We came back from our Kansas road trip with grins of glory on our faces! We went down knowing that our first game against Manhattan Christian College (Ranked #1 in the league) was going to be one tough match. Especially since there was history between our two teams; we lost in the National Final last year to them (though I wasn't there for that). I had no clue as to what this team was like so I went in to play with no expectations of an outcome. I think that helped me play hard and strong against this praised Manhattan team. We dominated the first half by getting to every single ball first and winning the one on one battles on the flanks. Our hard work finally paid off and we scored midway through the second half. Here's how it happened: I pinched in to retrieve a clearance from their defence; their defender came out to challenge and anticipated a pass to the outside... nope (I actually heard him say "Oh no..." as I passed him), I cut into the middle and opened up for a shot. Their sweeper stood in my way so I decided to hit it to the centre of the 18 yard box. That's where Mario was patiently waiting (They appealed for offside but there was no way, their far defender kept him on by a mile). He took a touch and fired but it was stopped by the keeper. He bobbled and lost it though! Their right-back attempted to clear the ball but he fanned on the kick and it rolled back into their own net! That's right, the scoring drive began with me (I'm not cocky about it, I just love to make that known). Though I don't believe I get an assist because they considered it an own goal.
Anyways, here are some horrible video highlights from our game (at least there are highlights)! There's a perfect angle of me getting tripped up after I side step a guy with the ball. He probably couldn't bear being beaten by a lanky defender (I'm #14 by the way). Also, it's too bad that they didn't catch the goal on tape! I hope my description displayed a beautiful substitute video replay in your minds. Manhattan is in the white kits and we're in the blues. Enjoy!
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