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 17th 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 2nd 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 2nd 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 2nd ROUND!
On to the # 2 Maryland Terrapins!
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