The First Step...

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Though the glimmer of another Ivy League ring had fizzled out with our loss to Dartmouth, though Stevenson would stand pristine and vacant for the first round of the NCAA tournament, hope sprung eternal in the hearts and minds of the Bears, as once again they loaded onto the bus, this time bound for Drexel, Pennsylvania.

Opening the playoffs on foreign soil is never an easy task, but as the announcer called out the Brown players one by one, it was clear that, regardless of location, our devout fan base would make the Bears feel right at home with impassioned cheers and shrieks that far outshone the roar of the Dragon’s supporters.

As the whistle blew the game to life, the Bears sprung into action with confidence and composure, putting the yellowy-white Dragons under siege in their own defensive half. Strong tackles from Markes and Erob set the tone for the backline’s unflinching stinginess throughout the match, while offensively we created space, with speculative efforts coming for Markes and Tmac, and a brilliant ball from Tmac that found Bizzle at the corner of the 6’ to force a strong save by the Drexel keeper.

A corner came for Brown. Dylan stepped up cooly to the plate and sent in a scintillating ball to the raucous “Ooooohs” of the Brown supporters, which was deftly headed in by Tmac at the front post! It was not a familiar type of goal for the quick-footed middy Mcnamara, but seemed somehow fitting that the teams lead dancer on the field should start the Bears tournament dance off with such a strong step. 1-0 Brown in the 17^th minute!

The half carried on with the Bears pulling away from the Dragons, possessing well and putting pressure on Drexel at every step. Although we struggled to produce any significant chances in our offensive half, defensively we remained organized, solidified and confident in our passes and control of the ball. And then, in the dying minutes of the half, a brilliant piece of one-touch, combination play arose.

A distant memory of the boys spring Spain trip seemed to materialize on the field. It began with Tmac, snatching the ball from a Dragon winger, then to V at midfield, one touch to D.T., one touch to Bobby, one touch layoff back to V, one touch to Dyl on the left who sent an arcing ball right to the forehead of D.T. The ball ended its beautiful trajectory in the back of the net to make it 2-0. The Bears were up, and the half had finished gloriously. 

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After a brilliant first half for the Bears, the second half was, shall we say, a little lackluster. Perhaps there was an expectation that the Dragons’ fire had been extinguished, perhaps thoughts already lingered on the promise of facing Maryland in the 2^nd round, but whatever the reason, the Bears found themselves struggling, and caged in their own box for the majority of the half. 

In the first 10 minutes alone, the Dragons registered 6 shots, many of which had to be dealt with by the wall of our backline, and all of which fell just shy of the goal frame. Indeed, as the sun set across Drexel’s pitch, the glorious dominance and confidence of the Bears’ first half seemed a thing of the past as the sky and our hopes darkened. Yes, we had claimed the coveted 2^nd goal for our own, but as the Bears blocked shot after shot, one couldn’t help but think on the energy that would accompany a rebuttal goal for Drexel. 

Credit must be given, however, to our generals in the back. After a calm and breezy first half of possession which saw Markes and Remick push confidently up the wings, our back five proved well up for the offensive onslaught of the Dragon’s attack in the second half. Erob in particular seemed to be on the end of nearly every ball that crossed into our half, sticking vital tackles and clearing shots off the line, shredding Drexel’s last hopes repeatedly. 

Finally, and thankfully, after a few final moments of offense for the Bears, the final whistle blew. Yes the Dragons had outmatched us in the second half (putting up 14 shots to our pitiful 5), yes we would have to improve our performance for Maryland, but much, much more importantly… 
WE WERE ON TO THE 2^nd ROUND!

On to the # 2 Maryland Terrapins!

The Big Green Closer

Lights flooded across the pristine Dartmouth pitch. The monstrous Fox Soccer Channel cameras whirred on, tracking the boys as they jogged out to take their places for a match that has consistently been one of the greatest Ivy League battles each year. As Dartmouth huddled together across the field, their green-and-white-hooped jerseys blinding cameramen everywhere, the Bears formed a black, 11-man knot in preparation for the match that lay before them at the end of the season.

The whistle blew, and both sides sprung into action on the slick surface. Although play seemed to remain mostly in the center of the pitch, the energy emitted from both sides was exhilarating, as sliding challenges and monstrous aerial battles dominated the narrative of the game. Urged on by the hordes of grunting frat-boy fans, The Big Green seemed to gain the upper hand in the first quarter of play, putting in several nerve-racking crosses and forcing knuckle punches from the veteran keeper Schloss.

Then, finally at around the 18^th minute the Bears put on one of their first real offensive surges, combining well and finding Big Ben in space for a blast just over the bar. Moments later, Tmac danced his way up the left side of the pitch, and forced his defender into a lunging poke for a Brown corner. Tmac took it magnificently, sending in a long, arcing ball just outside the penalty spot, which met the golden, unmarked dome of Erob and rocketed home. GOAL, GOAL, GOOOAAAAAAALLLL!

"Que Honda Hue?"

 

It was a vital goal on the road for the Bears, as the momentum on the field shifted and the Bears created several more opportunities from the flanks. However, as the game opened up, the Bears found themselves with a familiar problem, namely how to complete a final pass in the offensive third of the field. Over-hit balls slipped out across the end line and hospital passes were intercepted, as Dartmouth began to realize their best attacking option: the counter.

Sure enough, as the half wound to a close, the Big Green did just this, picking up a “hit-it-with-your-purse” pass, the ball was threaded easily through a sparse, recovering Brown defense, once, twice, and finally onto the foot of a Big Green forward who – given far too much space – turned, and simply slotted the ball into the back corner of the Bears’ net in the final minutes of the half to level the score,

1-1.

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As the Bears jogged back out across the Big Green’s big, green, they seemed ready; alert and energetic as they sprinted on the sideline, frothing at the bit for another half to prove their mettle. However, as the 2^nd half began, and Dartmouth pressed forward, forcing two corners and a heart-stopping goal-line clearance from the Brown defense, it was clear that the Bears had their work cut out for them. Dartmouth continued to pressure, flinging themselves into crunching tackles, frightening the Bears out of confident possession, and showing that their final game of the season would be a fight to the death as cautionary yellows flew.

After a considerable amount of mediocre marking and passing from the Bears, thankfully the tides shifted, as we surged up the wings once more, with hard work from Gavey, Dyl and Big Ben, to earn us a series of corners, and some brilliantly dangerous balls in from Tmac as Dartmouth barricaded themselves Chelsea-style into their box to wait out the onslaught.

Perhaps the ref felt bad for the Big Green (especially after one Dartmouth player blasted his own teammate in the nether-regions and Bizzle almost scored!), or perhaps he had confused his duties on the field with his part time babysitting job, but whatever the reason, remarkably soft fouls continued to be called against the Bears, well Dartmouth seemed to get away with, well, murder. Nonetheless we defended well against this succession of unjust free kicks, and continued to push forward, with strong strikes for D.T. and Dyl pushed wide, as once again, the game was headed to overtime…

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“No D, O.T.” seemed a fitting title for extra time, as both teams sacrificed numbers in the back for some exciting offensive opportunities. After a near P.K. occurred for the Bears with Dyl getting hauled down in the box, the Big Green countered, striking the ball just wide of the net. This was followed shortly by a wonderful leading ball from Tmac to Gavey, whose speculative cross was blocked, and countered by the Big Green as they blasted the ball just wide of the Bears’ goal.

This pattern continued as shots came for Big Ben, Tmac and Gavey, only to be denied by some strong play from the Dartmouth keeper. Meanwhile, Schloss had his own work cut out for him as he made a couple of vital saves from the hard-hitting Dartmouth forwards. But then, disaster struck.

It was the final seconds of the game, and the ball was pin-balling its way through the Bears’ box. Bodies flew, legs were kicked, shots were blocked, and somehow the ball remained, confined in this rectangle, forcing the fans to their feet. The lackadaisical announcer began his countdown a good second behind the scoreboard’s

5…. The ball ricocheted of another Brown body back to a Dartmouth cleat.

4…. Another shot, another save.

3…. A clearance is muffed by someone clad in Black.

2…. The ball appears is nicked up in the air,

1….  It’s brought down by a Dartmouth player

0…. And rocketed into the net, a good half second after the game’s end.

The Drunken masses cheered, the Big Green roared, the Bears begged, and the ref – too frightened by all the loud noise – tried to sneak quietly away, unwilling to challenge the home side’s victory. It was a questionable, unfair, and devastating loss for the Bears, as they walked off the field to make their way home. I for one would love to find the footage from FSC of those final seconds and send a gentle letter of constructive criticism to the officials.

And so the regular season came to an abrupt and ugly halt. Though the Bears hung their heads, they still left that pitch knowing that more games lay in store, as they awaited the NCAA tourney draw… Shoutout to Dyl, Tmac, McDuff, Erob, Big Ben, and Schloss for their Ivy League Honors.

Up next… the first round of the NCAA tourny against.... Drexel!

The Bulldog's Fight on Senior Night

      
            LOS BANDITOS
   To The Seven Seniors I Have Had The Privilege of Working
   With For The Past Four Years.
      Your Commitment, Your
   Dedication, and Your Love Of The Game Has Produced Some
   Of The Best Soccer Brown        
      University Has Ever Seen.
      Best Of Luck With Life,
  Love, And The Beautiful Game

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After a stunning rendition of our National Anthem by the younger and more musically gifted of the McDuff brothers, the game kicked off, and almost immediately Gavey muscled his way past a defender to produce the Bears first corner of the game. Dyl drove in a brilliant ball, that was flicked over by Markes and volleyed beneath the Bulldog keeper by the versatile Big Ben! 

1-0 Good Guys in the first two minutes!

Unfortunately, this stunning effort was soon followed by a bit of lazy defending as a collection of awkward tackles produced several free kicks for the Bulldogs and the ball pinballed its way through the Bears’ box. After a series of good battles from our midfielders Gavey, Tmac and Tariq, one of these challenges led to a counter and a rip from Tariq just high over the bar. However, this aggressive and physical battle of the middies would persist throughout the rest of the game.

While there was one scary giveaway in the back by Captain Duff, it was thankfully blasted harmlessly over by the Bulldog's overeager striker. Meanwhile, the Bears' offense found itself with several quick breakaways including a Remick layoff to Belair who scuffed it wide, and a brilliant streaking run from Gavey that produced a cross and header from Bizzle that was brushed just wide.

Then came the goal of retribution. Off yet another Bulldog corner scrum, the Bears failed to make first contact and a Yale midfielder punched the ball against the crossbar. As the Bears looked helplessly on, another Yale player pounced upon the rebound and smashed in into the back of the net to draw the Bulldogs level. 1-1.

This unfortunate turn of events was followed by a dominating response from the Bears who surged forward offensively producing chances with Gavey and Ben both having speculative efforts that were saved. Then after a free kick from Tmac that was turned over by Dyl, Yale countered and found themselves on a breakaway only to be denied by the strength of Schloss.

Besides this one attempt, the remainder of the half belonged to the Bears who pushed forward with chance after chance only to be met with questionable challenges, a lack of sympathy from the ref (including a clear PK after Gavey was crushed in the box on a “double leg tackle”), and some convincing acting from the “Yale School of Drama” as the half came to a close.

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After Yale took off in the opening minutes of the game, the Bears once again established their dominance with Tmac’s interpretive movement section “Dancing with Bulldogs” and a succession of shots and crosses that continued to be pushed just wide by the stingy Yale keeper. As the Yale cameraman put it “Where was this team in the first half?” Our offense continued to press forward and create chance after chance, led by a bandaged Belair, the tornado Tmac and some brilliant work on the flanks.

Although the vast majority of the game was played in the Bulldogs half, for some reason, we still found ourselves struggling defensively as Yale was able to counter off our intensive offensive pressure. Flurries of corners and crosses came in from Dylan and Gavey on the flanks, Tmac danced through dumbstruck defenders, headers glanced wide for Big Ben and Belair, shots flew over for Tariq and Voltaire, but the ball remained net-repellent, as the hungry Bears continued to knock on the Bulldog’s door

After a bizarre yellow was awarded to the young Akeel (apparently for getting fouled?) and one last breathtaking effort from the ole noggin of Big Ben, regulation puttered to a halt, as the Bears faced another nerve-wracking overtime.

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During O.T. the Bears intensified their command over the Bulldogs with quality possession and good off the ball movement even after 90+ minutes of play. Though the first period ended without much fanfare, as the second and final period began, the Bears produced their best chances of the game. First it came with a 20 second scrum in the Bulldog box, reminiscent of the youth league “beehive” tactic where players kicked wildly and frantically at the ball as it bumbled its way through the 18'.

Next it was Tmac’s chance to turn up the heat as he sent a laser just wide of the net, and followed this effort up a minute later with a brilliant cross to Bizzle, who knocked it just over the goal. And finally came the glory run of Pepeciño, as he duked one defender, than another, pushing the ball effortlessly forward, across the box, and striking a low hard drive that ricocheted off the back post and trickled across the face of the Bulldog net untouched. It was this dazzling effort that seemed to epitomize the Bear’s misfortune as the final whistle sounded, revealing truth behind the old adage “sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way”.

It was a solemn ending to a game well played by the Bears. With this stalemate and the discovery of Cornell’s victory over Dartmouth came the painful realization that our shot at the Ivy League Title was no longer in our hands, dependent upon Cornell dropping points to Columbia, and on a victory against Dartmouth.

On a happier note, shoutout to First Team Capital One Academic All-District Honor recipients Dylan Remick and Sam Kernan-Schloss

Up next, the final game of the regular season for the Bears will be played at Dartmouth, and broadcast nationally via the Fox Soccer Channel at 7 p.m. Stay tuned!