Week #9 - Varsity Soccer Dominates Possession on Senior Night vs Stuart Hall!

Boys Varsity Soccer
Right off the opening kickoff, Oscar forced the ball into the box.  It was a tall task for Stuart Hall's defense, as the Badgers were constantly on the offensive, controlling the ball with confidence. Five minutes in, Shaan drilled the ball wide, where King began to set up an attack. He passed it back to Shaan, who used fancy footwork to get to the 18' foot box.  He fired a shot, Tandem's first of many: the Badgers had more than ten shots in each half. 
 
 
Forcing Stuart Hall to kick it away, Shaan made a deep throw in to Oscar.  He led Oscar toward the goal - and Oscar used his left foot to send the ball across to Jack.  This resulted in a Tandem throw-in, where Levi tip-toed the end line and fired off a shot.  The rebound came to Shaan, who put his opponent in the spin cycle. Getting through three different defenders, Shaan fired yet another shot.

For the vast majority of the game, Tandem's back line was dominant.  Is it even worth trying to get the ball past Owen?  Seamus?  Luca?  Van?  Stuart Hall's only goal came when Tandem had pushed way up, and despite Shaan earning a penalty kick and a series of chances from Oscar and Jack, the Badgers trailed 1-0 at halftime. The Badgers were coming. The momentum and possession, as usual, were entirely on Tandem's side!
 
In the second half, Owen and Luca continued to make life difficult for their opponent. They forced the ball out of the middle, and Owen often struck it the entire length of the varsity field. On one occasion, he fired it ahead, eventually resulting in a Tandem corner. 
 
Oscar and Seamus had a beautiful give and go - and Oscar made his presence felt. Shaan had a free kick into the box after a big collision.  Jack had a laser shot from the right side, rebounded by Levi, who fired again.  The Badgers were dominating, and the goal finally arrived courtesy of a Shaan penalty kick that went right through the hands of Stuart Hall's leaping goalie.
 
With the score tied and the intensity rising, the Badgers kept the pressure on. Luca was excellent defensively, Levie had some key saves, and when on offense, King sent it to Oscar for a ball that would still be rolling if not for the net.  That resulted in a corner, another chance for Tandem.  At the end of 80 hard fought minutes, the Badgers earned a 1-1 tie with a tough Stuart Hall team.
 
The Badgers are talented. And deep. Eli, Dalin, Mason, Henry, Hank and Jace - and manager Kavi - have continued to push their team in practice everyday.  

The Badgers record moves to 5-2-1, #9 in VISAA, our best team in over a decade.  There is no rest for the weary.  Tandem plays at home vs New Covenant on Tuesday at 4:15 (their last home game of the season!!)  Then, on Thursday, they'll travel to Quantico for a 4pm kickoff.  Their final regular season game comes against this same Stuart Hall team, on the road at 4:15 on October 20. 
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Tandem Friends School is a co-ed Quaker day school for grades 5-12 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
 
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