Monday Morning Special Report

ACDC Triumphs over weather, numbers, and opponents

All - Seeing as how this was Kevin Frank's last game. It was only fitting to have him write the MMR and share some comments with us. His re-cap and comments below.
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It was a dark and stormy night...okay, actually, it was merely a cold, wet, gray afternoon. Regardless, it was the final regular-season game of the ACDC Fall Coed league and the weather was miserable. We were barely able to field eleven at the start, and only one straggler arrived after the opening whistle, giving ACDC one sub. Berger, our opponent, had four subs for their side.

Due to the soaked pitch and steady rain, the ball was slow, and bounces were often treacherous and uneven. Nevertheless, Anna "Keeper Zero" Yoder was, as usual, a rock between the pipes, making several excellent stops. By the end of the first half, ACDC, playing in black, had managed to stake a 1-0 lead on a goal from Parham "Big Daddy" Farid (Nota Bene: Parham had used up the last of his liniment before the game, leaving him unable to apply an additional coating at halftime).

Our opponents struck early in the second half, equalizing the game at 1-all. Their superior numbers began to tell as well, as they controlled the midfield and won a lot of 50/50 balls, resulting in several quality shots on our net. Everything seemed to indicate that the game was heading for a tie, which would have denied ACDC a winning season in the Coed league for the first time in this author's memory, but then, late in the game with less than 10 minutes remaining, our opponent misplayed a ball deep in their half and Parham made them pay, notching his second goal and putting ACDC ahead 2-1. However, ACDC was not finished scoring, and Morgan "I can't come up with a pithy nickname" Spencer put a shot in the back of the net to put he game out of Berger's reach. Final score, 3-1.

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On a personal note, this was the final game I'll likely play for ACDC, as my desire to be gainfully employed is dragging me to Houston. Barring a miracle or a lengthy federal energy rate case that stretches across a weekend, I won't be here on Saturdays and Sundays anymore. Subject to check, I believe that I first played for ACDC in the Spring of 2004 (fittingly enough, that game was at St. John's, and it was raining). Since then, I've spent lord-only-knows how many weekends with the team on soccer fields around the DC metro region, played with dozens of teammates, and even occasionally notched a goal or two (actually, exactly two). I've watched the team branch out into the extremely competitive WISL league with a men's team. I've seen the ACDC section of my wardrobe expand to encompass a T-shirt, 2 old jerseys, 2 current jerseys, a couple pairs of shorts, two long-sleeved T-shirts, a cap, and two warm-ups. Oh yeah, and several pairs of "retired" socks. I've donated two towels to teammates who managed to get seriously injured on the pitch, and I've managed to avoid serious injury on the soccer field. Worst thing that ever happened to me was a little retrograde amnesia from a particularly bad hit in the Spring of 2006. Apparently we went to brunch afterward and I drove myself home, though I don't remember any of it (kind of like most of the parties at Walter's house). Still, for those memories I have managed to retain, thank you ACDC, it's been a blast. If I do manage to stay in town on a weekend, look for me on the sidelines, manning the stopwatch.

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Manager's note: Thank you, Kevin, for 5 good years and the newest warm ups. With the results on Sunday, we missed the playoffs by goal differential. Bummer. Recall, we lost two games 1 nil and were competitive in both of them. If only we managed a draw in either of those....Ah....there's always next season.