On Friday night, Josh lead the team with a double-hat trick (6 goals for you non-sports readers) and an assist in an 11-1 victory. The goals were nice, but I am most proud of his assist. Josh worked his way down low to the right side of the goal and passed to a waiting teammate on the left side of the goal. He had pulled the defense and goalie toward himself so all his teammate had to do was drill a shot into a virtually empty net. She did just that and we were all thrilled that she scored a state tournament goal.
I was proud because he could have continued to score on his own, but he showed that he had listened to his coach and passed at the right time giving another team member a moment of glory.
That win took them to the semi finals against an undefeated Dakota United team. The team played very well and they handed the Hawks their first loss of the season, and won 9-5. A fellow senior led the team with four goals while Josh added 3 goals and 2 assists.
This win took them to the final against their division rival the Robbinsdale Robins. It seems that in sports, you never get away from your rivals. The Mustangs and Robins have battled in numerous regular season and tournament contests. This one was one of the most intense and closely fought contests they've had. At half, the Mustangs were down 3-1. In the second half the coach changed the configuration of forwards to a "1-2-1" set up. That left Josh as the lone deep forward for part of the second half. He used his good footwork to move around the larger defenders and eventually score. He and his teammates battled back to a 4-4 tie at the end of regulation. After an aggressive but unsuccessful overtime, the teams went to a shootout.
At the very end of the overtime, one of our players injured his right foot. He is the player that usually is in goal for penalty shots or shootouts. With that injury, he would not be able to be the goalie. The coach decided to have Josh be in the net for the shootout. She showed great confidence in him by asking him to step up and take the pressure of a shootout in spite of the fact that he rarely plays goalie.
I was proud once again because he stepped up and gave his all for the team. He could have cowered from the challenge, but he didn't. He got in there and made 2 out of 4 stops - pretty good for not having been in a shootout before. Sadly the team did not score in their part of the shootout and lost the match.
While everyone wants to win a championship, I am still extremely proud of my son and the team. They could have given up when it was 3-1, but they didn't. Josh could have said "I don't want to be the goalie for the shootout," but he didn't. It takes some fortitude and confidence to take on a challenge you haven't faced before.
I am proud of his athletic accomplishments during the tournament and the fact that he was honored to be selected to the "All-Tournament Team," but I am more proud of the qualities he displayed. He was selfless in the first game when he made a great assist. He played as a team member working hard with his fellow teammates in the second game. And he showed perseverance, guts and confidence as he worked to tie the third game and take on the goalie role.
Now that I've bragged about my son, I want to commend all of the Mustangs. It amazes me every time I watch them play how hard they work and how well they work as a team. You have to realize that each of these kids is already battling some type of physical limitation - some are more obvious than others. Add this to trying to be coordinated enough to kick a rolling ball and execute a pass or a shot and you have an amazing spectacle. When you think of gifted athletes who have done amazing feats and compare them to these kids, there is no comparison. I'll take an adapted soccer team over a Beckham team ANY day.
