Perfect storm

It was not Tropical Storm Gabrielle, but it was a perfect storm for Goleros. Anything and everything affected our players and led to only 7 people showing for the game.

First and foremost, let's give Kara the credit she deserves. As a faithful alternate, she took my 7:15 a.m. call and rushed to the field. Her presence gave us the minimum number of players and saved us all the unthinkable $200 fine that is assessed by the league for forfeits. Thank you Kara, we owe you - BIG TIME.

The game was fun but the result wasn't peachy. We took a 4-0 loss to Far Post, a full-strength-plus team who we had beaten by a combined score of 8-0 in two previous meetings. Don't get me wrong, we like Far Post a lot. But it's disappointing to hand them a win.

In the first half, we played keep away and did a great job early on of stopping their attack and using our wings. In about the 15', Far Post scored off a cross that was clearly offside. That took some wind out of our sails, but at the same time, it also freed us of any fantasy of winning. Therefore, we just played good possession soccer. With 7 players, however, it is quite challenging to make good passes into the opponent's half. Far Post wore us down and scored a few more time. Tim, one of their strikers, had a nice chip off of a fast break. I consider that the winning goal.

In the second half, we were tired and I believe we gave up another goal. By the end of the game, some Far Post players joined our side and we went on the attack actually. We had a few chances but nothing too threatening.

Props to those Goleros who played: Pete, Megan, Liam, Nathan, Kara, Chris, Jer. Liam in particular played great. Imagine joining a new team as goalie and starting your second game with only 6 players in front of you! But he made save after save, coming off his line and distributing well.

Notes: 4-0 loss versus Far Post at Trinity on 9/9/07, only 7 players. GK: Liam.