MAFL Kicks off Season 2!
MAFL Week 1 Round Up – Catch up on all the match results and standings.
Europa United - Immortals
Mithuna 7 • Europa Stadium
Forward Yvonne Barnato #58 claims the only goal of the match on a free kick.
Europa flies to a home victory with Barnato beating Badal on a free kick.
Suit malfunctions force Captain Uday Lanka out early in the first half. Without their striker, Immortals put in a good effort but lagged behind Europa United in shots on target. Instead, they picked up 6 yellow cards as they hassled the Europa United midfielders.
GOALS
FT 26' Barnato scores on free kick for Europa United
NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS
HT 12' Fox substituted for Lanka due to EV suit malfunction
FT 14' Hama substituted for Aurak due to EV suit malfunction
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 19 | 15 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 55% | 45% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 4 | 6 |
DongJi - Dynamos
Mithuna 7 • Dong Ji Field
Marcus Ekberg #95 sparks new evergy for DJ, but are outgunned in their opening home match.
New captain Ekberg leads Dongji after Lian is traded to Wuji for Cheng and Feston.
The Dynamos command the game in the first half, but newly minted Dongji Captain claws their way in the second half. Karaaria wins the game for the Dynamos with her second goal of the match.
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 9 | 17 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 27% | 63% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 4 | 4 |
GOALS
HT 6' Samrend scores for Dynamos
HT 22' Karaaria scores for Dynamos
FT 3' Geng scores for Dongji
FT 12' Ekberg scores for Dongji
FT 18' Karaaria scores for Dynamos
NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS
HT 15' Leonidovich substituted for Chisty due to injury
FT 22' Mao substituted for Chang due to injury
FT 25' Sertac substituted for Zhao due to malfunction
Wuji Sports Club - Titans
Mithuna 8 • Tiangong Stadium
new captain, Qigang Lian, leads wuji to decisive victory over San Olympus Titans.
Titans are deflated after Wong successfully converts a penalty kick in the 2nd half to give Wuji the lead.
The teams are evenly matched with Lian leading Wuji with strong offense in throughout the game. Saprai is awarded a red card after smashing an opponent's lifepack with her knee. The serious offence resulted in the Titans defender being suspended for 2 matches. Nash allegedly has post-match 'hissy fit', lashing out at teammates.
GOALS
HT 14' Lian scores the first goal for Wuji
HT 22' Nash scores for Titans
FT 21' Wong scores a penalty kick for Wuji
FT 25' Galio scores the final goal for Wuji
NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS
FT 20' Zheng taken out due to suit malfunction
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 17 | 22 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 49% | 51% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 2 | 3 |
Comets - Al'amal Sports Club
Mithuna 8 • Marineris Stadium
Captain Liddell Bradley #95 and Comets lick their wounds after losing a match they should have won.
Comets left baffled as Al'Amal steals the win despite being outplayed and outgunned by the Season 1 champions.
The Comets were in perfect form controlling much of the match. Uncommon missteps were what let the match slip away from the disciplined team. Guler was able to cross a shot into the bottom left of the net. Many are calling the goal a lucky fluke, but time will tell whether Guler will perform consistently in his new role as forward.
GOALS
HT 14' Shelton scores for Comets
FT 17' Farra scores for Al'amal
FT 27' Guler scores for Al'amal
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 25 | 14 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 78% | 22% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 2 | 3 |
Stats & Standings
| Standing | M | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al'Amal Sports Club | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Dynamo | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| United | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Wuji Sports Club | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Comets | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Dongji | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Immortals | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Titans | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Top Scorers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Avideh Karaaria | 2 | |
| Yvonne Barnato | 1 | |
| Marcus Ekberg | 1 | |
| Geng Geng | 1 | |
| Sergey Samrend | 1 | |
| Qigang Lian | 1 | |
| John Ming Wong | 1 | |
| Adrián Gallo | 1 | |
| Readale Nash | 1 | |
| Susanna Shelton | 1 | |
Cosmonauts take the game in 2-1 win over Moles
Today’s game pitted the Cosmonauts against the Moles, who were playing a game at their new home rink in Marineris. The final score was Cosmonauts 2 and Moles 1.
Mesha 22, 2078, m249
Despite losing to the Cosmonauts 2-1 today, today’s game tells you something about the Moles’ excellent defensive skill and strategy. Today’s game pitted the Cosmonauts against the Moles, who were playing a game at their new home rink in Marineris. The Moles were the champions of Round 1, having lost only a single game out of 6.
Anna Fedin of the Cosmonauts scored the first goal of the game at the 6 minute mark. Fedin burned past the Moles defenders and was able to intercept an errant pass by Okeke to snap a backhand into the left corner of the net.
“I’m glad to be back on the ice,” says Fedin of the Exhibition’s Round 2, “I’m excited that more rinks are being built and I hope to play in every settlement at least once!”
Katy fedin delivers a slapshot straight down center ice, brings the score to 2-0 for the wildcards
The first period also saw Vitalia Burian of the Cosmonauts sent to the penalty box not once, but twice! She was awarded a penalty for cross-checking a Moles defender during a scramble for the puck. And a second penalty for high-sticking
Bailey worked hard today defending the goal from the Cosmonauts, deflecting shots and snatching pucks as they pressed the attack relentlessly in the first and second period.
Katy Fedin brings the score to 2-0 for the Cosmonauts early in the second period. After fishing the puck out of scramble at mid-rink, the younger Fedin barreled down the center to slap the puck directly past Bailey’s glove.
The Moles’ first goal was scored by their new teammate, Aaron Bello. Previously of the Phantoms, the 31 year-old Marineris native had been added to the Moles as a forward.
Bello’s goal 13 minutes into the second period sent Moles’ fans into a frenzy as they cheered exuberantly.
Third period was a stalemate as the teams battled over control of the game. The Cosmonaut’s doggedly continued to press their attack while the Moles’ rebuffed each attempt.
“We were quite evenly matched out there tonight,” says the Moles Captain, “ but we played defensively for too long this game. We were able to shut down most of their plays, but we needed to get on the attack more.”
Third period wrapped up with no additional goals on either side and a final score of Cosmonauts 2, and Moles 1
Wildcards beat Khimik 2-1 in Europa Debut
In front of a sold out Europa crowd, the Wildcards came in and beat Khimik 2 to 1, in the opening games of ISMO Exhibition Round 2
Mesha 21, 2078, m249
In front of a sold out Europa crowd, the Wildcards came in and beat Khimik 2 to 1, in the opening games of ISMO Exhibition Round 2
To the majority of fans in the new Europa rink, this was their first experience of ISMO hockey as Exhibition Round 1 was not broadcast aside from news reports. The fan response was positive and enthusiastic.
“I loved it!”, said one fan. “I’m a football gal so I expected this to be somewhat like MAFL but the speed of this game—it felt much faster. Just wished we had won.”
Another fan chimed in after the game, “Some of the moves they did, like going up the ramps were cool. It didn’t always work but admired their guts in trying. I’ll be back to see more.”
And more chances they’ll get, as Round 2 will have five more weeks of play with two more games scheduled in Europa.
This suits Khimik’s new forward, Jessie Andersen (formerly from the Sands), just fine as she’s right at home in Europa.
“I’m really excited to play in front of my family and friends,” said Andersen of her new placement, “I know my new teammates are all from Korolev but I’m happy to show them what a great colony, Europa is.”
The first period saw no goals as both teams tested the waters.
Phan and Lehman celebrate after goal.
The stalemate was broken in second period by a beautiful goal from Lehmann (formerly of the Phantoms), who redirected a short pass from Phan to complete the play.
With less than a minute left before intermission, Phan set up another goal beautifully with a deft backdoor pass to Lindberg from the bottom of the right face-off circle. Lindberg tipped the puck in to give Wildcards a 2-0 lead.
The Europa crowd opened up the third period with a massive surge in support of Khimiks. They responded with a wave of aggressive plays and scoring chances until finally they broke through.
With less than ten minutes remaining in the game, Ilya Hryc narrowed the lead by one goal. He took a centering feed from Ivashkin and beat Wildcards goalie, Jules Arquette, with a wrist shot to the blocker side.
Khimik aggressively pushed for the remainder of the game, trying to catch up to the Wildcards. But Andersen’s blast from the point clanged off the post wide, allowing the Wildcards to win narrowly with a 2-1 win.
“We’re fortunate to escape with the win,” said Wildcards Captain, Samuel Marquez. “We’re also fortunate for this next exhibition round as interest just keeps building. This new rink is fantastic, the ice was really good, and the fans were really into it today. Look forward to seeing how the other new colonies respond.”
ISMO Hockey Roundup
The first weekend of ISMO Hockey demonstrates how immature the sport really is. With a blend of highlights, lowlights and everything in between, ice hockey is likely to entertain, but not necessarily for the reasons ISMO had hoped for.
Mina 22, 2078, m249
Fredrick Mattila, of the Moles.
ISMO concluded their first ambitious weekend of ice hockey in the 3 Northern settlements. With each matchup a 'double header' seeing the paired teams repeat play on Saturni and Solis, the games delivered a taste for the new sport.
The small seating capacity at the prototype rinks ensured a sell-out crowd for the opening weekend. Largely reserved for media, partners friends, and family, the audiences were enthusiastic and generally encouraging toward the amateur players.
Mareotis
The Cosmonauts delivered a convincing win over the Phantoms in game 1 at Mareotis. Despite outshooting the Cosmonauts 30 to 20, the Phantoms were only able to beat goaltender Marius Hansen once after a wild scramble in front of the net allowing #75 Peter Lehmann to sneak the puck past him.
Otherwise, the game was almost entirely carried on the shoulders of Anna Fedin, captain of the Cosmonauts, who netted a hat-trick and an assist. Vitalia Burian also scored late in the 3rd period to make it a 4-1 game.
Early in game 2, it looked as though the Cosmonauts would repeat the prior day's victory. Goals by Anna Fedin and Yaro Novak allowed them to take an early lead.
The Phantoms held the Cosmonauts off during the 2nd period and closed the gap to 1 after a point shot by Jonathan Moore beat Hansen.
Phantom defenceman Alex Gaumond got the equalizer in the 1st minute of the 3rd period.
The go-ahead goal came after Peter Lehmann was fed on the wing by Gaumond and snapping a powerful shot Hansen's open side.
Lehmann would add an insurance goal 6 minutes later, ending the game 4-2.
"It was a great start," said Anna Fedin who had a total of 4 goals over the two games, "It is an entirely different game compared with practise games. We would have liked to sweep the series, but we are not disappointed in our performance as a team."
Noviymir
It was a sleepy start in Noviymir as the Moles and Khimik fumbled for much of game 1. In fact, both teams looked rather scared at the onset. There were long stretches of slow, aimless passing mixed in with other cringe-worthy moments.
The first goal by Ruslan Vasiliev in the 2nd period wasn't pretty. He fanned his shot, slipped, fell, and yet somehow unintentionally got the puck passed Moles goaltender Sam Bailey.
The following goal by defenceman Andrej Petrovyh was more convincing. A wrist shot up as Bailey went down gave Khimik a 2-0 lead.
The Moles would eventually get one back in the final minutes of the 2nd period, ending the match with a 2-1 score.
Fortunately for the spectators, the pace of game 2 did not resemble the awkward and sluggish play of the opening game.
According to Janice Campbell, captain of the Moles, "We psyched ourselves out and, as as result, it wasn't the game we wanted to play. Today, we promised to play for ourselves and it made a huge difference."
Through much of the game, the Moles were in lock-step with Khimik. Fredrick Mattila would counter goals by Alex Yanovna and Ruslan Vasiliev to earn a hat-trick and end regular time at 3-3.
It would be Campbell to score 6 minutes into overtime for the Moles win 4-3.
Korolev
Unlike the Noviymir games, the Sands were heavily outmatched against the Wildcards as they played at the K-rink. Mateo Martinez singled handed scored 11 goals, 7 on Saturni and 4 more on Solis.
"We were obviously outclassed by the Wildcards," said Sands captain, Mitchell Cruz, "I think we are all new at this, so we'll take this as a learning experience and come back harder next week.
After this weekend's display, the Sands have an obvious skill deficit. The 5 week round-robin schedule is unlikely to provide the adequate time to further development of skills or team chemistry, so the Sands may endure further humiliation before the exhibition series is complete.
Next Week
Starting next weekend, teams will play just one match a piece.
Moles will face the Wildcards in Mareotis; Sands will visit Noviymir to take on the Cosmonauts; and the Phantoms will make the trek to tackle Khimik.
Wildcards Dust-off the Sands
This was a double-header weekend for the ISMO debuted Martian Ice Hockey in Korolev, Noviymir and Mareotis. The Korolev series featured The Sands versus the Wildcards, playing back-to-back on both Saturni and Solis. The small spectator capacity at K-Rink was sold out with more than 250 curious attendees from across the colonies in attendance.
Mina 22, 2078, m249
This was a double-header weekend for the ISMO debuted Martian Ice Hockey in Korolev, Noviymir and Mareotis. The Korolev series featured The Sands versus the Wildcards, playing back-to-back on both Saturni and Solis. The small spectator capacity at K-Rink was sold out with more than 250 curious attendees from across the colonies in attendance.
Game 1
The Saturni game was a showcase of dominance by the Wildcards. The first goal came at 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the first period by Wildcards forward, Samuel Marquez, who fired a shot through the legs of Sands goaltender, Priya Christensen.
Before the end of the first 15 minute period, Carl Lindberg extended the Wildcards lead to 2-0 after a intercepting the puck from Sand's captain, Mitchell Cruz.
By the 2nd period, Sands seemed to lose composure and Mateo Martinez stole the show. Martinez, scored 5 consecutive goals against the Christensen who received little defensive support from her teammates.
In the 3rd, the Sands tightened their defences, but not enough to stop Martinez from netting his 6th and 7th goal before the end buzzer.
Of game 1, Martinez said, "We're very confident. Based on our practise games against Mareotis based teams, we know there is huge range in skill and competency, but having not played against the teams from the other home rinks, we just wanted to come out strong. We are, I am, very happy with the results."
Jules Arquette earned her first shutout stopping 12 shots from the Sands. Christensen faced 26 shots in the 9-0 loss.
Game 2
On day 2, the Sands had hoped to forget Saturni's game. They came out aggressive in the first half of the period and were able to draw first blood. Forward Jared Foster snuck around Wildcard defender, AmeliaHarris, by arcing around the ramp. His first shot was blocked by Arquette, but was able to quickly flip the rebound under her pads.
The Sands, however, were not able to hold the lead long. Carl Linberg responded with 2 goals before end of period taking the wind out of the Sands offense.
Martinez made a repeat of his game 1 performance with a hat trick over the course of the 2nd period.
Jesse Andersen would get another goal on the board for the Sands in the 3rd, but Martinez would get the final word in the game. With 7 minutes remaining, Amelia Harris made a beautiful pass for Martinez to tip passed Christensen.
Wildcards win the game 6-2 and sweep the Sands on their home rink.
Over the two games, the Sands were clearly outplayed. They made a combined 24 shots on goal compared with 46 by the Wildcards.
"We were outplayed on both days by the Wildcards," said #28 Mitchell Cruz, Captain of the Sands, "When Carl (Lindberg) got that shorthanded goal in the first, we lost our momentum. We are just going to keep at it and do our best in our next game against the Cosmonauts."