Winners One And All

This spring is the final season for the Palominos, as the girls are reaching the age where recreational soccer ends and club soccer begins. So for this close-knit team, which has never had a winning season, this is their last and only chance for that experience. By the fall, most of the players will have graduated from Middle School and gone on to various high schools. Before he became head coach last fall, Aidan inherited a team with an overall record of 8-37-2 over six seasons.

They had their best season to date last fall, when they finished 4-5, so the kids are hoping that this spring might be even better. So far, so good. They won their first two games before facing a tough opponent today in the late afternoon heat at Crocker-Amazon. The first photo above was from last night's practice, as their young coach was getting them prepared for today's game. The second photo was just before today's game started. Four girls did not show up, with conflicts of one sort or another, but those who did played short-handed the entire game with great spirit. As Aidan told them at halftime, they were outplaying the other team, even though they were behind, 0-1. In the second half, he reminded them, they would be playing into the wind, and he adjusted the lineup and their strategy as a result. It all seemed to amount to nada when a bad bounce caused one of the Palominos' defenders to score an unintentional goal for the other team. Now it was 0-2 and it stayed that way until late in the game. Somehow, however, these players didn't give up; they rallied. The fought for ball after ball and won more of those battles than they lost. They moved the ball up the pitch against the wind and in the last five minutes or so, scored a goal. Now it was 1-2. Their intensity only increased after that and with perhaps three minutes left, they tied the game on a PK. In the final minute they almost scored the winner, but when it was over, the 2-2 tie felt very much like a victory. They are now 2-0-1 this season with three games left and an excellent chance at a winning season. And, in the "Aidan Era," they are now 6-5-1. -30-