Published: October 30, 2008

The FCLC soccer team followed its most lopsided loss of the season by claiming a 2-0 victory by way of forfeit in their Oct. 19 game against Well Hung Over, the team occupying last place in the Bryant High School South division. In addition to providing Fordham with some much needed practice time, the win improved the club to 3-4 overall and placed them in a fifth place tie with Goodfellas in the nine team league.

As the 4:55 p.m. kickoff time was drawing near, Well Hung Over had yet to arrive at the field while FCLC was warmed up and ready to play.  After the kickoff time had passed, the referee in charge of the match ruled the game as a forfeit giving FCLC the victory.

Because there was no soccer, the referee and team came to a consensus of what should happen next. The referee allowed FCLC to play a scrimmage game in place of their scheduled league game. The team would be divided in half with one wearing maroon shirts and the other blue shirts.

The unexpected scrimmage gave FCLC some much-needed practice time.

“Practice attendance, especially during midterm week, is low,” said Peter Muller, FCLC ’10, team co-captain. “A six-on-six scrimmage this Sunday was well worth the team development that we usually cannot get when only eight people show up for practice.”

For the next 45 minutes, the team played a friendly exhibition, experimenting with different dribbling, passing and shooting skills that they would be unable to execute during competition. Players were able to switch between different positions during the game.

“We had a great group of kids here today,” co-captain Harry Bradford, FCLC ’09, said. “While the other team did not show up today, we still tried to perform our best. I give thanks to the referee for staying and allowing us to play.”

The forfeit also helped the team’s ranking.

“We are currently in the best position in the league since I started playing my freshman year,” Muller said. “The forfeit helped us attain this ranking, but we were ready to earn ourselves an actual win.”

FCLC soccer suffered an 8-2 loss on Oct. 12 to Brooklyn FC 2, the first place team in the Bryant High School South division. The game featured FCLC’s worst defensive display of the season with a season high of eight goals allowed.

The first half was competitive as FCLC was able to keep the score close. Near the end of the first half, FCLC sparked its offensive attack by drawing a penalty kick on a clumsy tackle by a Brooklyn FC 2 defender. FCLC capitalized on this scoring opportunity by successfully making the kick. The conversion closed the gap to two goals and left FCLC trailing 3-1 at halftime.

“We had a couple of scoring opportunities we wasted in the first half. We were moving the ball around the field and communicating well as a team,” Bradford said.

In the second half, Brooklyn FC 2 outscored FCLC 5-1. The superior fitness level of Brooklyn FC 2 wore out the FCLC defense, leading to team communication breakdowns. Once FCLC ran out of energy, Brooklyn FC 2 was able to dominate the play on the field by having a greater number of scoring chances.

“We did not focus that well in the second half. They had a great counter attack, and we got tired,” Bradford said.

But as Bradford explains, the effort put forth by FCLC was not without some bright spots. “I think we have played a little bit better this year against the good teams in our division. Brooklyn FC 2 is an undefeated team, and I thought we improved and did a pretty good job this time.”