It was a testy evening match-up at Lents Field #3 when the Rangers played Code Blue. Tempers flared on occasion and the chatter between the sides (at least, as evidenced from the sideline) appeared to be ongoing, but I suppose you can't spell "Rangers" without "anger". Field conditions were, well, awful--not in a boggy, swampy kind of way, but hardened exposed dirt and gravel scarred the center of the entire pitch. Old duct tape fluttered from the cross-bars like Himalayan prayer flags, undoubtedly a testament to the previous matches played on this barren wasteland.
Rangers had some hard shots early on and things looked promising when Thomas Fahrbach went up hard for a cross in front of their goal and was greeted with a Code Blue head butt, resulting in an ice pack for his troubles. James McConnachie put the home side up 1-0 around the twenty-second minute with a drive through the top of the box that would have made Diego Maradona proud. Really, really proud. Our lead was short-lived, however, as Blue answered back with a goal of their own. Rangers had anywhere from four-six substitutes on the side lines--a new phenomenon for our squad--and perfecting the mechanics of smooth substitutions resulted in some of the team playing positions they might not have suspected, but we went into the half tied at 1-1.
Blue put another goal in about twenty minutes or so after the restart, but the yellow and black refused to yield. Jim Snyder had shot from approximately thirty yards out that found the head of a Blue defender and then landed in their net, equalizing the match with ten minutes to go. Our elation was short-lived, unfortunately, as Blue answered with the match winner a minute later. A last gasp shot by Aaron Radigan went just wide of the post, but the squad pushed forward in search of another equalizer until the final whistle.
Ranger's fan attendance was down a little from last week (from three to one), but the squad invites soccer fans and family of all ages to join us on really terrible fields all around the Portland area for the remainder of our season!
Sean Ingersoll
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