Week 4 in the GPSD saw Old Growth FC make another trip across the border to play in Southwest Washington for their September 30 match. Despite the calendar nearly hitting October, OGFC team members were scrambling to find their sunglasses and sun screen as the temperatures hovered around 75 degrees at game time as they faced Rovers O/50. The bench was overflowing with OGFC members as the team had over 10 reserves in the bank after last week’s thin bench, while the numbers for the Rovers appeared thin until they got a few reinforcements just before match time.
OGFC settled in early and started to pressure with a traditional 4 defender, 4 midfielder, 2 forward formation, and struck out on a few early runs that tested a shaky Rovers defense. One defender in particular was having trouble with clearances, putting OGFC in prime position to take the early lead. Sure enough, a buildup that saw Todd Diskin and Sean Moran complete some wonderful ball passing to create some space, and they found a streaking Lane Scheideman on the wing unmarked. Scheideman tapped the shot past the Rovers goalkeeper to give OGFC the early 1 to 0 lead, as the team confidently set up for the restart.
Despite the large number of subs allowing for fresh legs, OGFC started to stall a bit midway through the first half as Rovers O/50 began to find room in the midfield to operate. ON a run to the left on goal, they were aided by a horrible missed call when the ball was over the endline by a good 5 yards, but the official didn’t make the call and the OGFC defense let up for a second allowing the Rovers player to beat goalkeeper Rex Forkner to level the score. Diskin was rather upset at the error, but the tension grew as the official missed an offside call but the Rovers player was able to convert the shot to now push them to a 2 to 1 lead. They tallied a third to go up 3 to 1 as nerves were starting to fray at the effort.
In a passionate halftime speech, Diskin implored his charges to play until the whistle and not worry about calls that did or didn’t happen. The teams switched sides and the east cross wind was now moving against OGFC, but they were able to create some early pressure in the second half until Rovers 0/50 started to work the midfield again to create some buildup. A couple of wonderful crosses midway through the half allowed them to push the lead to 4 to 1, and they tallied a fifth as the final whistle blew to push the scoreline to 5 to 1.
OGFC was trying their best to create some pressure forward, but they were struggling with fundamentals like short passes and movement as the attack became very static. There were more than a few tense moments as players tried to communicate and get on the same page, but as with other losses, miscommunication and opponents taking advantage of individual mistakes allowed Rovers to take control of the match. What was disappointing about the result is that based purely upon talent and skill level, the two sides really matched up well. The difference was purely in mistakes – OGFC didn’t take as much advantage of their opponents mistakes while Rovers O/50 scored on nearly every advantage. Forkner was back in goal after a break and while he showed some rust, he was outstanding in making several incredible saves.
The hope is that with continued practice and some better organization, OGFC can build their attack from the middle using the talent and skills they have available. Diskin and his crew are working on a master plan that they hope to unveil at some future match, and if it’s anything like the flying V in the Mighty Ducks movies, the opponents won’t know what hit them.
OGFC will play their next match on Saturday, October 6 at Buckman Field at 6 PM versus Rogues, the other winless side in GPSD Over 40’s Division 2 PDX. While some members will be traveling north early, many OGFC members are hoping to secure the victory and continue the celebration on the bus ride up to that unnamed place up north on Sunday for the epic Cascadia match. Up the OGFC!
Final Score: OGFC 1, Rovers O/50 6
Goals: Lane Scheideman (2)
Assists: Todd Diskin (1), Sean Moran (1)
Cautions: None
Ejections: None
OGFC Starters: G Rex Forkner; D Eric Berg, D Lee Tyler, D Dave Petterson, D Jamey
Billig; M Rich Meneghello, M Sean Moran, M Rich Recker, M Rich Sheals; F Lane
Scheideman, F Todd Diskin
OGFC Reserves: Brad Ashton, Dale Montgomery, Dean Vancheresse, Fred Henning,
Jeremy Chase, Josh Barrett, Kip Kesgard, Lindsay Burdett, Nikki Suydam, Paul
Atkinson, Rich Sheals, Steve Kuenzi, Thomas Augst
OGFC Injured List: Michael Blake (ankle): 2 weeks
OGFC Unavailable: Mike Montague (schedule conflict), Rustam Kocher (family event)
Goals in GPSD Fall 2012 (2): Lane Scheideman (2)
Assists in GPSD Fall 2012 (3): Rich Recker (1), Todd Diskin (1), Sean Moran (1)
Historical Records:
Goals for OGFC (7): Lane Scheideman (3); Brad Ashton (1), Rich Recker (1),
Sean Moran (1), Sean Pope (1),
Assists for OGFC (5): Todd Diskin (2); Eric Berg (1), Rich Recker (1), Sean Moran
(1)
