Welcome Ryan!

I was praying that this day would come: Soccer Boss, AKA Madi Williamson and no one else, would like to welcome Ryan Henesey, the new official blog photographer! Ryan is a pretty cool dude. He's a talented actor, athletic, intelligent, nice and most importantly, passionate about soccer. The only thing that we don't see eye-to-eye on is that he is a Chelsea supporter... Ryan will be helping me at Kitsap Puma's home games this summer and will be sure to capture all of the most important moments that I miss as I scream at the referee ;) I am also hoping that as the Kenya Soccer Project continues to flourish and grow, he can help me capture those important moments as well. He will also help take real photos of staff and collect images for features that I write so that I can stop taking other people's pictures...
Welcome aboard Ryan! We now have a staff of two!

FC Basel 6-3 Grasshoppers Club Zurich

Basel Already Won The Title, So Why Watch Them Play?

This morning, I dragged my sorry, tired butt out of bed at the crack of dawn on the last day of my vacation to watch my beloved club play halfway around the world. The sun was rising here and setting there and we are an entire world apart, none of them knowing that I even exist and with the title secure, none of them really having a huge incentive to play for the win, aside from the fact that winning is awesome.

Aleksandar Dragovic versus Frank Feltscher
blick.ch

Grasshoppers were the first ones to score in the first five minutes of the match with a beautiful volley past our third string keeper but by halftime, Basel had made it 2-1 in their favor and were dominating play. The second half was an explosion of goals and another dominant 45 for the home side and they were able to wrap things up nicely and secure the 6-3 victory. I often do a thorough match report, but between falling asleep sitting up and the crappy live stream I got on my laptop, I was pretty unaware of what was going on until the 75th minute so instead, I will explain why I have fallen in love with the men in red and blue from the only port city in a small land-locked country because that is about all my brain can handle right now.

Red is the New Color: Liverpool 4-1 Chelsea

Liverpool defeated Chelsea in an enticing fixture at Anfield after their devastating loss to the Blues at Wembley on Saturday in the FA Cup final. An own goal from Essien and quality strikes from Henderson, Agger and Shelvy made Ramirez’s lone goal worthless to Chelsea as they battle for a top four finish against Newcastle and Spurs.

Blue is the Color in Wembley

dailymail.co.uk

Chelsea FC lift the FA Cup final in Wembley after two great finishes from Ramirez in the opening eleven minutes and Drogba in the opening six of the second half. Andy Carroll managed to get one back for the Reds and had one disallowed, but his efforts were not enough to defeat the UEFA Champions League finalists and sixth place side Chelsea FC.

Bainbridge Island High School Varsity Closes a Successful Season

Bainbridge High School boys varsity soccer closed a successful regular season with a draw against Blanchet. After an enticing 90 minutes filled with a great show of individual skill and team work, Bainbridge were unable to put the ball in the back of the net but were impressively dominant.

It's Squeaky Bum Time!

The battle for survival is in full swing and now that the top spot in the league is very much in favor of Manchester City, the attention of the media, fans and players now turns to the relegation struggle. At the moment, with consistent results, Wigan Athletic and Aston Villa are in the safe zone. Villa occupy the 15^th place spot and Wigan sit in 16^th. Queens Park Rangers are barely in the safe zone after a hammering at the hands of Chelsea on Sunday and Bolton were only able to take a point from their fixture against Sunderland. Both relegation sides are level on 34 points but the Londoners have the better goal difference. Blackburn cling on for their lives but after a defeat to Tottenham, despite good performances against some of the better teams in the league, relegation seems inevitable.

Blue Moon Rises!

Kompany is the hero for City
guardian.co.uk

City Go Top On Goal Difference

The title deciding match in the city of Manchester ends in favor of the blue half of the city as the Red Devils face one of their first seasons without some sort of trophy. After years of League and European dominance, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side compromised their title race today when they failed to even draw with hated rivals Manchester City. Kompany was the hero for Manchester City and their fans, scoring the only goal in the fixture at the Etihad Stadium and putting his team back on top of the Barclay’s Premier League table.