| November 21st,
2004: Hawks 2 – Fan Rats (CVSA) – 4
The Hawks took
the field on a balmy sunday afternoon in a first-time meeting
with Richmond amateur soccer powerhouse, Fan Rats, in a state
semi-final matchup for the USASA National Amateur Cup. The Fan
Rats were fresh off of a 4-0 drubbing of WPL standouts LCC International
in the quarterfinal round and were a formidable side. All of
the players on their roster were standout players at the NCAA
D1 level and more than half had professional experience. News
trickled to Aegean Hawks management prior to the matchup that
the
Fan Rats scrimmaged VCU’s varsity team (who reached the
elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament this Fall) for two 30-min halves
a couple days prior to the match and beat
them.
To the game - it was
a great match, very exciting to participate in and very entertaining
to watch. The first half was the best offensive soccer an Aegean
Hawks side
had
ever played.
We went up a goal in the 20th off a fantastic sequence of one-time
passing, culminated by a blast by forward Robbie Wright past
the Fan Rats keeper from about 12 yards. When they scored at
the 30 minute mark off a blast from the 18,
we countered
two
minutes
later
off
a great
individual
effort by Alan Golden to send a driven cross in the middle
and onto Robby’s head for a magnificent skimming header
that found the far left corner. Unfortunately, a botched clearance
by the Hawks defense was gobbled up by a Fan Rats forward in
the 40th and taken for a successful 1 vs 1 conversion into
the Hawks net. Thus, despite dominating play and creating by
far the better chances, the Hawks found themselves tied up
at halftime 2-2.
The Fan Rats utilized a far deeper bench and pumped in their
full allotment of seven subs throughout the second half, while
the Hawks decided to stick with our original eleven. In the
end, this strategy determined the outcome of the match. The
Hawks began to tire and the offensive onslaught from the first
half was lacking. We didn’t
have many chances as most of the second stanza was played at
midfield and
in our
half. After performing admirably, the Hawks defense finally
succumed to the go-ahead Fan Rats goal in the 79th minute.
A Fan Rats forward was able to shoulder the 50-50 challenge
for a through ball with a Hawks defender and take the ball
in alone for the simple finish. The Hawks pushed forward, desperate
for the equalizer, but instead got caught on a counter attack
in the 85th. Game and season over. Congratulations to Fan Rats. We'll
certainly look forward for a second meeting, perhaps in the
MDCVSA State Cup in June.
--
News/Match
Report Archives 
|
