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Bar News - September 20, 2002 Gender Advantaged Criminal Innocent in Queen City Beating Granite Gravel Soccer League Debuts Innocent Criminal Futbol Club won a fierce (2 -1) soccer game against the Queen City Rangers held last month, the first meeting of teams in the new "Granite Gavel" soccer league. The Nashua Bar Association sponsored the August 21st match-up as part of its summer bar outing. Held at Mines Falls field in Nashua, the game was a "friendly" contest, with both teams supplemented by players on loan from the league's third team (to date), the Concord Chaos! Despite the "friendly" designation, both teams played energetically with each exhibiting a distinct style. The Rangers relied on an aggressive front line using overlapping runs and long passes. Innocent Criminal favored a finesse game of carrying and short passes. Possession time was evenly divided between the teams. Innocent Criminal claimed the advantage of playing four women in the starting line-up, and has seven women on its roster of 30 players. "We can neither confirm nor deny that our players are on loan from the women's national team" dodged Innocent Criminal manager Jamie McNamee, a solo practice litigator in Nashua. Innocent Criminal's other advantage in the essentially even play was an unlucky own-goal. The Rangers' manager, Steve Patterson, a partner at Wiggin & Nourie in Manchester, was gracious about the outcome. "Innocent Criminal played well, but now we know their guilty secrets." Concerning the own-goal, Patterson would only say, "We are not ruling out sanctions," a possible reference to the presence of a superior court judge on the Rangers' roster. The Granite Gavel league developed out of a discussion between Patterson and McNamee, who both play on a team in the New England Over-the-Hill league. "Steve suggested we form a lawyer's soccer league, and things just took off from there," said McNamee. Innocent Criminal and the Queen City Rangers quickly grew to rosters of over 20 players. Shortly afterward, John Rachel, a partner with Sulloway & Hollis in Concord, formed Concord Chaos! A round-robin tournament featuring the three teams is being planned for the end of September, and the teams are considering indoor play this winter. The organizers have discussed the possibility of expanding the league. The energetic level of play is one factor that makes the prospect attractive. "Steve and I play on a seniors' level team," joked McNamee. "Considering what we saw on August 21st, some of us might prefer moving pretty quickly into highly paid executive positions." Patterson currently serves as Commissioner of the new league, but salary information was not available at press time. His only comment on the matter was "I just want to play." Considering the response so far, it is a fair bet that the league will develop with more teams and players. Anyone interested in playing in the new league should contact Jamie McNamee (883-8300), Steve Patterson (629-4526) or John Rachel (224-2341), for further details.
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