SM Who? Bears 1-0 SMU

Twas a brutal New England Fall evening as Mother Nature intervened into the Adidas Classic with a vengeance.... Yale and Adelphi battled deep into the second half in the pouring rain, and then the flash of white light in the sky changed everything. Matt Culp said "enough!" and off we all scampered into the OMAC for shelter from a thunder cell. What would we do without Culpy....?? He'd had the automated warning texted to his phone. "Is he the only staffer at Brown who can receive texts?"
The rain continued to fall and the flashes in the sky came and went. Eventually the Yale-Adelphi game was officially ended without further action, and the Brown-SMU match was scheduled for a delayed 8:45pm start. As the boys mingled around the OMAC it was clear that all they wanted to do was play......good news!
With rain gear aplenty and Stevenson field defying the elements both teams took to the field. From the first whistle it was obvious who had the desire, determination and will to succeed. The boys in black (we were officially the "away" team) imposed themselves on a group of Texas-based youngsters who clearly would have preferred a quiet night in with the Wii.
SMU showed some early signs of their undoubted ability as they attempted to build from the back - but Grandstrand in the Bears goal was only slightly tested. As the half wore on the indications started to appear that here was a team ripe for the taking. Slick (no pun intended) passing by the Bears led to creation of gaps in the SMU defence and chances came and went. Then it hapenned - Sean Rosa was released behind the SMU defence and a crude challenge inside the box updended him. Penalty! The referee had no hesitation. Red Card! What? Well then at least a yellow? No?!?!? But surely, the rules are clear - denial of a goal-scoring opportunity by the last defender..... It was as clear-cut as you'll ever see - but apparently only to the brave souls who had come out in the storm and the members of the Brown coaching staff.... Mandell wasn't distracted - he dispatched the spot-kick into the bottom corner and the Bears took a deserved 1-0 lead. The fact that SMU retained 11 players was an injustice of mammouth proportions.....
Youth proceeded to then show it's ugly face, as Brown failed to capitalize on a psychological advantage and put these Texans to the sword in the final minutes of the first half. They were rattled, lost their shape and yet we let them back into the game. Eronious! We entered half-time with the lead intact, yet a mindset of "ok that's enough." No........!!!!
Coach Noonan was happy overall (his young team was beating the fifth-ranked team in the country), yet disturbed that his charges had not capitalized on the uncertainty and insecurity in the spine of the SMU team. He gently explained this at half-time.... ok, maybe he was a little more vociferous than I remember......
The second-half kicked off - at this stage the rain had mostly subsided and the flags behind the goal were no longer whipping in the wind. It appeared that the boys had heeded Coach Noonan's gentle advice at half-time - they harrassed and pressured SMU into submission of possession, and won corners, throw-ins and free-kicks in dangerous areas of the field. Two free-kicks in succession needed intervention from a visiting goalkeeper who looked far from comfortable, and another was aided by millimeters of paint on the inside of the post. Somehow the ball stayed out of the SMU net. The visitors rarely threatened, but when they did key interventions by Walls, Elenz-Martin and the imperious Coleman prevented any serious threat to the Brown goal. But on a night when the collective spirit outshone individual brilliance it would be unfair to dwell too much on individual performances or moments of brilliance. For those who braved the elements, they could not have failed to notice the spirit and verocity of the home bench. The players never let up in their vocal support of their teammates - in miserable conditions a spirit existed of optimism and support for their teammates....
As the game wore on the Brown team demonstrated maturity beyond their years as they managed the minutes to the conclusion of the contest. Can the boys build on this and show this type of effort and maturity every week??? We'll see. The signs are encouraging......

Next up is Adelphi....... more of the same please boys......