The second week of Thursday Indoor Soccer was upon us, and now that our teams knew what to expect, they brought their games even harder this week!

Fantasy Futbol (daisy) started it off with all hands in and a "Go team!" chant!

Members from Fantasy Futbol (daisy) and Real Deals (kelly) rush towards the ball as the game starts!

Fantasy Futbol (daisy) throws the ball back in after being out, and they're on their way to scoring a goal!

Looks like control of the ball has been taken by The Real Deals (kelly) as they try to get the ball down the field.

A sprint to the ball ensues as The Real Deals (kelly) try and score! Eventually they do, as does Fantasy Futbol (daisy) ending up in a 1-1 tie for this week.

The second game of the night gives us GoalMinersRedux (orange) vs. O'Douls (royal)!

A member of GoalMinersRedux (orange) shows us some fancy footwork and ball balancing!

Meanwhile, another member of GoalMinersRedux (orange) looks like she's showing us a sweet fake-out move!

O'Douls (royal) players converge on the ball,"Enough of the fancy moves, we want to score!"

Throwing in the ball from the sideline...

He kicks... and O'Douls (royal) scores with their victory of 1-0 against GoalMinersRedux (orange)!

As some of you may know, the NYC Social Tuesday Indoor Soccer season has started. I for one was in the dark, but was recently given the opportunity to photograph the opening game between the PommeFritesPtDeux (Red) and the Ball-Zacs (Royal).

The PommeFritesPtDeux (Red) casually strategize on the sidelines.

1/3 of the Ball-Zacs readying up just before the the start of the match.

I walked around trying to figure out the best way to go about shooting, and having done some 'action sports' photography in the past I asked myself, "Is this going to be difficult?".

"Most definitely."

While struggling to keep up, I remembered a couple of players saying they were out of shape but as they hustled up and down the court I quickly realized that was not the case.

Both teams were on the attack!

Keeping it clean!

As the game progressed so did the energy of each team.

...which must have somehow transcended into me because I soon found myself sweating on the sidelines.

Hustle!

Each team took their fair share of shots but it was the Ball-Zacs who came out on top [9-5] in the end.

Great sportsmanship!

Stretch Armstrong couldn't have done better than this!

This is the kind of move a goalie trains for during his social career.  The ball comes flying at you and you pounce, ready to leap into the air and snatch it up before it gets past you.  This guy from Dolphman F.C. (Black) clearly has it down to a science.  Despite the best efforts of Back That Pass Up (Daisy), this guy has the span of his open goal covered, regardless of how far the corner may be from the ground.

And it's not the first time.

I guess he'll never have to ask for assistance to get something off the top shelf at the store.  There are benefits to Soccer off the field!

It's comin' right for us!

Lookin' down the barrel of, well, a foot (which generally has no barrel, but we'll pretend for this purpose) can be a scary thing.  But it doesn't seem to faze the folks from Church Of Fudge (Red).  These people are standing at the ready to defend their goal against all odds. 

And in come the players of FC UK (Kelly) launching the shot and ready to nudge it in as needed.  Shots like this really capture the Soccer spirit - you wish desperately you could just slap it down with your hands.  Sometimes it's good to be the goalie!

These red shirts from Church Of Fudge (Red) had an ancient defense - they formed out the phalanx (nicely, too).  One by one, they lined up in front of the goal in order to stomp out the oncoming penalty shot.

The old Greeks would be proud - shoulder to shoulder these guys and gals were ready to block anything that came their way.  But penalty shots can be beneficial.  Unfortunately for them, this time it proved positive for Dolphman F.C. (Black).  Their foot-man had skill and luck on his side and used the opportunity to score the first goal of the game.

Looks like we should start selling tickets to our games!  Check out the cheering section for Tuesday's Indoor Soccer Championship match: