PACESETTER TOURNAMENT part 1
There's always a bit of excitement and anticipation (even for parents) upon
arriving at a tournament venue. This is especially true for tournaments we've
not attended before. And our trip just south of the border was no different, as
we met at the designated off-site parking to divvy up the six parking passes
allotted to the team. That's right, six parking passes. For 14 families. Or is
it 15 families? No matter, under Joanna's fearless leadership we managed to
squeeze everyone into six vehicles. OK I'm exaggerating a little bit, some of us
had skipped the off-site parking and gone right to the venue, but it's more fun
to remember it this way.
It didn't take long to get to the fields and it certainly didn't take long
to realize that this was indeed a first class event. Well organized, nicely
managed, immaculate playing surfaces. It wasn't without its hiccups though, as
an AWOL line judge turned a half hour weather delay into a full hour delay for
our first game. There was even word of a ref being fired after making a bad call
that changed the outcome of a game.
GAME 1
Again, there's something to be said for the anticipation of the unknown.
The first game at a brand new tournament. Against a team from Cleveland. A team
with horizontal pinstripes on their jerseys. Is that to make them look bigger? I
wonder what Joan Rivers would say. From our vantage point, they did indeed look
bigger, but it wasn't because of their jerseys. As is usually the case, and as
would be for the entire weekend, the Force would be outsized. But as is usually
the case, the girls have plenty of other things at their disposal to counter
with. Could it be enough to bring home another trophy? If we were to judge by
the early action in game one, the answer to that question would unfortunately be
"no". Aside from a very early strike by Jazzy that struck the crossbar, the
Force couldn't muster any offensive control, with the Whitecaps dictating play
and keeping our defenders busy for much of the half. A handful of near misses on
our goal had the Force parents gasping in near desperation. Nothing, however,
elicited the type of gasps that could be heard during a whitecaps throw-in. One
particular defender on the Whitecaps could fire the ball like none of us had
seen before. Time and time again, facing a stiff headwind, she would launch low
trajectory rockets into the box with dangerous results. The speed, skill and
discipline with which the side from Cleveland handled their throw-ins was truly
impressive. It caught the Force off guard too many times and I think it's safe
to say we felt relieved to be scoreless at the half.
Halftime gave the girls a chance to settle in a gain some composure and at
the whistle they came out with energy and confidence. Determined, our girls
weren't about to back down to the larger side, and eventually their quickness
and athleticism would pay dividends. With our midfielders dictating much of the
play, the speedy forwards of the Force took turns breaking through the opposing
defense only to be denied on each occasion. This action increased the level of
intensity on the pitch, particularly in the middle, where Zoe fell victim during
a battle with one of the Whitecaps standouts. This would prove to be more costly
than initially thought, as a strained (or bruised) groin would keep her out not
only the rest of the game, but the remainder of the tournament as well. It's
hard to recover from the loss of such a valuable component of the team, but the
girls would soldier on. Speaking of crucial loss- It was clear the team did miss
the speed and grit of Sophie, she was in the girls' hearts all weekend. Of
course let's not forget the fantastic job Claire did filling in.
As time wound down, the Force parents were resigned (or maybe relieved) to
a scoreless draw. Indeed, with the whistle, it was quite apparent we weren't in
Indy anymore. 0-0. We'll take it.
THE HOTEL
Another sign we weren't in Indy anymore was awaiting us when we exited
I-475 at Secor road. Apparently, one of northern Ohio's best kept secrets is the
space/time portal that exists just off the expressway, 3rd turn on the left,
which takes you to 1979. Yes, the year, 1979. Welcome to the Ramada Inn. In all
it's mirrored geometry, fake plants and carpeted walls. This place deserves its
own blog post, but a few of the highlights: Water stained stucco ceilings,
cigarette burned bedspreads, and a shower that was either scalding, or off. CRT
(yes really) televisions, scenic view of a distintegrating parking lot and the
faint smell of who knows what. Unless of course you went to the second floor for
the working ice machine, where that faint smell wasn't so faint anymore. Sorry
Alice, I'm sure you had no idea...
And Sawyer's dad can tell you about his success that night in searching for
the team's new coach, I think he even snapped a photo of this elusive character
in the waning hours of the evening.
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