Landon Soccer 1 Saint Albans 0

The Bulldogs came to Prindle Pitch as the #3 team in the DMV according to WaPo. They held that lofty position though they had lost to Georgetown Prep (2-3). StA is led by a senior Nick Notaro (9Gs, 6As) as the Bears have their primary offensive striker in Zach Fingerhut (9Gs, 3As) [these numbers are drawn from WaPo; never sure that they are current.] At least one StA defender (sometimes more) was always in close proximity to #9, the future Demon Deacon.

The IAC standings are bunched; all of the teams are VERY competitive. A has beaten B which beat C and in turn C beat A. The additive principle of mathematics is not applicable to these matches. This contest exemplified how tight this conference really is.

The first half was a constant battle. The StA back line and goal would boom kicks into the Landon defensive zone under the strategic expectation that a Bulldog would gain control and fire the ball into the Bears’ goal. Equal numbers of those long passes ended up with the home team controlling the ball and the blue clad visitors getting possession. Every such completion between the StA defense and their forwards were stopped by Landon’s team defense. Keeper Walter Spak stopped any balls which his teammates did not collect.

The Landon offensive attack looked to Zach Fingerhut’s extraordinary ability to receive the ball and to move even though he was blanketed by many blue defenders. Other Bears carried the ball to the goal, but the StA defense was equally resolute.

That pattern broke after the electric scoreboard stopped at 02:00 remaining in the 1^st half (at which time the referee maintains the official time on the field, accounting for any injury time). At that moment the Bears cleared the ball on the “poolside” of the filed where Zach Fingerhut, hounded by his coterie of Bulldogs, sprinted up the field, drawing more attention from the visitors. As they converged, he slipped the ball to an accelerating midfielder, Jack Feldman, who used his space to good advantage and scored. BEARS 1 BULLDOGS 0

At half the teams switched ends, but that was the only change. The boys on both sides exhibited athleticism, tenacity and spirit. Coach Reed recognized that the intensity and heat were putting the Bulldogs and the Bears to a test, too, and he showed his confidence in his team’s depth (a better reporter would have notes all of their names and given all of the players their due) by substituting liberally. That tactic worked well for the home team was able to frustrate the offense of the StA team. One thing was evident to even the inexpert eye—the Bears’ keeper was magnificent!

The time seemed to take forever to consume the 80:00 minutes, but when the referee’s whistle blew his telltale three bleats, the Bear fans (including parents and students from other teams after their practices were finished) exploded in their enthusiastic response to the home team’s efforts. A good, hard fought victory.

FINAL SCORE BEARS 1 BULLDOGS 0

There are 5 more regular season contests with a repeat match against all of their IAC opponents.