HCAC Final vs Rose Hulman

Another glorious fall day in Terre Haute and we play Rose for the championship. They have won 10 games in a row and have always looked to us like the best team in the conference despite having finished second to Transy. We start what has lately been our best lineup: Marshall in goal, Ferreira, Mbaya, Nsoesie, Kabeya in the back, Elko, Carroll, Strika, Campbell in midfield and Buitrago, Yusuf up front.

Though the early game is even, they break through in the 16th minute with a goal from distance that gets past Chris low to his left. Things get worse as Mike Carroll has to go off with a high ankle sprain after 22 minutes and cannot return. David Jones comes on and we settle a bit until late in the half when Rose scores again in the 32nd. We get to halftime down 0-2 and with more injury problems as Felipe is limping with a knock to his leg.

We get some good possession in the second half and are rewarded after 61 minutes when a Rose defender blocks a shot with an apparent arm (maybe a soft call). Corey dispatches the penalty and we are in it again. Our momentum doesn't last as they score 5 minutes later and then twice more before the end to make the final score look a bit worse than the game (shots was 13-8 them). I was pleased that we battled to the end and had late chances for Ameer and Iqbal Banwal stopped. Rose are deserving champs and go on the NCAA's along with 5 of the first 8 teams we played this year. A later post will talk about our schedule---this year and next's.

The guys were upbeat despite the loss; we have an appreciation for the challenges we were handed this year and how we dealt with them. A later post will also deal with how we were "a brick short" and the specific needs we must address in recruiting in the near future. I wish I had a photo of 5'8" Frank Mbaya marking 6'8" Clint Vaterrodt from Rose on corners.

This week is transition for all of us here. The players still have injury situations to rehab and should begin to establish momentum with offseason work. If we retain 80% of our fitness level, which was considerable this year, we'll be far ahead in the spring season. The coaches prepare for the dash to admissions deadlines and the dozen or so tournaments we'll be seeing. Rob is the "cold weather specialist", going to Jersey and New England tournaments generally, where as I have the task of pursuing these young men down in North Carolina and Florida...grueling. I'll post again with specifics so that if we're in you neighborhood, drop a line and say 'hi'. We'll both be aound NYC for Thanksgiving.