MAFL Week 6 Roundup
This week in MAFL—major injuries strike both Europa United and Dynamos, frustration continues to mount over the Immortal’s performance, rivals Dongji and Wuji meet on the field to battle it out. Meanwhil, Darkeem Dennis of Europa United steadily closes in on Nash and Lanka for top scorer.
United - Al'amal
Cancer 16 • Europa Stadium
pernet breaks her arm near the end of the first half.
United victory leaves fans roaring for more as they tie with the Dynamos at the top.
No longer plagued by the missed penalty kicks that hung over him in Season 1, Darkeem Dennis sent the ball straight into the corner to win the game for Europa United. Dennis has contributed steadily to goals in the last games for United—making on of the top three scorers in the current standings.
Pernet is out with a nasty arm fracture. The injury could potentially put the United forward out of play for the rest of the season.
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 22 | 29 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 52% | 48% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 3 | 4 |
GOALS
- 2ND 21' Dennis scores the only goal of the game— a penalty kick for United
FOULS
- Fayad is given a red card for denying Dennis' shot at the goal.
Dynamos - Titans
Cancer 16 • Novyimir Stadium
Dynamos rally after last week's loss and easily steamroll the Titans at Novyimir Stadium.
Many are questioning the Dynamo's meteoric rise through the standings. Club manager, Ludomir, is crediting the team's success to discipline and working hard throughout the off-season.
Titan's midfielder, Sarah Kelly, is out of play with a sprained ACL. "We're looking at a recovery time of at least three weeks with knee injuries—even with all the medical tech that we have," says Titan's coach Salgado.
GOALS
- 1ST 13' Budnik scores for Dynamos
- 2ND 8' Stadnyk scores for Dynamos
- 2ND 14' Samrend scores for Dynamos
- 2ND 24' Terell scores for Titans
NOTABLE SUBSTITUTIONS
- Kelly (Comets) is out for at least three weeks with a sprained ACL
FOULS
- Etefu (Dynamos) is ejected with 4 minutes left in the game after his second yellow card
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 17 | 13 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 65% | 35% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 3 | 3 |
Comets - Immortals
Cancer 17 • Marineris Stadium
badal dives for the ball, but is unable to reach it due to an alleged equipment malfunction.
Immortals are stuck in a rut, gave game away amidst mounting frustration.
Although the teams were evenly matched on the field, the Immortals missed the mark due to sloppy play. Lanka's streak of goals came to an end today. The Comet's winning goal has been hotly contended by Immortal goalkeeper, Chamanda Badal—who claims that she missed the save by a hair because her thrusters did not fire when activated.
So far, no malfunctions in Badal's suit has been reported in post-match equipment inspections.
Fingers are beginning to point as fans blame Cezar Vaduva's coaching for the Immortal's poor performance. Immortal's manager, Andam Mirza backed up Vaduva, but promised change, saying, "Vaduva has innumerable years of experience with football clubs on Earth and we trust him. We're approaching this as a team here. And things are going to change, we're not going to let our fans down."
GOALS
- 1ST 17' Elliot scores for Comets
- 1ST 23' Hagendoorn scores for Immortals
- 2ND 6' Benjamin scores for Comets
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 24 | 23 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 57% | 43% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 2 | 4 |
Wuji - Dongji
Cancer 17 • Tiangong Stadium
Dongji puts up a good fight, but is unable to ward off Wuji during extra time.
Without Ekberg to lead the team, Dongji fights hard to in an equally pitched battle with Wuji, but is defeated in extra time by a well-aimed header from Beldad. Unable to perform under the pressure, Geng misses his penalty kick, costing Dongji their chance to take the lead and possibly win the match in the second half.
This win puts Wuji ahead of Dongji on the standings as the rivalry continues between the two teams. Ekberg has taken personal responsibility for the loss and apologized to fans and teammates post game for his display of immaturity that earned him the suspension.
GOALS
- 1ST 21' Hachette scores for Wuji
- 2ND 3' Xie scores for Dongji
- 2ND 19' Wong scores for Wuji
- 2ND 22' Geng scores for Dongji
- ET 7' Beldad scores for Wuji
FOULS
- Bortel (Wuji) is red carded at 24' of the second half for handling the ball and denying Geng his shot.
SUBSTITUTIONS
- Ekberg is sitting out this week's match due to his red card last week
| SHOTS ON GOAL | |
|---|---|
| 18 | 17 |
| POSSESSION | |
|---|---|
| 53% | 47% |
| FOULS | |
|---|---|
| 5 | 3 |
Stats & Standings
Rankings
| Team | M | W | L | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamo | 6 | 5 | 1 | 19 |
| United | 6 | 5 | 1 | 15 |
| Al'Amal Sports Club | 6 | 4 | 2 | 13 |
| Titans | 6 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| Wuji Sports Club | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 |
| Dongji | 6 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| Comets | 6 | 2 | 4 | 15 |
| Immortals | 6 | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| Top Scorers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Uday Lanka | 7 | |
| Readale Nash | 6 | |
| Darkeem Dennis | 6 | |
| Ilya Petrovich | 5 | |
| Yvonne Barnato | 4 | |
| Zhou Geng | 4 | |
| Sergey Samrend | 3 | |
| Husain el Guler | 3 | |
| Marcus Ekberg | 3 | |
| Mariya Nikitovna | 3 | |
Moles move into first place tie with Wildcards
The Moles disposed of Khimik 3 – 0 led by Kara Okeke’s 2 assists and a goal and another Sam Bailey shutout.
For Bailey, it was another brilliant day, as he made 14 saves to record his third shutout in six exhibition games in the second round.
Rishabha 1, 22, 2078, m249
The Moles disposed of Khimik 3 – 0 led by Kara Okeke’s 2 assists and a goal and another Sam Bailey shutout.
For Bailey, it was another brilliant day, as he made 14 saves to record his third shutout in six exhibition games in the second round.
For Okeke, who is mostly known for her defence, it was her best offensive game of the season.
“As the exhibition round progressed, I felt more comfortable in taking more chances in leading the rush and being creative on the offensive,” said the 23-year-old San Olympian.
And that she did as she opened up scoring in the second period with an end to end rush that drew two defenders her way before she deftly dropped the puck to a trailing Aaron Bello who snapped a shot past Khimik goalie Veronica Danilenko.
Just four minutes later, Okeke led another rush down the ice, waited for a few teammates to screen Danilenko, before slapping a shot from the point past a blinded Danilenko to make the score 2 – 0.
In the third period, Okeke played a little give and go with teammate Bryan Taylor who slid the puck between Danilenko’s legs to ice the game 3 – 0.
With the win, the Moles moved into a first place tie with the Wildcards to end the second round of exhibition for ISMO hockey. Both the Wildcards and Moles ended with a 4 – 2 record.
“I’m not sure what happens next but it would be nice to see if we could have a tiebreaker to see who the top team really is,” said Moles Captain Janice Campbell. “I believe we were both the best teams in round 1 and round 2 so I think the fans deserve a definitive champion.”
In his address to the media afterwards, ISMO President Fredrick Seulovik was a bit coy on a potential final match.
“I’ll talk to each of the teams and colonies to see where we go from here but based on the positive feedback we’ve been getting so far, I believe exhibition hockey has been a success. Overall, we’re pleased with the participation.”
However, when asked about the format complaints Khimik issued to ISMO about the Europa colony, Seulovik responded, “We’ll take a look into that and talk with both parties. Lots of lessons learned in this exhibition, but overall the needle is pointing upwards.
For Khimik, that needle was pointing straight back to Korolev as players immediately left after the game. In a prepared media statement, Khimik expressed discontent with the Exhibition format, “We never should have left Korolev. As the pioneers of hockey, it was a mistake for us to leave such a supportive colony for one that was indifferent.”
Harris leads Wildcards to 2-1 win against Cosmonauts
Tonight the Cosmonauts faced-off against the Wildcards. The two teams were tied in the standings with 3 wins and 2 losses each as of Taurus 22.
Taurus 28, 2078, m249
Novyimir was teeming with excited crowds as fans made their way to the rink, and those that couldn’t get a seat made their way to their local establishment to watch the last game of this exhibition round.
Tonight the Cosmonauts faced-off against the Wildcards. The two teams were tied in the standings with 3 wins and 2 losses each as of Taurus 22.
The game was a nail-biter as the two teams battled for control of the puck. Anna Fedin tipped a goal into the net 2 minutes into first period for the first goal of the night.
“I think we were on fire tonight!” says Fedin of tonight’s game, “ And knowing that this might be the last game we’d be able to play as a team. Well, we better make it a good one. Right?”
And this is indeed the last game that has been announced by ISMO for their exhibition round of hockey. The past 12 weeks have been an amazing run for the athletes involved and also the fans. The participating settlements have also been pleased and excited with the turnout.
“Being able to host these games have been great for our settlement,” says Wendland city councillor, Verity Nichol, “It really helps Martians to look past the stereotype of Wendland being a bunch of engineers hiding behind machines all day.
Cosmonaut defender, Vitalia Burian was sent to the box for tripping, just a few seconds after Novak had been penalized for holding. Play was stopped and Martinez escorted from the ice after he hit the ice particularly hard and injured a knee.
cosmonauts celebrate with the wildcards post-game
With a one-man advantage, the Wildcards were able to rush the stunned Cosmonaut defenders and Harris smashed the puck home from the right corner at 10:20 of first period—ending it with a score of 1-1.
The Wildcards really ramped up their offence in second and third period. Opening up scoring chances, and starting plays, but were unable to complete them.
“Fedin and Meyer was really on the ball tonight,” says Wildcards captain, Marquez, “they coordinated their defensive strategy really well and frustrated a lot of our plays tonight. We have a lot of respect for that.”
As the game spilled into overtime, it was clear that the Cosmonauts were losing steam. 12 minutes of overtime puts tonight’s game at one of the longest times on-ice.
Harris scored the winning goal when the Cosmonauts lost control of puck in their corner and Harris was able to laser it past Hansen to end the game 2-1. The Wildcards rushed onto the ice to celebrate their win and congratulate Harris while fans cheered exuberantly.
The celebration didn’t end on the ice as both teams partied it up to wrap up Round 2 of exhibition hockey. For most of the players, this means an end of their voluntary training contracts with ISMO.
“I can’t believe we're all going back to work,” says Tia Halvorsen, “it’s been a crazy ride and I’m honoured I had this chance to be part of the exhibition, but I guess it time to return to reality now.”