NSL wrapped up an exciting week 2 heading into the Thanksgiving Break.  The Dragon Headers kicked off their season with a very convincing 6-2 win over The Fooligans in a heated match; Astrapi moved into a tie for first with Rapid Williamsburg as both teams drew 1-1; Tusty FC got a last minute winner to hand BKFC a surprising second consecutive defeat 2-1; The Ducks picked up their first win of the season with a 3-2 victory over Metrocats.

The league is off this week for the Thanksgiving break, but returns on Saturday 12/3.

The season kicked off with 4 close games – all decided by one goal.
Chicos kicked off their defense of the league title and Jack Le Vent playoff trophy with a hard fought 1-0 win over last years #2 team BKFC.  The game was close throughout and Chenco’s freekick that slipped through the wall was the difference.

NSL newcomers Rapid Williamsburg struck first against The Ducks to take the lead in teh first half.  The Ducks came back, but gave up a quick goal to give Rapid the lead for good as they won 2-1.

Astrapi FC picked up their first win of the season over the other new NSL newcomers Tusty FC with a goal by Paul.  The single goal was enough for a 1-0 win.

The Capri Sun were on their way to a victory against The Fooligans with a first half goal off a corner kick before a second half brace from Ulysses led The Fooligans to a comeback win 2-1.

The NSL returns this weekend with some exciting matches and some new faces.
Let’s hope the teams can quickly shake the cobwebs off as defending champions Chicos take BKFC,  last year’s #2 in an exciting kick-off match at 5:15pm  (both teams finished undefeated last year).
New faces Rapid Williamsburg will take on The Ducks in the other 5:15pm match.

The 6:30pm games see the other new team Tusty FC taking on Astrapi, while The Capri Sun look to rebound from a tough season last year as they battle the Fooligans.

Field 1:
5:15 – Rapid Williamsburg  v Ducks
6:30 – Tusty FC v Astrapi FC

Field 2:
5:15 – Chico’s Bail Bonds  v BKFC
6:30 – Capri Sun  v Fooligans FC
Bye: Metrocats  & Dragon Headers

Congrats to Chico’s on their 3-0 victory over The Dragon Headers this weekend to hoist the Jack Le Vent trophy.
Gabe was the MVP with a hat trick and 4 goals on the day with one against AIFC in the semi-finals.

Here are the playoff results:
Quarterfinals:
#1 Chicos 2 -#8  The Ducks 0
#2 BKFC 4 – #7 Fooligans 1
#3 Dragon Headers 2 – #5 Metrocats 0
#5 AIFC 1  – #4 Astrapi 1 (AIFC wins on PKs 1-0)

Semifinals:
#1 Chicos 3 – #5 AIFC  1
#3 Dragon Headers 1 -#2  BKFC 0

Finals:
#1 Chicos 3- #3 Dragon Headers 0

This weekend saw three hard fought, exciting ties and one important win.
The clash between first and second didn’t disappoint with a 2-2 tie between Chicos and BKFC.  Congrats again to both teams finishing undefeated and to Chico’s for winning the regular season title.
3rd place Dragon Headers tied 4th place Astrapi in a defensive battle 0-0.  The Ducks snuck into the playoffs on goal differential,  leapfrogging both The Bollocks and The Capri Sun with a 4-4 tie against Metrocats.  AIFC moved into 5th place with a 3-1 win over The Bollocks.  Here’s how the playoffs match-ups are lined up:

#1 Chico’s Bail Bonds v #8 The Ducks (A battle of ’09 and ’10 NSL Cup winners)
#2 BKFC v #7 Fooligans F.C.
#3 Dragon Headers v Metrocats
#4 Astrapi F.C v #5 Astoria International F.C.

The schedule will be finalized shortly.  Games will begin at 1:30pm in REDHOOK

After 9 weeks of games, we head into the final week with the playoff picture in flux.
After last weeks results we see Chico’s firmly in the #1 spot winning the regular season championship once again.  Both Chicos and BKFC’s unbeaten seasons are on the line as they battle each other this week.
Dragon Headers look to try sneak into 2nd with 3 points and a BKFC loss, but will need to put a lot of goals past Astrapi – who scored 5 of their own this week.
The middle of the table is tight with spots 5-7 still up for grabs.  The Duck look to squeak into the playoffs by picking up some points this week to leapfrog The Bollocks if they can’t pick up some points of their own.

Last weeks results:
Metrocats 3, Capri Sun 1; Chicos 6, The Ducks 1; Dragon Headers 2, Fooligans 0; Astrapi 5, Bollocks 0; BKFC 0, AIFC 0.

This week’s schedule:

3/26

Field 1:
3:15 – FC Headers v Astrapi FC
4:30 – The Bollocks v Astoria International FC

Field 2:

3:15 – The Ducks v Metrocats
4:30 –BKFC v Chico’s Bail Bonds

Only 2 weeks left in the regular season and things are heating up.
This week saw Chico’s and BKFC remain unbeaten, though BKFC tied to drop two points below 1st placeChicos.
The Fooligans and Astrapi both picked up three points to leapfrog the idle AIFC and be within striking distance of idle 3rd place Dragon Headers.
Metrocats picked up a point to move themselves further away from the bottom three who all suffered tough losses this weekend – though The Bollocks were only the second team to score against Chicos all season.
New Standings are up and the schedule for the remaining two weeks will be posted today.

A great day of games on Saturday: Dragon Headers beat The Ducks 4-0; Metrocats and Fooligans tie 3-3 in a back and forth affair.  BKFC beat Astrapi 2-0 in an even contest and goaltending was the star in a heated 0-0 draw between The Capri Sun and AIFC.  Remember if you want the most up to date info – check out the league’s Twitter account @NSLBrooklyn