Fall 2009 Home Opener vs. Medfield

The weather gods cooperated and the boys in yellow were treated to a beautiful Sunday morning to host an always competitive squad from Medfield.

With a nearly full contingent of players, Sudbury controlled much of the early pace after a few brief hiccups several minutes in where Mark B. had to make back to back unbelievable saves to keep Medfield off the board.

Some new faces, Tarek S., Asaad A., Chris M. and Peter W. all had a hand in the early flow of ball control and consistent distribution to the open areas of the field. Neither team could break through until Tarek S. was able to capitalize on a communication error and lightly touch a ball past the Medfield keeper who was well outside the box. The ball snuck in snugly next to the left post to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

Medfield returned with some considerable pressure and were able to loft a ball over the Sudbury defenders to a streaking striker who one-touched it just under the crossbar and out of Mark B's reach to knot the game.

The teams battled for positioning until Sudbury was given a set piece on a Medfield foul. Asaad A. lofted a beautiful ball right to the big man in the middle, Eugene B. who knocked it past the Medfield keeper and gave the hosts back the lead.

A scary incident happened close to halftime as Tarek S. collided with the Medfield keeper and suffered some serious injuries. After some delay and an ambulance to take Tarek and another player to accompany him to the hospital*, Sudbury were down to only 3 subs as the sun grew stronger. The teams resumed play and Medfield were able to catch Sudbury in a bit of a breakdown just a few minutes into the second half to tie the game once again.

This would be the end of the scoring as both teams generated chances but were unable to capitalize. Craig B., Eric B. and Leo N. applied much pressure up front and the defense of Mike A., Ivan L. and Steve S. held strong in the face of fresh legs and energy from the opponents.

Both teams played hard and well and earned the 2-2 draw.

*Happy to note that Tarek was released from the hospital after only a short period of time. He suffered 10 stitches and a bit of a headache, but avoided what could have been considerably more damage.

**Sudbury also lost the services of stalwart defender Hori G. for the year due to lingering injury issues from the 2009 Spring Season. Though he was on the sidelines for this match, he will be missed on the backline. Here's hoping he's fit and ready to go in the Spring of 2010.

Man of the match: Tarek S.

Next up: @ Natick