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Green Hope 1 vs. Durham-Jordan 0
The 2005 Green Hope Falcons did something no other Green Hope team
has ever done: beat Durham-Jordan! Jordan beat Green Hope in the
State Finals in 2001 and GH had either lost or tied them in every
other match.
Thursday was GH's fifth(5) match in nine(9) days and injuries and
fatigue were beginning to take their toll. Sitting on the bench
and unable to play due to injuries were Jonathan Schwartz-GK, Ryan
Dowd-Midfielder, JP Lebiecz-Midfielder and Ryan Lockhart-Forward.
To add to the bad luck, Nick Roos suffered a severely sprained ankle
fifteen minutes into the game.
Starting in goal for the GH was Eric Santilli, a junior who has
played two years of JV. Green Hope started the game with a few chances,
but a majority of the game was played in the central part of the
field with neither team able to keep possession long enough to create
many serious scoring opportunities. GH continues to play solid team
defense and the half ended 0-0.
It was obvious throughout the first half that the Falcons were
going to face an uphill battle if they tried to play direct balls
past Jordan's strong and fast center back, Ike. The team's second
half strategy was to attempt to play more through midfield, to strikers
feet and down the wings. However, the team continued to struggle
with their passing to execute their ideas. Compounding matters,
with the loss of two starting forwards, Nick Roos and Ryan Lockhart,
the team lacked familiarity and understanding of each other's style
of play and runs.
Midway through the second half, forward Evan Paussa received a
ball to his feet, turned at the center circle, played a ball out
to the midfield, continued his run and received it back with a fifty-fifty
challenge with a Jordan defender to go to goal. Evan was determined
to win the foot race and the ensuing shoulder charge as he battled
down the field. He won the battle to get a little chip on the ball
over the sliding Jordan goalkeeper to score the only Green Hope
goal.
Jordan picked up the pressure following the goal. They took a shot
from twenty-two yards that slid under a diving Eric Santilli, but
hit the post! Jordan took another shot from 18 yards that hit the
crossbar. To add to the chaos, Jordan had a scramble in the box
following a long throw-in, the ball found an open Jordan player
who tucked it in the net, only to be off-sides, no goal. Time expired
and Green Hope escaped with the 1-0 win to make their record 3-1-1.
Green Hope takes Friday off and looks forward to the holiday weekend
to recover and rest. They suit up again on Wednesday, September
7th at East Chapel Hill.
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