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Offense Takes the Night Off in 0-0 Draw With
Albuquerque
June 11, 2005 Sol took on the Albuquerque
Asylum Saturday night for the second time this year. Out to avenge the
earlier loss to Albuquerque on the road on April 23rd, Sol was
missing several key players. Leading scorer David Briceno was out with an
injury, attacking center midfielder Miguel Santoyo had high school
graduation festivities, defensive midfielder Chris Daly was bitten by a
spider, and central defender Steve Purdy was traveling, which meant that
Head Coach Dave Shaffer had to turn to the depth on his bench to fill
several key positions.
During the first half, Sol seemed tentative and lacked
energy, even though they had the better run of play. Sol out shot Asylum 8
to 5 in the first half but had a hard time connecting through the midfield.
More importantly, the finishing was lacking. Keeper Derek Shaffer made 3
tough saves in the first half to keep the defensive sheet clean.
Sol picked it up in the second half as the players
became more familiar in their new roles, but the finishing problems
continued. Sol had several breakaway opportunities which were snuffed by
the Asylum keeper. The best scoring opportunities came off of second half
free kicks. Michael Briceno had a beautiful screaming shot headed towards
the right up “V” which was well saved by the Asylum keeper. Brad Yuska also
had good free kick opportunity that just missed wide right. Overall, Sol
outshot Asylum 12 to 6 in the second half, but the number of saves was very
close. Sol keeper Derek Shaffer had 3 saves while the Asylum keeper had 4.
The game ended with a whimper in a 0-0 tie.
Nevertheless, the undermanned Asylum team of 15 obviously expected a lot
worse and were pleased to leave with one point against the number one team
in the NPSL (West).
The good news is on the same night, second place
Salinas Samba also tied, which meant in no change in the relative position
of the top two teams.
Special note should be taken of the defense who scored
their third shut out in a row. Defender Justin Delacruz had a particularly
effective night, interrupting the flow of the Rook attack, making runs out
of the back field and clearing balls off the goal line.
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