26th September 2009
Hopkins Weather the Storm to Beat Buffalo 1-0
Heavy Rain Kept the Team from Performing at their Best
By Chris de LaiglesiaAfter enduring the difficult Pitt game, the club soccer team prepared themselves for the main event. Having beaten them in regionals last year, where the team played one of their better games, it was important that they were to repeat such feat to keep the unbeaten record that they had managed to achieve thus far.
The weather went from bad to worse as the game started with some light rain that rapidly escalated into a full-on storm. The turf ground was wet, and it was not going to be the prettiest of games, but at 7.45pm the game was started.
The game started off on a good pace, with Hopkins dominating possession. Buffalo played extremely deep, with a sweeper and stopper, preventing the over-the-head play that was required in the previous game. This did not change the momentum of the team as Tait and Ruppel constantly fed de Laiglesia and Macgriff up top. Khan and Mieles threatened from the wing, constantly cutting in and passing the ball around the area. With several great chances, it seemed that Hopkins were going to be ahead and win the game comfortably. It did take till the middle of the half when Roscoe, on for Mieles, cut into the area and was fouled to give Hopkins a penalty. Hamilton confidently slotted the ball to the keeper's left and made the scoreline 1-0. The team continued to dominate play into the half, with little trouble felt in the back. However, the second half became a completely different story.
As the rain poured, Buffalo started to bombard the Hopkins defense with long balls, and with an extremely rapid player up top, started to cause problems for Henry, Hamilton, Seo and Mandel. Johnson and Dye played fantastically in their introductions into the back four, but this did not change the course of the game, in which it seemed as though Buffalo were going to capitalize. Possession was squandered too often by the attack and midfield which led fate of the game being decided in Hopkins' final third.
Buffalo came close at many occasions in tying the game, but Edwards was on top form, and made several stupendous saves, giving him the man of the match award (a bottle of strawberry Andre). He constantly kept the team from having to deal with difficult situations by coming out and retrieving the ball in the air.
In the other end, Roscoe, Tait and Macgriff created opportunities but were not able to drive in the decider, but after 40 tense minutes, the full time whistle was blown.
The score kept the unbeaten run to 6 games, with the team able to get through their first serious challenge.
