All Star Game

[BigG]

Don't know all of the details, but I heard that East beat West 5-2 today.

[DragonSoc]

It was a fun game and a great chance for a bunch of the guys to get together from across the state again (some for the last time). Many were TN ODP teammates from the last five years and graduated seniors. It served as a farewell match. Thanks THSSCA for putting this on and Hendersonville for hosting.

 

It was depressing to see the flood damage to Drake's Creek Park, but the community and volunteers have made great strides in repairs.

 

The Game? It was blistering hot! 2PM kick-off.

 

Farragut...oops I mean the East (who had five of Farrugut's stars on the roster and was co-coached by Wallie Culbreath) got all the early offensive chances as the West's center mids were out hustled and the East was forced to fend off multiple attacks. West turned away their attacks until a rocket strike from about 27 yards stunned the West Keeper for a 1-0 midway through the first.

 

Some offensive subs opened up offensive chances for West as ECS' Andrew Vandervoort got in behind the defense, but GK Steven Matlock was able to turn them away. West did have a couple open net situations that were wasted. One when Collierville's Dillon Thornbury was in on goal and slid the ball in front where a West player shot high from 6 yards out evoking moans from the crowd.

 

The final was 5-2 East but the scoreline was not indicative of the game. It was tied in the second half and East held a 3-2 margin late when Hendersonville/Ravenwood coaches opted for a 3 man defensive line to push more offensive players up despite Collierville's centerback Kevin Hensley's pleas since East had put four men up top! 30 seconds later the man advantage earned East their 4th goal.

 

The game out of reach and the heat taking its toll, both teams decided to have some fun. The last 5 minutes looked more like an NBA all-star game than a soccer match as tomfoolery took over. East would get their fifth as the entire West side pushed up. Opposing players harassed their friends, and "foot-skill moves" were taken out of the bag for display. Not the prettiest soccer but fun for the players.

 

An A/R told a player he was too high for a throw-in and the opposing player said, "Sir...I don't think any of us are going to complain!" That summed up the last part of the game.

 

Sorry I don't know all the names of the goal scorers. I do know that out of the All-Star list each side had about 17 players participating.

[tnsoccerreporter]

It was a good game.

Thanks.