Following our two most recent games we're now finding our legs and starting to rebuild the team. Tonight we competed against Supernova, a team that we've been finding success in our bouts in previous seasons. This game we found ourselves against a teammate who was playing as keeper for our opponent this game as well so it gave us a good mark to measure our current team.

A meteor shower of goals

The game opened with good back and forth with a strong possession game from Button City FC. An early injury to myself, number 8 Ryan Woodward, to my right hip after defending against a challenge, with no foul there was a quick on the fly substitution. Our youngest player found the back of the the net shortly afterwards with some cuts and some great one-twos from her father into the box and a clean hit off the laces she opened up our highest scoring game so far this season.

The goals kept flying throughout the match including one that was counted for us but then redacted due to a miscall. Late into the game our second youngest player made his first goal as well after some missteps. He cut and came in from the left with a great slice of his foot he got past the keepers hand late in the second half after some build up play from the back.

This game found us ending with a solid three points with the win with a score of 7-3 end score.

Striding forward

This is a great turnaround for us with last week finding us against the top team from last season The Dukes and a loss with a 4-2. We're looking forward with some turbulence but starting to find our stride. Next we find ourselves with our upcoming game against Running Medicine and the start of our 11v11 season.

This past weekend Button City FC fought hard in the Land of the Free Tournament. The heat was high and the soccer fierce with Button City FC playing in the round robin format which mixed two divisions featuring six teams total. The format for the tournament had teams play in a 7v7 match in two 30 minute halves with 6 points for a win, and up to 3 additional points for goals scored. Additionally the team had their opening game for the fall indoor season which had our players battle it out over 6 games over the two days.

Going into the tournament we wanted to focus on building up the team again and get into playing shape for our 11v11 season. While we always play to win we didn’t expect to get first place for our division!

Day One

Button City FC vs Tropics

In the cool morning the opening game went against the top division winner Tropics with a 8-3 loss for BCFC. With players like giants we fought hard and held them off for much of the first half and even had a penalty shot opportunity against them that unfortunately sailed over the top post. Unfortunately our main keeper was not in session for this game though our backup blocked a ton of shots we ultimately fell.

Button City FC vs Chelsea

After the loss in the first game we found ourselves against Chelsea, one of our rival team. We’ve had only one other match against them but many of our players have come from this team. One of our goals for this weekend was to see how we measure up against them now vs when we first played which happened all the way back in 2023 in our first ever tournament. The game was back and forth all throughout the match with the teams trading goals. Our players wanted to prove themselves and shut down strong attacks with our defense shielding with a fierce press and man marking their top players. The mid turned and carried the ball beautifully with each goal shaking the back of the net beautifully followed by the blaring honk of a vuvuzella in celebration. As the final seconds were fading away we kept attacking to ensure a Button City FC victory with a final score of 5-4.

Button City FC vs WTFC at Indoor

In addition to the tournament the start of the fall indoor season started on Saturday. We signed on two new youth players who have been waiting for the opportunity to play with their parents. With an early nutmeg shot on the keeper we had an early lead but the team is still finding their new dynamics. With half the team tired from the two games earlier and mindful of having to play one more game after and the other half coming in new we began to fall apart with two goals against the team. While playing a great passing game we didn’t have enough shots on goal and while our defense was doing well enough they eventually faulted and let in one more with a final losing score or 3-1. The new indoor season will be exciting to follow along as we find our feet with our new teammates.

Button City FC vs Average Joes

Returning to the tournament in the evening we went against a team we historically lost against. This game was also back and forth with us being back heeled early on in the game and the familiarity of defeat on the horizon. The tone changed when a shot rocketed into the top corner of the net early in the first half. Our team felt the elation and drive renewed going into the game bringing in a simple pass focused style of play that created opportunities. The game continued back and forth with us leading throughout both halves. There were some hard fouls but no cards this game. Going into the final seconds we were up 5-4 with a corner set piece for the opposing team the ball few through the air and what seemed to us to go out of play went back in and then kicked into the back of the net equalizing. With no time to argue and no extra time alloted we reset to try to get ahead with our last play. The play built up and the final shot kicked with precision and power unfortunately went directly into the arms of the keeper. With that the final whistle blew with a draw at 5-5 against Average Joes.

Day Two

Button City FC vs Chupacabras

Going into day two we were heading into facing the teams who ultimately went into the upper division. Chupacabras early on rained goals in hitting us with six goals against in the first half. We retaliated with a goal in the first half. Going into the second half we switched up our formation from a 2-3-1 to a more defensive minded 3-2-1 to keep their runners at bay and close off shooting opportunities. In the second half we also got awarded a penalty which was taken by our star striker of the tournament in a redemption from our first game. Ultimately though we conceded one more goal in the half and lost 7-2.

Button City FC vs Mutiny

Our final match of the tournament had us on the line for either getting third in the upper division or getting first in the lower. We opened up with an early goal still utilizing our 3-2-1 formation. We focused more on defense this game since our striker had to leave for another league. We had great build up play with our remaining teammates and found early success in the first fifteen minutes. Fatigue began coming into play though as the events from the weekend wore through our players. Few subs and a mid field who weren’t used to playing in this formation began to faulter as we conceded goal after goal. Ultimately in the end our final game we came out with a 9-3 loss.

Awards

Although our last day we lost to two formidable teams we earned our first place award in the second division. This is the first tournament win in Button City FC history and we’re excited for the opportunity to play, grow, and win as a club. We’re looking forward to our upcoming seasons as we celebrate our victories.

Looking back

Summer season is setting and we completed our runs in two leagues with our 7v7 a few weeks ago and our indoor today. Both brought new challenges due to injury of our players from last season and a need to look at our pillars as a team.

For Indoor we maintained a 50/50 season and found some key moments that we capitalized on to win. Those other moments though we folded, in part due to inconsistent availability from loss of key women and defensive players and others where we were simply outplayed.

Looking ahead

I'm excited for our new seasons with our team. There will be some players leaving because of life and some returning from injury. We will have to assess a new style of play to accommodate and that will be exciting to find.

The 7v7 season saw us battling with a unique circumstance within the league where we had plenty of women players but not enough men. This started early since many were taking Summer off so they could come back in the fall. Towards the end we had either schedule conflicts, a happy one due to a wedding, or injury such as myself from indoor. We had a few wins but 7v7 is a difficult league due to the mixing of divisions so I'm proud that we were able to find some success.

Looking forward to our upcoming seasons, which include Indoor and our full 11v11, I am looking to re-establish our team's pillars. I came into this with the goal of creating a community that uplifts each other and helps each other grow. We do actively try to win, I believe that's a basic tenant of respect for sports, but we don't tear each other down to do it. If you come in either as a beginner or a seasoned vet we're all here to have fun and grow together. I've failed to enforce that in the past few season and want to reset my vision for it.

Goals

Some goals for this upcoming season that I want to share are.

• Work on building a team voice together
• Create more team events to build community
• Find ways to build up play and finish
• Bring back practices so the team can work on skills and teamplay outside of games

Here's to an exciting fall season!

We decided to do a few things all coming together around the same time which was to make a sequel to Button City called Button City: Soccer Days around our new love of soccer, create a soccer team called Button City FC, and make really cool kits and scarves for it.

We started Button City FC in 2023 and have been playing rec co-ed soccer to bring together all sorts of people at any skill level to play the beautiful game with us. This blog is here to share our journey as we play soccer. We won't be doing too many updates on the video game, it has it's own website for that.

We hope you become a fan of Button City FC and we welcome you on our journey playing the beautiful game! Welcome to the arcade!