That Bitter Tang In The Back Of Your Throat, Which Accompanies Your Silent Weeping

Yes it is indeed true, however unfortunate. Valiantly we fought, but those black-hearted Unicorns managed to snatch away the inagural Rivals Cup trophy with four unanswered second half goals.

I was incredibly proud of our boys' performance. They showed terrific resolve right out of the gate, and we were rewarded for the efforts with the very first Rivals Cup goal, scored by Josh Berezin. Remember that name, because the 'Zin has lightning quickness and reads the game well. With his steadily improving technical skills, UrHo AC expects Josh to be a major contributor in the club's future.

As the first half drew on, Albina found net multiple times and clearly unsettled us, but we dug in and fought our way back to tie it up at the half. Players and coaches can all attest to the psychological importance of pulling back an equalizer before halftime, and the optimism in the Honking locker room was palpable. Unfortunately, we fell out of our rhythm at the beginning of the second half, and once we found it again we lacked the finishing touch. Still, though, our lads put together attack after attack and showed tremendous resolve to the end. Congrats to Albina Going for a well-fought match, but don't get too used to that trophy, because in two short weeks Unicorn vs. Pegasus kicks off the season-long race for the next Rivals Cup holder.

UrbanHonking was also pushed on by the "sixth man", our throng of deafening supporters, who cheered our double-stepovers and erupted in raucous noise at another diving save from keeper Gene Merrill (who had some beautiful clutch saves on the night). To our fine army of fans, we thank you and promise you honor and hardware very soon.

Special thanks also are due to the wonderful Paul Lomanto, owner/operator of Portland Futsal, for overseeing the festivities, and then getting his soccer-geek on with me post-game over drinks at the Brooklyn Park Pub. Whether talking about El Matador Byron Alvarez's past, present, and future, Gavin Wilkinson's probable upcoming squad, Bataan-Death-March-esque Training Camps for 14 year old futsal prodigies, or Bob Bradley's chances for success as the "interim" nats coach, Paul is an enthusiastic fan as much as he is a player, parent coach, and entrepenuer, and we're thrilled with his support of the Rivals Cup.

UrbanHonking AC kicks off their Winter II season against Sofa Kings, Thursday, Jan. 19th at 7:25pm.