Jerzy Boys Dispatched.... Brown 3-1 Rutgers

Tuesday night at Stevenson field was one of those nights that just felt special. Perhaps it was the come-from-behind manner of our victory, or perhaps it was the fact that we achieved a resounding win over a Big East school with plenty of talent. Maybe, just maybe, it had something to do with our overwhelming love of all things from the Garden State......
As we began the warm-up at dusk some ominous clouds loomed over the trees and the skies darkened quickly. The warm-up was lively and it certainly seemed like our squad was "up for it." A torrential downpour during the pre-game did nothing to dampen the mood of the team, although Culpy had a good moan about his newest goretex jacket getting wet....
The match kicked off and within seconds we were on the attack. A fluid attacking movement led to a shooting opportunity for Sean (definitely a Portugal fan now) Rosa who rattled the post from 18 yards out. A sign of things to come perhaps? Well, not quite..... The game ebbed and flowed throughout the opening period with neither 'keeper being really tested. Schlenks made a couple of routine stops in the home goal and our defence dealt well with a lively and physical front two from Rutgers. Then, after about twenty minutes we gave away a set-piece and subsequently conceded what could best be described as a sloppy goal. The ball wasn't cleared properly and bounced around inside our box before being stabbed home from close range. 1-0 Bad Guys.
Slowly but surely we began to assert ourselves and chances came and went. Just as it seemed we would go into half-time a goal down up popped that man Nicky Elenz-Martin to smash a shot under the 'keeper from the top of the box after good work from TJ and Sean. 1-1 - we deserved that!
As we left the field for the locker room Coach Noonan was "in the zone." He checked the clock about seven times before unleashing a classic half-time tirade. In the days leading up to the game he had mentioned giving the season a "fresh coat of paint." Well, the locker room walls certainly needed one now....! Coach clearly felt (rightly) that we hadn't quite matched our opponents' physicality.......
As the second half got underway it was quickly clear which team was playing on the front foot. Rutgers struggled do deal with our movement and aggression. A clear penalty for our boys was waved away minutes before we won a corner on the right. Jay Hayward sent the resultant corner-kick beyond the back-post where Evan Coleman re-directed the ball across the face of goal. It was none other than our own Jersey freshman T-Mac (well he went to school there..) who wriggled free and planted a header past the frozen visiting 'keeper. 2-1 Bears!
Rutgers were struggling to find any kind of rhythm and began resorting to a physical onslaught. But these Bears are made of stern stuff and would not break. Minutes later our defence cleared the ball from a Rutgers set-piece to Mikey Manella who found himself one-on-one with the last defender. He forced the defender into a rushed attempt to clear and suddenly found himself bearing down on goal.... The Rutgers 'keeper came out and Mikey side-stepped him before being felled in a crude challenge - but out of nowhere David (I'm not fast) Walls had sprinted the length of the park to force his way into the box and clamly slot the ball into the empty net. It was Wallsy's second goal of the season and his celebration suited..... 3-1 Brown.
Rutgers were a beaten team..... they mustered very little in response, and the last fifteen minutes or so was an opportunity for our young team to gain further experience in game management. The one attempt that the visitors did put on target was called back for a legitimate offside decision, to which the visiting bench reacted furiously, to the point that it was almost comical. In the face of some unwarranted provocation our young team did themselves proud in retaining discipline and seeing the game out without any major incident.
Next up is Harvard. Hope to see you in Cambridge......