Or so you'd think.......
The opening weekend of the season was time for the inaugural Ocean State Cup - the brainchild of the four Division 1 soccer programs here in the smallest state in the Union. The elimination-format tournament took place at the home site of two of the participants, with the 3rd/4th place game and championship match being hosted by none other than the Bears of Brown University at Stevenson field. In the opening "semi-finals" URI traveled to Providence College, while we had the short trek up Route 146 to take on the Bulldogs of Bryant University.
BRYANT 0-4 BROWN
Hurricane Earl had muted down into more of a series of scattered heavy showers and wind gusts by the time it had traveled this far north. Yet despite the mellowing, the weather proved to be a far from ideal atmosphere in which to play the first showpiece match of the year. Coming off the back of an encouraging win at UNH in pre-season, the boys were ready and prepared for the challenge presented by a direct and physical opponent in Smithfield.
A fairly even first twenty minutes started to become somewhat one-sided as our boys took hold of the game. Spaces in the home defence began to appear, and a number of half-chances came and went before Oki got on the end of a fine passing move on the left flank and he was left with simplest of jobs to slot the ball home over a flailing home 'keeper from 12 yards out. 1-0 Bears and you could already sense that more was to come....
The second half started almost perfectly for Brown as the returning-from-injury T-Mac bamboozled the home right back, got to the by-line and sent a teasing ball across goal that Sean Rosa made no mistake with. 2-0 after 48 minutes...
A couple of testing shots were fired in at Grandstrand from distance who managed to hold onto a slippery ball that was fired in at pace. But, truth be told, he was never truly tested and was a virtual spectator for much of the match as a solid back-four of Wallsy, Robbo, Fluffy and Dylan (gotta come up with a nickname for the road-runner!) kept a physical yet pedestrian home attack at bay.
As the home side became more frustrated the tackling became reflective of their mood, and it was no surprise when the centre-back got his marching orders for a second rash challenge. What was surprising was that the tackle was the result of Wallsy (yes Wallsy) beating him for pace down the line!
A short while later our peroxide-haired left midfielder from Maine made the result secure with two goals of his own - a well placed free kick from 25 yards out and a tap in from about 25 inches out....
As the game wore down it was an opportunity to blood some of the young promising talent in the squad, and virtually every player on duty made debut minutes in a Brown uniform. Definitely a nice way to kick off the 2010 season!
BROWN 0-0 PC
If the weather had been uncooperative on Friday, Labor Day 2010 was the antidote.... glorious sunshine bathed Stevenson Field as the boys, resplendent in their shiny new white kit, took to the pitch to take on the Friars of Providence College. It has been a long time (five years) since this in-state rivalry had taken place during the regular season. Bragging rights in regular-season 2006 had gone to the Friars, while our boys had been victorious in the last few Spring season meetings... So here we were again, with some silverware at stake this time....
It was a flat atmosphere on college hill as the match kicked-off and the play from both teams certainly reflected that in the opening stages. While our boys were certainly not playing at their maximum potential, there was little threat on either goal in the first 45 minutes. Some choice words from Pat Adidas Laughlin during the interval re-focussed and energized the home team, and PC were on the back-foot for much of the second half. Yet clear-cut chances were still at a premium and neither goalkeeper had very much to do. Inevitably the match entered extra-time and by this stage it appeared that the visitors from Admiral Street were content to see the game out. At one stage there was an APB put out for the PC goalkeeper as he went to retrieve a game ball to take a goal kick....
In the closing minutes we scored a perfectly good goal to win the game, yet the referee spotted a "handball" by Fluffy as he rose to head the ball into the danger area. Apparently Fluffy is now wearing large white goalkeeper gloves in games (maybe he thinks they look cute with the turquoise and pink cleats??). Frustration, yet hardly surprising given the performance of the man-in-the-middle.....
And so, the game ended in a draw. Due to the nature of the competition it had been decided that an actual champion had to be declared and so the lottery of the penalty shootout ensued. I was fearful in the extreme when the hand of our only English player went up to volunteer for a spot kick...... incredulous when our goalkeeper did the same! In true English style Wallsy had his penalty saved and up-stepped former Bruno United player Wilder Arboleda to sink the decisive penalty for the visitors (where's the loyalty, how dare a Bruno player score at Stevenson Field!!!). Mad celebrations ensued for the Friars - we were left wondering exactly what all the fuss was about....
Two games..... zero goals against...... four goals scored...... no major injuries from the games..... Not a bad way to start.....
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The Big Kick-Off
Yes, it's that time again.... the new season is upon us and the men of Brown Men's Soccer are underway, looking to build upon the improvements shown during the 2009 season as they once again tackle some of the nation's very best collegiate teams on college hill.
The roster remains with a very familiar look from the one that ended the previous campaign, with more than 20 players returning. We have said goodbye to some great players, but also welcomed a talented young group of freshmen who will be looking to prove themselves capable of stepping onto the hallowed grass of Stevenson Field....
Pre-Season
A relatively healthy group reported back for the start of double-sessions and from the outset the energy and enthusiasm was high. Coach Laughlin wasted no time in imprinting his expectations for the group and they responded accordingly. Fitness levels were excellent, and the attitude was positive. The entire squad traveled up to UNH on August 28th and a creditable 1-0 victory was earned against a UNH team that was playing its third pre-season match. Sean Rosa scored the decisive goal midway through the first half, latching on to a loose ball in the box after a trademark Manella long-throw.
As double-sessions ended and the team geared up for the first "real" match of the season one could sense confidence and optimism from within....
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
A New Era......
Most of you reading this will, no doubt, be aware of the news that Coach Mike Noonan, leader of the Brown Men's Soccer team for the past fourteen seasons, has recently departed for Clemson, South Carolina.
Starting with the 1995 season, Mike brought immediate success with his winning mentality, knowledge of the game, and unmatched work ethic and attention to detail. The title of Coach Rick Pitino's autobiography "Success Is A Choice" comes to mind when you assess Coach Noonan's work habits as head coach of the Bears, as he put in hours and hours of his personal energy to ensure that Brown Soccer sustained a history of excellence during his tenure. Noonan established himself as one of the nation's brightest soccer minds in his fifteen years on college hill, and we are sure that Clemson will benefit from his presence on campus.
As has been emphasized throughout the process of hiring of his replacement, Brown Soccer is a sustainable entity that will move on, whomever is at the helm of the program. With that, we welcome another outstanding soccer mind to Providence in the form of Pat Laughlin, a man familiar to many of us, as he takes the reigns from "within," having been an assistant coach with the team in the recent outstanding 2009 season.
Coach Laughlin has already started the process of sustaining the tradition of excellence for Brown Men's Soccer. The players are engaged and lively, and the 2010 recruiting class have all re-affirmed their commitment to the university and the program. The Spring season begins shortly with visits from Boston College (April 16th) and Providence College (April 14th) just around the corner.
Before coming to Brown, Laughlin served as head coach at his alma-mata, the University of Maine, where he turned around a perennially losing program in quite remarkable fashion during 2007 and 2008. Prior to his tenure at Maine, Laughlin was an integral member of staff on the 2006 Atlantic-10 championship-winning Rhode Island Rams squad. For a more detailed biography on our new coach visit www.brownbears.com.
April 24th is Spring weekend at Brown. Crammed in to the festivities of that weekend will be penultimate soccer-event of our Spring season, the annual alumni game. Recently-graduated players (who are still in shape hopefully!) will put the current squad to the test in a highly contested contest at the Berylson Family Field complex. Revenge is on the minds of the current squad, who suffered a 2-1 reverse in April 2009!
For those alums who are visiting campus on that weekend and are confident/healthy enough to participate, we look forward to a great game. To ensure that we have knowledge of your attendance please contact me at gregg_miller@brown.edu.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, November 20, 2009
"What's a Seawolf?" Brown 1-0 Stony Brook
When Stevenson Field is packed to the rafters as it was last night there is a special feeling about the place. One of the things that you can always rely on is some "intelligent" heckling from the home fans. So it was yesterday evening when the home fans responded to the small but loud contingent from Long Island with the lyrical question you see in the headline above..... do Seawolves swim?
The team knew before yesterday's contest that they were in for a battle - this Stony Brook team had an unbelievable run of results in their final seven games of the season, conceding just two goals en route to the America East championship. Many of you will have seen the YouTube video of their comical penalty shootout victory versus Hartford.....
Preparing for tournament games on two days notice is always a challenge. Information is difficult to get and rarely have we seen these teams live. Ray Houghton had the lead on this one, while The Tourist got to work on the "what if" preparation work for the next round. When you come to the games and watch this team play for 90 minutes, the fact that our team has such an advantage in terms of knowledge of the opponent, and a game plan to beat them, is testament to the unbelievable amount of prep time put in by the coaching staff.......
The match kicked off under a perfect Fall evening sky. The temperature was surprisngly warm for late November. From the kick-off it was clear that, once again, our boys had the energy and desire to take the game to this team. Just 90 seconds in Sean had an opportunity and put the ball narrowly wide. Within the next 20 minutes we created a hatful of chances to score, yet uncharacteristically we couldn't find the target. Dylan, in particular was having joy on the left flank and bamboozled a couple of Seawolves before serving a quality ball into the box. On the opposite side the Wallsy/Jonny combination was opening up the visitors defence like a can of beans.....
How we didn't score in the opening half was anyone's guess. Our boys played at a ferocious pace, while the visitors were limited to one half-chance from a narrow angle that Grandstrand dealt with comfortably.
The second-half, predictably, was played at a slower pace, with the visitors changing their shape and style to deal with our passing more effectively. We still created some decent scoring opportunities and looked comfortable defensively for the most part. On the two occasions that the visitors did get behind us Evan was on hand with a last-ditch tackle and Big Paul made a good stop from a header.
In similar fashion to the Dartmouth game, after a twenty-minute spell for the visitors our team began to control the contest again. Rob was biting in with tackles, while Jonny, Sean, Nicky and Tayls all caused problems for the visiting defence. The back-four were excellent throughout, with Evan and Fluffy looking solid in the middle.
As the second-half wore on it seemed like a matter of time before we scored. TJ went closest with an excellent header that cannoned off the foot of the post....
And so it was to extra time..... the calm, soothing and efferevescent words of Coach Noonan relaxed the players during the intermission...... oh sorry, wrong script...... our leader proceeded to leave the players in no doubt that the passing needed to improve if we were to get the win that our superiority deserved....!
The first extra period passed without major incident, except for one ludicrous decision by the referee in awarding Stony Brook a free-kick after Evan had been dragged to the ground and man-handled by the chippy and pesky visiting striker from Long Island. Thankfully Grandstrand dealt comfortably with the ensuing free-kick.
The second period of extra time was all Brown. Stony Brook were struggling to cope and the introduction of Jonny just two minutes into the period proved to be the super-sub decision of the night. Just a minute after being introduced Jon received a great ball into the channel from Robbie (who was blatantly pole-axed by a nasty tackle in the process), he took one touch and clipped the ball to the back post with the outside of his foot. The ball was deflected into the path of Sean who made no mistake from eight yards away. Cue pandemonium! With just six minutes remaining in the game we had done it!
Up next for these resilient and resourceful boys is a trip to Chapel Hill to take on the number five seeded Tar Heels of North Carolina..... wear your seat belts!
The team knew before yesterday's contest that they were in for a battle - this Stony Brook team had an unbelievable run of results in their final seven games of the season, conceding just two goals en route to the America East championship. Many of you will have seen the YouTube video of their comical penalty shootout victory versus Hartford.....
Preparing for tournament games on two days notice is always a challenge. Information is difficult to get and rarely have we seen these teams live. Ray Houghton had the lead on this one, while The Tourist got to work on the "what if" preparation work for the next round. When you come to the games and watch this team play for 90 minutes, the fact that our team has such an advantage in terms of knowledge of the opponent, and a game plan to beat them, is testament to the unbelievable amount of prep time put in by the coaching staff.......
The match kicked off under a perfect Fall evening sky. The temperature was surprisngly warm for late November. From the kick-off it was clear that, once again, our boys had the energy and desire to take the game to this team. Just 90 seconds in Sean had an opportunity and put the ball narrowly wide. Within the next 20 minutes we created a hatful of chances to score, yet uncharacteristically we couldn't find the target. Dylan, in particular was having joy on the left flank and bamboozled a couple of Seawolves before serving a quality ball into the box. On the opposite side the Wallsy/Jonny combination was opening up the visitors defence like a can of beans.....
How we didn't score in the opening half was anyone's guess. Our boys played at a ferocious pace, while the visitors were limited to one half-chance from a narrow angle that Grandstrand dealt with comfortably.
The second-half, predictably, was played at a slower pace, with the visitors changing their shape and style to deal with our passing more effectively. We still created some decent scoring opportunities and looked comfortable defensively for the most part. On the two occasions that the visitors did get behind us Evan was on hand with a last-ditch tackle and Big Paul made a good stop from a header.
In similar fashion to the Dartmouth game, after a twenty-minute spell for the visitors our team began to control the contest again. Rob was biting in with tackles, while Jonny, Sean, Nicky and Tayls all caused problems for the visiting defence. The back-four were excellent throughout, with Evan and Fluffy looking solid in the middle.
As the second-half wore on it seemed like a matter of time before we scored. TJ went closest with an excellent header that cannoned off the foot of the post....
And so it was to extra time..... the calm, soothing and efferevescent words of Coach Noonan relaxed the players during the intermission...... oh sorry, wrong script...... our leader proceeded to leave the players in no doubt that the passing needed to improve if we were to get the win that our superiority deserved....!
The first extra period passed without major incident, except for one ludicrous decision by the referee in awarding Stony Brook a free-kick after Evan had been dragged to the ground and man-handled by the chippy and pesky visiting striker from Long Island. Thankfully Grandstrand dealt comfortably with the ensuing free-kick.
The second period of extra time was all Brown. Stony Brook were struggling to cope and the introduction of Jonny just two minutes into the period proved to be the super-sub decision of the night. Just a minute after being introduced Jon received a great ball into the channel from Robbie (who was blatantly pole-axed by a nasty tackle in the process), he took one touch and clipped the ball to the back post with the outside of his foot. The ball was deflected into the path of Sean who made no mistake from eight yards away. Cue pandemonium! With just six minutes remaining in the game we had done it!
Up next for these resilient and resourceful boys is a trip to Chapel Hill to take on the number five seeded Tar Heels of North Carolina..... wear your seat belts!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Big Green With Envy. Brown 3-0 Dartmouth
THANK YOU SENIORS!
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT PICTURED WITH THEIR PARENTS:TJ THOMPSON, THOMAS THUNELL, JARROD SCHLENKER, NICK ELENZ-MARTIN
After the euphoric reaction to the excellent win at Yale, the boys had been brought back to earth with a week of intense and thorough preparation for this match against perennial Ivy-rival Dartmouth. A 2-0 reverse in Hanover at the end of the 2008 campaign had ensured that last-season was ended without a tournament appearance. Revenge was not the buzz-word of the week, but a certain amount of edge was added to the contest for the boys who had suffered in the freezing rain on national television last year.....
Nick Elenz-Martin
Nick Elenz-MartinCoach Noonan rallied the troops in his pre-game talk, and the players entered Stevenson field with a determined and energetic look about them. From the first whistle it was clear that we were "up for it." Tackles were flying in, headers won, and the movement was crisp and quick. Chances came and went. Then, after about fifteen minutes Nicky played a wonderful 50-yard cross-field ball over to T-Mac who found himself in space on the left flank. He ran at the defender, beat him with a piece of sublime skill and planted the ball under the 'keeper and into the back of the net. 1-0 Brown.
Jarrod Schlenker
The Captain - Thomas ThunellThis well-coached Dartmouth team came out in the second half with a new plan and for the first fifteen minutes of the half passed the ball well in the middle of the park. They created some half-chances, but the work-rate of these Brown Bears remained steadfast. We blocked shots, tracked runners and got men behind the ball to ensure that the 2-0 lead stayed intact.
Slowly but surely we regained momentum and started to come back into the game. A couple of chance came and went.... Then, with about fifteen minutes left, T-Mac was felled by a forearm shiver to the face that wouldn't be out of place in the UFC. The ensuing red-card for the visitors put an end to any chance they had of getting back into a game that, to be honest, they were struggling in anyway. Minutes later Jay and Nicky combined on the left flank and crossed for Austin, who made no mistake with a header from about seven inches away.....! 3-0 Bears.
The rest of the contest was a formality. Dartmouth acted and looked like a well-beaten team - they were. This match was an outstanding performance and a perfect way to end the regular season. Up next is the NCAA tournament selection show..... who will we face???
CATCHING UP.......
Apologies to those of you that rely on the blog as a source of information - a few extra assignments have led to a back-log and the blog has suffered...... sorry blog.... :(
So, to catch up...... since Cornell our season has hit a low point then rebounded in spectacular style. First there was the Penn game - the less said about this 1-0 reverse, the better. We still cannot believe we came out of this contest on the wrong side of the result. Like any one-off loss, we'll just have to confine this match to the trash and move on...
Yale are "Popped...." Yale 1-2 Brown
The only high point of the Penn contest was the cameo performance of TJ "Pop" Popolizio. He came on late in the first-half, brought great energy to the team, and perhaps came closest to turning the game in our favor. Such was his impact that he was given the nod for a starting berth when we traveled to New Haven on November 7th..... The boys knew that they had under-performed in their last match and knew that something had to be done about it. Although it was never talked about, this was a "must-win" game. Preparations all week had been intense and thorough - the team had no doubts about what was expected.
The contest got off to the worst possible start on what was Yale Senior night. Within minutes we had conceded a poor goal after the home winger had been given too much space on the left side. Grandstrand was helpless and it was 1-0 Bad Guys.
This was the jolt that our team needed and for the next 42+ minutes the visiting Bears took the game to the hosts. It was no surprise when, late in the half, a five-man passing move led to the equalizer - a diving header of epic proportions by that man Pop! The build up play for the goal was a masterpiece of football and the finish typified the bravery of our diminutive striker...
The half-time break was the only method that Yale had to break our momentum. For a while the second period it looked as if the home team might just squeeze their way back into the contest, despite these Brown Bears playing a far superior brand of football.
With ten minutes left the home 'keeper flapped at a cross and the ball was quickly played back into the Yale box by Jonny. Despite the ball being played behind him that-man Pop contorted his body and kept the ball alive as T-Mac stode in to drive the ball into the Yale net. 2-1 Brown! the on-field celebration that followed was hilarious..... bettered only by the off-field celebration that took place in the locker room afterwards!
With less than ten minutes left our boys were too savvy and too experience to allow a solid yet unimaginative home team back into the match. Despite some desperate balls played into our box, our boys came out victorious and very much relieved. They had bounced back from adversity in exactly the way they had been expected to. With the final match at home versus Dartmouth on the horizon it was all to play for in search of the NCAA berth and possible Ivy title....
So, to catch up...... since Cornell our season has hit a low point then rebounded in spectacular style. First there was the Penn game - the less said about this 1-0 reverse, the better. We still cannot believe we came out of this contest on the wrong side of the result. Like any one-off loss, we'll just have to confine this match to the trash and move on...
Yale are "Popped...." Yale 1-2 Brown
The only high point of the Penn contest was the cameo performance of TJ "Pop" Popolizio. He came on late in the first-half, brought great energy to the team, and perhaps came closest to turning the game in our favor. Such was his impact that he was given the nod for a starting berth when we traveled to New Haven on November 7th..... The boys knew that they had under-performed in their last match and knew that something had to be done about it. Although it was never talked about, this was a "must-win" game. Preparations all week had been intense and thorough - the team had no doubts about what was expected.
The contest got off to the worst possible start on what was Yale Senior night. Within minutes we had conceded a poor goal after the home winger had been given too much space on the left side. Grandstrand was helpless and it was 1-0 Bad Guys.
This was the jolt that our team needed and for the next 42+ minutes the visiting Bears took the game to the hosts. It was no surprise when, late in the half, a five-man passing move led to the equalizer - a diving header of epic proportions by that man Pop! The build up play for the goal was a masterpiece of football and the finish typified the bravery of our diminutive striker...
The half-time break was the only method that Yale had to break our momentum. For a while the second period it looked as if the home team might just squeeze their way back into the contest, despite these Brown Bears playing a far superior brand of football.
With ten minutes left the home 'keeper flapped at a cross and the ball was quickly played back into the Yale box by Jonny. Despite the ball being played behind him that-man Pop contorted his body and kept the ball alive as T-Mac stode in to drive the ball into the Yale net. 2-1 Brown! the on-field celebration that followed was hilarious..... bettered only by the off-field celebration that took place in the locker room afterwards!
With less than ten minutes left our boys were too savvy and too experience to allow a solid yet unimaginative home team back into the match. Despite some desperate balls played into our box, our boys came out victorious and very much relieved. They had bounced back from adversity in exactly the way they had been expected to. With the final match at home versus Dartmouth on the horizon it was all to play for in search of the NCAA berth and possible Ivy title....
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