7.30pm kickoff
Embry Riddle 2 - Flagler 1
The presence of some high profile people on the Flagler side of the attendance wasn't enough to secure a win fo us. The crowd, lead by a current OSU starlet JR Rathjens, saw Caleb Cooper net the first goal which Riddle officials claim to be an unassisted regardless of the brilliant throughball. The lead didn't last long and they were levelled within 15 minutes. In the first half it was more Riddle than us, but solid defending held us tied at the interval. Amazingly goalkeeper Peter Young stayed in the game after suffering from what looks like a fractured right hand. So at the half, goal apiece was acceptable to Lynch.
Second half. Without much depth in their squad, Riddle's fatigue became more evident as the half progressed. However their defense allowed no goals, and not to many open chances. Their sit-back-and-contain strategic worked brillantly.
In terms of possession we had total control. The determination shone from every Flagler player. Unfortunately the referee decided that Denis was a little too mean to a much smaller lad and sent the big German off for a second bookable offense. We search and strived for the winning goal but every effort got dealt with on the defensive end. Then a quick counter-attack caught us snoozing and bang: 2-1. First conference lost in almost a year for us. Down to second in the region now, and also down in the national rankings coming this Tuesday. Next we face Baker at home in a game that promises to be a battle, and this time there will be no Steve Butler or Donny This or Markie Barritt shouting from the sidelines. Those lads have real jobs now.
Man of the Match:
Several good performances and an overall decent team effort just wasn't enough. To pick one out, I'd have to say Johan in the middle, strong as always and his mate McGuirk really impressed Linda there as he held back their big center forward.
Play of the Day:
The little piece of magic on the sideline from trickmaster Jorgen when the former Norwegian soldier turned so neatly around a defender. Particularly cool play. Hope we'll see it again.