September 20, 2009 - Wallingford, PA

Another gorgeous day for soccer in Delaware County, and the Kixx traveled to Wallingford to face the Nether Providence Calvary. The field was secluded in the middle of a residential area, with cars lined up and down the street. (I wonder if the local homeowners had this in mind when the field was built...) The Cavalry were in bright orange, and the Kixx wore their solid blues again. Only Tristan Hummel and Matthew Tutterice were unable to attend.

The boys started strong today, hooray! After weeks of exhorting them to play aggressively from the start, this was one of the first times we've really taken it to another team from the get-go. From the opening tap, the Kixx played nearly constantly in the Nether Providence end of the field. Forwards Charlie Beale and Dalton Musselman were constantly in the mix, and defenders Daniel Andris and Max Gress aggressively challenged any time the ball approached midfield. Just a few minutes into the game, the Kixx notched their first goal, as Dalton followed up and drove home a rebound from a Daniel Good shot. The Kixx continued to pressure, and a few minutes later Charlie Beale scored on a similar play on a rebound from a Zach DeLone shot. The Kixx continued buzzing, getting chance after chance, but just failing to put it in the net again, and the half ended with the Kixx leading 2-0. As a measure of the team's dominance in the first half, goalie Mike Battisti ended up not touching the ball for the entire first half, and looked a bit forlorn at times as a result.

But soccer games have two halves, and as assistant coach Chris Andris mentioned on the sideline, a 2-0 lead is often the worst lead. As the half got underway, NP stepped up their pace a bit, and just a few minutes into the half made things a little dicey for the visitors when they broke through down the left side and buried a perfect shot against which goalie Max Gress didn't stand a chance. Just like that, it was down to a one-goal lead, and still with plenty of time to play. The rest of the game was a tension-filled affair, as the ball went back and forth, but neither team could seem to score. There was no shortage of opportunities. Michael Caggiano just missed the net to the left. Mike Battisti just missed to the right. Joey D'Angelo missed another one to the right. Dalton Musselman broke through, only to be caught at the last second by a valiant defender. Alex Mullins blasted a shot point blank that the NP goalie snagged with a miraculous save. At the other end of the field, NP didn't get too many opportunities, but kept coming, often getting turned back at midfield by Michael Bolger or Brian Miller. Max Gress was able to corral the few that made it through. The minutes ticked by with agonizing slowness. After what seemed like an eternity, the final whistle blew, and the Kixx escaped Wallingford with a 2-1 victory!

Overall, the kids played with a lot of heart on Sunday. It's always great to win a close game, and while we left a few opportunities on the table, they kept fighting and didn't give up, and were rewarded with a win! The victory runs the Kixx' record to 2-0 so far in this league. In other league news, the West-Mont Wizards won again to move to 3-0, so the Halloween showdown with them is so far looking to be an important one!