I want to start this out with a hats off to Galway United, who appear to be pulling a Houdini act worthy of Mad River. I have to admit, I left them for dead in the middle of the season. And although I reckon the deal isn't sealed yet, it looks a lot brighter than it did in June. Or July. Or August.

Still all to play for in the ML. Top five teams stay the same, albeit in a different order. The top teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack. RKS Maine, despite going 1-1-1, remain rooted at the bottom. Numbers are starting to work against them, but I said the same about Mad River last season. In between, it's all very close. Have a good week and you rise toward the top. A bad week puts you in the R zone. Here's how it looks.

Top Five

AC Boston (3) 6-4-2
AOG (1) 6-3-3
Black Chariot (5) 6-2-4
Gilman (2) 5-4-3
Madison Mavericks (4) 5-3-4

Boston hits the top spot with 2 wins and a draw. AOG is lucky to only drop one slot with 2 draws and a loss. BC moves up with 2 wins. Gilman and Madison both had tough weeks.

Boston Cream Pie

AC Boston moved into first with some impressive performances against bottom table clubs. After a hard fought 1-1 draw with perennial powerhouse Cape May, the Hillsiders piled up points against the bottom 2 clubs. Jay Stockton scored 2 goals and MoM honors against FC Arctica. But they strolled into first after winning 5-3 in the "Chowder Bowl" against RKS Maine. Although Maine are holding up the table, they've been in some of the more entertaining matches of the year. This was one also. So this is my highlight match of the week

Another Odd Game

AOG had a weird week with 2 draws sandwiching a loss. They looked like they were going to blow out Thedza with a 2-0 halftime lead. But they gave up goals in the 70th and 90th minutes to Ou Kafeiand had to settle for a draw. They followed that up with a 3-1 stinker at Oopsupsideyourhead. Bobby Oxenham set up 3 goals to give OUYH a shocking win. To add injury to insult, Forwards Kaspar Wortley and Deependu Thundyil both went down with injuries. Wortley's is an 8 game injury. They followed that up with a lackluster 0-0 draw with Mad River. Although MR's GK Javier Suárez earned MoM honors, his counterpart Darrel Mapp could have taken the day off as MR mustered 0 shots on goal. There is no truth to the rumor that Guppy Gilmore had his strikers practicing against the broad side of a barn this week.

Black Chariot bets on deuce

BC scored 2 goals in all three of their matches which was good enough for 2 wins. After a close first half, Andrejs Sļesarčuks was brought down in the area and earned a penalty. But Rich Stanley was at his best and turned the spot kick aside. Hercules Hyde did manage to put the visitors ahead 2 minutes later. But goals by Mehlman on 63 and Giggs on 89 won it for BC. Against Bobcats, they took a 1-0 lead on a fine strike from Alfonso Pastor. But after Edgar Vial was sent off for his second booking, it was only the heroics of MoM Rich Stanley that kept them ahead. Giggs scored another late goal to seal the win.

But their 3rd game of the week came against a surly Cheeseheads squad that can't be happy with their 9th place position. Pastor managed to put BC ahead by cynically drawing a penalty in the 6th minute and converting it. "The Magician" produced a goal for Rory Sack to tie it. But Pastor scored again 11 minutes later. By that time, it was obvious that "Stonewall" and "The Savage" had decided to try to turn this into a physical match. Cheeseheads earned 5 yellow cards on the day, although the most controversial was one that wasn't given. In the 47th minute, "The Savage" could have been sent off for a rough foul against Al-Temyat. But the ref was in a lenient mood and let him off. After that, "The Magician" managed to pull a rabbit out of their hat by scoring in the 68th and 75th minute and giving Cheeseheads a 3-2 win. Another entertaining match of the week

Injured Gilman, lackluster Mavs.

Gilman started the week with a 3-0 away win at Bobcats. But they followed it with a 0-0 draw with Badgers where they suffered 3 injuries and a 2-1 loss at Texas where 2 more went down. They now have 6 players on the injured list and 1 out with a match ban. The next few games will be tough for Gilman. But at least they have an excuse. Madison opened the week with a 3-1 win at OUYH, but followed it with a 3-2 loss at home to SBS. Then they went to the frozen tundra of Borealis Park and played Arctica to a drab 0-0 draw. The Mavs could have made a big move this week, but dropped a spot instead.

Movers of the week

Texas moved from 13th to 6th on the strength of 2 wins and a draw. They followed a 2-2 draw with SBS with wins against Carolina and Gilman. Texas can score with the best in the ML. Just not sure if they can keep the other teams from scoring. OUYH made a similar move up to 8th from 15th. They did it with 2 wins and a loss. After losing to Madison, they had the win against AOG and finished with a win against SBS. They are a tough team to figure, but it seems like their 5-2-5 record reflects the team. They are either good or bad with little in between.

Individual honors

It's late and I'm tired so I don't feel like adding it up. I know Stockton leads the league with 9 goals and the Magician is right behind with 8. I know Giggs and Pastor had good weeks for BC. Stockton had 2 and Ingisell had a hat trick for Boston. Peng scored 3 for Texas. The Magician scored 3 for Cheeseheads. Martinez scored 3 for SBS. Might have to give the nod to Martinez who earned 2 MoM honors in the week. Defensive player would be Stanley who saved BC's bacon in the Bobcats game and saved a penalty in the Nashville game.

Upcoming games

Round 13
Gilman FC vs Airing of Grievances
Top five teams, but some of the luster taken off due to Gilman's injuries.

Black Chariot vs Texas 1836 SC
Surging Texas take on the champs

Round 14
AC Boston vs Madison Mavericks
Current #1 vs current #5

Round 15
Madison Mavericks vs Black Chariot
We'll find out what the Mavs are made of this week

Cheeseheads FC vs Airing of Grievances
With games against Maine and SBS earlier in the week, Cheeseheads may be making their move

That's it for now. Enjoy!