Coach Asked for Eighty Minutes of Hard Work

Last year we struggled to get wins.  Often our losses came down to an inability to shoot on net.  So, when we faced off against Exeter – a crew who beat a team we lost to by six – we weren’t sure the results would be positive.  However, with a little bit of luck (maybe Jacob Hebbel’s “new” cleats) and grit, we played probably our best game of the season and kept Exeter scoreless for sixty minutes of play.  In the end, we lost 0-1 on a direct kick.  We saw this year’s team and knew that they too would be skilled.

 

At the beginning of the game, Coach told our boys that all he wanted from them was to work hard for eighty minutes.  If they did that, we and they should be proud of whatever the final game outcome would be.  The boys said they’d do their best and it didn’t take long for us to see the positive results of their efforts.

 

While only two minutes into the match, Will Sewell crashed the goal and forced the keeper to deflect the ball to an awaiting Ryder Perry.  Ryder quickly tried to get control of the unruly ball, but the keeper was able to deflect it again.  This time, though, he was able to direct it to his defenseman, and he kicked it out of the area.  In just minutes, we displayed an aggressive desire to prove our talents on the field.  A minute later, Alvaro Olivo drew a foul outside of Exeter’s box.  He set the ball up and blasted a cannon into the top corner.  We took advantage and scored.

 

This early goal fired up our confidence.  In the next minutes, Bleyton Hopps-Thompson had a nice diving save, Jacob and Aiden Bean kept forcing the offensive strikers out to the sides, and Simon Nowlan sent in a nice chip that Will Sewell headed beautifully up by the net to the keeper.

 

At the twenty-seventh minute, Exeter got in close and chipped a ball over Bleyton.  Two of Exeter’s strikers were behind our defense and they put the ball into the net.  However, our boys didn’t let this affect our play.  Three minutes later, Alvero received a pass from Matt Fussteig and was able to get in close to the keeper and tap a finesse shot past him.  We kept our lead for ten minutes and then PEA got a fast break.  When they were in close, they blasted a shot to the far post.

 

The rest of the half was back and forth, but our defensive linesmen: Michael Yung, Eric Chung, and Cho Man Bian, kept Exeter from getting in too close.  By the time the whistle blew, we were still tied 2-2.  We were playing well.

 

The second half began with another great drive.  Alvaro sent a pass up to Finn Bunk, but Finn’s shot was saved.  This play was followed up with a scary moment when PEA sent in a dump-and-run over our defense and got in close to Bleyton.  Bleyton attacked the striker and forced him to shoot quickly but inaccurately.  Then, unfortunately, the swift-footed Aiden had to leave us and forced each of the other defenders to step up their efforts – they did.

 

Mikey Winham had a strong day and his massive throw-ins helped us out immensely.  In one toss, Will Sewel was there for another header, but again the keeper was able to grab it.  Adi Lesbek, Angus Spense, and Tom Huang joined our midfield and Dan Pimentel replaced Ian when he hurt his back.  All four had strong plays and helped us to dominate the second half.  Not only were we dominating, but we were frustrating Exeter.  We were unrelenting.

 

Then with eleven minutes left in the half, we drew a foul about twenty feet from the midfield line.  The Exeter defender blasted a high shot into the wind that came down into the top left corner of the goal.  It was a once in a lifetime shot, but it put PEA ahead.  While this was a disappointment to us, our boys did not give up and continued to play skillfully and aggressively.

 

At the end of the game, as we gathered together before shaking hands, Coach asked the boys, “Did you think you played hard for eighty minutes?”  There was a unanimous “Yes!”  Coach responded, “I agree.”  We clapped for Bleyton’s great efforts and shook the hands of the Exeter players.

 

We had worked hard and can feel good about how we played.

 

Next Wednesday we travel to New Hampton School for our final game of the season.