At around 8 am this morning, Charlie was soundly asleep near Hanover, NH; Terry was brewing some more bedhead; Ilyas was bombing down I-93 just south of Manchester, NH; Everton was injured; Paul and Mike were likely watching cartoons (or whatever it is that young people do these days); and Dan was feasting on cupcakes. Meanwhile, Dave was dutifully showing up at the Park School, even though he knew he would be unable to play. Only problem, kickoff was at 10 am.
Two hours later, Charlie was still sleeping in NH and Everton was still injured. The rest of team, however, limped into the Park School (literally). Upon Dave's return, it was made clear that there would again by no subs.
The stage was set for drama. The 10 am start time meant that there were actual spectators. But with no subs, and some niggling injuries, DPR had it back against the wall. There would be no margin of error. The foe, of course, was Carioca, a dangerous team featuring the always dangerous Victor. DPR had neutralized Victor, and thus Carioca, in the regular season meeting. However, no amount of drinking could erase last year's championship loss to the hands of that team. Back to back finals losses would be humiliating.
DPR started the game out slow, having trouble controlling the flow of the game. Some loose play allowed Carioca to jump out to an early lead, and a superb volley put them up 2-0. At this point, Carioca seemed to relax, and Dean Park seemed to get more focused. Encouraged by DPR's spiritual leader, Dave, who shared the bench with Ilyas's medium cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee, DPR started stringing together some passes and was pressuring Carioca to give the ball away. A foul near the edge of the box gave DPR a golden free kick opportunity. At that distance, a 2-3 man wall is pretty much obligatory. In an effort to be different, Carioca tried the 1-man wall approach. This gave Ilyas half the net to work with, and the ensuing free kick had little choice but to find its way over the keeper to make it 2-1. The rest of the half was a stalemate.
The second half saw DPR's all-around game take center stage. Paul made some ridiculous saves. Mike and Terry showed consistent ability to win tackles and transition to the attack. And Dan, despite an ailing back, thumped in three consecutive pinpoint strikes to give DPR a 4-2 lead. At this point, with no subs, let down seemed inevitable. Despite neutralizing Victor again, Carioca was able to tie the game, opportunistically pouncing on loose balls in the box. Carioca had the chance to take the lead but managed to pound what would have been a simple tap away from the goal (it might actually have gone out for a kick-in). This left the door ajar. An excellent counter attack and some wing to wing passing found Mike with ball behind the keeper and staring at the goal line. Chastened by Carioca's miss, Mike held the ball for what seemed like an eternity before rolling it in for the cup winner.
The game was followed by a actually trophy award ceremony. Courtney brought yummy cupcakes. It truly was a Super Sunday.
Final score:
DPR 5 - 4 Carioca
(DPR wins Championship)
Team record: 6-1-0
The schedule is up for the remainder of the regular season:
