CRU 8 – MQ9 Reapers 1

How does 2 + 15 + 7 + 20 + 2 + k + 16 + 16 = 8? Strange math you might think, but those were the players responsible for the 8 goal onslaught on Sunday as Cameron Road United broke-in their new yellow and blue uniforms, while breaking the backs of the MQ9-Reapers.

In a striking show of team unity and fashion sense, all 10 brave souls who showed up to play in the blistering Texas heatwave sported their new yellow Nike tops, and (amazingly) all 10 players were decked out in blue shorts and white socks. The fashion bar has been set for those not in attendance. The overall team assessment of the new kit was a resounding thumbs up with it’s Brazilian aesthetic, lightweight fabric, and colorful modern flair. And judging by the final score, Cameron Road was feeling like team Brazil as they demolished the hapless Reapers.

To be fair, the Reapers are a poor side. To make matters worse, they fielded 9 players to Cameron Road’s 10. But they were in good spirits and ready to spend a 100 degree afternoon playing the not-so-beautiful game instead of watching it on tv.

From the opening kickoff, Cameron Road controlled the game, rarely having to come back into their half to defend. It quickly became evident that this was a Clark Field practice with big goals, and the turkey shoot mentality began to take hold.

Luke was the first one to fire off a salvo of shots on the Reapers, letting loose a few belters from distance to test the keeper’s mettle. Soon, others followed in his footsteps, with pretty much every forward player letting loose. Chap, Way, Willis, Billy, BT, and Leif all tested the sanctity of the net within the first 10 minutes.

You could tell that the arrival of the opening goal was imminent, and Ryan Willis was the first to bulge the onion bag with a close range shot. He goes down in the record books as the first player to score in the new jerseys as he kissed the new badge with a nod to the treeline on the way back up the pitch.

Up next was BT, with what is becoming his trademark shot – a laser beam from midfield. Could have been with his left foot, could have been with his right. At this point it’s academic since he’s adept with both feet.

With pretty much 90% of the possession, Cameron Road tried to work on keeping the ball and passing it around while attacking. Playing the small passes and swinging the ball around, looking for the final opening to release a player through on goal.

For the final goal of the half, Luke strolled through the center of the pitch and played in a through ball to Chappy who stood at the top of the box. The Captain gathered the ball, turned, took a few dribbles and fired off a shot to the near post to beat the keeper for the third time.

The half ended with Ciro blasting a shot at the keeper from close range as Chappy played him in on the right side of the box. The scoreline read Cameron Road 3, Reapers 0, but it could have been 7 or 8.

With the feeling that the score could potentially get out of hand quickly, Cameron Road decided to turn loose Jay into the outfield. As a match-saving keeper, he has few rivals in the league, but he’s also a standard at practice so it was nice to see him get the chance to get a run out and hopefully sniff out a goal. BT replaced him between the pipes. Another change saw Chris Peterson and his freshly shaved head swap out with Ryan Willis, as Chris attempted to test out the legitimacy of his #10 jersey choice.

The second half picked up right where the first half ended, with Cameron Road heading downhill looking for more goals. Ciro and Jay were pulling the strings in the center of the midfield, with Chappy, Way and Chris floating around further up the pitch. Luke and Way both had nice runs down the left side, Chappy got a few deep runs on the right and Jay wormed his way into the box on several occasions.

Way was up next and opened his scoring account off a beautiful free kick from Luke. As the keeper pushed away the shot, Way was in perfect position to poke it home. Way came oh-so-close to doubling his account later in the half as Willis sent in a perfect curling cross that found him unmarked at the back post. But his header attempt went wide.

After becoming the provider, Willis next turned goal-scorer as he headed in his own rebound for his second of the day, and Cameron Road’s 5th of the afternoon.

Then, in a moment of brilliance that everyone wanted to see, Jay gathered the ball at the top of the box, spun around and unleashed a great volley that landed in the top corner for CRU’s 6th goal of the game. A great reward for all the hard work he puts in saving Cameron Road’s ass on a weekly basis.

In a moment of mercy, Cameron Road allowed the Reapers to roam into their half and fire off a shot. With his Ultimate Frisbee instincts kicking in, BT dived to his left to save the shot, but the damn jabulani squirted through his grasp and the Reapers were on the board.

After the last water break, Ciro was next up to man the goal, with BT moving to the center of defense. This proved to be a vital switch because BT was able to spot the opportunity for a quick tactical change to the attacking lineup. Noticing that Chappy was spending some time rooted to the field in anticipation for a few easy through balls, BT ordered him to swap positions with Billy at right back. Knowing that his legs and lungs were useless from his week on the Mexican beach and his veins still coursed with tequilla, there were no arguments from the Captain as he accepted his role on the back line. The switch payed off in spades as Billy announced himself with authority, banging in two quick goals, one from close range, and the other a peach of a shot from distance.

The game finally ended with Cameron Road scoring 8 goals. They could have had 15 on the day, but in the end were satisfied with a fantastic short-handed, mid-day effort. A brilliant way to break in the new uniforms. Surely everyone who missed this one will be kicking themselves at the opportunity to get on the score sheet.

Next up for Cameron Road is a tough game with Deportivo, after a week’s rest for the fourth of July.

Man-of-the-Match: As the last member of the roster to break his goal scoring drought, Jay earns the honors this week with his fantastic goal.