Bears 4-2 Tigers

One thing that the home fans at Stevenson field have been treated to over the past two games is goals. TWELVE in all! Once again entertainment has been in plentiful supply for the brave souls who endured a first real taste of a frigid New England fall evening last night..... As you might guess though, seeing six goals per game being scored is not exactly what the staff or players had in mind..... Sure, it's great for the team to be so free-scoring (nine goals in three games) but the fact that our defending has looked more like keystone cops at times is a bit disturbing!!
The match kicked off and our boys immediately set about the task of attacking the visitors goal. Less than two minutes into the contest Evan Coleman picked up the ball on the halfway line and drove a fifty-yard cross-field diagonal ball to Mike Manella. Our diminutive Californian utility man then squared the ball into the path of Sean (FrenchCanadianPortuguese) Rosa, who volleyed an absolute screamer into the back of the Princeton net. It was a very special goal! Even more pleasing was the fact that the build up play was straight from the text book/scouting report.
Inexplicably, but not for the first time this season, our young team then proceeded to let the visitors back into the match. The Princeton central midfield players were getting plenty of the ball and our defence was struggling to cope with the service behind them. Grandstrand dealt well with a couple of situations, and the width of the post was our saving grace on one occasion. When we did counter-attack Sean and T-Mac were looking dangerous, while Jonny flew past the Tigers left back on a couple of occasions as if he was standing still.... The score remained at 1-0 Good Guys as we entered the locker room for the half-time chat. It could definitely be said that we were fortunate to go in with our slender lead intact.
A forceful yet measured talk from Coach Noonan at half-time would surely get our boys re-energized and ready to put this game to bed in the second period....
The team was changed slightly as the second half got underway. TJ, following his energetic and goal scoring performance at Columbia, was on from the start, and he had an almost immediate impact. Grandstrand drove the ball long and TJ out-jumped the defender to flick the ball on to Sean. Mr. Rosa then expertly made room for himself and drove a left-footed shot into the corner of the net. 2-0 Bears!
Less than sixty seconds later Thompson was the provider again as he made a run into the right channel and crossed to the back post, where Nicky was unmarked to plant a firm header into the back of the Princeton net. 3-0!
By now, you're probably anticipating the next segment of this match report...... yup, that's right, we then spent the next portion of the match chasing shadows as this Princeton team rallied and tried to force their way back into the game. Their frontmen were causing problems for our defence all night, and a sortie down our left flank led to the visiting right-winger having enough time to have a quick cup of tea before driving a cross to the near post, with the forward dispatching a header into the back of our net. 3-1.
For the next fifteen minutes our defending was almost comical. Not for the first time recently Grandstrand proved his worth to the team with a series of saves and clearances. The robot was becoming increasingly irritated with the ten men in front of him.... Jay Hayward was re-introduced at left-back and he would have an almost-immediate impact on the match, but not at the defensive end of the park.....
The tireless Rosa was upended twenty-five yards from goal and a free-kick was awarded. Walls and Hayward lingered over the ball. The position of the free kick (about ten yards to the right of centre) was ideal for either a right-footed cross or left-footed shot...... Hayward strode up to the ball and unleashed a powerful, swerving left-footed drive that was simply unstoppable. The Princeton 'keeper flung himself to his left but he couldn't get near it. 4-1 Bears! Another super-strike.... The bench erupted and the expression on Jay's face said it all - he was quite proud of himself....
There was twenty-minutes still to play, and although we had a three-goal cushion, based on our defensive frailty thus far in the contest it wasn't beyond the realms of possibility that Princeton could still come back into the game.... and so it proved five minutes later. An early ball was played down our gaping left flank and the pacy visiting forward broke clear. As Ryan "Boots" McDuff came across to deal with the situation the forward got his feet into a tangle. McDuff made slight contact just outside the box and the Princeton Tiger did a magnificent job of throwing himself forwards and winning a penalty. The resultant spot-kick was planted firmly into the back of the net and it was game-on again. 4-2 Bears with fifteen minutes still to play....
Thankfully we managed to see out the rest of the contest. Our defence sat a little deeper which somewhat nullified the visitors' pacy attack, and as they pressed forward it created space at the other end of the pitch for us to exploit. On one such occasion, Jonny broke clear after an excellent ball played in by TJ, and he was unlucky to see his effort rebound back into play off the underside of the crossbar.
Once again our bench was vocal and supportive throughout the contest and the home fans made plenty of noise in their efforts to support the team. Regardless of what we felt on the bench we were at least confident that the healthy crowd on hand had been well entertained!
Up next we entertain the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers - our second consecutive contest against a team from the Jerz....