nonetheless.

The North Atlanta game was fun. It was nice for us to struggle and still come out on top, 2-0. We could have played much better, but early-season games are for finding weaknesses and improving. I was again pleased w/ our defensive show, especially since we were playing w/out our super stopper Morgan Marshall, who was competing in the mock trial regional tournament on Saturday along w/ reserves Alice Bufkin and Lauren Bishop. I was also very impressed w/ the following: Claire Rosenbaum's willingness to take opponents on; Camden Janney's ability to win balls and provide a consistent precense in the midfield; Ariel Rosenbaum's active, up-tempo play; Rachel Kearns picking up my new system well and making it work; Jaimie Spetseris' ability to beat players and work well in combination play; Chelsea Futterman's stability and explosion in the attacking third; and the continued strong play of our defensive unit, including Courtney, Katie, Goldberg and Leigh. I was also very pleased w/ super sub Bev Ukah and Anna Roberts' strong play filling in for Morgan.

Stats update. Record 3-0. Goals for 17, Goals against 0. Leading scorers - Ukah 4, Kearns 3, A. Rosenbaum 3. Assists leaders - Janney 4, Ukah 3, Futterman 2. Goalkeeping - Leigh Auerbach is 2-0 with two shutouts.

-- Bob Usselman (bosselman@earthlink.net), February 24, 2002.

Parents/Fans:

Thanks for coming out for the South Atlanta girls game at Grady Stadium on 2.20.02. It was nice to finally hit the pitch!

For those who missed it, we strolled to a 15-0 win. We don't expect the bulk of our tilts to be quite so lopsided.

It was a great opportunity for the girls to work on our tactical approach to the game. It was also nice to clear the bench and get some substantial minutes from our valuable reserve players. Even though the level of competition wasn't as strong as we'll see later this year, I was awfully encouraged by our savvy defensive unit. Leigh, Goldberg, Morgan, Courtney and KRK have been Grady mainstays and will be a tough unit to beat in the defensive third. It was also nice to see that we took chances and played aggressively in the attacking third.

Once again, thanks for coming out. Remember to support the program through concessions at home games. Our parents/fans make our team tick. Just check out the new uniforms for which you helped raise money. Not bad!

Tomorrow we play at Southside. The game is at Coan Middle School at 4:45. See you there...

~Coach Bob

-- Bob Usselman (bosselman@earthlink.net), February 20, 2002.

On 2-18-02, the Grady varsity boys soccer team defeated Washington 10-1. The Girl's varsity got a forfeit from Mays.

Both teams play on Wednesday, 2-20-02. The Girls play South Atlanta at 4:45 at Grady Stadium. The Boys play Southside @Southside.

We are looking for Soccer reporters. We need you.

-- Terry Kearns (tk@tk-jk.net), February 19, 2002.

The first soccer games of the season are on Monday, February 18.

The girls play Mays at 4:30 at Grady Stadium.

The boys play Washington at 4:30 at Washington.

The Jekyll Island Tournament schedule is not on the schedule: http://tk-jk.net/gradyproject/girls_soccer_2002.htm

Here are some more notes from Coach Usselman:

Jekyll Island Tournament: I've got all our information for you. Twenty-two girls, Coach Nicolson and I, and two team mothers who need to be determined soon will be leaving Thursday after school for the tourney, staying Thursday and Friday night and driving home Saturday evening.

Here are the official game-times (they've been added to the shedule)

Game One: W.D. Mohammed, Friday at 3:30 p.m.

Game Two: McEachern, Saturday at 10 a.m.

Game Three: North Gwinnett, Saturday at 2 p.m.

Encourage as many parents/fans to attend as possible. I already know of a handful who are coming, so it should be a good time for everybody.

Also, a heads up: Because of the APS tourney scheduling more games than we originally planned, Grady has 20 games on its slate this season - two more than the 18-game maximum. So two games will be scrapped. I'll let you know when I find out which ones.

-- Terry Kearns (tk@tk-jk.net), February 17, 2002.

The 2002 Grady Boys Soccer schedule is on the web at:

http://tk-jk.net/gradyproject/boys_soccer_2002.htm

You can find the boys and girls schedule from this page too.

I need the boys JV schedule. Let me know if there are errors.

-- Terry Kearns (tk@tk-jk.net), February 14, 2002.

Here is something to look into. The Westminster Website says the Grady game is on the 26th and not the 27th. This would conflict with the Grady/GAC game on the 26th.

-- Don Handell (dhandell@bellsouth.net), February 12, 2002.