Appearances Can Be Deceptive
The phrase “appearances can be deceptive” has never been truer. With a final score of 3-6 after a bout with Holderness, it would be easy to believe that the Bulls had a much stronger time. If one were to believe this, then they would be sorely incorrect.
On Saturday, the JV Boys traveled to Holderness for our penultimate match of the season. The weather couldn’t have been better. Before the game, I looked back through my notes and found that last year when we played on his date the temperature was 44; this time the temp was 73! The boys were excited. I was happy to meet up with a former colleague of mine (and KUA alum) who has coached against us for many years. In the past, our games have always been competitive and fun. He apologized for the conditions of the field. He explained that last spring the irrigation system failed and, by the time it was realized, the field had burned dry. What had grown back was irregular and blotchy and had forced his squad to practice on the turf. Coach and I figured it was fine since it would affect both teams equally.
This miscalculation cost us a bit. Holderness took quick advantage of their home field by blasting the ball deep into our end and then earning a throw-in. Then what happened next was something that I don’t understand nor can I describe. Suddenly Kurt Olson, filling in for an injured Cam De Tolla, was on the ground with the ball in his hands and the referee was signaling a goal. Holderness had put their first point on the board in under a minute. This was an ominous beginning, but the fact that the goal was not memorable did not worry us too much.
We got hold of the ball and slowly learned what Holderness knew already: the field was so rough that short quick passes were hard to complete with success. Often the long blast of a Dump and Run was what was required, and so we needed to shift our tactics. Finally, after fifteen minutes, we got in close. Henry Trimpi sent a cross in to Will Sewell. Will deked one defender and faced off with The Bulls goalkeeper. Will sent a finesse shot to the far post and KUA had tied the game.
Seven minutes later were earned a Direct Kick from about ten yards in from the midfield. Evan Crandlemire launched a ball in toward the penalty mark and the ball was met by a running Jonathan Bruner. Jonathan deftly used his head to redirect the ball into the top corner. The shot was absolutely amazing!! It was probably the finest combination we have seen all year and it put us ahead.
Charlie Johnson, Michael Gratz, Amir Lesbek, and Andi Muhlauri were stellar in the midfield and worked their hardest to feed long shots up to our front line. In addition, our defensive line held strong. Jacob Hebble was a heat-seeking missile on the field. He would lock eyes on the ball and rush in full tilt to shut down attack after attack. Ollie Cozzi, Michael Jung, Aiden Kelly, and Will Stedina also fought hard and thwarted many drives. But with only six minutes left in the half, Kurt deflected one shot that got caught in a melee in front of the net. Holderness took advantage of the confusion and tapped the ball in to tie it all up.
Coach and I were happy with how the boys were playing overall but concerned about the escalating physical game and the fact that one official found it appropriate to let it continue. In our experience, if a ref does not make the calls early on and consistently, the boys realize this and the game gets rougher. This is exactly what happened in the second half. By the end of the game, four yellow cards were issued. This all could have been avoided.
The beginning of the second half was déjà vu all over again, as they say. After only four minutes, we had another melee in the box and a shot from the six was tapped in for another goal. Fortunately, our boys fought back and a beautiful blast from Henry outside the eighteen sent the ball to the far post and tied things up again. Kurt was busy in the goal but not as busy as he had been in the first half. Everyone played hard but the play was disjointed with all the cards being displayed. Then with about four minutes left, Holderness earned a corner kick. The ball sailed in and the tallest defender on the Bulls team drove a very nice header into the bottom of the post. We never had a chance to stop him. This was followed up by two more shots that, although not beautiful, still crossed the line and counted as goals.
With fewer than ten seconds, we earned a Direct Kick outside the eighteen. Henry lofted a beautiful shot that, unfortunately, deflected off the crossbar and the game was over.
At the end, we complimented the efforts and determination of everyone. Before sending up a congratulatory cheer for Holderness, Coach Custer told the boys: Although they won the game, we win the better-looking goal contest.” He was correct.
This Saturday marks the last game of our season. We will face off against Brewster at home. We hope you’ll join us on Live Streamed. The match begins at 2:00.
