Soccer Game October 21, 2006
Dear Bro,
This week's adventure in geriatrics takes us to Francis field in Sycamore Township, a small soccer complex in the reachable parts of the northern Cincinnati suburbs. Actually, it is on Conrey, just off of Fields Ertel, about 4 or 5 miles from where we used to live on Bolingbroke back during the H.W. Bush administration. The weather was cooperative with a nice 55 degrees blanket settling over the area, and the rain that had visited town for the last few days moved off like an unwanted house guest, only to probably pay a call your wife and in-laws for the weekend.
I, of course, was running late. The game usually begins at 5:00pm, and this time of year it is getting dark around 7:00pm so we have to start on time to make sure we do not find ourselves flopping around in the twilight. But alas, I had promised our Pop that I would drop off some paperwork that Mum had signed for him earlier in the day, thus I swung by the paternal placial estate to say hello and drop off the requested paperwork. Thus I managed to show up for the game about 10 minutes after 5.
And of course we had not yet started playing. It appeared our opponents did not have enough players yet and could only field a team of about nine. We were waiting for additional support for them, but due to the light limit imposed on us by mother nature the game started just as I walked over to the pitch. The complex had three different fields, and we were on the one at the lowest level by the wooded area as that same durn team from two weeks ago that booted us off the field at Day Heights was using the "good" pitch of the facility. Also, this was a quieter area so there was no reinactment of New York City rush hour as we had encountered in Milford.
The field being at a lower level plays into this story, as remember I mentioned earlier that it had rained over the last few days. To be honest, calling this a field is generous on my part... I think if Jacque Cousteau was still alive he would have rubbed his hands in delight before donning his scuba gear and diving in... the whole thing was a water logged mud bog. I was actually very surprised that the game was not called off, as the surface was at a minimum muddy and in spots was sporting mini-ponds, including one that was right in front of the south goalface.
We started defending the water goal on the south end, but the game quickly showed that with them being short handed and our team understanding the concept of how to pass that it would be a one-sided affair.
And it was...
We scored only one goal in the first quarter, but we kept the pressure on them the entire time, and did not have to worry about defending the mudbog end too much as they only managed to venture close to it once. Yours truly got into his usual fullback position for the last 8 minutes of the quarter and only touched the ball once.
Two more goals went flying past the keeper in the second quarter, with the assault continuing from my team. One thing to note about my team that our opponents don't seem to embrace is that we actually pass the ball to the girls on our side, allowing us to use all 11 players on the pitch. Most teams play that favorite attacking mode of "5 guys and a touch". This always seems to take our opposition by surprise as even after we already have "touch" (ie- a female touched the ball in the offensive half) we still involve them in the game rather than a testostrone driven full frontal assault for glory.
One moment of note was the goal scored by our substitute player Rick. Unlike other teams I have played on, or manager Greg takes roll call earlier in the week to make sure we have enough players, and since we were potential short a few guy players he got a sub to come in this week. Actually, a better term would probably be "ringer". Rick was about 6'3", built like a brick %#&@ house and had a shot not unlike that originating from the USS Constitution during the War of 1812. One of the goals Rick made in the second quarter was a screamer from outside the penalty area that had their keeper feeling like a tourist, just standing and watching as it went by. Needless to say the rest of us also stood there with jaws open, then pretty much spent the rest of the half trying to pass the ball to Rick.
On a happy note, my teammate Linda scored a goal, her first since knee surgery. Before she tore up her knee she was lightning fast and scored all the time, but now is encumbered with an oversized knee brace and has not found that speed she had prior. As I used to bowl against her parents when Melody and I bowled with Dad & Jenny I was very happy for her.
The second half saw them defending the water filled southern goal and this did not bode well as even though they were now playing with 10 players we still had them on the ropes for the entire half. Rick scored another long range goal, this one was not a screamer but was on the other side of the pond in front of goal from the keeper, thus preventing any chance of him splashing over to save it. I played left half in the fourth quarter, and had two shots on goal; one right at the keeper and the other one high enough to potentially qualify as anti-aircraft fire....
We won 8-1. Yes.. the shame... in the third quarter one of their guys got a girl to pass it to him just past the halfway line, raced down the sideline, and dribbled through two defenders to tap in a goal past our keeper, a great solo effort on his part. That macho version is referred to as "one guy and a touch".
More fun next week.......
This week's adventure in geriatrics takes us to Francis field in Sycamore Township, a small soccer complex in the reachable parts of the northern Cincinnati suburbs. Actually, it is on Conrey, just off of Fields Ertel, about 4 or 5 miles from where we used to live on Bolingbroke back during the H.W. Bush administration. The weather was cooperative with a nice 55 degrees blanket settling over the area, and the rain that had visited town for the last few days moved off like an unwanted house guest, only to probably pay a call your wife and in-laws for the weekend.
I, of course, was running late. The game usually begins at 5:00pm, and this time of year it is getting dark around 7:00pm so we have to start on time to make sure we do not find ourselves flopping around in the twilight. But alas, I had promised our Pop that I would drop off some paperwork that Mum had signed for him earlier in the day, thus I swung by the paternal placial estate to say hello and drop off the requested paperwork. Thus I managed to show up for the game about 10 minutes after 5.
And of course we had not yet started playing. It appeared our opponents did not have enough players yet and could only field a team of about nine. We were waiting for additional support for them, but due to the light limit imposed on us by mother nature the game started just as I walked over to the pitch. The complex had three different fields, and we were on the one at the lowest level by the wooded area as that same durn team from two weeks ago that booted us off the field at Day Heights was using the "good" pitch of the facility. Also, this was a quieter area so there was no reinactment of New York City rush hour as we had encountered in Milford.
The field being at a lower level plays into this story, as remember I mentioned earlier that it had rained over the last few days. To be honest, calling this a field is generous on my part... I think if Jacque Cousteau was still alive he would have rubbed his hands in delight before donning his scuba gear and diving in... the whole thing was a water logged mud bog. I was actually very surprised that the game was not called off, as the surface was at a minimum muddy and in spots was sporting mini-ponds, including one that was right in front of the south goalface.
We started defending the water goal on the south end, but the game quickly showed that with them being short handed and our team understanding the concept of how to pass that it would be a one-sided affair.
And it was...
We scored only one goal in the first quarter, but we kept the pressure on them the entire time, and did not have to worry about defending the mudbog end too much as they only managed to venture close to it once. Yours truly got into his usual fullback position for the last 8 minutes of the quarter and only touched the ball once.
Two more goals went flying past the keeper in the second quarter, with the assault continuing from my team. One thing to note about my team that our opponents don't seem to embrace is that we actually pass the ball to the girls on our side, allowing us to use all 11 players on the pitch. Most teams play that favorite attacking mode of "5 guys and a touch". This always seems to take our opposition by surprise as even after we already have "touch" (ie- a female touched the ball in the offensive half) we still involve them in the game rather than a testostrone driven full frontal assault for glory.
One moment of note was the goal scored by our substitute player Rick. Unlike other teams I have played on, or manager Greg takes roll call earlier in the week to make sure we have enough players, and since we were potential short a few guy players he got a sub to come in this week. Actually, a better term would probably be "ringer". Rick was about 6'3", built like a brick %#&@ house and had a shot not unlike that originating from the USS Constitution during the War of 1812. One of the goals Rick made in the second quarter was a screamer from outside the penalty area that had their keeper feeling like a tourist, just standing and watching as it went by. Needless to say the rest of us also stood there with jaws open, then pretty much spent the rest of the half trying to pass the ball to Rick.
On a happy note, my teammate Linda scored a goal, her first since knee surgery. Before she tore up her knee she was lightning fast and scored all the time, but now is encumbered with an oversized knee brace and has not found that speed she had prior. As I used to bowl against her parents when Melody and I bowled with Dad & Jenny I was very happy for her.
The second half saw them defending the water filled southern goal and this did not bode well as even though they were now playing with 10 players we still had them on the ropes for the entire half. Rick scored another long range goal, this one was not a screamer but was on the other side of the pond in front of goal from the keeper, thus preventing any chance of him splashing over to save it. I played left half in the fourth quarter, and had two shots on goal; one right at the keeper and the other one high enough to potentially qualify as anti-aircraft fire....
We won 8-1. Yes.. the shame... in the third quarter one of their guys got a girl to pass it to him just past the halfway line, raced down the sideline, and dribbled through two defenders to tap in a goal past our keeper, a great solo effort on his part. That macho version is referred to as "one guy and a touch".
More fun next week.......
posted by Rich in Cincy | 5:59 AM
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