The group pairings for the amputee World Cup have been posted.  The USA drew Group E which contains Turkey, a perennial powerhouse. Nico is positively revved up for the tournament and we are all looking forward to our trip to Mexico and watching him compete.

I have now been a member of the Concord United soccer team for eleven years, first on the Over-40 squad and now with the 0ver-50 team.  The club has been around for twenty years and in that time has never won a match against Stoneham, a club that invariably wins the northern division regionals and more often than not, the Division 1 championship.  Today that all changed during our semi-final match with them.  Ninety minutes of play had us tied.  Thirty minutes of overtime produced the same result. Penalty kicks were tied 3-3 after five rounds.  It then came down to sudden death penalty kicks which went to eight rounds before our goalie made a decisive save giving us the win.  We celebrated at a local pub and I think it is the most meaningful victory we have ever enjoyed.  We now advance to the finals next weekend and we have a solid chance of winning the whole enchilada.