What a game! BSC and Washington University played 110 minutes of great soccer to a scoreless tie. This is the kind of game which makes you proud to be a part of. It was non-stop action for 110 minutes. The score was tied at the end of regulation and remained tied after an additional 20 minutes of overtime was played.
We have yet to defeat this perennial top 25 team, always losing a heart breaker by 1 goal in the previous three games. Tonight was going to be different, we hoped. It had a different feel even before we played in our locker room. I knew this was our time.
The game started and we took control early with our possession. However, during the first half, it was not always our possession, but about an even game as we wound down to the end of the first half. Shachar Hovan had a tremendous diving save to his right on a very hard shot by Wash U. That would really be the only hard save he would have to make all game. Our defense settled in, as did our midfield and strikers.
At halftime, we knew we were in this game. We focused on making sure we took better care of the ball and to switch the sides of the field. In the first half, we played mostly on our left side. We felt if we could exploit the right side of our midfield, we could make some things happen.
The second half began and we did that, thus creating a few really good chances to score. We kept up the pressure, changing from very high to middle third of the field pressure. We tried to keep Wash U off balance a bit and it worked very well. We took control of the second half and our fitness began to take the game over. Wash U kept making a lot of substitutions, where we only made 3 changes to our line-up that started the game. We found a very good rhythm in our game, thus giving us balance and creating a great flow to our style of play. Forcing the play, we had 6 corners to their 2. We just could not find the back of the net. Sean Head had a great chance after the Wash U keeper mishandled the ball, but just put the ball over the goal. Kyle Sherrin had a great 1 v 1, but the Wash U keeper made a great play in shutting it down. We also had a free kick, just outside the 18 yard box and Tony Crocker took the shot, just as he did last year when he scored the equalizer at Wash U. However, this time the ball went just wide of the post. We continued pressing the game until the second half ended with the score still tied at 0:0.
We went into overtime and had the better of play, but could not score. Wash U had a free kick with about 1 minute to score and we stopped it and had a really good counter attack, but to no avail. The game ended at 0:0. In the final analysis of this game against such a great opponent, sometimes you must learn how to maintain the Tie and not do too much pressing forward, just trying to win. I remember the 1986 World Cup when Brazil certainly had the best team, but they only knew how to press forward on attack, only to lose on a great counter attack, thus preventing them from advancing. As I said, sometimes it is best just to make sure you secure the tie and not lose the game. We did just that and I am most proud of that decision on the field by our entire team!
What can you say about our players effort tonight, other than it was a performance that makes these kind of games so very special. As the game wore on, we seemed to get stronger and stronger until the final whistle blew ending the game. We are very fit and it certainly showed as did our system of play in controlling most of the game, especially in the second half.
I love playing against Washington University for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, I always enjoy playing against my coaching friends and Joe Clarke of Wash U is one of the finest coaches and a true gentleman. That leads to why we play them. It is a hard game with two teams playing "real" soccer and not kick and run soccer that most teams employ and I always know that not only will it be that hard fought game, but more importantly, it will always be a "fair" game. Both teams will leave the field knowing they did their very best and that playing in a game like that, is a very special and defining moment in their season.
Congratulations to Washington University on a great effort and game and more importantly, Congratulations to Our Team for such a tremendous effort. Our next game is tomorrow (Monday) at 1:30 PM against another old foe in Fontbonne University. We have beaten them the last two times we have played, but it is always a tough hard fought game. I know they will be ready to play against us and we must take the rest of today to recover and rest and be ready to play tomorrow in the final game of our Labor Day Classic.
So, until tomorrow, have a wonderful Labor Day week-end and please come out and support our guys as they continue to make all of us proud!
From BSC,
Coach G
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