FC77 Rangers 0:5 Salem Kickers

FC77 Rangers 0 - 5 Salem Kickers

Do you ever have that high school anxiety dream where you are late for a final exam...in a class you haven't attended all semester...and you can't remember where your locker is...and then when you do find it you can't remember the locker combination...and then you realize you are naked?

Sunday's Match Day Three showdown between GPSD O-30 Third Rose City division leaders FC77 Rangers and Salem Kickers was the soccer equivalent of that for me.

Only with the bonus that my mom was there to watch. D'oh!

Starting XI:

Silverman, goalkeeper

Pullen - DeBar - Vogel, fullbacks

Calkins, holding midfielder

Burden - Radigan - Muralt - Ingersoll, midfielders

Bennouri - Switzer, forwards

Reserves:

Sibanda, McConnachie

The Yellow and Black played a competitive first half against an established, disciplined Salem squad that has been around for quite a while. Ingersoll and Radigan rejoined many of their former high school teammates on the pitch for the first time in about twenty years (including Kevin Plechl, Greg Keyte, and Brian Mercier) and while the pitch boasted five North Salem High School Vikings, to bastardize the lyrics of the classic 1970s Peaches and Herb song:

"Reunited and it don't feel so good,

Reunited 'cuz I misunderstood

There's one perfect fit and [bleep!] this sure isn't it

We both are so delighted 'cuz we're reunited? Hey! Hey!"

As a wise woman once told me growing up, "Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you." I don't have much to offer in terms of a full-fledged match summary, so I'll offer up these Ten Random Picks from the Cherry City, also known as "Cherry Picking"...

Ten Random Picks from the Cherry City

10. The guard towers from the women's penitentiary made for a lovely backdrop. I can honestly say I've never played a match at a venue that included snipers and loaded high-power rifles before.

9. Muralt had one of the most threatening strikes on the afternoon with another well-taken free kick.

8. Did anyone pick up an adidas and a Nike T-90 soccer ball? I didn't get them back after the match.

Go ahead and say it: I went home and lost both of my balls.

7. Radigan had several good strikes in both halves, with one in the second going just wide of the post.

6. You know, it really is better to lose a match early in the season than, say, the championship. And my own unofficial statistical analysis of the past six seasons says that the team that finishes first at the end of the regular season actually loses the championship match 83.3% of the time. Hmm...

5. Silverman made several great stops throughout the match.

4. Rangers looked most likely to score late in the first half when the Kickers surrendered a long string of corner kicks. Sibanda curved one from the flag that skittered off the crossbar and McConnachie also had one in the mixer that caused the home side some anxious moments.

3. Switzer unselfishly gave up an opportunity to shoot when he saw Ingersoll breaking on the left. He knew Ingersoll wanted to score on his homecoming and so he slid the ball out to the manager, who cut in and smashed a shot off of Kickers center back Greg Keyte.

2. Curse you, Greg Keyte. Curse you and your long legs! Why must your legs be so long?!

1. My mom said that you guys were all really nice.

Match notes...Referee Ernie showed a yellow card to the Salem Kickers midway through the first half for unsportsmanlike conduct...Vogel subbed out immediately after the restart with an injury...attendance was estimated at maybe two dozen, with Sean's mom and Radigan's parents forming the Rangers Supporter's Corps...IMPORTANT UPDATE: NEXT WEEK'S MATCH AGAINST THE WOLFHOUNDS HAS BEEN MOVED UP TO 11:30 AM DUE TO THE TIMBERS PLAYOFF MATCH!...

Next Match:

FC77 Rangers v. Wolfhounds FC

("The Blue Monk Derby!")

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

11:30 Kick-Off

Montessori Earth School