MAFL Week 11 Roundup
Leading up to our mid-season break, we see the 3 underdog teams of the season upsetting the order as Titans, Dongji, and Al’amal claimed the victories this week. The Dynamos stay the course as they win another match to push their total wins up to 8 matches.
Dynamos - Immortals
Karka 23 • Novyimir Stadium
Samrend and Karaaria from the Dynamos high-five after the match.
Dynamos have a close call with the Immortals, but prove victorious.
A last minute goal into the bottom left corner by Dynamo forward, Sergey Samrend, with an assist from Karaaria, tipped the victory into the Dynamo’s lap at Novyimir Stadium this week. Karaaria has proved herself to be a valuable asset to the Dynamos—setting up passes with a high conversion to goals.
Meanwhile, Lanka has continued his personal scoring streak, seemingly immune to the Immortal’s losses.
GOALS
1ST 14’ Nikitovna surpasses her season 1 scoring record with today’s goal for the Dynamos
1ST 20’ Lanka scores the Immortals only goal of the game
2ND 22’ Samrend scores to the bottom left with an assist from Karaaria
NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS
2ND 4’ Lanka was pulled out of play early in the second half due to suspicions of a malfunctioning air purifier.
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 9 | 6 |
| POSSESSION | ||
|---|---|---|
| 52% | 48% | |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 2 | 3 |
Wuji Sports Club - Titans
Karka 23 • Tiangong Stadium
Titans roar back onto the pitch in full-force with Nash leading the scoring.
Wuji seemed to poised to win the match as they dominate the first half of the match. But whatever the Titans coach told the team at halftime, it definitely worked as the team seemed to pull together both offensively and defensively.
With Nash at the lead, the Titans quickly closed the scoring gap with Carballal scoring the winning goal in extra time.
GOALS
1ST 16’ Repsas (Wuji) scores with an assist from Beldad
1ST 23’ Lian (Wuji) scores with one of his signature aerial shots.
2ND 8’ Nash is unleashed and scores a cross-field kick for the Titans
2ND 18’ Nash ends a charge across the field with a goal into the top left corner.
ET 2’ Carballal scores the winning goal for the Titans
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 8 | 12 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 49% | 51% |
| FOULS | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | |
United - Dongji
Karka 24 • Dongji Field
Dongji steals a win from United with a well-coordinated offensive push.
Dongji played like a different team today as they successfully routed multiple United attempts and counterattacked effectively. The The Dongji defensive line of Chang, Mao, and Zhao really shone today as they held the fort.
Ekberg stepped up to the line and was able to fake Sulzberger into taking a dive to the left, while he kicked the ball into the bottom right corner.
GOALS
1ST 8’ Ivanova (United) scores with an assist from Fuchs
1ST 14’ DaCosta (Dongji) heads an attempted pass into the goal from 40m out.
1ST 28’ Ekberg nails his penalty kick to put Dongji in the lead
2ND 7’ Saqqat (Dongji) scores with a kick into the bottom left corner
2ND 12’ Rosenblad (United) scores with an assist from Rouselle.
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 8 | 10 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 53% | 47% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 3 | 4 |
Al’amal Sports Club - Comets
Karka 24 • Al’amal Stadium
Al’amal forward, Arwa Farra, getting some air as she lands a goal with a bicycle kick.
Comets are completely crushed by Al’amal in a match that took everyone by surprise!
The only goal from the Comet’s was a free kick from Waaijer early in the second half. The highlight of the match was an outstanding inverted aerial goal from Farra. The ball seemed out of reach as multiple team members attempted a header. However, Farra expended a boost at the height of her jump that spun her upside down and gave her the extra reach needed to smash the ball down.
GOALS
1ST 8’ Fayad (Al’amal) opens up scoring, snatching up a deflected freekick to send it straight high and centre
1ST 14’ Farra (Al’amal) pulls off an inverted aerial to smash the ball into the bottom right corner
1ST 21’ Muhammed (Al’amal) scores with an assist from Guler
2ND 6’ Waaijer scores the Comet’s only goal
2ND 17’ Baddour (Al’amal) heads the ball for a goal
2ND 24’ Farra scores on a direct free kick for Al’amal
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 12 | 4 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 64% | 36% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 2 | 4 |
Stats & Standings
Rankings
| Team | M | W | L | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamo | 11 | 8 | 3 | 28 |
| United | 11 | 7 | 4 | 28 |
| Al'Amal Sports Club | 11 | 7 | 4 | 25 |
| Wuji Sports Club | 11 | 6 | 5 | 27 |
| Comets | 11 | 5 | 6 | 32 |
| Titans | 11 | 5 | 6 | 22 |
| Dongji | 11 | 3 | 8 | 21 |
| Immortals | 11 | 3 | 8 | 19 |
| Top Scorers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Uday Lanka | 10 | |
| Darkeem Dennis | 9 | |
| Qigang Lian | 8 | |
| Readale Nash | 8 | |
| Arwa Farra | 8 | |
| Ilya Petrovich | 6 | |
| Mariya Nikitovna | 6 | |
| Yvonne Barnato | 6 | |
| Jube Terrell | 5 | |
| Lennard Fuchs | 5 | |
From the Ground Up
Columbia Hills is slated to join the MAFL in season 3, however, building a team with a small population base is proving harder than expected.
Karka 22, 2078, m249
Goalkeeper dreams - Wayne Oborobinson hopes to stay in the program as Columbia Hills struggle to make an MAFL club.
As season 2 approaches the midpoint, the pressure is on expansion teams to get their teams off the ground and ready for entry into the 3rd MAFL season.
Of the two new clubs, Columbia Hills faces an uphill battle. With a population size of just 3000, it is the smallest of all of the other settlements in the MAFL. Working with a limited talent pool has already slowed progress and unlike Wendland, they are not in a position to recruit back local residents, like Sulzberger and Marysa Waaijer, to bolster their ranks.
They do have a few local heroes like Alan Sawyer who gained fame for his excellent performance in the Marineris Pathfinder Marathon, but they are far from meeting the minimum 14 player roster requirement from the league.
“At this point, we have 6 players confirmed,” said Tod Dodderham, “We have a lot of work ahead of us. It isn’t the same as the original 8 that were able to easily recruit across colonies.”
New regulations and processes adopted by colonies makes it prohibitive for Columbia Hills to hire in players from its larger neighbours, namely Marineris and San Olympus, however, they are actively trying to attract ex-pats back for tryouts.
Leaning on loyalty may be their best hope.
MAFL Midway
It’s been a thrilling ride so far in the inaugural MAFL season and to celebrate the midway point of the season, the league broke out into a big spontaneous party.
A Penalty Kick Over Time Party!
Solis.Dhanus, 22, 249
It’s been a thrilling ride so far in the inaugural MAFL season and to celebrate the midway point of the season, the league broke out into a big spontaneous party.
A Penalty Kick Over Time Party! Because Week 11 of MAFL play was all about the PKOT.
The PKOT Party got started when the Immortals and United invited themselves over with a scoreless match in regulation which was then decided in Penalty Kicks as Immortals forward Ran Naik curved the winner over the outstretched hands of United goalkeeper, Yvonne Barnato into the opposite top corner. PKOT 3 to 2 for the Immortals.
The Immortals moved to 6 and 5 while United dropped to 5 and 6 in the standings.
Next ones to crash the PKOT Party were the Comets and Wuji.
Their match ended in a 1 to 1 tie with Marysa Waaiger scoring for Wuji and Isabelle Marsh knotting it up for the Comets. In Overtime, Comets forward Kyrie Barnett charged up to power her shot through the hands of Wuji goalkeeper Trenton Seaton for the clincher. PKOT 3 to 2 for the Comets.
The Comets moved to 2nd place in the standings with a 7 and 4 record while Wuji remained at the bottom of the standings with a 3 and 8 record.
Not wanting to miss out on all the fun, the Titans and Dongji also joined the party. Last place Dongji put a scare in the first place Titans with Zhao Jiao scoring at the 1:03 mark. However, Readale Nash (the Cash) responded 4 minutes later with his 7th goal of the season. In Overtime, Titan’s Jube Terrell blasted a blur to the right of a frozen Dongi goalkeeper. PKOT 2 to 1 for the Titans.
The Titans soared to a 10 and 1 record with Dongji tied at the bottom with Wuji at 3 and 8.
In the fourth and final match of Week 11, Mussaddiqu Baddour of Al’amal SC opened up the scoring at the 9 minute mark against the Novyimir Dynamo. Ilya Jaroslav Petrovich tied it up at the 43 minute mark.
With just one half left, all the makings of a full on league PKOT party were in play.
Until that buzz kill, Mariya Nikitovna spoiled the party. Her goal at the 57th gave the Dynamo a 2 to 1 win in regular match play.
With the win, the Dynamo moved to 4 and 7 for the season while Al’amal went to 6 and 5.
“I’ve never seen anything like that”, said MAFL commissioner, Aigar Masing. “I know some traditionalists loathe the overtime Penalty Kicks but even they have to admit it was a lot of fun to watch.”
And fun has been plentiful at the MAFL midway so far. What have been some of the key attractions?
Step right up and see Immortals clash with Titans for league supremacy.
The Titans’ only season loss was to the Immortals in Week 3 as the Lanka Legend scored 4 goals that day. In the week 10 rematch, the Titans gained revenge with a win from Nash the Cash’s two goals and a little help from sloppy goalkeeping.
Lanka Legend and Nash the Cash are also battling for individual supremacy as they are leading the league in goals with 9 and 7 respectively. How many more goals will these two score in the Week 17 grudge match between the Immortals and Titans?
How many goals will the Tiangong Wuji score in the second half? Despite their heavy spending, the Wuji can’t buy a goal with an anemic 8 goals. Even Lanka Legend has scored more. Will their spending eventually pay off in the 2nd half and lift them out of the basement?
Their fellow basement brethren, the Tiangong Dongji, can score thanks to Darkeem Dennis and his 4 goals. Despite their spending, they can’t buy a win in overtime having 5 of their 8 losses in PKOT. Now if they could just clone Dennis….
Or talk to the Marineris Comets and learn how their balanced attack has helped them run off a three game winning streak vaulting them into 2nd place in the standings. Can they continue this momentum in the 2nd half?
Can Europa United learn that successful balance too? Despite a Martian air lock tight defence which has allowed just 7 goals, they have a mediocre 5 and 6 record. Like the Wuji, the opposing net might as well be lost in a Martian sand storm.
The Dynamo’s net however, is as big as the Valles Marineris canyon. Opponents have scored 26 goals against them. The next worse team – the Wuji with 16 goals allowed. And yet how have the Dynamo won more games than Wuji and Dongji?
And has anyone noticed the Al’amal SC are in 3rd place? And that four of their players are in the Goal Leaders rankings – the most of any team. If you don’t know, Musaddiq Baddour or Arwa Farra, you will soon.
And what else will pop out in the 2nd half of this MAFL ride? Hold tight and keep your eyes open.
Born to Play?
Europa United Forward Alex Barlas described his first week on Mars with terms like, “absolutely maddening” and “why did my parents bring me here again?”
Put yourself in his cleats: isolated from friends some 54.6 million kilometers away; constantly facing severe risk of radiation exposure that could increase his lifetime risk of cancer; a complete shift in diet; a majority of his day spent on exercise just to keep his muscles and bones from deteriorating; and for the rest of his day - confinement with fellow citizens.
Who would have guessed he would grow up on Mars and become among the first to play professional sports on a whole new world?
Saturni, Dhanus 21, 249
Europa United Forward Alex Barlas described his first week on Mars with terms like, “absolutely maddening” and “why did my parents bring me here again?”
Put yourself in his cleats: isolated from friends some 54.6 million kilometers away; constantly facing severe risk of radiation exposure that could increase his lifetime risk of cancer; a complete shift in diet; a majority of his day spent on exercise just to keep his muscles and bones from deteriorating; and for the rest of his day - confinement with fellow citizens.
Who would have guessed he would grow up on Mars and become among the first to play professional sports on a whole new world?
Alex Barlas, 21 year old United Forward, wasBorn in Manchester Uk and arrived in myear 245.
“The Best Footballers are from Earth. ”
One couldn’t blame Barlas or others for such an assumption. After all, Football was born on Earth. Of the 106,000 Mars citizens, 78% were Earth born. So the majority of MAFL players are from Earth right?
Wrong.
Before the season began, MAFL set player targets for birth place and gender because they wanted balanced player demographics. So despite Mars born citizens only representing 22% of the Mars Population, they represent 41% of MAFL players, followed by 38% Earth born players and 20% Naturalized citizens.
“Parity you say. Or was it prophecy from MAFL officials? ”
Of the 108 goals scored in total after Week 11, the highest scoring segment belonged to Mars born players with 47% of the goals scored. This was followed by 27% for Earth born players and 26% for Naturalized citizens.
The top two scorers in the league are both Mars born: Uday Lanka (Lanka Legend to many) of the Amrita Immortals with 9 goals and Readale Nash (the Cash) of the San Olympus Titans with 7 goals.
Top Scorer, Uday Lanka, Captain of the Amrita Immortals
In fact, 5 of the top 8 scorers in the league are Mars born.
Contrary to Barlas’ point of view, are the Best Footballers from Mars?
“I’ve been around this game for over 30 years, and the best Football training comes from Earth,” said Manager Gordan J Pryce of the Marineris Comets. “Ilya Jaroslav Petrovich of the Novyimir Dynamo, Vivian Badour of Al’amal SC, Liddell Marsh of the Marineris Comets are all among the top scorers and they were born on Earth”.
Nash disagrees, “the Best Footballers on Earth, are from Earth, but once they touch down on Mars, this is a whole different world of Football for them. A world I’ve been used to since Birth”.
Is it true? Do Mars born players naturally acclimatize to Mars’ conditions much more easily than Earth born players?
Does this make Mars born players better than Earth born players?
In the short history of Mars colonization, it wasn’t too long ago that the thought of ever conceiving Mars born citizens was highly questionable.
- It took three major breakthroughs to answer all the questions to: Where will babies come from? Radiation Barriers
- Fertility Medications
- Advances in Reproductive Technologies such as In-Vitro Fertilization
Once the scientists alleviated everyone’s fears that their private treasures wouldn’t disintegrate while copulating, the long season of wildness began – because what the hell are you going to do on Mars when you weren’t working the mines or farms or construction i.e. surviving.
And that was one of the key questions and challenges, Earth born Martians had as they acclimatized to their new surroundings.
What to do on Mars other than surviving?
According to ongoing studies by Marineris Tech U on Mars acclimation, Earth born Martians have exhibited various forms of anxiety related stress due to a multitude of factors including:
- Lack of outdoor exposure – No fresh air? Where’s the sun?
- Separation from loved ones on Earth – Are virtual hugs virtually empty?
- Isolation in their confined living spaces – Where can I roam and be free?
- Diet – Where can I get a juicy BBQ steak?
- Excessive gravity training which increases incidents of sopite syndrome (fatigue, drowsiness, and mood changes) – If I train more, I get depressed? If I don’t train, I get emaciated?
Questions all running through Earth born Martians. Questions that Mars born citizens wouldn’t have. Because, you don’t know what you don’t know.
Are all these differences from Earth life to Mars life really impacting the performance of Earth born players negatively?
Nash isn’t sure. “I mean, I hear my Earth born teammates bitch and complain about all these things they miss on Earth but c’mon man. It isn’t like life on Mars is bad. We have entertainment and games here and plenty of chances to have fun at the markets and clubs.”
Barlas adds, “The lifestyle adjustment was tough, especially as I came here as a kid. On Earth, I was used to running freely and going outside... so this was probably the biggest factor.”
Barlas has 0 goals to date after 11 weeks of MAFL play.
Nash adds, “I’m sure Barlas and all those Earth borns might be awesome on Earth but it’s a different game here on Mars. I’m no scientist but if Mars is 38% of Earth’s gravity, shouldn’t the Earth borns be doing a lot better up here?