Yesterday was the first soccer game of the new season for the Ste.Gen.Men.
Yes we are back. David Fritsch put his heart and soul in recruiting a bunch of Mavericks ready to battle some 20+ year old kids. After taking two hard hits in the last two games of the previous season, I contemplated retirement. But David wouldn't let me walk away from the game. He pushed all the right buttons, and just like Brett Favre - did I just compared myself to Brett? well we are both 40 and like purple - I decided to play one more season.
In the meantime, David had already - allegedly - 10 committed guys included himself + an extra 3/4 guys who would show up based on their availability.
Well, at 5.20 pm last night, we were only 6 + our goalie Bryce Roderick on the field.
Remember you need 5 players on the field at all time, meaning only 1 of our guys can rest while the others are trying to keep up with a solid Bosnian Team. Usually, we rotate 10 guys.
How can I describe the feeling of knowing we were way shorthanded facing a team we already lost to - 13 to 3 - during Season 1 when we had a full roster?.......
or maybe like.......
The ref. blows the whistle and the game is on its way. For the first 7 minutes, we are playing even. No score, lots of solid soccer. Bryce is already making some incredible saves.
We played a 2-1-2 formation. David Fritsch and Imran Zoberi on defense, Buzz Zarelli or me at midfield and Kevin McDaniel and John Garza as forward.
As we started to wear down a bit, the Bosnian Team managed to score 3 quick goals. At half-time, the score is 5-1.
I realized that Imran was the only guy on our team who didn't take a break. As it turned out, he would play the entire game without resting, then confessed to me that sitting would have make it worse to get back on the field. What a WARRIOR!
We played with courage and never argued or complained about the situation. We kept pushing forward despite the fact that physically, it was getting harder and harder.
Fritsch and Garza faded first but stayed on the field and fought like I've never seen them fight before. Mad Props to both of you as well.
The final score was 8-3, I believe. I must add that their goalie had a terrific game as we managed a ton of shots.
I am very proud of our guys. We never let go or quit...
If you want to join us on Sundays, Dave and I are still recruiting. Trust me, a game like the one we played yesterday makes us realize how fortunate we are to live in a neighborhood with such a special group of Guys/Dads with good heart and soul. It was a privilege to be on the battlefield with you David, Bryce, Buzz, Imran, John and Kevin last night... a very special night...
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