UHAC VICTORIOUS OVER #1 RANKED TEAM
Posted by: kmikeym | From: August 16, 2007
The Brooklyn Park Pub team went undefeated in the D3 2007 Summer League. The last time they played UrbanHonking AC, back on June 28th, they won 14-7, with only the mercy rule keeping UHAC within seven goals. As UHAC ended up the 5th ranked team, they were scheduled to play the #1 ranked Brooklyn Park Pub in the playoffs. Realistically, everyone expected to lose this game, but the real test was going to be if UHAC could stay within the seven points.
UrbanHonking AC got off to a rocky start with both of their regular keepers unable to make the game (K. Looper was out with an injury, and new father G. Merrill was on taking some personal time). Team Captain Ryan Wise reprised his High School role of guarding the net, which left only one substitute for the 46 minutes game. The other UHAC players were Gil, Peter, Josh, Curt, and Tim G.
Interestingly, the Brooklyn Park Pubber's were also short staffed, with only four players able to take the field at the start of the game, even as the ref waited a few minutes to get started. Unfortunately they played a strong defense for the first minutes of the game and UHAC was unable to score. Eventually their fifth man showed up and entered the game. He was also the first to score a few minutes after entering the game.
The Beast, AKA The Tallest Futsaller Alive, AKA Tower of Power, rocketed in a corner kick to bring the Pubbers up 2-0. UHAC responds quickly with Josh passing it to Gil who shoots to the corner but their keeper manages to bring it in.
Ten minutes into the game and there was a high kick towards the UHAC net. Ryan came out to get it but they managed to shoot one past him. Pubbers were then up 3-0, which caused some grumbling from UHAC.
Josh fed another pass to Gil, who managed to spin his way past two defenders and tap one into the corner! UHAC scored! Just a few minutes later Tim managed to break away and take a shot... the keeper reached out and managed to touch the ball, but it went in anyway! UHAC just one point down with a score of 3-2.
Continuing on a roll, Gil brought the ball up the center, passed it over to Peter who eased one past the keeper! With the score tied up, the Pubbers started to get a little physical. With 5:12 left on the clock they shot one past Ryan and took the lead again, and they got one more in with just 16 seconds left.
It seemed like the lack of subs was taking its toll on both teams. UHAC was pretty upbeat at the half, pleased with their performance so far. The second half started with the Burj Dubai of Futsal firing a rocket of a shot past Ryan. Curt responded with very near miss, looking like he was planning on scoring this half. Unfortunately the "camping" strategy of the Pubbers paid off more dividends with another shot they made with no UHAC defenders in the way. This put the score at 7-3.
Tim came in from the side and the keeper stayed back in the net, fearing the pass, allowing Tim to shoot one past him! Just a minute later and the Angry One managed to weave his way past the UHAC defense and score. With about four minutes left on the clock Peter's injuries caught up with him, meaning no more subs for UHAC. Everyone looked wiped, but Gil made a fast break drawing the defending Pubbers to him, then past it over to Josh, who scored the final goal of the evening, making the score 5-8.
Interestingly, even with the score being 5-8 in favor of the Pubbers, UrbanHonking AC technically won the game by forfeit! The rules state that a team must field a full complement of players, and that is five people. As Team Captain, Ryan brought this up to the powers that be, and apparently this rule is only enforced when a team is short two players, and it's okay to play without one player... None of us are that happy with the ruling, and it would appear that the printed rules that everyone follows are more "guidelines" that can be interpreted in many ways, but if you follow the letter of the law, this was an UrHo victory!
All in all this was a good season for the UrbanHonking AC. We played very, very well against a team that clearly should have been placed in a higher division and we won the Rivals Cup. The team grows stronger each season, and I'm looking forward to the next chapter of the UrbanHonking AC.
Ah... I knew you played at some point, and just assumed it was High School!
Posted by: Mikey at August 16, 2007 3:53 PM
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"reprised his High School role of guarding the net"? i wish. :) i'd probably be a better keeper in that case. the last time i competitively played in the net was 6th grade. great writeup, though!
Posted by: wise at August 16, 2007 3:39 PM