A hard fought game with a dramatic ending

KUA traveled to Holderness on a blustery Friday afternoon for a Lakes Region match. In what seemed an ominous sign, the Bulls got behind the KUA defense just two minutes into the game but blasted the ball wide of the net. KUA responded, moving the ball quickly to the other end of the field. The Wildcats earned two consecutive corner kicks, but both were snagged by a strong (and very tall) Holderness keeper. It was a fast-paced game after that, with Brian Lee, Nick Wilder and Will Haynes serving as an impenetrable wall in front of the KUA net. Cody Nguyen added great defensive pressure from the stopper position; Kohki had several perfect passes up the line – one to Cam Plume who shot the ball just wide; Alisdair McPhail moved up from defense to provide an aggressive presence in the midfield; John Erwin was a constant powerful presence on the right side; and both Jon Li and Tom Huang created strong opportunities. The Bulls created good chances as well, but Max van Dijk made several big saves, and the half ended with the teams tied at 0. Early in the second half, a Holderness halfback took a long blooping shot from about 40 yards out that wended its way through about ten players and slid just inside the far goal post for the first score of the game. KUA had some strong chances after that – Cam headed the ball just wide off a direct kick, and Trong launched a perfect corner kick into the box only to see the keeper grab it. John Erwin put another direct kick just wide; Brian and Nick each made spectacular defensive plays; Cam at one point went airborne as he was knocked literally off the field; and Bridger Close finally put the ball behind the Holderness keeper only to see a defender clear it away from the line at the last possible moment. Then, in the final minute, John Erwin was hit hard inside the 18-yard box and was awarded a penalty kick. He placed the ball perfectly in the lower-left corner, just inches away from the diving keeper’s hands, and the game ended in a 1-1 draw. This was a hard-fought game on both sides in what is the teams’ only meeting of the season.