DRAW: 1-1 vs ATX Untied – Photo Extravaganza vs Pesky ATX

Last game of the Fall Season and the last chance for the Badgers to solidify first place heading into “the big sleep” of the winter break. The Badgers were hoping to avoid the Elephant Hangover after smashing them to bits last weekend. What would Badger Town look like on this early Sunday morning? A cold and hoodied Ciro was first up to greet Jefe at the pitch after sunrise with many more Badgers to follow. And with attendance dwindling in recent weeks, Cameron Road actually had four whole subs at their disposal! Well, make that two and a half, as Chappy was only available in an emergency dose, and Guillermo only lasted five minutes before his groin exploded again in a fiery poof of dragon dust. Ciro also pulled himself out of the game with a shot to the tiny thigh, but he managed to shrug it off in search of his elusive “calendar year goal.”

The Badgers started off nicely, if not slightly disjointed. Early on Jeff Z and Jake were making the most of the right sideline with some quality deep attacks, overwhelming the ATX defense with tallness and facial hair. When he wasn’t horizontal counting ant hills, Jake was delivering some great crosses to the box, as Jeff Z made his right wingback presence known.

After Guillermo had to pull out of the game, the late arriving 88 stepped into the mix, fresh from his award winning “Peterson’s Touch of Tuna” paella party from the previous night. With prawns and clams on his breath and sending it on his mind, Chris dove deep into the Cameron Road midfield looking to do some pain-free romping with his healed right foot.

The Badgers got a lucky break early on as ATX struck on a counter attack, avoided Jeff Z’s slide tackle, and rounded Jay’s ghost crab-like scamper only to shank a wide-open shot to the left of the goal.

Not wanting to choose sides, the Soccer Gods then provided ATX a break as Jake sent in a wicked cross to Andy at the far post. Andy’s point blank header was saved by the excellent ATX keeper to keep the score tied at donuts.

Throw in a few mistimed Nasty Nate slide tackles, a Jefe yellow card where he was pineappled by Danimal, a strange uniform choice by Andy and a few Gianluca shots at goal and the first half was shaping up to be a cracker.

But all crackers require cheese, and it was Adam, quiet as a mouse at the back post, who karate kicked Gianluca’s cross for a gouda opening goal.

Badgers 1-0 at the half and the final oranges of 2021 were distributed.

The second half kicked off with Andy filing in up top with Gianluca. The Badgers were off to the races to try and increase their lead. Ciro had a great moment scorching a defender and maneuvering towards goal. He had a not-so-great moment when Adam’s Arms tackled him as they both went for a ball.

After a scrum at the back, ATX struck with a pretty fine looking goal to tie the score at 1 each. Damn Dentists.

But Cameron Road was not going to give up on the rest of the half without a fight. With lots of action happening near the ATX goal, Nasty Nate saved a sure winner off the line as he came to Jaybone’s aid.

Back at the business end, Gianluca narrowly missed to the right of goal, and then, after a wonderful piece of skill as Andy turned his defender to dust on the end line and crossed to the ball into Gigi’s path. But his shot went agonizingly just wide of the goal to the left this time. So close! As tempers flared towards the end of the game, Cameron Road corner kicks were flying in, and on one of the last Danimal somehow attempted Gig’s signature move, a bicycle kick! The shot was actually close, but a massive scrum in front of goal involving the ATX keeper might have got it called back anyway. Still, it was fairly awesome.

And so the season endeth, not with a bang, not with a whimper, but with an unsatisfying draw. Still, the Badgers will remain with some share of first place heading into the winter break with a bright future ahead. The CRU infirmary has been filling up as of late, but a fully fit squad awaits as the Badgers will be poised for great things come 2022.

Man-of-the-Match: Though you would never know it from his post-game demeanor, Adam got the Badgers on the board and helped keep ATX at bay. Jeff Z gets honorable mention for his first half offensive explosion.