Wildcats Pull Out a Hard-Won Victory Over Penguins
Sometimes soccer is less about skills and talent and more about a feeling. They talk about home-field advantage and while that might mean the home team knows where the woodchuck holes are and how to avoid them, it is often the excited vibe of the crowd that becomes infectious and propels our players to do great things. The feeling can also act as a pall over the players and, no matter how our team tries, every attempt at success seems to favor the opponent. This funky feeling is hard to break out away from…but it is possible.
Saturday afternoon proved to be our third game in a row where we had perfect playing weather. It was 61 and sunny. We were on the turf, our game was going to be livestreamed, and we were excited to play. Last year we traveled to Cushing for our march, and that, too, was SAT day. We had only two subs, were on their turf, and some of our best players were out with injuries. The match ended with a 0-3 loss. Therefore, this year we were ready to reverse the result.
Oddly enough, by losing the coin toss we got both the ball first and the side we wanted. It seemed like a good sign at the time, but if it were, it was cruelly disguised.
Cushing was fired up right from the start and the game quickly move up and down the field, but mostly stayed out of the boxes. Then out of the blue, we heard a whistle blow down on our end and the signal that Cushing was being awarded a Penalty Kick. Coach and I were gob-smacked. No one was on the ground from a push or an illegal tackle. We had both been watching but were baffled. It had to be a mistake. Nope. Later we learned that our defender was going for the ball, missed it, and kicked the striker in the ankle.
Cushing was quickly in the lead with one.
We tried to shake it off and refocus our efforts. Ryder Perry and Alvaro Olivo Campos worked together on a drive and Michael Jung sent a long pass up to Finn Bunk, but both shots were wide or deflected. On defense, Jacob Hebbel, Eric Chung, and Cho Man Bias worked hard to keep Leo Barta bored in the net. Devon LaBlanc proved that his speed was a huge boon to our squad over and over throughout the day. He shut down numerous dangerous potential one-on-one drives against our keeper.
Throughout the first half, despite our best efforts, we could not put one into the net. Ever since that PK, the feeling was pervasive. Every attempt to build momentum and excitement was destroyed by the constant, shrill whistles from the far end of the field. At halftime, Jacob complained that he was frustrated. “I feel like I’m playing a freeking field hockey game with all these stops.” I too agreed with him, but we needed to find a way to push through the funk.
At half coach and I reminded the boys that they needed to take the game seriously despite frustrations. They needed to regain focus and prove that they had the drive to win.
It didn’t take long to see that the boys had heeded our words. After getting warmed up, the fireworks around the goal started up.:
5 min in Matt Fussteig pass to Alvaro – high
5:30 min in Finn to Ian Surgenor – left foot – wide
6 min in Alvaro to Simon Nowlan outside the box – wide
7 min in Alvaro to Simon – high
11 min in Eric chip up to Finn – high
12 min in Alvaro to Finn – shot saved
14 min in Finn to Ryder – Fouled
15 min in Direct Kick up middle, we rush – save
16 min in Will Sewell to Ryder – diving save
17 min in Ryder shot – keeper deflect – Adi Lesbek shot – high
Then with twenty-two minutes gone in the second half, we drew a foul, and Simon stepped up to take the Direct Kick. He took his time getting ready and then blasted a rocket over Cushing’s defensive wall and into the goal next to the post. It was a tremendous shot and just what we needed to drive away The Feeling. He broke through the cursed dam.
One minute later Finn and Dan Pimentel worked a give-and-go up the middle until Finn was ready to send a finesse shot in by the post. We were now up by one, but the boys were just warming up. Two minutes went by and then Finn sent a pass up to Will who shot to the far post to advance us to three goals. Yet, that was not enough. A minute later we earned a Corner Kick, and Daniel sent a beautiful lofty chip to an awaiting Finn who deftly headed it in. We had scored four goals in fewer than five minutes. These boys were outstanding to watch.
Cushing continued to keep the pressure on, but with the stellar efforts of midfielders Angus Spence, Mikey Winham, and others, Cushing stayed mostly out of the box. Then with about four minutes left in the game. Ian got tripped in their box and earned a PK. This foul bookmarked the game and Ian deftly placed it into the back of the net.
In the last minutes, both teams had shots that required the keepers to get involved. But when the final whistle blew, KUA was in the lead 5-1. We were very excited.
At our final team circle, after handshakes, I gave the kids the news that I held quiet because I didn’t want to jinx the game. It is a little known fact that Mr. Custer and I have coached JV soccer together for fifteen seasons. We have done quite well, both in the number of winning seasons and in the quality of the boys whom we have had the privilege to coach. We’ve had fun.
Saturday’s game marked our 100th victory together.
Wednesday, we travel down to Saint Paul’s School for a 3:30 match.
