Silver vs. Orange (Season Three, Game Four)

According to the voice-over, Emilio scored two in this game, but it looks like we only have one recorded.
Game #20. In four games this year, Emilio has scored ten goals.

Last Walk on Mount Magazine

The Long Forest

Spring Break Road Trip Begins Today!

Let's Run it Back (Season Three, Game Three)

For the second game in today's double-header, the Surfers will be without Graham (who also missed the morning game), Malachi, Eva, and Coach Dwight. In short, there will be no reserves And it's hot!


The ref says it's still in, Emi revives, serves a crosser through the wickets, and sets up Dalen for the game's first score.

You can't keep a good man down, but Carlos and Angel are keeping Emi's shots out of the goal.


Almost there!


The pounce is patented; the fast-walk celebration is new. Conserving energy? At the end of the first quarter, we're winning 2-0.


Great save!

Though we scored the first two in this game, the Green Machine has roared back to take a 3-2 halftime lead.

Dalen scores the equalizer!


Dalen again! And we take the lead, 4-3. (One of the green players did not bring his jersey; he's wearing gray--and defending against Emi.)

That's a long shot. And a long hug from Dalen. 5-3.


And that's a high one.


Through the wickets. That's four for Emi.


Final score: Silvers 7, Greens 3. And Coach Jacob, who coached Emi during his first season, picks up Emi after the game and tells him "You're the only one who could beat me!" This was game #19 in Emilio's career.

Doubleheader Day (Season Three, Game Two)

Burgundy is a tough draw. Sam, #10, is the cream of the crop, but Emilio keeps the pressure on.

So close.

Off the post!

Through the fence! And the scoring streak is alive. Emilio has now scored in all 18 games he has played in.

Almost!
Emilio's lone goal was not enough to stop Sam & Co., but that goal through the traffic was one for the ages.

A New Season Begins (Season Three, Game One)

A new season of U-8 soccer begins. Same teams as last Fall. Emi missed his first practice because his mother and I were attending a banquet honoring her as one of the city's teachers of the year (woo hoo!) and then put in a performance that would have made Allen Iverson proud. We were afraid today's game was going to be rained out, but in spite of the mist and the muddy pitch(which kept Mari, Nina, and Pablo from attending), the games were played as scheduled. With just minutes before the game started, the Silver Surfers only had two players in uniform, but, thankfully, the rest of our squad--minus Malachi--arrived by kick-off. Coach Dwight appointed Emilio as team captain for the rock/paper/scissors contest at the game's start up.


In early action, Emilio makes a great save on a near goal and swiftly turns for a counterattack. It wasn't until after the first quarter (I removed his warm-up hoodie seconds before kickoff) that I realize he has put his jersey on backwards (the number should be in the back).

At the end of the first quarter, the score was nil-nil, and Emi took a breather. Early in the second, Emi and Graham (a.k.a. "Wild Man") look on as the Columbia Blues put the first goal on the board.

Back in the game, with his jersey on straight, Emilio hovers in the danger zone, hoping to take advantage of a centering kick.
After that kick, our ref (an ECU student from Venezuela, whom los abuelos met when they were here last) comments admiringly: "nice."

Later in the second, with the score now tied 1-1, Emi seizes a breakaway opportunity,and I take a snapshot mid-video (see the photo at the top of this post).

The shot is off-target, and we go to halftime tied one-all.

In the third quarter, Emilio breaks away for another shot on goal.
And is thwarted by the smallest player on the field. Nice save, Kate.

Later in the third, Emi steals the ball, and turns up field ...

One of a very few foul calls I've seen through a little more than two seasons of play. And at the end of three, the score is tied, 1-1.

In the fourth quarter, the Blues' star gets off a shot in our danger zone.
Nooooooo!

Desperate for the equalizer, Emilio gets loose for a tying shot.

Denied by Trevor.

Down 2-1, with time running out, Emilio tries to sneak one in from the side.
Yeeeeaaaaah!  Woo-hoo-hoooo!

With the scored knotted at 2, Blue kicks off following Emi's tying kick. Emi takes a tumble (following an elbow?), picks himself up and then emerges from the pack with the ball.  The Columbia goal-defender is in position to stop his long-distance shot.  With just seconds to play, can anyone make a play off the rebound?

Pandemonium on the sidelines. That's number three for number one, and for the first time today, the Surfers take the lead! (A strange giggling-like sound may be heard at the end of this video. It may or may not be attributed to an excited videographer/dad.)

Final Score: Surfers 3, Blues 2. That come-from-behind victory for the ages was one of the most exciting events this sports fan has ever witnessed.

Last fall, we beat the Blues handily; this time we barely squeaked through. A sign of things to come? Probably. But however the rest of the season turns out, this one was unforgettable.  

We have games scheduled for the next seven Saturdays mornings now (with the exception of March 23, which is Spring Break).