Post Grady Soccer news here.

-- Terry Kearns (gradyproject@aol.com), February 20, 2003

Answers

Parents, players, fans:

Thanks again for your support of Grady Girls Soccer in 2003.

Over the last two seasons, I have attempted to schedule very challenging opponents in addition to our already-difficult region slate.

Our girls have responded.

While we have lost a number of games to tough squads, our girls always brought effort and heart. In examining and critiquing myself, stepping up our schedule may not have been the best decision I've ever made. After all, considering all the work the girls have put in, they probably deserved more victories.

That said, we have played stronger soccer and improved as athletes and as a team. This year, we installed the flat-back four defense and took our lumps w/ it. Playing "the four" is the future of American soccer - all the top professional and college teams are getting away from playing the old, bruising stopper-sweeper defense. Instead of asking players to be statues and just defend, everybody plays a major role in the attack. Instead of playing w/ a sweeper who does little more than boom long balls, she now wins balls and is asked to carry through and start the counter-attack. Instead of an outside back just winning balls and finding the feet of a teammate who plays an "attacking position," she makes an over-lapping run and gets involved in the attack as well. This approach makes soccer more fun for everybody. And the girls took to this, while overcoming their reservations a/b the new system. Camden and Jane became very comfortable counter-attacking and felt involved in the offense. Kyla, Jaimie, Sasha and Amelia served several long balls and attacked often from their outside back positions.

To the girls' credit, their willingness to learn a new system they were initially uncomfortable with helped our program. Our defense and scoring production both improved over last season's results. Our scoring increased from 56 goals in 2002 to 80 goals in 2003. We also allowed 10 fewer goals, allowing 35 this season compared w/ 45 last season. While we experieced three losses last season by five or more goals, we were competitive in every game this season. Our greatest margin of defeat was four goals - to one of the best teams in the state (Providence 4-0).

While we finished w/ a disappointing 8-11 record, the girls took to the new system of play and never gave up. Perhaps if I didn't schedule non-region foes Wesleyan, Providence, Athens Academy and Paideia, we'd have finished w/ more victories. But I'm torn whether or not that is best for the development of athletes and adolescents. Adversity and struggle often lead to greater self-knowledge and personal growth. But, again, more wins would have been nice.

Thanks again for your support of the girls and your support of me as a coach. You guys have been great.

Here are our final statistics.

2003 Grady Girls Soccer Results and Statistics

Final Record: 8-10; Region Record: 6-4 (fourth place). All Games Goals For-Against: 80-35 Region Games Goals For-Against: 39-16

February 18 APS Tourney – Douglas W 15-0 February 20 APS Tourney – Southside W 15-0 February 22 APS Tourney Title – North Atlanta L 2-1 February 24 Whitefield ** W 4-0 February 27 Decatur L 5-4pk March 3 W.D. Mohammed ** W 8-0 March 12 Our Lady of Mercy ** W 14-1 March 14 Providence L 4-0 March 17 Walker ** L 4-2 March 19 Atlanta International School ** W 4-0 March 24 Galloway ** W 3-1 March 26 Wesleyan L 3-1 March 28 Athens Academy L 3-1 April 1 Holy Innocents’ ** L 2-1 April 3 Mt. Paran ** W 4-0 April 15 Pace ** L 3-1 April 18 Paideia L 3-0 April 23 Region Playoffs 1st Round – Walker** L 5-2

Individual Leaders:

Goalkeeping: Alice Bufkin Goals Allowed: 35 Saves: 127 Save Pct.: 78.4% GAA: 1.94 Goals:

1. Janney 13 2. Kearns 12 3. Ukah 11 4. Gibson 11 5. Futterman 8 6. Lambert 7 7. Spetseris 5 8. MacDowell 4 9. Handell 2 10. Bufkin 1 11. Roberts 1 12. Zamarripa 1 13. Tolmach 1 14. Marshall 1 15. Brown 1 16. Rentch 1

Assists:

1. Kearns 10 2. Lambert 9 3. Janney 5 3. Spetseris 5 5. Ukah 3 6. Gibson 2 6. Tolmach 2 6. Zamarripa 2 6. Rentch 2 6. MacDowell 2 12. Futterman 1 12. Handell 1 12. Brown 1

-- Bob Usselman (bosselman@earthlink.net), May 12, 2003.

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END (SADLY)

The pain of the last two matches has not diminished so I'll just ignore them. Vicki and I would like to take this space to thank everyone who has worked so hard for the Grady Lady Knights over the past four years. The DeMoss's and the Youngs were stalwart supporters and good mentors from the very beginning. Coach Bolster showed genuine love and concern for our daughters and had the patience to deal with parents too! Special thanks to Cynda Rosenbaum who lead our administrative efforts for three years while having to deal with her husband Carl coaching the archrival Paideia. team. Rachel and Terry Kearns have been stalwart supporters of the team through thick and thin. Syd and Don Janney have been gracious team hosts on several occasions and allowed us to cry on their shoulders when the ball refused to bounce our way. The Handels are always there to root for the Knights and help out when needed. The Marshalls too are gracious hosts and shared the agony of handling finances. Nancy with her smile and Tom Roberts with his stoic resolution have shared joys and heartaches with us for the past four years.

And so, we bid adieu with praises for their past efforts and good wishes for Coach Usselman the Zamarippas and the Bufkins as they lead you into 2004. We pray that you all maintain the tradition of the Grady Lady Knights for good sportmanship, excellence and fair play both on the field and in the classroom. Thanks for all the support and encouragment and understanding you have shown us.

-- Lamar Lambert (lamar.lambert@msn.co.fulton.ga.us), May 09, 2003.

POP! POP! GEE WHIZ1 OH WHAT A RELIEF IT IS! Sorry it's catchup time Grady fans. On April 6, the Lady Knights journeyed to Cobb County to meet the Mt. Paran Eagles. The Knights clearly dominated the first half put could not get through the packed defense for a score. Bev could not make the game and it seemed the Grady girls needed some more "oomph" to finish the job. In the second half Usselman found what he needed. He put Sasha in to play up front. Although she hasn't played forward all season, her speed and aggression caused enough confusion in the defense to get a garbage goal through. Courtney followed with a left side second goal in a couple of minutes. Chelsea (I think) iced the game with a third for a nice 3-0 win. Whew!

Second Half Blues for the Silver and Maroon

The No. 1 rated Pace Paladins visited the Grady Stadium on April 15. Your humble reporter was late because of mailing some last minutes tax returns. I got there as the first half ended with Grady ahead 1-0. Wow! Vicki said that Rachel got a centering pass from Courtney and snaked it through for the score. If we could just hold on. Alas, again the Pace coach changed their approach from the one on one play where the Lady Knights held their own to the same old "boom ball" approach where the sweeper lofted the ball over the midfield with the Pace forwards running full speed to get a clear shot at Alice ( who was again a heroine with multiple solo saves). Once again the tactic was effective and Pace scored two breakaways and a fluke goal for a 3-1 loss for the Lady Knights. I was hoping Sasha would get another chance to cause chaos in the opposition's defense but Jane hurt her knee badly and Sasha had to stay on the back line.

-- Lamar Lambert (lamar.lambert@msn.co.fulton.ga.us), April 18, 2003.

Grady Girls Make Strong Showing Against Athens Academy March 28, 2003 Back to back the Lady Knights faced the two most formidable teams from last year's campaign. On Wednesday they came out strong against Wesleyan and on Friday they took the field against the Athen Academy Spartans with a new confidence that Grady can compete with anyone.

Immediately the Knights took the fight to the Spartans with a shock attack that kept the ball in the Grady offensive half with shots from Camden, Anna, and Rachel. Rachel's shot caught net off a beautiful assist from Camden on a corner kick play. Athens did not know what hit them. The action was fast and furious with great play coming from the defenders winning balls in the air and rebounding them back to the midfield. The wings ran wide and fast to stretch out the Spartans and serve balls into the scoring zone.

Alas, the Knights' stamina is their collective Achilles Heel and the pace slackened into a back and forth battle for the remainder of the first half.

The Athens coach analyzed our attack as had other coaches and resorted to playing an ugly game of "boom ball" with his center striker running on serves over our defense. This striker is a national ODP player who is both fast and good. Give Alice credit for at least six heroic one-on-one saves, but she can't win every encounter. Athens scored on three of the breakaways for a final 1-3 score.

Heartache! Heartache! Heartache!. . .Lady Knights Let One Slip Away Grady Lady Knights 1 /Holy Innocents Golden Bears 2, April 1, 2003 Your humble old reporter is danger of going bald pulling out the rest of his hair watching these games. Once again the Lady Knights have dominated the game with controlled play but no scores. The first half was thoroughly dominated by the Knights with shots by Anna, Camden,Morgan, Bev, Chelsea,Leslie, and Rachel. The Innocents stuffed the center of the field making it almost impossible to get the ball through to the goal. The first half ended 0-0.

Again the Bears figured it out at the half and started booming the ball over the defense. Finally they were credited with a goal on one of these runs that several fans believe to be offsides. The second score came from an own-goal when a clear went astray. Camden moved up to increase the offensive pressure and barely missed a goal off the post. Late in the game Rachel finally connected for the only Grady Goal off an assist from Camden. Corner Kick after Corner Kick was served into the hot zone, but the Lady Knights simply could not cash in. Final Score Grady 1 /Holy Innocents 2.

-- Lamar Lambert (lamar.lambert@msn.co.fulton.ga.us), April 02, 2003.

Lady Knights Get "Short-Changed" By the Greenbacks March 26, 2003 Wesleyan 3 Grady 1

It was no small amount of trepidation that the Grady fans awaited this year's match with Wesleyan. Last year's encounter was extremely forgetable. (Since there was no indication of Wesleyan's team name on their green uniforms or on their school bus and it is obvious from their stadium that money flows freely there, I have dubbed them the Greenbacks.)

The match opened in a pleasant surprise. The Lady Knights took the fight to the Greenbacks and throroughly dominated the first fifteen minutes. The intense pressure resulted in a series of corner kicks that Courtney dropped in front of our strikers. Camden connected and blasted a shot past the keeper for an early 1-0 lead. Another shot from Bev barely missed the the right post. The Wesleyan fans were in a state of shock and blaming the referees for their poor play.

The defense agressively rebounded the clearing kicks from Wesleyan back into the midfield. About midway in the first the Greenbacks figured it out and started playing boom ball with their strikers running past our defensive line for breakaway opportunities. Alice gave a heroic effort making seven saves mostly one on one far out from the goal mouth. Alas, she could not block all of them and the Greenbacks made three quick goals for a 1-3 halftime lead.

Grady regrouped at the half and got the defense organized to prevent the breakaways. Camden, Sasha, Jane, Courtney and Rebecca made clearing saves in coverage for Alice. Sasha had one of her best games with sure tackles and better ball control. To their credit the second half was scoreless. Unfortunately the defensive effort took away from Grady's scoring punch and the Lady Knights could not catch up. I would say however if the match was a boxing bout Grady would have won on points. The Lady Knights played possession soccer with effective ball control and created alot of opportunities. Wesleyan played an ugly boom ball game since they could not play through the Grady girls, but they had the speed to make it work. Anna, Camden, Jane, Morgan, Kyla, Christina, Bev, Chelsea and Rachel all took shots. Rachel looked especially good with speed and control getting past defenders to set up opportunities. We missed one sure second half goal when she raced down the left side and centered with the ball rolling in front of the open goal mouth with no one close to finish it.

All in all it was a good effort and a great improvement over last year's result.

-- Lamar Lambert (lamar.lambert@msn.co.fulton.ga.us), March 28, 2003.

Grady Men's Soccer Shows No Mercy

Our Lady of Mercy 0 Grady Knights 12

March 18, 2003

Within the first two minutes of the game, the Grady Knight offense set the tone for the remainder of the evening. Walker Rick scored his first goal on a poorly cleared ball inside the Mercy eighteen-yard line. It was nearly an instant replay in the fifth minute of play and Rick had his second goal of the evening. In the eleventh minute of play, Jonathan Holman displayed some fantastic moves in the Knights' offensive half, and then crossed the ball beautifully to Jacob Dean and the Knights lead by three goals. Marvin Greer, playing goalie in the first half for Mercy made three great saves in the nineteenth minute, under constant pressure from the Knights. In the twentieth minute of play, Jonathan Holman scored from just outside the six, after a strong run on the goal. Over the course of the next five minutes, Coach Brandhorst made several substitutions bringing in Hank Weatherby, Julian Yaz and David Perloe. Bryan Sosebee relieved Kwesi Thomas. Woody Morgan substituted for Jack Giardina and Sam Garr came onto the field for Quenten Mouricoux.

In the twenty-fourth minute of play, after absolute sheer determination, Jacob Dean scored Grady's fifth goal, on a strong shot in front of the Mercy goal. In the thirty-second minute of play, Jonathan Holman thrilled the fans with a bicycle kick that was saved by the Mercy goalie. In the thirty-third minute of play, Jason Pimsler stole the ball from a Mercy midfielder and eluded two defenders. His pass to Walker Rick lead to the Knight's sixth goal. Just prior to half, Walker Rick scored again on a shot from just outside the Mercy eighteen-yard line.

The second half began with David Kearns relieving David Suitts in the Knight's goal. Coach Brandhorst showed some creative line up maneuvering with Bryan Heery, Trevor Garner and Jason Pimsler starting up top and Walker Rick and Woody Morgan defending down the center of the field. In the forty-seventh minute of play, the Knights showed off some delightful passing, which ended with Jonathan Holman serving Jason Pimsler a beautiful ball, which lead to the Knights' eighth goal. Brian Sosebee played nicely on defense for the Knights relieving Quenten Mouricoux. In the fifty-first minute of play, the ball started on the Knights' defensive half, with a throw in by Walker Rick to David Kearns, who sent the ball to midfield. Trevor Garner forwarded the ball to Jonathan Holman and Holman, following his own rebound, scored the ninth goal of the evening. Hank Weatherby, Sam Garr, Julian Yaz and Jacob Dean returned to the field in the sixty-second minute of play. Walker Rick scored the tenth goal on a rebound from a Grady direct kick. Bryan Heery lead the midfield in some wonderful passing up and down the field, assisted by David Perloe and Jack Giardina. After numerous attempts, Trevor Garner joined the scoring frenzy with Grady's eleventh goal. Garner scored on a strong run on the goal, following a shot on goal and finishing off of a rebounded ball. In the final minutes of play, Bryan Heery fed a beautiful ball to Julian Yaz who scored Grady's twelfth and final goal of the evening.

-- Randy Pimsler (randy@pimslerhoss.com), March 25, 2003.

March 25, 2003 Grady Girls Celebrate the "Rights" of Spring The Lady Knights took the field at Grady Stadium on a glorious afternoon to face the Galloway School. It may have been spring fever or they may be just have been rusty, but the Grady Girls abandoned their normal style of play using the entire field to stretch the defense to the limit and played both halves up their right side. As a result the passing and ball control was sluggish and sporadic. Parents and fans yelled for a switch to the open player on the left, but the contrary Lady Knights refused to oblige and move play from the right side.

The defense had a set-back when midway in the first half, Jane Z. took a face ball that caused a bloody nose. To her credit after twenty minutes she was back in there to stabilize the flat back four. Morgan and Anna were quite active in developing control of the middle.

Shots were sparse, but Jaimie started the scoring off an assist from Chelsea with a ball into the left corner of the net. Bev added another before halftime from an assist from Camden. Midway in the second half Rachel put her defender in her right hip pocket and took off for the goal. One on one with the keeper she deked and shot past for our third and final goal. It was good to see these three scoring again. Courtney served up three sweet corner kicks but we had no luck finding the net. Kyla made a good run through from the back but the pass and shot went wide. Alice again made two spectacular saves. Five minutes later Galloway caught a break and finally got a garbage goal past Alice in a crowd. Kate, Christina, Rebecca and Amanda got a chance to stretch their legs and took shots but with no luck. Bev hit the cross bar with a thunderous kick that bounced back into the field. Final score: Grady 3 Galloway 1. (Why did the referee blow the ball dead? Strange calls by strange officials kept the fans fuming.)

-- Lamar Lambert (lamar.lambert@msn.co.fulton.ga.us), March 25, 2003.

March 19, 2003 Grady Girls Bounce Back With Impressive Win Over Atlanta International School The Lady Knights returned to the friendly confines of the Grady Stadium mud with a new resolve to win. The AIS Eagles proved to be a competent team able to play both defense and offense. The new attitude first showed when Anna put a hip check on a girl a head taller than her to win a ball. As the match progressed she played like a girl twice her size until she finally drew a yellow card. Still, I'll take a card once in a while for a player who plays like she means it. Morgan and Sasha proved to be a force in the midfield and rear. Chelsea stuck home with a goal about midway in the first half. Bev used her strength to hold the ball close to the goal while finding open players and blasted one off the top bar. It was good to see Jane Z. back at full strength making stops and tackles then bringing the ball into the midfield to start the attack. Grady's confidence was back by the half with a 1-0 score.

The second half saw Anna bring the ball up the right wing, pass to Rachel at the eighteen who fed it to an onrushing Courtney who scored with authority from the left wing. Ladies, that is soccer! The continuous pressure made AIS start to yield corner kicks. Courtney dropped one of these sweetly into our strikers at the tweleve where Camden blasted the net for comfortable 3-0 lead. Cam was not yet finished but added to her amazing string of direct kick goals with a 30 yarder from the right side to finish the scoring at 4-0.

Usselman wisely used everyone in the second half. Leslie shined with a run toward the goal where she took on four players for a shot. Kate got several shots in the center. Rebecca controled the left wing serving in several scoring opportunities. Christina and Amanda dominated the center. Amelia came through strongly on the right. Jaimie has stabilized the flat back four shutting down all strikers near her; teamed up with Camden Sasha and Kyla we are now strong on defense. Soccer Rule of Life: When it rains, pour it on!

-- Lamar Lambert (lamar.lambert@msn.co.fulton.ga.us), March 20, 2003.

March 17, 2003 Grady Girls Lose to Walker 4-2

On a cool rainy night Grady visited at the Walker School in Cobb County. The match remained scoreless for the first twenty minutes, but then Usselman noted the intensity subsided. Walker scored three goals in rapid sucession from their left wing. Half time score 0-3.

The second half was a better showing with another long range direct- kick goal from Camden and a goal from Bev. At 2-3 we had chance. Courtney bottled up a striker in our right corner and cleared the ball. Unfortunately, Walker player won it and dribbled into the center and scored to insure another defeat for the Lady Knights: 2-4. Soccer lesson of life: "Don't stand and watch, do something!"

-- Lamar Lambert (lamar.lambert@msn.co.fulton.ga.us), March 18, 2003.

Lady Knights Come Up Short Against Providence March 14, 2003, Grady Stadium It was with no eager anticipation that the Grady faithful approached this match with Providence. Last year's encounter had been a disaster when nothing when right. Still our team took the field with renewed resolve to make a better showing this time.

And indeed they did, the Lady Knights fought gamely to contest every ball against this larger, physical team. Alas, it was not possible to keep them out and slowly their goals mounted up. Give credit to Alice who had at least ten saves. And finally I saw a Lady Knight cover for her and clear a ball to prevent another goal! Our shots were scarce with one from Camden and three from Bev and one from Chelsea. Final score Providence 4 Grady 0.

-- Lamar Lambert (lamar.lambert@msn.co.fulton.ga.us), March 18, 2003.

March 11, 2003 Lady Knights Show "No Mercy" Grady 14 Our Lady of Mercy 1 The Grady Girls Soccer Entourage traveled south for the first meeting with the new parochial high school in Fayette County, Our Lady of Mercy Bobcats. It was a beautiful spring night spent on the spacious campus. Your roving reporter showed up at game time to see a beautifully lush green field with empty grand stands. The Grady Girls were warming up, but I looked around and there was nobody else there. As they trotted by I quipped, "It looks like I am your only fan!" Rachel set me straight by explaining that this was only the practice field! The game field was further back.

Eventually I found our fans and settled in for the match. The Lady Knights soon let me know I had nothing to dread by throughly dominating the play. Grady had 42 shots on goal in the first half. For the first ten minutes the Knights hit everything on the field but the net. Finally Chelsea got one past the keeper to loosen them up. Courtney soon added a second goal and the fans stopped worrying. Camden turned defense into offense and then added a third. Morgan kept the pressure on from the center giving the Mercys no rest at all. Breakaways continue to be Grady's Achilles heel on defense. A ball bounced past Alice when she came out leaving the Bobcat striker with an open net for their only scoring opportunity. Our players need to concentrate on coverage when they are faced with a more experienced team. Jaimie, Rachel and Christina then scored to end the first half 6-1.

The second half was a continuation of the one sided contest with goals coming from Courtney, Camden, Rachel, Chelsea, Jaimie, and Christina. Jane Z continues to assert herself with two excellent runs resulting in scoring opportunities. At that point Usselman made a number of substitutions and the whole stands cheered loudly as Leslie and Kate scored goals of their own yielding a final score of 14 -1. Rebecca and Anna kept control of the wings and Amanda kept the shots firing from the center. Give credit to the Bobcat goal keeper who must of made over 50 saves in the match. On the down side, the Knights have got to make better use of their scoring opportunities.

-- Lamar Lambert (clambert72@msn.com), March 14, 2003.

February 22, 2003 There is No Joy in Mudville Mighty Grady Has Struck Out (vs North Atlana) The storm clouds cleared for a beautiful sunny day but a very soggy field at Grady Stadium for the APS final game of Grady vs. North Atlanta. The Lady Knights started off with a good crisp pace and clearly dominated the first half with 14 shots on goal. Camden J. scored on a beautiful banana ball direct kick that caught the Warriors off guard. It seemed only a matter of time until the goals would mount up. Give North Atlanta credit; they did not give up and scored on a ball just out of Alice's grasp that dribbled in to tie the score right before half. With this pickmeup North Atlanta played a much more energetic second half which went back and forth with both sides having good chances. The deciding goal came on a mental mistake where North Atlanta got a direct kick and Grady lined up their wall too far back to alter the shot. Alice B. finally saw action today and made several good saves. Lets chalk this 1-2 loss up to bad luck and vow to do better next time!

-- Lamar Lambert (Lamar.Lambert@co.fulton.ga.us), March 09, 2003.

Thursday February 20, 2003

Lady Knights Knockoff Southside The Grady girls continued their tear through the APS with a lob-sided 15-0 win over Southside. The weather had cleared for a beautiful afternoon for the Lady Knights. at the Southside field. The first goal came 4 minutes into the game and the scoring continued regularly throughout play. One of Camden's long distance shots scored. Leslie Mac proved to be an offensive threat with two goals. Kate H., Rebecca T. and Jane Z. joined the goal fest with one each of their own. Rachel K. scored and kept the offensive in front of the Southside goal for the entire match. Anna R. and Jaimie S. showed her constant hustle winning balls and bringing them up field to the attack. Sasha B. continues to play outstanding aggressive defense. Bev. U was tied for top scorer with Christina G. It was good to see Morgan M. back on the field to control our midfield. Courtney L. distributed the ball to the strikers well and made at least six assists. Alice B. did not have much to do in goal but she showed her ability to play in the field by keeping the ball moving toward the Southside goal. Coach Usselman played all his players with no apparent let down. The 2003 edition may be the best balanced team yet. All in all it was a nice easy win. . . maybe too easy?

-- Lamar Lambert (Lamar.Lambert@co.fulton.ga.us), March 09, 2003.

WD Mohammed Challenges Grady Men's Soccer Team March 3, 2003

The Grady Knights faced a challenging team from WD Mohammed. The ball moved up and down the field throughout the game and into two overtimes. The game was quite physical with Grady unfortunately, suffering the greatest losses due to this type of play. The Knights came out strong in the first minutes of play and scored in the seventh minute on a throw in by Walker Rick. Jonathan Holman missed a header and Bryan Heery was in a position on the far post to strike the ball neatly into the net. Within the next minute, WD Mohammed was awarded a penalty kick on a foul inside the Grady eighteen-yard line, and after two attempted penalty shots on goal, the game was tied. David Suitts made strong attempts to save the ball each time, from the Knight's goal line. In the twenty-third minute of play, Breen Chambless suffered a severe leg injury after locking up with a Mohammed player on the touchline. Julian Yaz replaced Breen, once the game resumed play. Kwesi Thomas played a very fast and strong game for the Knights at the sweeper position. In the thirty-fourth minute of play, after a series of nice passes from the defensive half of the Knights' field, assisted by Thomas and Sam Garr, Trevor Garner made a nice run on goal and the ball ran just wide of the far post. Jack Giardina played in the midfield and worked hard on both halves of play.

At the start of the second half, Coach Brandhorst made some line up changes and David Perloe joined the lineup at the right midfield. Perloe and Walker Rick had numerous runs on goal, with good overlaps in the offensive half of the field. Quenten Mouricoux played nice on the defensive half of the field for much of the second period of play. Jacob Dean and Jason Pimsler bolstered the team's efforts at midfield. In the sixtieth minute of play, after numerous shots on goal by the Knights, Brian Sosebee and Woody Morgan entered the field of play. Micah Weiss also joined the game, substituting for Lucas Rentch after a double yellow card ejection from the game. Neither team succeeded in placing the ball in the net during the second half of play and the two periods of play ended in a tie.

The game resumed with two ten minute overtime periods and David Kearns and Hank Weartherby joined the line up during the second period of over time play. The Knights looked tired after the first overtime play and several players including Walker Rick and Arman Nalband were off of the field. With several freshmen on the field and no fresh legs to support an attack, the game ended as a one to one tie. The fans could not complain, as they certainly got their moneys worth on this extended game.

The Knights next face Landmark Christian on Thursday, March 6th and then face WD Mohammed for a regional game at the Mohammed School on March 14th. We anxiously await news of Breen Chambless' injury and wish him a speedy and complete recovery!

-- Randy Pimlser (rpimsler@hotmail.com), March 06, 2003.

Grady Men's Soccer Plays Well Against Decatur February 27, 2003

The Grady and Decatur men's soccer game is always are hard fought game and for several years will likely be a game filled with numerous overlapping relationships. Many of these boys come together to play club soccer together during the fall season and then compete with one another in the spring.

The entire game was literally a battle up and down the field. Grady would make a run and Decatur would answer with it's own run. Coach Brandhorst made some significant line up changes to start the game, with Trevor Garner in the sweeper position and Jonathan Holman in the right defensive slot. Brian Heery played left defense and Jason Pimsler filled the fourth defensive slot at stopper. Even with this strong defensive line up, within fourteen minutes of play, Decatur got their first goal of the game, on a strong run up the center by their striker. This play showed just how threatening they could be at any time. About seven minutes later, Decatur sent a beautiful crossing ball just inside the eighteen and David Suitts, in the goal, saved the ball, which was sent to the net off of a Decatur header. In the last minute of the first half, after very strong and aggressive play by both teams, Decatur placed the ball in the net after some failed clears by the Grady defense.

Eighteen minutes into the second half, Decatur's Adam Urban, who had been quite much of the evening, turned nicely just outside the Grady eighteen yard line and sent the ball handsomely into the net for Decatur's third goal of the game. This writer would just have to point out, that although the Knights were down by a significant goal margin, the players continued to play hard, smart and with the best conduct on the field. Walker Rick and Kwesi Thomas along with Breen Chambless and Lucas Rentch battled the strong Decatur defense. At times, Decatur's physical play showed far less sportsmanship and several hard fouls were responded to by cards appropriately issued by the game officials. In the sixty-first minute of play, just three minutes after Decatur had scored, Jacob Dean made a strong run to the Decatur goal. Several offensive players collapsed on the goal box and this effort by Jacob Dean, Lucas Rentch and Arman Nalband, was rewarded with the Knights' first goal. Julian Yaz and Woody Morgan played well for the Knights supporting this gallant effort by the entire team.

The Knights' next game is on Monday, March 3 against WD Mohammed at the Grady stadium

-- Randy Pimsler (rpimsler@hotmail.com), March 02, 2003.

Thriller In the Chiller Grady Girls vs. Decatur, February 27, 2003, 7pm

It was a cold and foggy night when the Lady Knights took the field for the late game versus the Decatur Lady Bulldogs. It was their first match under the lights this year and the fans shivered while trying to keep warm.

The Grady Girls seemed out of sync as the match started. Decatur used the offside trap defense that stifles our full frontal attack. As the Lady Bulldogs sunk into their defensive shell they waited for opportunities for single striker breakaway runs. Early on it was effective yielding two goals. The second goal seemed questionable to this observer as Alice was diving for the ball on the ground, the Decatur striker clearly ran into her but the ref called a direct penalty kick for Decatur.

The Lady Knights kept their composure and continued to press the attack until finally Bev got a shot through the crowded Bulldog defense. As the half wore on, Grady began to dominate and kept the ball in the offensive third of the field. Courtney was able to get a second goal on an assist by Rachel to tie the game.

Our aggressive defense began to backfire allowing more breakaways by Decatur that resulted in too many one on one situations for Alice to handle. Decatur scored two more goals as a result. Still the Knights kept attacking with Chelsea scoring in a heated flurry of shots in front of the Decatur goal. Camden tied the match with another one of her patented 35 yard direct kicks. Bev led the offense with ten shots, Courtney, Rachel (one off the far post) and Chelsea followed with five each, Camden had three from sweeper and Anna, Moragan and Kyla added two each.

Grady clearly dominated the play of the game but it seems fair to end a tie since Decatur made the most of its opportunities. Taking most fans by surprise, the referees called for a penalty kick shoot- out at the end of the two overtime periods. Here we had no luck at all so the final score was 7-4 Decatur in a very disappointing result.

-- Lamar Lambert (lamar.lambert@msn.co.fulton.ga.us), February 28, 2003.

February 26, 2003 Sorry, it's catchup time for your humble correspondent: February 20, 2003 Grady Makes Short Work of Southside 15-0

It was a beautiful, sunny, winter afternoon as Grady hit the road to take on Southside on their field (old Roosevelt High). The action was quite similar to the Douglas match. Grady scored at the 4 minute mark and just kept scoring. At half it was 7-0. Twenty minutes into the second half the game was called at the max 15-0.

February 22, 2003

There Is No Joy In Mudville!

Much thanks to Syd and Don for hosting the potluck dinner Friday night before the game. Once again the skies cleared in time for the APS final match against North Atlanta. Unfortunately the Grady field was stilled saturated from rain. Our sidelines especially were soggy which hampered the crossing style of attack the Lady Knights are developing.

Grady dominated most of the first half with many shots on goal. Camden hit a beautiful arc from the right corner area that caught the goal to put the Knights up 1-0 at half.

Give credit to the Warriors who kept the pressure on in the second half frustrating our offense with several saves. The N. Atlanta center striker showed exceptional skill and speed in building their attack from the midfield and stretching the Grady girls across the field. North Atlanta scored on a direct penalty kick when the wall lined up too far away. They went ahead for good with a shot just out Alice's grasp that dribbled in. Still Grady had a lot of chances in the second half to score and Alice's aggressive goal keeping was exceptional.

Alas, the Lady Knights ran out of time and luck and North Atlanta won the APS tournament for the first time in years, 2-1.

February 24, 2003 Lady Knights Bounce Back In A Big Way!

After Coach Usselman's team meeting Sunday night, the Grady Girls came on to the field Monday afternoon with a new determination to play up to their capabilities. The opponent was Whitfield Academy out of Cobb County to meet the Knights for the first time ever.

Grady showed the results of hard work by playing team soccer involving all positions to build the attack and dominate the match. Shots rang out from Camden, Morgan, Kyla, Anna, Bev and Jaimie. The intense pressure paid off when the ball rebounded to Anna who passed to Rachel in the box who passed to Morgan running on to the ball for a power shot into the net. The first half against a good opponent ended 1-0.

This time the Lady Knights kept charging into the second half. Christina lead the offensive stats with at least six shots on goal and a score. At one point she had two opportunities inside the six within seconds due to the pressure on the Whitfield keeper. Rebecca and Bev added two more goals to salt the game away. Leslie made of the most of her chances with shots and feeds to other strikers. Courtney produced several good chances for header goals from corner kicks and crossing opportunities. Camden continues to shine with a major shot from about 35 yards out on a direct penalty kick that put icing on the cake, 4-0. Still the most impressive part of the performance was the domination of defenders that started plays over and over again that kept the Knights in front of the Whitfield goal. Sasha's speed, Kyla's foot skills, Camden's strength, and Alice's confidence form the indefinable quality of play that makes the difference between winning and losing. Great match Grady! Now, it's on the Decatur game.

-- Lamar Lambert (LAMAR.LAMBERT@MSN.CO.FULTON.GA.US), February 26, 2003.

South Atlanta Challenges Grady Men's Soccer February 20, 2003

The first twenty minutes of the Grady - South Atlanta men's soccer match showed signs of what might be an interesting soccer match between the two teams. Grady made two nice runs in the first ten minutes of play and South Atlanta responded with two good offensive runs in the next ten minutes. Sam Garr, Lucas Rentch, Bryan Heery and David Suitts, in the goal, provided a strong defensive line up for the Knights. In the twenty second minute of play Grady began to turn it on. Lucas Rentch made a strong throw in from the near side of the field, from which, Walker Rick crossed the ball inside the six to Jacob Dean who just missed on a beautiful header. Within three minutes, on a play which started on excellent defensive work by Bryan Heery, team captain, Jonathan Holman made a solo run along the near side of the field and placed the ball into the lower near post. The Knights lead one to zero. In the twenty eighth minute of play, South Atlanta's striker made a strong run through much of the Grady defense and the game was tied. One minute later, Jonathan Holman answered with his own run up the middle, after a nice defensive transition, and scored Grady's second goal.

After the start of the second half in the forty third minute of play, Arman Nalband made two strong runs on the goal, after transitions created by the Knight's midfield. Trevor Garner, Breen Chambless and Jason Pimsler filled those slots for Grady, much of the game. In the forty seventh minute of play, Lucas Rentch made another strong throw in to Walker Rick, who just managed to touch the ball towards the net. Armand Nalband was in a perfect position, just inside the six yard line and placed a foot on the ball, sending it handsomely into the net. Grady lead three to one. In the sixtieth minute of play, after a shot on goal by the Knights, the South Atlanta goalie mishandled the ball. Walker Rick, playing left wing, made a strong run on goal and struck the ball soundly into the far post for goal number four. In the sixty fourth minute of play, Jack Giardina made a nice throw in on South Atlanta's half of the field, after a very strong run on goal by Walker Rick. Arman Nalband scored off of the throw in, after being pushed around a bit, inside the South Atlanta eighteen yard line. Having scored their sixth goal, the Knight's seemed to settle into a confident rhythm for the remainder of the game. Julian Yaz joined the field on offense and Quenten Mouricoux played defense. In the seventy third minute of play, Wood Morgan entered the field of play. With this new line up in place, two minutes later, Walker Rick showed some impressive foot work along the South Atlanta goal line and made a beautiful cross to Jonathan Holman, just outside the six yard line. Holman tapped the ball with his left foot and the Knights lead six to one. In the seventy eight minute of play, Hank Weatherby entered the field of play. Walker Rick restarted the game with a throw in to Lucas Rentch who gave the Knights' their eighth and final goal by sending the ball into the net off of a soft touch from his foot.

The Knights resume play on Tuesday, February 25th at six pm at Northsprings High School.

-- Randy Pimsler (rpimsler@hotmail.com), February 22, 2003.

Grady Men's Soccer off to an Easy Start at Southside February 18, 2003

For about the first minute of play on Tuesday afternoon, the Knight's looked a little bunched up at midfield, trying to establish a bit of a rhythm on their first game of the season. About thirty seconds later, they scored their first goal on a nice cross from Walker Rick to Jonathan Holman, who finished the play off nicely. About five minutes later, in a transition play started at midfield by Jason Pimsler, Lucas Rentch passed the ball handsomely to Jonathan Holman, who scored his second goal of the game. Southside made their first offensive run of the game just before the tenth minute of play, and the Grady Knight goalie, David Suitts, assisted by defensive players Sam Garr and Thomas Kwesi, cleared the ball strongly and rather quickly. Southside was caught behind the transition and Jacob Dean scored the Knight's third goal, unassisted. After the restart of play, Southside was unable to clear a ball at the eighteen-yard line and Grady had their fourth goal on an own goal by the Southside defense in the thirteenth minute of play. Two minutes of excellent defensive play under the watch of Trevor Gardner and Jack Giardina, lead to the Knight's fifth goal off of a strong shot by Jonathan Holman, with an assist by Walker Rick on a lovely crossing ball. In the eighteenth minute of play, Jason Pimsler took a shot from just outside the eighteen, which the Southside goalie was unable to control and Jacob Dean struck the rebounding ball, strongly into the net. Southside changed goalies after this play and Breen Chambless, who had been quiet much of the first half, took the ball single-handedly to the goal and scored the seventh goal in the twenty third minute of play.

Coach Brandhorst brought on Micah Weiss to the midfield, Woody Morgan to the stopper position and Armen Nalband to left wing. Within minutes, Jacob Dean took advantage of the new lineup and went unassisted to the goal and scored in the twenty-ninth minute of play. Bryan Heery joined the game at midfield. In the thirty-third minute of play, several nice runs were made on goal and the crowd witnessed some of the nicest ball movement of the game amongst Nalband, Weiss and Heery. Within a minute and half of being on the field, Bryan Heery scored Grady's ninth goal after placing some nice moves on the Southside defense. Hank Weatherby entered the field with fresh legs and played strongly, assisting the Knight's front line. After the restart of play, Southside managed another offensive run, which caught the Knights a bit flat footed. The ball was cleared by the Grady defense and on the transition, Jason Pimsler shook the defense and scored with his left foot in the fortieth minute of play. Within three minutes, Armen Nalband scored Grady's eleventh goal and the crowd looked forward to a half time break.

Brian Sosebee entered the field at right defense, after the half. In the forty-ninth minute of play, Jonathan Holman placed a beautiful shot, tracking right along the ground into the far corner of the net for Grady's twelfth goal. After another fine defensive stop by the Knights, after the restart of play, Jason Pimsler lead a quick transition up the field and passed the ball to Breen Chambless. Chambless' shot on goal was saved by the Southside goalie, but not covered up and a Chambless scored nicely on the rebound, in the fifty-third minute of play. Within the next minute, after several nice offensive runs on the goal by the Knights, Lucas Rentch placed a very strong shot from the left side of the goal into the far rear post. The game ended in the fifty-sixth minute of play with the Grady Knight's victorious at fourteen to zero. The Southside players were hospitable hosts and displayed great sportsmanship.

-- Randy Pimsler (rpimsler@hotmail.com), February 22, 2003.

Girls Soccer Season Kicks Off In A Big Way

The Lady Knights started the obligatory APS tournament with a resounding 15-0 win over Douglas on a frigid Tuesday afternoon, Feb.18, 2003 at Grady Stadium. Bev Ukah set the tone in the first twenty seconds by taking the kickoff and carrying to the goal and scoring. The performance was well rounded with goals by Camden J., Rachel K., Jaimie S. among others. The highlight of the game was a give and go with four exchanges between Courtney L. and Rachel K. that ended in a goal for Chelsea F.

Grady's play showed good teamwork and the ability to control possession and distribute the ball to on-coming attackers. First half ended 7-0. Coach Usselman played alot of new players in the second half, but the intensity remained high and the scoring continued. New players including Jane Zamarippa and Sasha Smith fit right into the flow of play. Alice B. got a chance in the field instead of the goal for a change and came through with a score of her own.

-- Lamar Lambert (Lamar.Lambert@co.fulton.ga.us), February 20, 2003.