April 25th, 2009
OK - So the Fury traveled to Stoughton and took on a tall, physical opponent in game 3 of the year. I've got to tell you, the way they were passing the ball, knocking you guys down and peppering Dan Becker with shots, I thought this had the making of a long day on the pitch. But boy did you prove me wrong! After all their offense, the only thing Stoughton could hang on their wall at the half was a lead of 1-0 on an own goal. On our sidelines, we had injuries to speak of in Dylan, Logan and Zach - OUCH!
But the second half continued like the first with Monroe giving it their all against the bigger boys from Stoughton. At 10 minutes into the second half, Stoughton was able to notch their second goal on a laser that Dan tried to stop. Score now was 2-0. But once again, the Rebels kept trying to get that first goal, and with 14 minutes to go, Tony scored the first goal of the day for Monroe and made the score 2-1. But play was still heavily on Monroe's defensive side of the field. And without the gutty performance of Dan Becker in goal, Welcome back Kyle Golackson at sweeper, Connor and Sam Keizer at Marking Backs, and a constant rotation into the stopper positions by Logan Stamm, Zach Farrar, Dan Chapman and Matt Bodeau, they kept the score at 2-1.
And then with under a minute to go, Monroe earned a hard fought corner kick from the left corner of the field. Matt Farrar placed the ball and awaited his teammates to get in front of the keeper. Matt stepped into that corner and drove it like a rocket inside the 6 yard box. A Stoughton defensive player headed the ball, and the Stoughton keeper could not pull it in! And then, a frenzy of yellow jerseys blasted the ball high into the net, wrapping the ball in the net over the front of the crossbar! After being battered, bruised and belittled all game long, the determination of the Monroe boys paid off in earning a tie against the very physical players from Stoughton.
All of us that watched this game applaud you guys on a game well played and most importantly your determination to play hard for the entire game.
Next Sunday you play Game #4 at Honey Creek at 5:00 against Platteville.
April 24th, 2009
The first home game of the season was against the Norski of Deforest, again! This time they were a little more ready for us after seeing us one week prior. Andrew was able to get Monroe on the board with a nice shot into the net. But this time, the Norski were able to come back and tie the game at one. With about 12 minutes remaining, Matt Farrar sent a thru ball to the streaking Jon Becker who fought of the defender and got off a shot that beat their keeper to make the score 2-1.
That would be the final score of the Fury's second game of the season. Once again, Dan Becker came up big in the net, as well as a super team effort by all the remaining players!
April 18th, 2009
The Monroe Rebels "Team Als" headed to Deforest to play the Norski. This being the first game of 2009, we weren't sure how long it would take to knock off the cobwebs of winter, but fortunately, it wasn't very long. Coach Chris definitely had you guys in playing form through his Tuesday and Wednesday practices!
From the start of the game, we could tell that our defense was gonna have to stop the Norski, as they had the wind at their backs and were aiming for the net behind Dan Becker. But attack after attack was stopped by Monroe. At 15 minutes into the game, Matt Farrar beat the last defender and found himself 1 Vs 1 against the keeper. From a very tight angle, he was able to place the ball over the keepers head and just inside the far post. Monroe was now up 1-0. While both teams had opportunities in the half, only Monroe was able to get a goal.
During the second half, Monroe had the wind at their backs. This made it a little easier on the defense played by Connor Lind, Tyler Barta, Sam Keizer, and anchored in the goal by Dan Becker. While Dan came up with a couple big saves, the second half belonged to Monroe. The midfield was controlled by Keli, Matt Bodeau, Zach Farrar, Jon Becker and Matt Farrar. Outstanding support was also given by Nate Seagall, Cody Stamm, Tony Henke, and Michael Gross. But the second half belonged to the finisher Andrew Aurit. He notched three goals (assisted by Matt F and Tony) to make the final score 4-0.
Good kick-off to the spring. Keep working hard at practice / running to build endurance as you have two games next weekend. Game one is at 3:00 Saturday at Honey Creek. Sunday's game is at 3:00 at Stoughton. Looking forward to getting our bowlers back on the field next weekend as well as Dylan (back from school in Alaska). We play this same team on Saturday! Matt F - will you be able to come home on Saturday and play?
Once again, Congrats Gang on your first victory!
