The words echoed around the hotel meeting room as the troops were prepared for the 2pm kick-off at USF....... "you won't get any favors from the referee." This might be perhaps the most prophetic yet understated pre-game comment ever directed at a Brown team....
Raymond the driver used his local knowledge and managed to get our bus up and down and through the Bay Area landscape in plenty of time for us to settle in to the cozy confines of the locker room at the Koret gym, adjacent to the field at USF. This was apparently the same gym where Bill Russell played during his youth - and it was also apparent that not much has changed since the famous (pre) Celtic utilized the facility..... the boys packed in to the locker room like sardines and managed to get themselves dressed and equipped for the 90 minutes ahead.
The pre-game talk took place in the gym itself (the addition of four coaches to the locker room was simply not feasible) and the boys took to the field. Almost immediately, the coaches recognized that something was missing. "They're not buzzing," said Ray Houghton. I agreed with him. He called them in and tried to gee them up - it helped, but still we felt like the atmosphere of the day had a somewhat flat feeling. A piece of sublime ball control by the home teams' "associate head coach" failed to lighten the mood....
The match kicked off and it was apparent that USF were "up for it." The referee showed no early indication of the ludicrous way in which the day would unfold as he made some astute decisions early on. The only thing that concerned this staff at this stage was the fact that the team seemed disjointed and were playing on the back foot. As the minutes passed it became obvious that something had to be done..... Then it happened - the talented USF centre-forward passed the ball through the chasm that appeared between the boots of big Texas Ryan and bore down on an exposed Grandstrand. 1-0 to USF and we were reeling....
Our immediate response was to shuffle the pack and introduce the combative Robbie M. into the midfield. Slowly we began to look more organized.... then it happened. Robbie was fouled from behind near the halfway line and reacted angrily to the no-call. The response from the referee was an immediate red-card. We were gob-smacked. A warning? Yes, definitely. A yellow card? Maybe... A red card? Never!
So here we were, 25 minutes into the game and a goal down and a man down. We feared the worst, especially after the opening twenty minutes where USF looked dangerous every time they went forward, and we looked anemic in attack.....
Yet, the onslaught never came and these ten men actually started to take control of the contest. Perhaps inspired by an instinctive Grandstrand save moments after the red-card, our boys seemed to organize themselves, at least to the point where they looked more solid defensively....
The half-time whistle sounded and we exited for the locker room with just a little hope. "Now is the time where we show our true colors" or words to that effect, were bellowed from Coach Noonan. "We can still get something from this game." Heads started to lift and self belief began to ooze it's way back into the mindset of our boys....
The second half started and one team sat back to absorb pressure as the other attacked and passed the ball as if playing with an extra man. Yet it was Brown who looked like they had the extra player! USF seemed to have no interest in building on their lead and were content to protect a one-goal advantage with perhaps the thought that they could sneak another goal as we pushed forward..... T-Mac conceded a free-kick at midfield and got a yellow card - there was nothing too harsh about the decision, although a couple of the home players had escaped punishment for similar misdemeanors..... At the time we though nothing of it....
Ten minutes later Austin broke clear and bravely challenged a clearly-tentative goalkeeper who came out feet first towards our diminutive striker. Neither player came out of the collision well, with Austin banging his head ferociously into the turf. Now we had lost one of our goal-threats as well as having to play with ten men. Moreover, the replacement of the USF 'keeper actually worked in their favor as they returned their normal starter between the posts. Surely we couldn't suffer any more adversity in this game...... aha! How wrong can you be!! Minutes later a USF player fell onto the ball at midfield and attempted to shield it while lying on the ground. The referee failed to blow his whistle so TJ and T-Mac attempted to extract the ball. Only when one of our boys made contact with the player and not the ball did the referee elect to blow up - about five seconds later than he should have. We were awarded the free-kick, yet our man in orange elected to show T-Mac a yellow card - his second of the game. Now we're down to nine players and still a goal down. The referee, realizing his gross error gave our staff the "my bad" wave...... not much help now!!
So, here we were, down to nine men, twenty minutes to play and a goal down. Well the only thing to do now was to get everyone behind the ball and try to limit the damage..... NOT ON YOUR LIFE MATEY!!!! That would be what MOST teams might do in the same situation, but this Brown squad is made of sterner stuff than that! Another tactical re-shuffle and for the next twenty minutes you would have thought that USF was playing with nine men! We won a free-kick as Jonny O was whacked from behind for the umpteenth time. Up stepped Jay to drive in a sublime shot that the home 'keeper could only parry and at the second attempt Dylan smashed the ball into the net.... Cue melee on the visiting bench.... 1-1 with eight minutes left!!
Grandstrand and the re-energized Bears defence kept the scores even going into the final minutes and now it was time for extra-time. Twenty more minutes to play - surely we couldn't hold on, or even win this game, could we? The first overtime period mirrored the final twenty minutes - it was Brown who pressed and passed while USF struggled with our movement. It was only in the second period where they finally took some risks and played with a 4-2-4 to try and unsettle us. Chances came and went - Grandstrand, Coleman, Walls, McDuff and Hayward all threw their bodies in front of shots. Nicky headed everything in the middle of the park as if there was a radar on the ball, and Jonny, Pop, Rosa, TJ and Mikey M all ran their socks off..... then in the waining moments Sean Rosa won a tackle in midfield and sent Dylan racing clear of the home defence - he was 1v1 with the home keeper..... who pulled off a world class save to deny him. That would have been a story to tell.....
The final whistle sounded and the USF players slumped to the ground as our boys walked off the field having produced one of the best performances against adversity that I have been a part of. The fact that the score was a tie was dissappointing - but as a performance it was up there with the very best, and deserved so much more.....
As the post game food was consumed with great fervour the players and parents mingled with some of the friends and alumni of the program who had provided us with outstanding support during the course of our entire trip. Despite being 3000 miles from Stevenson, the vocal backing that our players received was louder and more enthusiastic than anything provided for the locals. Although they may not have told you directly - everyone associated with the team is truly apreciative of the efforts put forth by our friends of the program.....
2005 Team Captain Sean Gosselin ('06) and Coach Noonan renew aquaintances at Pier 39
A few more hours were spent in the city as we awaited departure to the airport for our JetBlue trip back to Boston. Thankfully the newly acquired whiteboard was firmly in the grasp of the tourist this time....
Raymond the driver used his local knowledge and managed to get our bus up and down and through the Bay Area landscape in plenty of time for us to settle in to the cozy confines of the locker room at the Koret gym, adjacent to the field at USF. This was apparently the same gym where Bill Russell played during his youth - and it was also apparent that not much has changed since the famous (pre) Celtic utilized the facility..... the boys packed in to the locker room like sardines and managed to get themselves dressed and equipped for the 90 minutes ahead.
The pre-game talk took place in the gym itself (the addition of four coaches to the locker room was simply not feasible) and the boys took to the field. Almost immediately, the coaches recognized that something was missing. "They're not buzzing," said Ray Houghton. I agreed with him. He called them in and tried to gee them up - it helped, but still we felt like the atmosphere of the day had a somewhat flat feeling. A piece of sublime ball control by the home teams' "associate head coach" failed to lighten the mood....
The match kicked off and it was apparent that USF were "up for it." The referee showed no early indication of the ludicrous way in which the day would unfold as he made some astute decisions early on. The only thing that concerned this staff at this stage was the fact that the team seemed disjointed and were playing on the back foot. As the minutes passed it became obvious that something had to be done..... Then it happened - the talented USF centre-forward passed the ball through the chasm that appeared between the boots of big Texas Ryan and bore down on an exposed Grandstrand. 1-0 to USF and we were reeling....
Our immediate response was to shuffle the pack and introduce the combative Robbie M. into the midfield. Slowly we began to look more organized.... then it happened. Robbie was fouled from behind near the halfway line and reacted angrily to the no-call. The response from the referee was an immediate red-card. We were gob-smacked. A warning? Yes, definitely. A yellow card? Maybe... A red card? Never!
So here we were, 25 minutes into the game and a goal down and a man down. We feared the worst, especially after the opening twenty minutes where USF looked dangerous every time they went forward, and we looked anemic in attack.....
Yet, the onslaught never came and these ten men actually started to take control of the contest. Perhaps inspired by an instinctive Grandstrand save moments after the red-card, our boys seemed to organize themselves, at least to the point where they looked more solid defensively....
The half-time whistle sounded and we exited for the locker room with just a little hope. "Now is the time where we show our true colors" or words to that effect, were bellowed from Coach Noonan. "We can still get something from this game." Heads started to lift and self belief began to ooze it's way back into the mindset of our boys....
The second half started and one team sat back to absorb pressure as the other attacked and passed the ball as if playing with an extra man. Yet it was Brown who looked like they had the extra player! USF seemed to have no interest in building on their lead and were content to protect a one-goal advantage with perhaps the thought that they could sneak another goal as we pushed forward..... T-Mac conceded a free-kick at midfield and got a yellow card - there was nothing too harsh about the decision, although a couple of the home players had escaped punishment for similar misdemeanors..... At the time we though nothing of it....
Ten minutes later Austin broke clear and bravely challenged a clearly-tentative goalkeeper who came out feet first towards our diminutive striker. Neither player came out of the collision well, with Austin banging his head ferociously into the turf. Now we had lost one of our goal-threats as well as having to play with ten men. Moreover, the replacement of the USF 'keeper actually worked in their favor as they returned their normal starter between the posts. Surely we couldn't suffer any more adversity in this game...... aha! How wrong can you be!! Minutes later a USF player fell onto the ball at midfield and attempted to shield it while lying on the ground. The referee failed to blow his whistle so TJ and T-Mac attempted to extract the ball. Only when one of our boys made contact with the player and not the ball did the referee elect to blow up - about five seconds later than he should have. We were awarded the free-kick, yet our man in orange elected to show T-Mac a yellow card - his second of the game. Now we're down to nine players and still a goal down. The referee, realizing his gross error gave our staff the "my bad" wave...... not much help now!!
So, here we were, down to nine men, twenty minutes to play and a goal down. Well the only thing to do now was to get everyone behind the ball and try to limit the damage..... NOT ON YOUR LIFE MATEY!!!! That would be what MOST teams might do in the same situation, but this Brown squad is made of sterner stuff than that! Another tactical re-shuffle and for the next twenty minutes you would have thought that USF was playing with nine men! We won a free-kick as Jonny O was whacked from behind for the umpteenth time. Up stepped Jay to drive in a sublime shot that the home 'keeper could only parry and at the second attempt Dylan smashed the ball into the net.... Cue melee on the visiting bench.... 1-1 with eight minutes left!!
Grandstrand and the re-energized Bears defence kept the scores even going into the final minutes and now it was time for extra-time. Twenty more minutes to play - surely we couldn't hold on, or even win this game, could we? The first overtime period mirrored the final twenty minutes - it was Brown who pressed and passed while USF struggled with our movement. It was only in the second period where they finally took some risks and played with a 4-2-4 to try and unsettle us. Chances came and went - Grandstrand, Coleman, Walls, McDuff and Hayward all threw their bodies in front of shots. Nicky headed everything in the middle of the park as if there was a radar on the ball, and Jonny, Pop, Rosa, TJ and Mikey M all ran their socks off..... then in the waining moments Sean Rosa won a tackle in midfield and sent Dylan racing clear of the home defence - he was 1v1 with the home keeper..... who pulled off a world class save to deny him. That would have been a story to tell.....
The final whistle sounded and the USF players slumped to the ground as our boys walked off the field having produced one of the best performances against adversity that I have been a part of. The fact that the score was a tie was dissappointing - but as a performance it was up there with the very best, and deserved so much more.....
As the post game food was consumed with great fervour the players and parents mingled with some of the friends and alumni of the program who had provided us with outstanding support during the course of our entire trip. Despite being 3000 miles from Stevenson, the vocal backing that our players received was louder and more enthusiastic than anything provided for the locals. Although they may not have told you directly - everyone associated with the team is truly apreciative of the efforts put forth by our friends of the program.....
2005 Team Captain Sean Gosselin ('06) and Coach Noonan renew aquaintances at Pier 39
The Tourist (left) And Ray Houghton Make It Through Airport Security With Precious Cargo
Great to have Brown soccer in the Bay Area this weekend. I don't know if I'm more impressed with the level of soccer this team is capable of playing, the heart with which they played against USF, or the quality of the young men I had the opportunity to speak with throughout the weekend.
ReplyDeleteDoes Austin know where he is yet?
Great job with the blog Gregg!
Chris Strausser '85
I gushed with Chris about Brown's play and heart, but Paul Grandstrand's name should have been capitalized. He made some fabulous saves on some point blank shots.
ReplyDeletep.s. Robbie was choked from behind - the ref didn't have a good angle on it, but the linesman should have called it.
George Halmos '66
The boys will be delighted to see your comments - thanks! They certainly appreciated all the local support.
ReplyDeleteAustin is much better - fully aware that he is back in class!
I agree with you George.... The problem is that this blog writer also happens to be the goalkeeper trainer and I'd be accused of major bias if I gave him too much glory....