Left Coast - Part 2; Santa Clara 1-1 Brown

The boys awoke to overcast skies in Silicon Valley. Yet by 10am the sun was shining brightly and the team took a twenty-minute stroll in the local area to loosen their legs. The vast majority of the team elected to take the optional ride over to the Great Mall, where a few took in a movie and others explored the local shops. The mall contained a Dave & Busters in which yours truly was well and truly trounced in two consecutive games of air hockey, scoring no fewer than eight own-goals in the process (my defensive line was far too high).

On to the real business in the afternoon - it was time to prepare the team for Santa Clara..... two years earlier a very talented Santa Clara had visited Stevenson Field and had been put back on their west-coast bound aircraft with a 2-1 defeat fresh in their minds. There were enough players remaining from that squad who were sure to remember that night in Providence and would be intent on revenge. Furthermore, the young talent in their squad was a prized mixture of highly touted recruits.
Following a thorough scouting report and excellent pre-game meal the boys boarded the 'San Francisco Mega-Bus' bound for the short ride over to Buck Shaw stadium, home of the Santa Clara teams and the MLS San Jose Earthquakes. Preparations were ideal, the boys were ready to play and took to field in energetic and buoyant mood.
Despite the small lingering fear that the comprehensive beating of URI would leave the team feeling over-confident, the staff was unprepared for the opening twenty minutes of lackluster play by these talented Brown Bears. One player in particular was seemingly afforded inordinate amounts of space and time to run at our defence! It was no surprise then, that after another mazy run the ball was played into our box to a home player with a little too much time. T-Mac was there though - no worries - oops..... as his opponent turned, T-Mac jumped high into the air like a gymnast and the ball was played into the middle of our box. Robbie made an attempt to clear the ball but only managed to deflect it goalwards, and despite making an initial save, big Paul was helpless to stop the follow-up. 1-0 Santa Clara, and we couldn't really complain.....
The boys woke up a little after the goal and almost immediately leveled things. In fact they did level the game from a corner as Evan Coleman planted the ball into the corner of the home goal after a Jonny O flick-on. For some reason the linesman on the far side indicated that Jon's head was somehow an extension of his arm and disallowed the goal. Our boys slowly began to pass the ball better and create some problems for the home defence and their annoyingly rythmic drum section in the far bleachers.
Half-time saw an "inspirational" "speech" from Coach Noonan. The freshly-arrived whiteboard proved it's durability and the boys entered the second-half fray with a stronger focus and intensity.
Chances came and went in a decidedly one-sided second half, and it looked as if this match was going to end in heartbreak as we entered the final ten minutes. Jonny O was causing problems for the home team and they simply had no answer for the slick movement and passing from our boys. But, as much as we tirelessly knocked at the door, the door wouldn't budge! Then, out of the blue Nicky Elenz-Martin decided that it was time to finally shoot the ball again. He unleashed a powerful left-footed drive from 25 yards out that the home 'keeper had no chance with. The response from the bleachers was amazing - a group of Brown fans was significantly larger than you'd expect and they made plenty of noise to boot! 1-1, and the only thing preventing a dominant Bears victory now was the clock.
At the end of regulation the instruction to the boys was more or less to keep up the pressure on a home team who were clearly intent on preserving what they had. A special mention here has to go to our entire squad of players on the sidelines - the intensity and enthusiasm was most-definitely an insiration to the players on the pitch.
Extra-time came and went with our boys retaining their dominance but without that killer touch to take the game. The performance had been deserving of more than a tie, but we had to be pleased that these boys had once-again come from behind and refused to lose.....