Season Aborted. UNC 2-0 Brown

"Time flies when you're having fun." I don't know who it was who originally came up with that well-worn cliche, but it certainly is most poignant when reflecting on the season that was 2009 Brown Men's Soccer.....
The harsh reality of the college game is that a succesful year almost always has to finish with a loss - only the national champion and perhaps a handful of teams unfortunate to not get selected for knockout bracket can reflect on a winning end to a good season. And so it proved for these Brown Bears at Chapel Hill last Sunday afternoon......
After the euphoria of the extra-time win against Stony Brook in the first round it was back to business quickly as preparations were made for the treck south to the home of the 2002 national champions and number 5 seeded North Carolina Tar Heels. The first leg of our journey was a bit special for the boys as the NCAA chartered a private aircraft for the two-hour flight to Raleigh-Durham. We "lived large" as the bus pulled into the private apron at TF Green to put us on our outbound flight, and we arrived into a similar scenario two hours later in North Carolina.
Onto the real business of the match now - our boys started somewhat tentatively, showing some lack of experience in dealing with the occasion, perhaps a little intimidated even..... It was during this shaky spell early in the match that our fate was sealed when we failed to deal properly with a free-kick from the right side of our box. The home centre-forward ghosted in behind our defence and glanced a header into the net for the early goal. 1-0 to the boys in powder blue...
Awoken by the harsh reality of the goal, and a dose of realization that we had to play to our potential to win, our boys responded almost immediately. A well-timed ball behind the UNC defence was pounced upon by Jonny and he raced clear of the last defender. In what can best be described as a clumsy challenge Jon was upended in the box. A clear penalty. But, not in the eyes of a referee who would go on to prove his ineptitude over and again throughout the course of the contest. It was an injustice of mammouth proportions.
Minutes later, Nicky was upended after a sublime piece of skill on the edge of the box. Once again the referee waved away the appeals. Meanwhile, several members of the home side were performing some astute and acrobatic techniques in winning free-kicks at will, as they threw themselves to the floor and cried in "pain" at the slightest hint of physical contact. Greg Luganis would have been proud of these performances. UNC rarely threatened our goal as we grew in confidence and began to create a few half-chances. On the occasion that they did threaten Grandstrand was on-hand to keep them at bay.
Half-time was an opportunity for Coach Noonan to re-organize and rally the troops. A little more self-belief was injected into the boys and they took to the pitch in more confident mood. For a period of about twenty-five minutes in the second half the powder-blues were chasing shadows. They were defending deeper and deeper and digging deep into their proverbial bag of dirty tricks to keep these Brown Bears at bay. Their goalkeeper was busy and they played most of the half with ten men camped inside their own half. But, for whatever reason, it was just not meant to be for our boys on the day. In a frantic final few minutes, immediately following a Dylan cross-shot that cannoned off the crossbar, their centre-forward broke clear of our last man back and put the ball past a helpless Grandstrand. It is an unfair and unrealistic reflection of a contest that the score reads 2-0. But these players left the field with heads held high, comfortable in the knowledge that they had just spent the last 90 minutes playing a hard honest game of football in the spirit in which the game is supposed to be played. The Tar Heels could certainly learn a lesson or two there......
As it has been all season, the traveling support was unexpectedly large and predictably vocal. The only regret has to be that we were unable to extend the adventure for a few more games and reach the pinnacle of the game that this group of players truly deserves. There is no way to describe that empty feeling that you get after such an ending to the season. Immediate thoughts are with the seniors, knowing that this was truly the end for their collegiate soccer careers. Over time, it will sink in that indeed, 2009 was a success and a season to be proud of, but for now it just leaves a pit in the stomach.....
Onwards we roll now towards the 2010 season. Like the 2008-09 transition, there is plenty of work to do between now and next August to ensure that we can produce a season that can bring the success and sense of achievement that this one just has. If the players can reproduce the same effort, energy, enthusiasm for the game and each other, and work-rate, that they have shown over the past year, then there is no reason why 2010 cannot see Brown Men's Soccer end the season with a win....
Many thanks to all of you who have given your support to the team throughout this year. It rarely gets acknowledged publicly, but you'll have to trust us that it is truly appreciated in so many ways by the players and staff.