It was a dark and stormy night. The teams arrived early to get loose and get pumped. But the officials weren’t there at game time. Many spectators were driven away by the weather and the time. Many spectators stayed, and got an exciting match for their trouble.

Iacofano broke the ice late in the first half, and the Grey left the field planning our comeback. It took almost the entire second half, but finally a Jerry took a shot that the keeper got a hand on, and Randy buried the deflection. Check out the awesome photo sequence showing Randy’s goal to tie the game and send us into overtime:

Jerry has a run - he’s seeing the back of the net… Keeper’s coming out, Randy and Devin are ready to mix it up in close support, while Meghan and Chelsea prepare for the rebound

Jerry’s got the hammer back, and pulls the trigger

The shot deflects, and time stops - the ball hangs in mid-air in front of Randy and the goal is wide open. At the smell of the impending kill, endorphins do their “rush” thing, and some fairly complex 4-dimensional calculus occurs - all in a split second.

All eyes converge on a single spot - the choice is made, the hands are played, the shot is fired.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-AL!!!!!!!!!!

They scored in the first sudden-death overtime, ending the game 2-1. But the Gray came away with heads held high, justifiably proud of our first season together.

All Photos Credit: Natalie Todd

The Grey march on! Storm clouds threatened from the East and a light rain fell as the contest got underway. The Grey applied pressure early, putting three shots on goal in the first 10 minutes. The game settled down to back and forth play between the 18’s, with the occasional run down the wing.

Then Chelsea pressured a defender and the ball squirted out to Devin, who put a zippy grounder solidly in the back of the net. The first half ended 1-nil.

In the second half the Grey tried to take advantage of the wind, but that left us spread out up and down the field. The Wave found some dribbling and passing lanes and put Jason to the test a couple of times late in the half - one screamer nearly evened the score, but Jason leapt, extended, and denied the shot.

In the end it was solid play that earned the win for the team with heart, the little engine that could, the ones who wanted it more - The WTF United “Grey”.

Around the League:

• Iacofano’s 1 (pk 5-4), Holy Terrors 1
  This game got intense at the end, with overtime followed by a nearly even round of PK’s… But Iacofano’s came out on top and will be joining us in the Finals

FINALS!!!
Monday December 3rd, 2007
6:30 PM, Patriots Point Field 5

WOOHOO! The Grey move on to the next round with a decisive victory over the 3rd seeded Mudslingers.

Down 1-0 at the end of the first half after a well-struck free kick bent around the wall, strategies were planned and the resilient grey pulled together. Ten minutes into the second half their defense handled the ball inside the box, and Bill put the PK firmly in the back of the net: 1-1.

Five minutes later their keeper takes a drop pass. Jeremy applies pressure and the keeper distributes to the left full. Chelsea steps up with the challenge that sends the ball back downfield to Jeremy, now one-on-one with the keeper. Jeremy slides the ball smoothly past him and we’re up 2-1.

The opposition gets flustered, petitioning the refs for a call every time Bill touches the ball, or Taylore lays a shoulder on them. Minute 25 approaches and sweeper Drew gets his boot on a clear that is over the keepers head and rolling towards the goal. Randy sprints in and encourages the ball to find the back of the net. Grey up 3-1.

They manage one more goal on a well played cross, but it’s not enough. They are going home, while WTF United advances to the Semi’s.

Around the League:

• Iacofano’s 3, Moe’s 0
  Iacofano (5) goes on to face the Holy Terrors (1) at 7:45 next week in the ‘A’ bracket Semifinals
• WTF United 3, Mudslingers 2
  WTF United (6) will play the Charleston Wave (2) at 9:00 in the ‘B’ bracket semis

A well played game, but a loss all the same. Randy anchored the Grey in goal but despite pressure from all sides we were unable to put the ball in the net. A round of Irish Car Bombs at Creekside helped to ease the pain.

Around the League:

• Holy Terrors over Mudslingers (just a guess)
• Iacofano’s 3, Moe’s 3

Standings:

1. Holy Terrors (8-2-0, 24)
2. Charleston Wave (6-4-0, 18)
3. Mudslingers (4-6-0, 12)
4. Moe’s (3-5-2, 11)
5. Iacofano’s (3-5-2, 11)
6. WTF United (3-5-2, 11)

A skeleton crew held off the fierce short-sided Mudslingers on a cold, cold field. In the first half, Randy had a breakaway rough-and-tumble with the keeper outside the box and rolled one in from a shallow angle. Jeremy mixed it up inside the box in the second half, putting a header into the net and getting walloped by the keeper in return.

Around the League:

• Holy Terrors 3, Moe’s 0
• Charleston Wave over Iacofano’s

Standings:

1. Holy Terrors (7-2-0, 21)
2. Charleston Wave (5-4-0, 15)
3. Mudslingers (4-5-0, 12)
4. WTF United (3-4-2, 11)
5. Moe’s (3-5-1, 10)
6. Iacofano’s (3-5-1, 10)

On a wet and slippery field the Grey fought valiantly to hold them off. There were flashes of brilliance, Duda and Brian both had chances, and the defense played hard all game - but in the end we were vanquished.

Around the League:

• Holy Terrors 4, Charleston Wave0
• Mudslingers 2, Moe’s 0

Standings:

1. Holy Terrors (6-2-0, 18)
2. Charleston Wave (4-4-0, 12)
3. Mudslingers (4-4-0, 12)
4. Moe’s (3-4-1, 10)
5. Iacofano’s (3-4-1, 10)
6. WTF United (2-4-2, 8)

This hard fought game went down to the wire - a cross from Jeremy in the closing minutes found Jeff’s head, and Jeff found the goal!

Around the League:

• Charleston Wave 3, Mudslingers 2
• Iacofano’s 4, Holy Terrors 2

Standings:

1. Holy Terrors (5-2-0, 15)
2. Charleston Wave (4-3-0, 12)
3. Moe’s (3-3-1, 10)
4. Mudslingers (3-4-0, 9)
5. WTFUnited (2-3-2, 8)
6. Iacofano’s (2-4-1, 7)

The underdog Grey stepped up tonight and redeemed the first game of the season. Goals by Jeremy with an assist from Chelsea, and Jerry with an assist from Jeff brought the sweet cup of victory again to our table. What made it even sweeter was Jason’s shutout! Yeah KEEPER!

Around the League:

• Mudslingers 5, Iacofano’s 4
• Moe’s 1, Charleston Wave 0

Standings:

1. Holy Terrors (5-1-0, 15)
2. Charleston Wave (3-3-0, 9)
3. Moe’s (3-3-0, 9)
4. Mudslingers (3-3-0, 9)
5. WTFUnited (2-3-1, 7)
6. Iacofano’s (1-4-1, 4)

We didn’t win, Taylore went to the Emergency room, and Creekside helped to drown our sorrows. Happy 21st Birthday to Ivey, and Congratulations & Best Wishes to Jeremy and Elizabeth!

Around the League:

• Iacofano’s 1, Moe’s 0
• Holy Terrors 4, Mudslingers 0

Standings:

1. Holy Terrors (5-0-0, 15)
2. Charleston Wave (3-2-0, 9)
3. Moe’s (2-3-0, 6)
4. Mudslingers (2-3-0, 6)
5. WTFUnited (1-3-1, 4)
6. Iacofano’s (1-3-1, 4)

Playing with 4 subs, the Grey are forced to slow the game down. It works to our advantage, and Randy and Chelsea both put notches in their belts. The third goal was an “own goal” brought on by pressure from Jeremy and Duda. Victory at last!

Around the League:

• Charleston Wave 2, Iacofano’s 1
• Holy Terrors 3, Moe’s 1

Standings:

1. Holy Terrors (4-0-0, 12)
2. Moe’s (2-2-0, 6)
3. Mudslingers (2-2-0, 6)
4. Charleston Wave (2-2-0, 6)
5. WTFUnited (1-2-1, 4)
6. Iacofano’s (0-3-1, 1)