Another typical rainy day with a temperature in the sixties. However, if you were home watching the Power Ball drawing you were in for a bit of history...the jackpot was up to $600M dollars...the largest ever. At least two teams were not home glued to the TV...we were out standing in the mist preparing to play. If you worn a t-shirt and were just standing around it was chilly. If you put on a long sleeve fleece shirt you were sweating in minutes. With an early game time, 8 pm, the Orangemen assembled at Herndon High School to take on the Herndon Attack. One of my players immediately pointed out that red and orange jerseys make for a confusing game. In particular when our orange jerseys get wet they get darker it makes distinguishing the difference in color even tougher for us older Orangemen. Steve from Herndon was immediately instructing his team to switch to white which we all appreciated.
The ref arrived and we flipped the coin at mid-field. Having lost the coin toss Herndon elected to concede the kick to the Orangemen and choose the western goal to defend. The ref indicated that both Herndon Attack and the Orangemen we well mannered team’s and he didn’t expect any trouble. We did forget, however to discuss whether slides were in or out...so by default sliding was in...although the entire game I don’t think we had a single hard tackle.
From the very start it appeared that we were going to have a pretty even sided game. Both sides were able to push forward into an attack and move the ball around through midfield. It was a very busy game for everyone. With Chris H and Kendall playing up top we had speed and power pushing forward. Our first break came however when Kendall was at midfield. The Herndon defense pushed forward of midfield leaving Kendall alone in the center circle. When the ball broke and the counter attack was on, the ball was launched forward by Tedd for Kendall to run onto...he had the entire half of the field. Herndon had a quick appeal to the ref for off-sides but quickly realized they were well over the center line and although Kendall was behind them, he wasn’t past it. The race was on...Kendall speed was also probably under appreciated by the defense. He collected the ball and ran unmolested into the box. The keeper made a vain attempt come out on him but Kendall was able to finish with style. Orangemen scored first.
Herndon came back repeatedly...and Jan was able to run down most of their attacks. Uncharacteristically Jan made a mistake passing the ball out to the right. The pass was a bit weak and off target and Herndon pounced. The goal came quick and we were even. It was the only goal we would allow for the remaining 70 minutes of the game.
We made a change to our attack which allowed Emile to take the field and play in his final match for the East Coast Orangemen. When Emile moves to California next week he says he is making plans to build a West Coast Orangemen team...which would be fantastic. Playing up top he used his characteristic speed to run onto a few balls and make a few deft touches on the ball to make room for a strike. Alas, he was never able to finish. His best move however came in the second half as he was in the box and the ball was played in from the left. With his back to goal he reached up for the ball with his right foot, his early karate training was of value because his leg was elevated above his head. The best way to describe what he did was a standing bicycle kick. With only his foot above his head he connects with the ball, swiveled his hips and tuned the shot on goal. Unfortunately the goalkeeper had it covered, he didn’t know much about it, but it hit him square in the chest and bounced to the ground. Had Dave N not be so mesmerized by the shot he might have thought enough to step forward to sweep up the ball the keeper just spilled to the ground, however the keeper was quicker and pounced on the loose ball ending the opportunity.
We had plenty of opportunities to score so we were well in the game. Meanwhile are our end of the field, Gene was having the game of his life. When Herndon came forward they came forward with power. There frontline has little weakness. And all of the Herndon strikers seem to have powerful shots. I didn’t count the total number but for a time in the second half they were raining down. Our defense was scrambling to get something on the ball which helped to deflect the shots high and over the end-line This did however mean Herndon had an inordinate number of corner kicks...at least 10 by my estimation. Their corner kicks were intense but time and time again, Gene stepped off his line to punch the approaching ball out of the goal box. He also had a number of tremendous saves seeming to have found the right angle on almost every shot that came in. Also, when Gene collected the ball, his distribution have vastly improved. While punting out of the box he found Orange more times than not. A tremendous improvement in ability. My sense is Gene has been out practicing his punts during the week.
Our defense should be commended for the match...Alfredo had a super energetic game on the left, moving forward into midfield just the right amount to join the attack. Scott F also played some defense and always seem to pop up in the right place to but a foot on the ball and take it out of harms way. Jan and Mikey’s speed in the back cleaned up most of the rest of the trouble.
In midfield Mauricio and Will H also put in a tremendous performance winning enough control to start the counter attacks. Will H also demonstrated a special skill when forward by performing a behind the back kick, crossing his right leg behind his left leg to kick the ball forward, placing the ball into the center of the opposition box. Nothing resulted by it was fun to watch.
Ben, Tedd, and Chris H did most of the work in midfield...and are our unsung hero’s for this match.
Mooch actually stayed on the bench most of the game...he was playing a pint low having donated blood on Thursday evening. He could definitely feel like he was playing short. He wonders how it’s possible for world class athletes, such as those who ride in the Tour de France, to practice and train while preparing for their illegal blood transfusions. What’s required here is a commitment that goes well beyond anything we would consider ordinary. Six weeks before the tour the athlete goes into a seedy hotel room and has one pint of blood drawn. So now, six weeks before the event he must continue training a pint low. After two weeks his body has replaced the blood. Then the athlete returns to the seedy hotel room and offers up two pints of blood. The pint that is now two weeks old is returned to his body. So now he must continue training, a pint low, and with a pint of two week old blood in his veins...probably 80% or more will be dead blood cells that must be purged by his kidneys. Yet he continues to train...at high level. Now, another two weeks later, which is two weeks from the start of the event, he returns to the hotel and offers up three pints of blood. And once again, the older blood is put back, this time two pints. Now he is training a pint low, with two pints of old blood in his system. But, he has three pints of fresh blood ready to be used when the race begins in two. That’s crazy stuff...and I know being a pint low is definitely felt
Orangemen Man-O-Da-Match honors go this week, hands down, to Gene for his spectacular work in the goal...keeping us in the match. Final score, Orangemen 1, Herndon Attack 1. It was a great game...sadly this morning we discovered no one from the Orangemen or the Attack won the PowerBall...a single winning will be crowned in Florida sometime this week.
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