Wow…What a night! From start to finish the excitement and suspense overtook this week’s agenda with every game being decided by one Goal or LESS. This was unanimously viewed as the best night of soccer thus far. I’d go as far as to say it was some of the best soccer Chicago Indoor Sports has had take place inside its 4 walls. A night of several Elite League firsts and in a League for attackers, the goalies amped up the level by playing tremendously all night long.

Even Team Zlatan managed to get into the win column and were just a lone goal shy of ending the night with 4 points! All this despite having no substitutes all night! Team Robinho managed to stay undefeated but was just a single Danny Castillo-touch away from stepping off the field with just a single point against Team Drogba. Clemente Chaidox seemed to shine in his fiery orange uniform and matching Mercurial Vapors as all eyes were on him throughout the night. Dempsey’s #7 has a strong campaign for MVP honors but, with 3 weeks to go, this Ronaldo look-alike is still far from having the award locked up. Teams Drogba and Dempsey put forth good efforts in the battle for the second line in the table, while Ribery and Ronaldo mustered only 1 point each in Week III. Read below for match by match recaps and be sure to check back for updated standings, the Week IV schedule and a few other special postings.




Game #1: Zlatan 2 – 3 Drogba

Team Drogba continued its good play from Week II to sneak past Zlatan in the opening game of the night. Zlatan got on the scoreboard first with a Jonathan Velasquez goal. However, three consecutive goals by Drogba’s Martin Vargas were enough to stand the late game surge of Zlatan, who was unable to earn its first points of the season. The three goals by the stalky lefty were decisive enough to earn him a player of the game nomination. He was dangerous once the ball was in shooting range and you could hear the fans hold their breath in anticipation every time the ball was at his feet. As for Zlatan, their team play was much improved (they played defense)! Look for them to improve gradually and work their way into the mix. They should be firing on all cylinders by the final week, just in time to make a Cinderella run into the final.





Game #2: Ribery 2 – 2 Ronaldo

It was hard to pick a game of the night, but the emotional performances by Ribery and Ronaldo in this one made it one of the most entertaining games thus far, not to mention an Elite League first – a tie! With both teams at 2-0-2, a win for either would keep them in the running for second place.

The game started off well for Ribery, scoring 2 quick goals to move into a dangerous lead within the first 10 minutes of play. Ribery took advantage of the defensive mistakes made by Ronaldo, with Cristian Haro and Royce LaBauex capitalizing early after Oluwaseun Ososami’s efforts led to steals and both assists – both beautiful balls to Haro and LaBauex. But Ronaldo’s will was not broken and they staged a comeback which almost won them the game. Their counterattacks proved to be deadly as they tied it up with goals by Juan Garcia and Salvador Martinez. Yet another Elite League first, the man of the match nominee for this one go to Ribery’s Goalkeeper Alexander Aguila, whose last minute heroics earned his team the point by keeping Team Ronaldo from scoring its 3rd. In the waning minutes of the game he saved several point blank shots.





Game #3: Robinho 3 – 2 Dempsey

This was a highly anticipated match-up that managed to live up to the hype. #1 Robinho faced #2 Dempsey. The excitement was a result of the high stakes and tremendous play on both sides of the ball from both teams. In the end, Team Robinho stood tall and undefeated but perhaps a bit shaken by this 3-2 thriller. Jorge Bahena’s 2 and Wilmer Moreno’s 1 goal were enough to lock up the win against Team Dempsey. Dempsey’s scorers were Charlie Adams and Clemente Chaidoz. The game was played well with both teams testing eachother in the first five minutes while not committing too much to offensive efforts. That changed as the game went on and it is only fair to recognize both Goalkeepers in this one as well. Both Alejandro Sanchez for Dempsey and Giovanni Esparza for Robinho were superb on the line tonight allowing 5 goals between them. Robinho and Dempsey are the two most dangerous offensive teams and the credit goes to the Keepers for keeping this game very close and fun to watch.





Game #4: Ribery 2 – 3 Zlatan

They say the 3rd time is the charm, but for Team Zlatan, it took twice as long to finally go home with a win. In their sixth game, Team Zlatan’s players finally prevailed in their first win of the season. After some trash-talk during the week and pep-talk in the pre-game, Jesus Arciga was going to win a game if he had to do it alone - so he did. His efforts were unmatched in this one as he earned his first Player of the Game nomination by scoring a beautiful hat-trick, all three goals for the Baby Blue. As a whole, Team Zlatan, the team of the night, showed a spirited performance in both games. A big congratulations goes out to them – let’s see if you can keep it up! On the other end of this one, Team Ribery needs to find their spark from Week I, in which they went 2-0-0, and have since lost 3 games and tied 1.





Game #5: Drogba 1 – 2 Robinho

Team Robinho doubled their lead over rest of the pack with a win in the second leg of the night. They now have a 9 point lead over the nearest opponent and sit comfortably atop the Elite League. But anything can happen...and it almost did in this one, which came down to the final seconds.

Robinho’s Jorge Bahena has been consistent throughout and made sure that Robinho took the points home in this one too. His 1 Goal and 1 Assist to Zach Reneau-Weeden were enough to overcome a feisty Team Drogba, who played well and at one point it looked like they had Robinho’s number. In the final seconds, Danny Castillo found the ball at his feet with no one between him and the goal, which was just a few feet away. As the crowd gasped, the usually keen goalscorer was unable convert this one. But again, the strong showing by Team Drogba will only be noted as such, as Team Robinho made it out alive. But perhaps the moral of this story is that Robinho’s armor can be penetrated.





Game #6: Ronaldo 2 – 3 Dempsey

Clemente Chaidoz, the skilled and speedy righty was the man of the night, finishing this game with 2 Goals and 1 Assist against a tough Team Ronaldo. He ended the night with 4 goals. His superb finishing and seemingly effortless 1 v 1 abilities have made Chaidoz an Elite League standout. In this game, Dempsey came out with a 3-0 lead and teased Ronaldo by letting them score two goals. Ronaldo, staging another comeback with goals from Cody Wilkins and Eric Salinas were too late to salvage any points.

Will Ronaldo get back on track next week? Can Zlatan continue to put point in the "W" column? And of course, Can anyone knock off Robinho? We’ll have to wait and see. Check back for predictions and the other good stuff. Have a good week gentlemen.