The Good, The Bad, and The Painfully Close
Whether you're in the bleachers, dancing on the field, or bare-chested and pounding the fences, it's hard not to feel the breathtaking excitement of a night game underneath the beaming lights that surround Stevenson. With the Rhode Island State Classic Trophy and two hard earned victories tucked in their back pocket, the boys took the pristine pitch once again, this time exuding a new found confidence and energy that had been missing from previous matches. The opponent was the Cleveland State Vikings, a foreign presence to the Brown Dunkin Donuts Classic, but expected to be a challenge and offensive threat nonetheless, after their 3-0 thrashing of Michigan the previous week.
The game kicked off with an explosion of offense from both sides (with Cleveland pushing their outside backs high to attempt the rarely seen 2-5-3 formation). But the Bears kept an upbeat tempo about their movement, creating several chances and counterattacks, and cementing the feeling that a goal was soon to be found. Sure enough, after a wild scrum in the Vikings box in the 10th minute, Jameson "the Lochhead Monster" slipped the ball to the lingering left foot of Dylan, who pinged in a forceful, one-time, strike past the outstretched hands of the Vikings keeper, and just inside the left post to make it 1-0 Bears. This was the Friday night the fans had been waiting for.
As the half carried on, Cleveland picked up the pace, testing the back line and the gloves of Schloss.
But once again, the back five stood strong, winning headers and coming up with a few vital stops amidst an increasingly dangerous attack from the Vikings. After both Brown and Cleveland failed to capitalize on a heart-stopping chance a piece, the remainder of the half saw Tmac infuse the game with his Irish patriotism as he juggled and jigged past the Viking defense, inciting whistles, hoots and cheers from our shirtless section of hooligans on the far side of the field.
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Coming out of the locker room, it was clear that we had learned from our mistakes against URI and PC, as this time we maintained a high level of energy, putting pressure on a back line that wanted to play "ticky-tacka" all day, and forcing them into turnovers and poor decisions. One other noticeable difference in the second half was our overly physical presence. Perhaps it was the excitement of the evening for the freshmen, or perhaps it was a series of military haircuts, but whatever the reason, the aggression was turned on high of our first years. This coupled with a few too many flops and an overly protective ref (in the words of one inquisitive fan, "How much for a new ref?"), led to a few yellow reminders, but it was clear that the Vikings wanted no part of this battle...
As the second half progressed, more opportunities began presenting themselves, until finally, in the 69th minute, we sealed the deal as Eric "Maté Monster" Robinson connected with a pass from Voltaire, and rifled the ball into the upper left corner, center-back style. After this, an increasingly disheartened Cleveland side seemed to accept their fate, as Brown pushed on, with shots from Jack "G" Gorab and Bobby "the fresh prince of" Belair falling just wide of the net, and a brilliant sliding challenge from Erob to deny Cleveland their one hope for redemption.
The whole experience was very refreshing, to see the boys play with hunger and energy for a full 90 minutes against a formidable opponent, in what must be described as the Bears best performance so far. Adapting to a new formation, we executed our game plan, and emerged with a 2-0 victory, and a near perfect start to the season with three wins, three shutouts, and proof that the hard work we put in during the summer and preseason indubitably makes us better. With only one day of rest, we prepared for Fordham who we'd face on a sweltering Sunday afternoon for the Brown Dunkin Donuts Soccer Classic Championship.
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For those of you who have witnessed and/or played in the Brown Soccer Classic before, you will recall the inevitable difficulty and exhaustion that accompanies the quick turn around for a Sunday afternoon game. For those of you who have not, let me just say that it is never a pretty thing to bare witness to for either side. But this Sunday for some strange reason was particularly painful to watch, or in the words of the legendary BMS Coach/Blogger Anders Kelto, "The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Brown eleven that day."
Back in hibernation mode, the Bears struggled to shake the stiffness from there joints and found themselves behind in the 10th minute of play after some uncharacteristically lazy marking left two Fordham players open at the back post to head home the ball with ease and make it 1-0, Rams. Although there were glimpses of the energy and hard work the boys had put in on Friday night, the few corners we won and the chances generated by Tmac were not enough to even the playing field. After a string of questionable "fouls" in which Erob and McDuff were scolded for jumping too high, and the Rams were rewarded for utilizing their classic "high-low" maneuver, the half ended in poor spirits, as Ryan "the General" McDuff was sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Whether it was the fire from Coach Laughlin's half-time speech, or several refreshing glasses of thick beet juice, the boys seemed finally to awake in the second half. The ball remained comfortably in Fordham's defensive half, as chances fell just wide for Gavey and Gorab in the opening minutes of the second half. But then lightning struck twice for the Bears, as Ben "Mad Dog" Maurey, reacting to a strong shove from behind and the building frustration of the squad, buffeted a Fordham defender with his forearm, and received the inevitable red card.
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It was a devastating blow for the already exasperated Bears, but rather than cowering in the corner and bemoaning our wounds, we pushed through the pain. Raising the pressure and forcing the Rams onto the back foot, we switched into three at the back, pushing Dylan "the little engine that could" Remick high into the attack and forcing Fordham to resort to petty tactics which included a series of dirty challenges (five yellow cards in total) and s succession of time wasting cat naps by "injured players" who seemed to heal miraculously by some force beyond modern science after leaving the field.
With a flurry of corners, free kicks and speculative crosses, the Bears seemed destined to level the playing field, as we dominated in possession, energy, and creativity, with Erob "the Rock" Robinson getting stuck in, and eliminating any offense the Rams tried to muster with their extra man. But after a final free kick in the waning seconds of the game pinballed off a series of defenders and found its way to the crafty foot of Tmac at the top of the 6, the Bears still couldn't capitalize, as a wall of Rams prevented this final opportunity, leaving the Bears heartbroken at the final whistle. It was the first loss of the season for the Bears, but as Dylan reflected after the game, "it was a good learning lesson for us, and we will use it to move forward as a better team." The Bears had unfortunately fallen pray to what Captain Duff deemed the Sunday "trap game", but, as he mentioned, "it wasn't for a lack of effort."
It is often difficult to reflect on the positives of a loss, but one thing that it always reminds us is of our own fallibility. With a departure from the lucrative dream of an undefeated season comes the realization that, in the words of Daft Punk, "Our work is never over." The depressing silence that hangs over the locker room, the bowed heads and "what ifs" that run through the minds of players and coaches alike, all fuel the flame for the remainder of a promising season. After perhaps the worst 50 minutes of soccer the Bears have produced this season, we proved that resilience remains a key piece of Brown Men's Soccer as we fought with heart and commitment in an inspiring second half. Although the result was not what we'd hoped for, I for one was impressed with the class the boys showed as they applauded the fans and signed autographs for young hopefuls, making sure that at least one day was made as the sun set over an empty Stevenson pitch.
The Bears return to action on Thursday at Boston University, where they will seek to rebound against the Terriers. See you then!
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