Tonight was supposed to be the first game of our outdoor season, but because we apparently got our allotted 2 days of sunshine between periods of heavy rain, the game was moved indoors to save us from tearing up the grass and turning things into a rugby-esque mess.
A-TEAM opened the outdoor season against the Rangers, which is one of the few teams in the lower division that we haven’t beaten. As an added incentive, my boss and one of my coworkers play on that team, so it allows for an extended period of trash-talking leading up to the main event. I had seen the Rangers play in recent weeks indoors, and felt like we had at least a fighting chance, right up until I saw their reconstituted team. All the heavy hitters were there. This team positively dominated the field in the first half; their passing game was tight and their chemistry and cohesion were almost perfect. Our passing game left something to be desired, and by the end of the first half we were down 0-7.
It wasn’t all downhill, though. We added a few new players and a different keeper in the second half, and we managed to rally, coming back from a 0-9 deficit to end the game with a 4-10 score. Not one of our best by far, but certainly a good rally.
I almost…ALMOST…had a goal tonight too. This was one of my last good chances to post up by the keeper and give our other forwards and midfielders something to cherry pick with, and a few of my shots were even on goal, but alas. No goal means one of my soccer bucket list items remains unchecked.
In the end, though, it’s just a game. The schedule for the next 7 weeks has some similarly rough matches, but anybody who made it through the 50-game breaking in period while we worked towards a win can make it through this. I’m excited to get outdoors and run around some more. The game is a little slower-paced, but it just gives us a better chance to enhance our passing game and work on playing together. By the end of this summer we’ll be even more dangerous than we are now.
And we’ll still be that team that cheers at obnoxious levels over every goal and goes out for drinks after. Or before, on occasion.
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