At the risk of giving away the ending, Technical Director Chuck Gesing would like me to note that ACU Maroon has now gone 210+ minutes without giving up a goal. In fact, the boys have played 280 minutes of regular season soccer with only one goal surrendered; like the 150-mnute shutout run during the Walsh tournament, this is certainly a record for the team.
ACU faced a new challenge in the Hunter away rematch: A team that was aggressively running an offside trap, and winning the desired offside calls from the ref. The boys felt the sting of the trap in the 2nd minute, when Mike P scored a goal that was nullified because of an offside call. Jimmy and Harry would also draw calls in the early going, and it seemed to take the team about 20 minutes to adjust, though Harry and Jimmy both made multiple runs culminating in legitimate shots on goal. Footing on the field was also difficult because of morning dew, which also made the ball slippery and its movement unpredictable. The team's real breakthrough came in the 22nd minute, when Mike P drove home a goal on an assist from Nate. Hunter got a shot on goal early (4') from a foul, with keeper Connor C making the save, and the Tornadoes would take four more shots in the half, with no result.
Second half action opened up with an early skirmish from Hunter, but it was ACU that found the back of the net once again (44'), this time on a pinball setup in the box that rewarded Nate for his persistence. There was probably an assist on this goal, but from the vantage point on the sideline, it looked like about five guys put a touch on the ball before it landed home. Brad took bracketing shots (43' and 45') before and after the main thrust of the attack. Jimmy G notched one more for the road (52') on an assist from Harry, and then the ACU scoring machine fell quiet, with only two more shots in the half. Hunter built up a steady cadence of shots in the half, taking six in all, but could not sneak around Maroon's defense. Final score Hunter 0:3 ACU.
Attacks and Shots
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