Season Opener Ends with Terrific Tie

Darrell Beaupre
   For a season opener, the weather was ideal for most players: the skies were overcast with a spritzy, soft rain and the temperature hovered around seventy. As Coach Custer, Coach Hastings and I climbed off the busses and began the warm up, we weren’t quite sure what to expect. This was the first time the team had been together as a team! During our pre-game talk, Coach Custer remaindered the players that the positions they played today might not be where they would be all season, but they should play hard and have a good time. They listened.
 
As play began, we saw several of our veteran players on the field picking up where they had left off last year at Vermont Academy. They began very well with short crisp passes that kept play in the Hanover end. Then Cody Nguyen sent a chip over the defensive line to a speeding Jonathan Li who brought it in close, took a shot, but was prevented from earning a goal by Hanover’s quick keeper; yet, the strategy was set and we would see it employed several more times in the match. Hanover crossed the midline a couple of times and faced off against Kyle Young ( Beast) our stalwart sweeper, and while he handily thwarted their efforts to get past him, he surprised the coaches by calmly sending short finesse passes to his teammates. He was, perhaps, saving his secret weapon. It wasn’t until ten minutes in that he sent a rocket three-quarters of the field, up and over a stunned but racing Oliver Cozzi, who tried desperately to catch up with it. Once we had possession of the ball again, Cody set up Tryder Kulbacki and Oliver with lead passes, but both attempts met with an agile Hanover keeper. Will Haynes, who took a sabbatical from soccer last year to test his skills filming games, proved that he still had the skills and talents in the midfield. He and Ethan Rozycki played with grit and determination.
 
 Finally, with twenty-one minutes left in the half, Max was able to get some action and touch the ball, and ten minutes later he made two more diving saves. Meanwhile we got to see the speed and talent of two new players: Trong Phan and Liam McKewan. While neither of these boys were able to get a ball passed the Hanover keeper, they proved that they will be assets to our time this season. Liam received a slick pass from Keenan Thygesen up the left side that was stopped and Trong drove in will a chip from Nuri Lesbeck, but his shot went just wide. The closest we came to putting the ball in was on another chip up from Cody to Jonathan. Jonathan settled the ball and then blasted it over the keeper’s head and against the top rail.
 
It’s a long time traditionon our team to have a set of brothers play for us. A few memorable ones were the Ciocci brothers, the Wang brothers, and the Cogan Brothers. This year we are lucky to have the Tran Brothers. Sophomore Kevin and freshman Kien jumped seamlessly into the fray and proved a force on defense. Cameron Barton, also a neophyte to our team, passed well and moved confidently through the middle, shutting down a drive in the last minutes of the first half.
 
 As the seconds ticked down, Hanover drove in twice more. The first time they kicked the ball wide, the second time, Max dove in headfirst and deflected the ball out of danger. At the whistle the score remained 0-0.
 
 The second half proved to be a little wetter and it limited the time Yohan Do could play for us (we need to get to Stateline Sports for cleats), but he put all his heart into the few minutes he did play. Josh Wang had replaced Max in goal and he immediately proved his mettle by catching a long lob and then diving one-handed to deflect a striker’s shot. The play moved constantly from field to field, proving that this was a very well-matched game.
 
 Finton Trimble got a chance to contribute aggressive hustle and skillful passing alongside David Chuong who (although nervous before the game) bravely jumped into several attacks and redirected the ball back to our forwards. In addition Jack Lavallee, who in his KUA colors for the first time, displayed his skills and prowess and thus proved that we have a bright future ahead of us this season.
 
 Throughout this game the solid backbone of the team was our defensive line. Our veterans Kyle, Ben Weise, and Nick Wilder were our anchor. Their experience thwarted many drives and they were able to send the play back into Hanover’s end. With ten minutes left in the game, Hanover came in close in a one-on-one situation with Ben, but he skillfully deflected the ball outside to quell their hopes. With eight minutes left, Nick chipped the ball up to an awaiting Tryder. The ball took a high bounce, went over the keeper’s head, and with only inches left, the goalie was able to grab it away from Tryder.
 
   The intensity continued into the last seconds with a pass from Ben up to Nuri who shot wide, and then a blast from Trong at the corner of the box that the Hanover keeper was just able to get a fist on to deflect it out.
 
   When the final whistle was blown there was applause from both benches. The game had been well-played and both teams were proud of their effort. Both teams and had had a good time.
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