Due to my premature departure from the pitch on Saturday night, on account of handling the ball with my eye, Gooch stepped in as official sports reporter and composed this summary. Thanks Gooch.
The night began with much promise. As we arrived at the field, under the lights, on a cold October night, we assembled as 14 Orangemen and one Orangewoman. Among the sea of orange stood the strongest mid-field seen in years with Ted, Ben, and a returning John Hamner returning to the pitch with us while TDY to D.C. from Ft Riley, KS. Our attack seemed assured with Jose Smith back from a spate of injuries and travel. The defense looked strong as well with Doug and guest player Andy anchoring the perennial stalwarts Sam, Karl, and Nate. The reserves also portended a steady stream of fresh legs and skill mix. The brilliant formation Mooch envisaged seemed custom made for the impending contest. Nothing could stop the Orangemen tonight – victory will be ours was the premonition.
The Orangemen controlled the game from the beginning. Holding possession of the ball and moving with beautiful flourishes of precise passes. The opponents reverted to kick-and-run tactics which resulted in numerous goal kicks to the Orangemen. In one of these hopeful long-balls, Doug dropped back deep on our left side while his teammates urged him to “let it go”. Uncannily, the ball’s spin resulted in a high backward bounce and into the path of an on-rushing attacker. Doug was in position to defend any well-taken shot; however, the attacker sent a wobbly pass attempt across the face of our goal. Since Gene had come off his line to support Doug, there was no defender to clear the careening, wounded duck that bent in from an impossibly acute angle and into the net for the opponent’s first goal. A few minutes later another goal came to the opposition in less notable fashion. That’s when the trouble started.
Jim Muccio entered the game and immediately began to dominate the midfield. Within 5 minutes of his entry, a stocky opponent shouldered into Mooch at just past the half-way line. As Mooch kept possession and dribbled right, he leveraged his body position and shrugged the opponent off with a left-handed forearm shiver that would make mean Joe Green happy. The opponent careened backwards and somehow recovered precisely in the path of Mooch’s through-ball to an on-rushing Orangeman. This off-balance opponent slammed the ball hard and high, catching Mooch directly in the left eye at point-blank range. It was difficult to tell if the blast was deliberately malicious or clumsily unlucky; nonetheless, the ref had no offense to call as Mooch doubled over on the pitch, seeing stars, the label of the ball on his retina, and wondering what the hell just happened. Appling John Wayne’s style of injury care, Mooch made his way off the pitch, drove himself to store one-eyed, bought saline solution, then returned during the second half sporting a swollen, blood-shot, and bruised left eye. The whereabouts of his contact lens remains unknown. The vision was deteriorating in his eye and at that point Nanney convined him it was time to go to the ER. But Mooch was not the only casualty of the game.
During one of many, trademark, blazing runs that shreds opponents defenses like hot shrapnel, Jose S sprinted well-past the fastest of the opposition players. As he was nearing the goal line, he contorted his body to send a goal-ward pass to his teammates. His considerable momentum created a violent meeting with the synthetic surface and Jose was slow to get up. He left the game holding his side and did not return with possible bruised or cracked rib(s). With the score 2-nil, two Orangemen down, and time running out in the first half of play, perseverance and superior skill finally paid off for the Orangemen.
The ball sailed through the crisp night air toward goal from a throw-in, Ben jockeyed for position through an ocean of white jerseys. As the ball lost all velocity at the zenith of its parabolic trajectory, Ben soared above the fray and aggressively snapped his neck and torso forward with enough force to send the ball bouncing past the defenders and a very skilled goalkeeper. The ball rocked the net for the Orangeman’s hopeful climb back to parity. The half ended 2-1.
The second half was a new game. Unfortunately the Orangemen succumbed to fatigue, the two key injuries, and a dearth of fit substitutes while the opponents threw a mix of youthful runners and crafty veterans. The opponents scored three well-deserved goals, and another cheap fluke or two to finish with 6 or 7 (it’s easy to lose count). The resounding defeat was punctuated with a few sparks of brilliantly beautiful soccer. The most notable came right through the heart of the opponent’s defense. Ted and Ben where surgically dissecting the center midfield and Ted called so all could hear “Ben, give-and-go”. Even though English was the second language of the opposite team, I’m sure they knew exactly what was coming. Undeterred, Ted and Ben executed a maneuver typically seen when Real Madrid plays Barcelona resulting a legitimate goal-scoring opportunity thwarted only by an extraordinary goalkeeper.
Ted and Ben’s mastery of the game was matched by Doug’s strong-hearted defense as he repelled countless attacks from a determined and talented side. Karl also had a great game: it seemed he was always in the perfect position and his passes were crisp and deadly accurate which started many attacking opportunities. If you subtract the “luck-riddled” goals against, our defensive performance was good. The defense set the tempo for a possession-themed, short-pass, game of control. I attribute this to the new formation. It is perfect for the Orangemen game and I think will always give us a fighting chance. The defense is more organized and composed. Multiple, vertical lines allows short passes into a successive wave of Orangemen. The depth also allows overlapping runs so that fresher legs can charge forward while others cover-down on the defensive third.
The first missing ingredient was a consistent, legitimate attack -- a goal-scoring forward (after Jose left). The second missing ingredient was fit and fast mid-fielders to supplement Ted and Ben’s possession game. The third missing link was quality substitutes. Ted, Ben, Greg, John, and Doug played almost all 90+ minutes and it showed in the second half. We were a few players (and in-game injuries) away from making this a close game. Another positive note last night was referee interaction.
There were many calls that could have gone either way (hand-balls, off-side, ball over touchline, etc..). The ref was fair and consistent. More importantly, when calls did not go our way, we maintained composure and the kept the game from getting ugly despite a disappointing score line. As a reminder from those of us who have refereed soccer, it is nearly impossible for one man in the center of the field to see every off-side angle, ball completely over touch line, and the myriad subtleties of our beautiful game and her sometimes subjectively-interpreted laws. So let’s continue to ‘shut up and play’ since our own efforts will be the only decisive factor we can ever control.
We also showed a never-give-up attitude late in the game as well when a scrappy Orangemen midfield won possession and Greg and/or Ben fired a great shot toward goal. Bob battled for position and hammered the deflection in what appeared to be guaranteed second goal. Alas Bob was denied by the woodwork as his rocketing volley ricocheted off the cross bar.
In closing I hope all Orangemen readers keep their heads high, wish our teammates speedy recovery, and believe that we will continue to play good soccer. We will not will all games; however, quality soccer, determined effort, and a family-like camaraderie will continue to be hallmark Orangemen soccer traits and the reason we all come out to play week-after-week and year-after-year.
Enjoy v/r Gooch
