A Tale of Two Teams

It was the best of times and it was the worst of times. That pretty much summed up our Tauro season. Starting off with 0 wins and 4 losses we knew we needed some changes. A couple key additions to the team and we were on the road to success. So successful that we made it to the final game of the playoffs (yes, we beat the Moonwalkers 4-1 in the semi final to advance to the final). It was time to once again face Dandylyon (pronounced dandy-lee-own).

It seemed that this past season certain teams "owned" certain teams. There were some teams we always beat and there were others that we always struggled against. Dandylyon was one of the teams that we always struggled against. In our two previous encounters we managed to get up 2 goals and then they would end up coming back and beating us. We never had trouble with some of the top teams in the league including AC Milan and the Hawks, but Dandylyon always gave us trouble. We needed to break this trend.

The game came down on Thursday night at 8:15pm. As the players checked in their player cards with the referee Tauro FC suddenly got a break...Dandylyon's best player and the top goal scorer in Men's Division 3 forgot his player card at home and was relegated to watch the game with the fans. Tauro FC had a full bench with everyone there, including two previously injured players. Things were looking good until Steve realized he was hurt too bad to play and Jeff Peters knew he could not play a regular shift. This left our bench with basically two lines and the odd extra person. But we werent' concerned as we had just played our semi-final game 20 hours before with only 11 players.

The game started with a rush as Dandylyon stuck to their game plan of finesse passing and control. Right off the hop our goalie apparently grabbed the other teams shirt when he got too close to the net and the referee yelled at him to let go. Little did we know how much of an effect that innocent little play would have on the game.

The game was rough and our team was getting pounded by them as they hit us to the ground, took us out in the box and had their keeper knock our forwards to the ground. Our bench was screaming for some penalty shots, but the only response was a "play on" by the referee. The referee had decided to just let us play and was not going ot call a lot, especially since he said he could have given our goalie a red card for grabbling the opponent's shirt. This now meant our team was going to have to take the abuse from the other team.

The game was hard fought, but suddenly Dandylyon broke through our outside defense, slipped into the middle of the box unguarded and pounded a shot into the bottom corner of the net. 1-0 Dandylyon. The Tauro players spirits were down, but no one was giving up yet. The Tauro team continued to pepper the other team's goalie with shots, but it was to no avail. Their goalie was playing phenomenal and it would take a lot to put one by him. The halftime whistle sounded and the teams retreated to their benches.

As the guys threw out some thoughts on the game, Isaac our goalie stepped up and gave a rousing half time speech. We were playing these guys hard and they were scared. Forget about the score, keep playing our game and we will put one in. With goose bumps and shivers rivetting through their bodies the Tauro FC players gave a roaring "1-2-3 Tauro" cheer for the final time this season.

The second half started out strong and Tauro once again had the pressure on. Still down 1-0, the pass came across the middle of the field to the far left side to the talented feet of Robin Dalshaug. With a quick look up he found his mark and with a change up left footed shot it was a 1-1 game when the ball went into the corner out of the goalies diving reach! The Tauro bench and fans were ecstatic and the momentum had changed.

Tauro didnt' let up and only a few minutes later a second goal was sniped into the net giving Tauro the 2-1 lead. Dandylyon was looking down, but definately not out. Then the unthinkable happened and a Dandylyon player tripped our defender and was sent to the box with a yellow card and a 4 minute penalty. Tauro's hopes were high as they now had a power play and a chance to take a 2 goal lead. But nothing materialized. Even down a player Dandylyon dominated short handed and the Tauor offense was barely able to keep the ball out their own net. As the power play ended Sheldon thought to himself that if they can dominate while shorthanded, we definately can't let them get up a player.

Not about to let that happen the Tauro players, now back at even strength, sent a long high pass towards the keeper. The ball bounced off the wall, their goalie played it away but couldn't quite clear it. As the scramble continued Kurt Manz found the open net and headed the ball in for the insurance goal and it was 3-1 Tauro with 7 minute sto play.

7 minutes, but if felt like an eternity. Both teams battled hard while Tauro played smart to keep their 2 goal lead. Until the unthinkable happened. Kurt Manz, a Tauro striker, jumped in front of the goalie to block his throw and the yellow card was up. A 4 minute penalty with only 4 minutes left in the game. Sheldon's nightmare had come true. On the power play Dandylyon played aggressive and were going to use all 4 minutes of the penalty to try and get back in the game. Barreling down the left hand side their striker burst past our outside defender and sniped a shot to the top inside corner where our goalie did not even see it coming due to the screen. 3-2 Tauro with 3minutes left.

The Tauro defense was playing ferocious and there were all sorts of legs in the box. But it only took a small hole and just like that the Dandylyon striker put away the tying goal into the bottom corner of the net. 3-3 with 2 minutes left. The battle raged on and the only thing racing through Sheldon' s mind was "please don't let them score the go ahead goal." Luckily our player in the box was let out for the last minute of the game and though the pressure was intense, the final three whistles blew and regulation time was over. But it couldn't end in a tie!

Stay tuned for the penalty shots story and actual video footage of the penalty shots!