August 19/20, 2006, Sykesville Maryland
The end result of this tournament was one the boys and the coaches can be
proud of – three wins and a place in the final to secure second place and a
trophy in the Freedom Tournament in Sykesville, Maryland, marking the start
of the new Fall season.
And lots more besides – good weather, picnics, fishing, motorcycling (for
some), discovery of a gourmet restaurant in Sykesville (for others) and a
Starbucks nearby – perfect!
And there is more. Not only was the tournament well organized, but also
the standard of refereeing was the best we have seen for some time, and
certainly worth a mention.
The two games the boys played on Saturday were quite a contrast. Starting
out on Saturday morning the boys looked great in their new bright green kit,
reflecting the strong Irish heritage that exists in the team. The parents
were out in force including Craig Hopefl sporting a shirt with the new Ice
colors. However the Mums did not think it met the team fashion standards and
asked him not to wear it again.
Back to the soccer, the boys won the first game by a comprehensive margin
against a much weaker team. It is always difficult when the gap in
capability is that wide however it did provide the boys with the opportunity
to put some of the skills they learned in camp into practice, and bang in a
few goals besides. With two guest players, Sam and Jessie, it also provided
the boys with the opportunity to settle in and get used to playing together.
The second game was a lot closer and hard fought but the boys won through
demonstrating effective control of the game through good possession,
accurate passing and clearly putting thought into the build up of attacking
plays. In addition they showed solid defense with no let up in energy and
stamina, bearing in mind this game started at 6pm.
Meanwhile the parents were exemplary. Tony Awad resisted the temptation
to fill Dan O’Brien’s shoes and confined all his comments to encouragement.
Doug was also a little quiet but he confessed to being tired after picking a
fight with a Portuguese Man of War (that’s a nasty jellyfish) the week
before. In fact it was the Mums (or Moms) we had to watch as in a
group they were displaying the first signs of soccer hooliganism.
Sunday started with consultation with George who had spent the night
building a statistical model to determine the probabilistic outcome of the
first and crucial game. His model suggested we had to win to get to the
final. So we were all set.
This game was arguably the best of tournament played against the local
team who had the advantage of staying in bed a little longer that morning.
It was clear the teams were very evenly matched, the breakthrough coming
with a Scotty Lafoon’s goal in the second half - notable for the fact that
Scotty had been ill and unable to play on Saturday. Finishing up with a 2-0
victory was a great achievement and it really was a fun game to watch.
With a long gap to the final on a hot day, what better than to have a
picnic by the Anderson in-laws pond (more like lake) and do a spot of
fishing. Food, ‘refreshments’, good company and a nap under the shade of a
tree made for a perfect Sunday afternoon before returning to the tournament
to play the Final.
The conditions for the Final were not ideal being so late in the day with
no respite from the heat. The boys did their best against a very strong team
and to their credit never gave up, finishing second and receiving a very
nice Trophy.
All in all it was fun, and a very encouraging start to the Fall season so
as always we salute Ken and Michael for their unwavering commitment to the
boys’ development, and to Laura for making it all happen.
And finally for some other items of note:
