JV2 Boys finally eek out win on Holderness Day
The sun was shining through a cloudy sky and the temperature hovered just over sixty degrees; it looked like all natural forces were joining to create the atmosphere in which a stellar soccer match could be played. As we donned our cleats and made last minute adjustments to our shin guards, we reminisced about past games. Several boys recalled our matches last year, or even the year before when we left the field with advanced scores to claim victory. Coach Custer remembered several games when we had scored quickly in the opening minutes of the game and then seemed to decline in skill. He shared a theory of his: “Scoring early is a bad thing.”
He explained that he was not suggesting that we should go out on the field and dub around for fifteen minutes or more. He warned our boys not to get cocky and assume that the game was won before it started. For although we had defeated Holderness every year since the fall of 2012 and outscored them 30-6, banking on past achievements would only lead to disaster. Unfortunately, this sage advice fell upon deaf ears.
KUA came out hard. Within the first two minutes, we were down deep in Holderness’s defensive side and the keeper saved our first shot. The Bulls responded by driving up close to our net. Max van Dijk was able to knock the first shot away, then the second attempt, but the third touch was able to get by him. I wish that I could write that the team regrouped and became more focused on the field. Sadly this didn’t happen. The long passes that marked the strength in our game against Proctor had turned into individuals trying to drive through masses of defensemen all by themselves. And we did this over and over again.
Albert Einstein is often credited with coining the witty saying, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Whether he said this or not doesn’t matter, for it is definitely something that Coach proclaims whenever it’s clear that the unsuccessful tactics we’re using need to change. Our single-minded, individual attempts were not getting us any closer to scoring. We were wallowing in a quagmire of madness.
Finally, Chris Chen brought the ball up the wing and crossed it into the center to Andrew Hadlock who was able to send a grass burner into the back corner. Teamwork! And then, although this worked, we went back to the earlier tactics.
Thankfully there were some good defensive plays. Tyler Wenning, despite an injured hand, moved deftly throughout the backfield and he and Thatcher Ouhrabka synchronized their plays. Nick Wilder had another strong day and successfully kept the Bulls out of our end. Jonathan Li was like a slingshot: jogging until his speed was needed and then he flew. Tryder Kulbacki’s combination of patience and aggression allowed him to inflict pressure and force plays.
So at the half, we were still tied 1-1.
Throughout the last half improved play was seen. An early drive saw Tyler laying down his body to save a close shot in front of the goal. Gunner Woods and Andrew took advantage of the wings and got off more shots. Cody Nguyen entered the field full tilt and full of hustle. Kyle Young, whose first half was tepid, returned much more focused and displayed his defensive and kicking strengths. Ben Weise, too, hustled and talked and kept many drives from getting in too close. Nuri Lesbek, whose inspirational halftime speech seemed to have awakened his teammates, strategically passed long lofts across the field to our open wingers. Watching Andres Urruela play was painful – not because he was playing poorly, but because he was suffering from horrible shin splints. When on the bench he massaged his legs with ice; when on the field he was playing his hardest. Although his pain was obvious, he did not give up until he was asked to come back to the bench to rest.
Veeti Kohvakka handled the ball well and used his wingmen more, but we couldn’t get him close enough in for a shot. Finally, with seven minutes left in the half, Andrew was able to take advantage of a direct kick ten yards from the half. He sent a loft into the middle where Andres headed the ball to Gunner who was able to head it in for our second goal.
Holderness, who had seen their earlier lead disappear, still had a few more hard drives left. In the goal, Max had to dive and save three more shots; the last one was just seconds before the final whistle blew, thus repeating his efforts in the game against Proctor.
Afterwards, as we rode the bus back to campus, I asked Coach if he thought his theory was proven today. “I don’t know,” he said. “If so, I certainly didn’t want to prove it in the way we did this afternoon.”
