It was soggy, raining, and chilly Saturday afternoon as the
freshmen boys faced Cardigan Mountain at their place on their Parent Weekend. It
was a rugged match pitting two fine teams facing off in difficult conditions.
Players had to adjust the way they played, except for a few that started out
like John Wayne – True Grit.
Joey Perras started strong in goal, to be described more
later, and Carl Gemundan was maybe the player who, from the start, did not
let the weather faze him. When he
finally came off at the end of the first half, after being congratulated, he grinned
and proclaimed, “This is real soccer weather Coach!”
Hanover fell behind early, on a series of passes from close
range that Joey had to react to in the slop, whereupon a savvy opponent slid in
the only Cardigan score of the slightly shortened, game. But, before long, all
of our boys started to get their mojos on, as they rose to the realization that
this was a time for tough, gritty soccer. We started to control possessions,
and several good tries just missed. One by one, led by Carl and Joey’s
inspirational play, and Mr. Grit himself, Eli Stack, along with strong midfield
play of the usual suspects, Will Blinkhorn, Lathan Allison, Toño Correa, and Anthony
Maynes, we came more and more into solid team play. The back line held strong, with Carl, Ethan
Ross, Judd Alexander, and Tristan Meyer being especially effective. Pat
Osborne, found himself at forward as the minutes rolled on, and spread out the
defenders to create opportunities for himself and others.
Peter Burnam, who has shown that right when you aren’t
noticing him, he uses his lightning bolt left foot to find the net with
authority, did it again as the half began to wind down. Much like his last big
goal a couple of weeks ago, he came streaking into space down the left side,
took one touch after gathering a perfect Stack feed, and unleashed a strike from
30 yards, with seven minutes remaining, that tied the game at 1-1.
Nobody on the bench or coaching staff thought that would be
the last goal, but it was. The rain kept coming, and after a short halftime,
the second half half was on. Their occasional strong shots were denied by Joey,
who ended the game with five sweet saves, while we missed by an eyelash multiple
times, most notably when Quincy McBride clanked the crossbar with a ringing shot that had everyone groaning.
Judd Alexander anchored the middle of the defense in the
second, with Carl playing top notch defense all day. As the second half wore
on, the conditions deteriorated, and less chances occurred for both team, and
the slippery battle became more of a 60 yard game than running the full field.
Tristan played a powerful second half, and Latham just got stronger as the
clock ticked on. Amane Matsuoka came in with determined effort, and made some
fabulous runs up the middle, but was clogged up as he got close to any
possibilities for shots. Clay Kynor took a huge shot to the chest from an out
of control Cardigan Mountain forward, without drawing a foul, but drawing the
respect of all. Nolan Gantrish, who “loves soccer in the rain,” made the most
of his minutes. Anthony and Toño just
kept digging in. Pat played the second half possessed with mud power, and the
team pulled together collectively to all contribute to an exciting, well
played, tough game against a quality team.
It ended in a draw, but if there is such a thing as a
satisfying tie, this was it. It was a bonding way to finish a great regular
season. We’ll be seeing these boys for three more years of soccer in one form
or another, which will be a great ride.
Monday is a wrap, in a friendly in house rivalry against the
strong varsity girls. Both teams will enjoy that, but also both of them will want
to come out on top. Come and watch Monday at right after school. See you then.
Laundered uniforms are due back to Coach Grabill by
Wednesday. The question is, will all that mud wash out?
I’d like to thank Willy Johnson for holding this team
together so well. He knows how to coach, and how to treat the kids so they
learn and have a lot of fun playing this great game. They love him! It was a
joy to be his assistant in my first year in the program.
Finally, coming soon is the state tournament for the outstanding
varsity. Saturday on our turf, at 2:00, for the only game at home, with the
opponent TBA. For some of you, it will be the last chance to see those boys on
their hopeful march forward. Bring it on!
Go Mauraders!
Coach Matt Starr
No comments:
Post a Comment