Wow, it feels good to write this one. The posts (as you can probably tell) have been getting difficult to write. The boys have hung in and have continued to do everything I have asked of them. We have had our moments, however things have not fallen our way. Today was different...we brought something I have been searching for all year. A resiliency, a desire, to do everything it takes to get it done. This alone will create what is necessary. And it did.Playing on what was an extremely windy day, one team would have to play completely against the wind, or with it to your backs. OU won the toss and chose to go with the wind to start the game. No problem.
We can out and, in a hurry, created some very good chances. On what was senior day (more on that next post), Austin Newman came out shooting and was clearly our most dangerous player in the first half. Newman, who amassed 8 shots on the day, missed by inches on several chances, and the score remained 0-0 early. However in the 17th minute, Oglethorpe would get off an incredible shot from 25 yards out, and with the wind to their back, buried a bomb into the upper left corner...a good goal no doubt. And put us in familiar territory...down 1-0 early. Regardless, we pressed and created a back and forth game to finish the first half. Still down 1-0.
At the half we decided to make a few changes and went with 3 up top. With the wind to our backs, we wanted to hammer their back line and create as many chances we could. It worked. We would out shoot OU 23-5 in the second half and notch the win. In the 72nd minute, Tommy Haney would hit a 40 yard ball that carried over Oglethorpe's goalkeeper and notch the game at 1-1. Then just over 10 minutes later, in the 82nd minute, senior Nathan Spradlin would take a weak side ball from fellow senior John Martinez and finish far-post for the eventual game winner. I solid finish when we needed it. AC would hold on to finish and get the win, 2-1.
This has been a difficult fall for all of us. However the boys have hung in, and never given up. As I have mentioned, we will fight every time and will go into everything expected one thing...to win.
We were able to take a deep breath today, and it felt good. We move on now, and face two solid opponents in DePauw and Centre. DePauw has been in and out of the national rankings all fall, and Centre currently sits at 25 in the country. We look forward to the challenge.
Thanks to all who made the tailgate (and brought food!) on Sunday. Always good to see everyone. Thanks to David Norman for setting that all up. David, your support is appreciated.
