On March 3rd MUSC faced a tough opponent in the Slutty Buffalos, even though the Buffalos were situated in the middle of the table, the boys from Malibu knew they were in for a mighty game. Their opponents’ roster was filled with youth and Malibu knew that they would have to stick to the game plan of maintaining a large majority of the possession and forcing the Buffalos to chase the ball.

Right from the kick off MUSC passed the ball around and controlled the flow of the game. But it wasn’t until Spanish midfielder Ignacio Rodriguez was substituted in that United were able to find the back of the net. Brazilian striker Gabe Bonetti quickly added another goal, followed by his brother Lucas Bonetti who had moved in to the 18 yard box from his center midfield position. Prior to the end of the first half the Buffalos had a reply when a shot from outside the goal box got by goalkeeper Ian Benyo who was shielded from seeing the shot.

The second half picked up where the first half ended with MUSC parked in the Buffalos half waiting for opportunities to unload on the Buffalos goalkeeper. Youth team member Munny ($) Manak received a pass from Lucas just outside the 18 yard box and released a cracker that blew by the Buffalos keeper. Striker Dave Keffer added his name to the score sheet shortly afterwards when he picked up a loose ball in the 6 yard box and slotted it by the goalkeeper that was nowhere to be found. Much to the credit of the Buffalos they kept their heads high and pressed on, hitting United on several counter attacks. On one such occasion United goalkeeper Ian Benyo came up huge, he stopped the initial shot, quickly followed by another spectacular stop from a quick rebound. Proving that the young goalkeeper lives by the ‘No brain no pain’ philosophy, he dove head first to snatch the ball from being shot a third time. Howler of the day came from Malibu High School alumni Ignacio Rodriguez who was marking the front post on a Buffalos corner kick. Not only did he leave his post but he ducked out of the way to let the ball go directly into the net. Knowing the game was already in the bag, United’s fans and players had a great laugh at the youngster’s expense.

$ Manak and Byron Paidoussi added insurance goals and the United won 8-2. GK Ian Benyo once again picked up the man of the match honors.

On March 10th the team faced Mc Dermott FC who brought in their 3-3 record. United were without James Whalen who joins Michael Ridley on the injured reserve list, both players are out due to an ankle injuries, also absent were English playmakers Daman and $ Manak.

United’s starting lineup had Ian Benyo, David Simpson, Byron Paidoussi, Lucas Bonetti, Devon Myers, Ryan Silverman and Dave Keffer. United controlled the game right from the opening kickoff, forcing their opponents to hold their shape in their own half and try and keep United off the score sheet. United’s first goal came from left back Paidoussi who played several nifty wall passes with Lucas Bonetti and Dave Keffer before smashing it pass the Dermott shotblocker. United’s reputation for scoring early and often must be circulating around the league because on the Dermott kickoff their striker commented, “It is going to be a long day.” Unfortunately for their team, he was right.

Keffer scored another goal for United shortly after Paidoussi’s goal, he collected a pass from midfielder Lucas and tucked it in the bottom left corner. Young Devon added to his goal total by adding another shortly afterwards. Knowing the game was mostly going to be played in the Dermott’s third, coach Simpson substituted in Gabe Bonetti. With his fancy footwork and eye for goal Gabe would prove to be an asset to the team’s attack. The substitute quickly paid off when he was able to create space and slot three goals by the Dermott goalkeeper. Mc Dermott pulled one back before the whistle and the first half ended 6-1 in favor of United.

The second half played out pretty much the same as the previous week’s match with United controlling the game and their opponents relying on the counter attack. United goalkeeper Ian Benyo was forced into action several times but was always up for the challenge. Benyo made several highlight reel saves once again. The goalkeeper even had an opportunity to get himself on the score sheet when he was asked to take a PK for United. Unfortunately his shot dribbled just wide of the right post, other than Benyo there is only one other player not the goal leaders list.

Devon Myers and Dave Keffer added second half goals positioning them tied at the top for the team’s season goal leaders. Lucas also netted two goals before the final whistle giving United another win. The Bonetti brothers combined for 5 out of Malibu’s 10 goals on the day. The younger brother, Gabe also took man of the match honors by banging in a first half hattrick.

The team is now 7-0 in the Santa Monica Adult Soccer League and a franchise best 23-1-2 in their last 26 games.

Goals

Assists

Malibu controlled the game right from the opening kickoff and barely let Los Blancos out of their own half. An over-energized Ryan Silverman was even called out by the referee for playing too aggressively and subsequently had to be substituted for shortly after receiving a stern talking to. Prior to the game midfielder Devon Myers was ridiculed by his teammates for having a small percentage of his shots on frame in the previous week’s outing.  The team was able to batter their opponent and young Devon did record one goal but he wanted to prove his ability against Los Blancos. Unfortunately for the winless team Devon “Pass me the ball and watch me shoot” Myers netted six goals helping his team win 11-3.

This past weekend the team faced a formidable opponent in Angel City All-Stars of the Angels City Soccer Club. The team managed by Ben Kull sat near the middle of the standings with a record of 1-1-1. United knew their rivals from playing in their Angel City Soccer League in the fall. After peppering their goalkeeper with countless strikes United were stunned when their challengers scored the opening goal. The shot count was 11 to 1 but the scoreboard was displaying a scoreline of 1-0 ACSC. United equalized shortly afterwards when Luc Bonetti slotted one home from inside the box bringing the teams level at the half.

United regrouped and discussed what they needed to do in order to beat the strong Angel City defense and what appeared to be an bulletproof City goalkeeper. The second half started the same way with ACSC being the first to score. United quickly answered when Damon Manak went a solo run and smashed home a scorcher that went five hole. True to the theme of the day United had to reply after City scored again making it 3-2. Striker Dave Keffer got free in the box and slotted home a nice pass from Manak. The teams were now even but Malibu had the momentum knowing they could beat the ACSC goalkeeper. The goal of the day came from striker Gabe Bonetti, who received an outlet pass from defender David Simpson and without hesitation released a thunderbolt to the upper 90 past the outstretched goalkeeper. Everyone in attendance was over the moon for the young striker, they were used to seeing his goals come from in or around the penalty box. Malibu kept up the attack and banged in two more for good measure, another from Keffer and one from defender Byron Paidoussi, the game ended 6-3 for United.

Man of the Match honors went to the Damon Manak who ran the midfield and successfully controlled the flow of the game.

MUSC is now a perfect 4-0 in the spring league and face a tough opponent next week when they host FC Playa Vista at 2:30pm.

The team was going to be without a few key players but also were looking forward to the return of midfielder Damon Manak and Lawrence Whalen. Lawrence the son of co-manager James Whalen was returning from his loan spell in San Francisco.

MUSC was confident going into the game and well aware of the tactics given the larger field at Santa Monica Airport. In their Spring League opener last weekend they beat the Slutty Buffalos by a score of 8-2. Malibu High School alumni and long time United player Ignacio Rodriguez was the man of the match after chipping in two goals.

Prior to Saturday’s game the always cheerful and optimistic Ryan Silverman boasted to his teammates that he was going to score a hattrick. This was quite a bold statement from a guy that sees limited minutes and would be coming into the game as a substitute.

Unlike last week’s game United started on the front foot and controlled the majority of the possession. Midfielders Luc Bonetti, Devon Myers and Damon Manak quickly moved the ball around forcing McDermott to give chase. Once they saw an opportunity to get in to the attacking third, they knocked the ball up to young striker Gabe Bonetti who banged in his first goal of the game. Damon quickly followed up with a run down the left flank and knocked in a goal of his own.

With all of the movement in the midfield coach Simpson decided to sub in Silverman who promptly made one of his famous back post runs and got on the end of a great cross. With great technique and precision he headed the ball past the outstretched keeper putting his team up 3-0 after fifteen minutes of play. Shortly afterwards striker Dave Keffer scored the nicest goal of the day by neatly turning the McDermott goalkeeper and slotting the ball in the empty net. Still pressing forward and creating havoc Manak pushed the ball up the left side and squared a nice ball to the top of the box where Silverman quickly jumped on it and smashed it into the goal. The first half ended 5-0 with United not allowing their opposition to even record a shot on net.

MUSC started off the second half much of the same with endless shots on the McDermott goalkeeper. Who much to his credit was making some amazing saves keeping the score line respectable. Myers, Keffer and Gabe Bonetti all chipped in goals to make it 8-0 with fifteen minutes left. And much like Babe Ruth’s famous “called shot” homerun in the 1932 World Series, Ryan Silverman fulfilled his promise  by banging in his third goal of the day. McDermott was able to break the shutout by taking advantage of a mental lapse in the Malibu goal box. This was quickly answered by two more Malibu goals, one by Whalen making a run from the defensive end and one by Damon Manak from the midfield. The final score line was 11-1 for United.

Malibu United is now 17-1-2 in their last 20 games and undefeated in their last 12 Santa Monica League outings. Man of the Match honors went to Ryan “Hattrick” Silverman.

It was a valiant effort by all of the United players including youth academy members, fringe players and 1^st team players.  The team was able to record an outstanding 78 goals for and 35 against.  Leading Malibu and winning the golden boot award was Gabriel Bonetti. Even though he didn’t appear in every fixture the young Brazilian striker was able to score 15 goals in just 10 games. Including one game where he banged in 5 goals. Midfielder “Young” Devon was right behind Bonetti with 11 goals.

Going into the final weekend MUSC were expecting another physical match with The Wolf Pack since their previous game ended with their opponents having a player sent off. The team was in good spirits and welcomed back goalkeeper Ian Benyo and starting defender Byron Paidoussi, plus the boys wanted to finish the league undefeated.  Due to a couple of missing players they picked up Munny Manak (or as Ryan Silverman refers to him as “$ Manak”) from the youth team and reserve player Xad Gonzalez. Prior to the game Coach Simpson demanded more out of his youth player explaining that he didn’t want to see the boy walk the ball into the net every time. He encouraged him to shoot from long range since he was going to be playing in the center midfielder role. Not to disappoint Munny picked up a loose ball 25 yards out just two minutes into the game and released a thunder bolt past the outstretched keeper. The team maintained a majority of the possession and Munny was able to bang in two more before the half.

The Wolf Pack rarely got in behind the Malibu defenders and even when they did shot blocker Benyo came up huge. The lanky keeper stopped a couple of one-on-ones and also gobbled up a few loose balls in the box. The always reliable and crowd favorite Xad put another on the board for United fifteen minutes into the second half. The game was now out of reach for The Pack and to seal the deal Munny recorded one more. The only blemish on the day was United giving up a goal on the last kick of the day. The game ended 6-1 and man of the match honors went to Ian Benyo.

The team goes straight into their spring league which starts January 28^th at the Santa Monica Airport. Kickoff is at 1:30 pm.

Going into Sunday afternoon’s matches Malibu United Soccer Club were looking to keep their franchise win streak alive and bring home another piece of hardware for their club’s trophy cabinet.

They were under the obligation of fielding two teams because not only did they have to compete in the Angel City Soccer League playoffs but they also had to send a team to SAMO High to take part in the Santa Monica Adult Soccer League regular season schedule.

The team heading to Playa Vista for the playoffs were led by team managers David Simpson and Dave Keffer, going into the match the club were undefeated in 9 matches and they wanted to keep the win streak alive. The managers knew they were going to have to bring in several members of the youth team in order to just field a squad. Due to the playoffs running so close to the holidays they were going to be without starting defender Byron Paidoussi, center midfielder Luc Bonetti and his brother goal scorer Gabe Bonetti. MUSC didn’t feel any pressure bringing in four youth team members, three of them went through the Malibu High School soccer program and all of them were ready to make first team appearances. Damon Manak already had several games under his belt this season even taking home man of the match honors on two occasions. He would step in for Paidoussi and join Simpson in buttoning down the defense. His brother Munny Manak fresh off loan from being in Florida slotted into the midfield. While JJ “Baby” Saul went straight up top to take over the goal scoring from Gabe. Also included in the roster was Kyle Taylor who is versatile player who can bang in goals but also can play anywhere on the field. Filling out the roster was goal keeper Ian Benyo coming off his third shutout, Keffer, Dave Riley, Michael Ridley, and the always hardworking Devon Myers.

The team was the number one seed heading into playoffs, being crowned the EPL division champs. First they had to take on  Angel City Football Club who placed second in the La Liga division. ACFC finished their season with a record of 3-3 so MUSC thought they could easily roll by them while making it to the championship game. From the opening kickoff ACFC proved they were not about to roll over and let the game go without a fight. They out hustled and out muscled MUSC off every 50/50 ball, and as a payoff for their hard work they were first to record a goal. MUSC was stunned and not playing their best soccer, giving away the ball cheaply. Youngster Munny was on form and took on two defenders to equal the score. The teams battled for the next ten minutes with neither team having any great advantage or looks at goal. MUSC conceded another goal right before the half time whistle. Coach Simpson reminded the boys to work a little harder and work together by keeping things simple. The boys knew they could kick up a notch but also knew they only had 25 minutes to get it together or face an early elimination.

From the opening kickoff Malibu fought for every loose ball which wasn’t evident in the opening half. JJ “Baby” Saul gained confidence with every possession taking on the ACFC backline by himself. The new confidence and work rate paid off early with him banging in an early goal to level the score. With the team pressing forward Keffer scored shortly after by picking up a loose ball in the oppositions 18 yard box. Wanting in on the action midfielder Devon Myers galloped forward collected a pass from JJ and smashed one of his acute angle trademark goals, the goalkeeper was rooted to the ground as it flew by him. Not going down without a fight ACFC hit United on a counter attack and collected their third goal. Shortly after the kickoff, the always active Munny Manak picked up a loose ball in the center of the field and with a couple of quick changes of speed and direction broke free from the ACFC players, he then neatly slotted the ball under the goalkeeper. Malibu gained confidence with their last goal and maintained a good chunk of possession for the next 15 minutes. They knew they had their opponents against the ropes and finding his hattrick for the day, Munny chipped the Angel City keeper and put another on the board for Malibu. Feeling that they were closing in on the final, the team moved their positions around looking to just keep control of the ball. Simpson moved himself into the wide midfield position which proved positive because he made run and was able to get in behind the City defense. “Baby” saw the run early and chipped the ball for him to run onto. He confidently brought it down with his left foot, shouldered off his defender and chipped the goalkeeper with the outside of his right boot. United supporters knowing that the veteran defender hardly makes it into the attacking third were pleased with finesse of the goal.

It turned out to be the final goal of the match and United defeated Angel City 7-3 with young boy Munny Manak taking home the man of match honors. While another youngster Devon Myers collected the game winning goal accolade.

Arriving with good news from their SAMO game were managers James Whalen and Ryan Silverman. They were able to continue the win streak by posting two victories, the first one 3-1 with goals by Ignacio Rodriguez, Corey Stamp and Michael Galate. In the second game their score was 6-4, goals by Rodriguez, J.P. Herold, Sunny, Charlie, Galate and Stamp, placing them in first place of the Sun Diego League.

With the good news also came added pressure for MUSC to not only continue the win streak but also win the championship. The team went into the ten minute break prior to the championship game growing with confidence, not only did United control majority of the second half but the team was also displaying some quality soccer.

Facing the Old Boys for the championship game the team started Benyo in the goal, Damon and David in the back, Munny and Devon on the flanks, Michael Ridley distributing from the center and JJ up top. The confidence United obtained was evident by maintaining a good chunk of possession from the opening kickoff. They were even first to score when from his left back position Damon caught the Old Boys napping and chipped a ball across the field towards the corner flag, the ball landed at the feet of Myers. With no hesitation Myers smashed one by the Old Boys keeper. Keeping with the theme of the season United were able to score early and were pleased that they had regained their form. Malibu were able to string together a few minutes of solid ball control after their first goal and went looking for another when JJ chipped another ball into the same area for Myers. Devon took on the responsibility of taking another shot at an odd angle and was successful by going short side against the Old Boys keeper. The Old Boys started to find their form and started attacking the Malibu defense. Their persistence paid off with an odd man rush and were able to slot one in from close range. Not to soften up United looked for some insurance and collected their third of the game when after a crafty endline run, Munny squared the ball for neatly positioned David Riley. Riley collected the hard cross and side footed home his first goal of the afternoon. Just before the halftime whistle Old Boys made things interesting by scoring their second.

At the halftime break United were up 3-2 but knew they had their hands full with a very competitive opponent. Coach Simpson preached to the boys that they needed to keep shooting. Going into their final day the team brought in outstanding record of 29 goals for and 6 against in just 6 games. He also let the boys know that shot blocker Ian Benyo was going to do his job in the goal, Benyo collected 3 shutouts in their 6 games. There was also a reshuffling of the defensive line with Kyle Taylor stepping in for Damon, allowing the senior Manak to be more productive in the midfield.

Once again Munny helped bolster the United attack by scoring first after the second half kickoff. He was played through from Michael Ridley who helped maintain the midfield even though picking up a knock half way through the first game. Ridley’s pass found Munny open on the left flank and he was able to beat the Old Boys keeper with a daisy cutter. This goal woke up the Old Boys and they were able to take advantage of a Malibu turn over. They capitalized on 4-2 odd man rush giving Benyo no chance to make the save. Old Boys kept pressing and tested Benyo several more times before scoring off a ricochet from a free kick just outside of the 18 yard box. United looked stunned and could feel the momentum shift towards their opponents. Looking to stay even United decided to get some fresh legs out there and subbed in a few new players. This proved effective and Malibu pressed into the Old Boys third but dreadfully missed two absolute sitters. While pressing forward United gave up a counter attack and a go ahead goal with only 7 minutes left in the game. Just like in their first game earlier in the afternoon,  United had to fight back to gain level. Youth team member Taylor was pushed into the midfield and it proved effective when he jumped on a loose ball in the six yard box and smashed it into the roof of the net. The game was tied with only 5 minutes left leaving United wanting to see the game go to the shootout because they were a tired group and they had nothing but confidence in their goalkeeper.

Old Boys didn’t want to see the game decided on a shootout and kept pressing on. They had one of their shots cleared off the line when Dave Riley saved the beaten United keeper. Still on their heels Benyo was tested from range with a laser from the Old Boys striker, the lanky United keeper got fully out stretched to his left to make a highly dramatic save. With only 3 minutes left in the game Old Boys got their winner with a strike from inside the United box. The time ran out and United were handed their first loss in 13 matches.

The team is now on the holiday rest period and will be back in action after the new year. MUSC looks to continue their Santa Monica Adult Soccer League unbeaten streak and win the Sun Diego division.