Pulling Together

After enjoying a much-needed day off on Monday, we began to look forward to the challenge we were going to face on Friday, with a “bright and early” 7am Tuesday practice followed by our first team lift. The lifting coaches, aware that we had two big games coming up, kept it light, with multiple high repetition, low weight lunging and squatting exercises. Some of the underclassman were sore in some “new” areas, but they will get used to it soon enough.

The week went on with each practice incorporating another area of focus in preparation for the game against the Washington on Friday.

On Wednesday, I got a call from Big Ben Maurey: “hey man, I’ve got some news… I don’t know how to put this… but I’m CLEARED TO PLAY FRIDAY!!” It was a joyous moment to hear that one of our leaders would be back on the field.  Our team was close to 100% healthy.

It was Friday. We knew the #10 opponent, Washington, that just tied UCONN, was going to be a tough opponent. Thankfully the rain from the night before had subsided, and the Sun had come out so we hoped for another big crowd. Pregame meal was the usual mix of jokes, focused faces, and ratty pasta. Once the players hit the locker-room, it was all business. This was a few of the “post injury players’” (myself included), first home game, and I think we all were a bit nervous, excited, and everything in between.

The whistle blew, and as if in one motion, Jack Gorab “G-babe” hit a cross to Pepe Salama , who headed it towards the near post, and Voltaire touched it in. Unfortunately, the sideline referee thought Pepe or Voltaire was off sides and called the goal back. We were pissed to say the least but we all had to get our mind focused on the next play. The half went on with a lot of defending of their 50+ yard flip throw. As the half was coming to a close, Washington was able to sneak in a goal from a corner. 

The second half was another game. We came at them with all that we had. Tariq Akeel had a header off the cross bar. Pepe nearly had free kick goal that the keeper just got with tips of his fingers. We did our best to scrap for a tying goal, but unfortunately we couldn’t find the back of the net. We battled and for that I am proud.

Once we left the locker room on Friday, our minds switched to the next opponent. Saturday practice consisted of a small-sided game with players who didn’t get as much time on Friday, and a 20-minute cool down run for the rest. After practice the travel list was posted, we grabbed some lunch, and hit the road. BMS bus rides always are a place where memories are created. The bus ride started off with a freshman Christian Rodriguez “C-rod” telling the whole team a joke. It was strictly “an attempt” at a joke (sorry C-rod), but Coach Kevin saved the day with a well-executed, classy jest. That night at the hotel we prepped for Sunday’s game and got some rest.

Kickoff. We came out strong in the first half. Getting our first, first half goal from G-babe, with a nice poke in from a bouncing ball in the box. We were able to close the half and prevent them from getting a goal.

The second half was spent doing more defending then anything else. They scored from a cross towards the middle of the second half. We held on till overtime. Overtime came and we battled through the first half. With 3 minutes left in the second overtime, their left midfielder hit a curving shot that deflected and found the bottom left corner.

We have more to work on and will hit the ground running Tuesday in preparation for Indiana. BMS has always been about never giving up on our goals and finding our identity in the face of adversity. Coming off two tough loses this weekend and headed out to play Indiana its time to truly put the motto to the test and get a result against Indiana.

Time to put in that work,

Daniel Taylor

Round 1..

            The last day of double sessions is always a relief, as preseason comes to an end. The ice baths are used less frequently, there’s less limping around the locker room, and you see the energy building around the team as we get closer and closer to game 1.

            Game day arrived pretty quickly. August 22^nd seemed like a long time ago as we got on the field for our practice at 7pm on Thursday night. The practice went as usual, with the famous “One Touch Game” at the end - luckily my team came out with a win after some bangers and some laughs.

            As we entered the Ratty on Friday afternoon for our pregame meal, you could see some nerves and some excitement throughout the team. I’m not sure if it was about the game or about the fish that the Ratty was serving for “Linner” at 3:30pm that day.

Soon enough, we were warming up across from Bryant on Stevenson and the stands were slowly being filled. This was a classic home opener for us, with a lot of gritty performances, including some new guys showing they are “gamers.” The game went as expected, with a lot of set pieces from Bryant and we were counter attacking pretty well – Voltaire almost scored as he got in behind their backline, but the keeper made a decent save to keep the game at 0s going into halftime.

            As we went out for the second half, we all knew there would be limited chances on goal, but we needed to take full advantage when they came about. I gotta say, Voltaire did… and scored a banger. A ball lofted forward from a free kick was headed down to V by Pepe, which Voltaire then proceeded to take off his chest, shift from his right foot to his left, lean back (almost doing the Bernie) and “shank” (sorry V) with the outside of his left foot into the side netting. The crowd of over 1,500 people went nuts.

            In typical BMS style, we held on for dear life (our parents are probably losing years off their lives each game), and we were able to come out with a huge first home victory.

            For those who are not BMS alums, the Friday – Sunday turnaround for games is usually one of the hardest for the team each year. A lot of guys played big minutes of Friday night, we were at home, there was a huge crowd, it was our first game, etc. etc. Therefore, the Saturday session was pretty light, with some guys putting in more work than others – mostly focused on recovery.

            Sunday at Providence College was a little bit of a different atmosphere than Stevenson on Friday night. The crowd was mostly parents, and nowhere near 1,500. Regardless, the team brought a lot of energy onto the field after being pent up in 3 white vans on an extremely LONG trip from Brown (approximately 5 minutes).

            We all knew the PC was going to be tough. PC is a Big East opponent, cross-town rival, and this was for Rhode Island bragging rights. We were attempting to keep the “Ocean State Cup” in our possession for another year, and we came really close to fulfilling that goal (Co-Champs really doesn’t count). The game started out pretty back and forth, with each team struggling to connect passes on a dismal playing surface. With about a minute left in the first half, PC was able to successfully complete a short corner, and the ball ended up at the back post, where a Providence player headed it towards goal. Whether or not the ball crossed the line, I do not know, but I do know that Weendog made an unreal save. Unfortunately, the sideline ref deemed it a goal and PC took the 1-0 lead into half time.

            After some inspirational words from coach Laughlin, we came out flying in the second half, grabbing a goal of our own. Pepe settled a ball thrown into him and sent it to the back post. The ball was looping and must have stayed in the air for about 3 minutes. As the left back for PC gazed at that beauty of a ball, DT was able to sneak in behind him and head-knee-ab-shin the ball into the back of the net. We were then back level at 1-1.

            The rest of the game was hard fought, with each team creating their own chances, but no real threats. At the end of 90 minutes, we were still tied and headed into golden goal overtime. The 20 minutes went by quickly and the game ended in a tie. We were crowned Co-Champions of the Ocean State Cup.

            Overall, the team was happy with the weekend’s results. Although it would have been great to win both games, a win and a tie is not a bad way to start the season. We are looking forward to Washington on Friday at 7pm and hope we can get the same type of crowd and support we did for Bryant.

Back to the nitty gritty - Jack Kuntz

2013 Campaign: The Beginning

Back to Brown at last, back to Brown at last. We, the Men of Brown Soccer returned to campus in the August heat, itching to get back out on Stevenson Field and start our 2013 campaign. However, first of course: the formalities. As always, the first day of preseason begins on a scale and with each player on his tippy toes under a measuring tape, attempting to make himself as tall as possible. Then, the infamous “body composition pincers” which have been known to make even the strong at heart shutter. After a slew of meetings each player retires to his respective bed to a sweaty night of sleeplessness while having either dreams or nightmares about the 3-mile fitness test that will take place the next morning.

It seems as if it is before sunrise the next morning when we head down to the football stadium for our 12 laps around the track, with the seniors hoping that it will be our last one of these mornings ever. Through sweat and some tears and excessive screaming and shouting, we remarkably get 20 of our 24 players who were able to run across the line in under 18 minutes, which has to be some sort of record for the first attempt at this test, a definite boost for the team’s morale, sending us to the v-dub with our chins held high, knowing that this afternoon we will be finally able to convert our group of track stars into a soccer team.

The first practice every year goes relatively the same way. Happy faces and tired legs from the 3-mile lead to an adrenaline filled session full of extremely hard and late tackles followed by a long time spent in the training room full of rollers and ice baths.

After this day of firsts we fall into the routine of two a days, which consist solely of: sleeping, lots of television, eating, meetings, soccer and time spent in the locker and training rooms. Much time at meals is spent discussing what shows everyone is watching and getting on guys for not being up to date on their TV. This gives us a great opportunity to get close with all of the new guys and catch up with all the others and recap our summers’ festivities.

We are allowed to play a couple exhibition games during preseason against a school from Canada and local D-II school, both of which are learning experiences and greatly help us to improve our young team. The freshmen are able to see this type of “dress rehearsal” and hopefully be a little bit more prepared for when we come out of the gates on Friday night for the real thing.

We are all looking forward to Friday night against Bryant, and will be working hard over these next couple days in order to prepare for our first test. We hope to see many of you out there supporting us!

Signing out,

                        Josh Weiner

The End of the Road...

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Though the very thoughts of the Bears were drowned out by the roar of the #2 Terrapin supporters as they stepped out onto the frigid pitch, the boys played without fear. Hungry, sharp, vicious, they attacked with confidence, outworking and outplaying a team that had stood atop the National standings for the duration of the season. Making these Terrapins duck back inside their shells. This was a Bear squad that deserved to be here.

We possessed and combined with patience, our defense standing strong, allowing the offense time to create and surge forward. Hard fought tackles, inventive passes, and some inspired movement kept us knocking on Maryland’s door, until, in only the 17^th minute of the game, a beautiful corner from Dylan connected with Bizzle’s noggin to put us up a deserving 1-0. It was the first time in 11 games that the Terrapins had trailed.

Throughout the first half, the Bears energy and aggression persisted, but Maryland began rising to the challenge. The game became an offensive battle with Big Ben sending a breakaway just wide, and Schloss and “the Wall” standing strong. But in the last minute of the half the Terrapins drew level, sending an absolute firecracker from 30 yards out passed the outstretched mitts of Schloss to make it 1-1.

The half ended on a bitter note, a note that would unfortunately be echoed once more at the end of the game.

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I will not belabor you all with detailed descriptions of the second half. The brilliant efforts of Bizzle and Big Ben, the dancing dangles of Tmac, the courageous goal line saves of Erob and Schloss, these are moments that you’ve no doubt heard and seen before, that are perhaps customary to us now after a truly remarkable season for BMS. I won’t paint a heartbreaking picture of Maryland’s winning goal in the final minute of the game, a tear-streaked face for sympathy, or a classic “you win some you lose some” quote.

But I will say that the boys played their F-ing hearts out.

I will say we showed one of the best teams in the country we could play the Beautiful Game.

I will say that, despite the heartbreak, I was proud.

To the Players: A huge congratulations for yet another incredible season and a huge thank you for letting me be a part of it and relive the glory days in our 1 touch games

To the Coaches: It was a great privilege to peek behind the curtain this year and recognize the time, effort and dedication you put in day in and day out.

And To Parents and Readers: Thank you all so much for listening to me blather on this season, and write about something that – still – matters so much to me.

Thank you all and Happy Holidays,

Evan

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!