Oh and guess what, Dougie was on his best behavior...no cards for me. When I set foot on the turf on Tuesday night to do my pre-game ritual turn in the team sheets to our trusty sports info director, Sam Angell, I paused to take in the atmosphere and survey the grounds. I was given fair-warning by the Boss, "no more cards." We all make promises to our significant others and sometimes just to get through that "moment" so that life can continue, but this one I knew I needed to uphold. So much so that I made an even bigger deal in order to make sure I kept my word to my better half.
Pagey showed up to training the day after my second yellow asking, "Boss how many more before you get a touch-line ban?" Not liking that line of questioning I quickly made a deal. You know the saying, your mouth is writing checks your butt can't cash? Well, that's the way it went down. Page now has the dutiful task that if I get another yellow card this year, he gets "to have a go" as the English like to say, at me. Meaning, butts up for Doug on the goal line. For those in the soccer world, they know full-well what I mean...and know full-well that with a marksman like Page, I am in for it if I indulge my engagement with my fine, whistle-ladened friends a bit too much. A yellow and I am on the goal line next training session, offering up my dairy-aire for Page to strike a soccer ball at me from the top of the 18 yard box - no flinching or moving allowed.
When I set foot on the turf Tuesday evening, I knew full well there was no way I was getting a card that night! "Doug, can you see into the future? Have you been reading L Ron Hubbard's Dianetics? Tell us Doug, how did you know?" Funny how things work, I needed that little friendly reminder from my wife to not push the buttons of the center official and it worked out that on this night, we had a female center official. So I smiled when I saw her and handed my team sheet in, knowing that this would be like my wife's voice in the center. She called a tight match, which I am fine with, and was consistent through the game on both sides of the ball. Excellent job.
Two big results. We have not beaten Rutgers in a long time, but history showed us that we have beaten them before so we were confident in our team. Two timely goals in the second half and one heinous crime! Just seven minutes into the half we caused enough problems to have their back line scrambling to make plays, as Page continues his run forward to clean up the pieces. Just 16 minutes later we would see the crime of the ages... a young, bustling midfielder from the West Coast coming to the City of Brotherly Love (so he thought) to further his academic and athletic prowess. A young man eager to make his mark in this world and pursue his dreams. It's a story the warms the cockles of your heart, right to the core.
The young man is California native and Drexel Dragons Freshman midfielder, Adam Arana. Poor kid didn't even see it coming...the culprit? Meanest, baddest, kid in the world - our #16, Ken Tribbett (for those that know Ken, you know this couldn't be further from the truth in terms of being a correct description!!! Isn't that always the case, Kenny apparently will slit your throat with a smile...). Adam plays and runs forward, well done, a staple of what we do. He gets the return pass from Page and strikes a ball that beats Rutgers' keeper and is about to get his first collegiate goal when out of the blue, it happens. "Mr. Nice Guy" Ken Tribbett slides in and steals Adam's thunder. Check out the picture and you tell me?!?
William and Mary ended up being another statistic breaker...love it! Down 1-0, 17 minutes in and the looming statistic of the team that scores first wins in the air. Just twelve minutes later, the Dragons are on top of the game through goals from Maty Brennan and the Thief, aka the Dancing Machine, aka Kenny Tribbett (did you see his celebration, a romantic spotlight dance between KT, not JT...that's Justin Timberlake for you older blog readers... and Colin "I Got Moves Like Jagger" McGlynn). Click the Link - THE DANCE Well done boys!
So a return to the City of Brotherly Love this week...@ Penn tonight for a Battle of 33rd Street (join us for the walk over, we are literally walking over from the DAC) and home to Temple on Saturday for Alumni Day...hoping for some more love and to see you all out in support of your Drexel Dragons!
Regards,
Doug
