The Elders defeated the Actives 4-3 in a heated soccer match on Saturday afternoon in Troy, NY. The Actives peppered the overconfident and unprepared Elders early, but Elder goaltender Eric Anderson '10 made several key stops to keep it scoreless. The Actives finally broke through on the back of Edward Reis '12, who beat Eric at the left post to make it 1-0 Actives.
A controversial handball call on Mario Iacuone '13 set up Michael Bruce '08 with a free kick from about 25 yards out. The Actives set up an effective wall, but neglected to mark Matthew Zepernick '06 on the left flank. Michael deftly slid a pass onto Matt's right boot, which knotted the affair at 1-1.
Kyle Gleken's strike from 13 yards out beat Eric again to make it 2-1. However, the score was quickly tied again after Adam Cottrell '07 floated one over Active goaltender Michael Cipollone '11 from about 30 yards out.
The Elders finally took the lead on the back of Michael Bruce, who took advantage of a miscommunication in the Active defense and slotted one home from inside 5 yards. The game was again tied after Mario Iacuone potted one home after collecting the rebound from a Justin Persin '11 strike. Several good Elder chances by Devin Galvin '08 and Steve Thomas '10 were stopped by Mike Cipollone to preserve the tie.
Regulation time ended and the teams agreed to play Golden Goal. A mere three minutes into the extra period, Kyle Jurney '07 slid a pass across the goal area from the left sideline to Tim Rupp '10. Tim completed a spinning 180 heel-kick to secure the victory for the Elders. After a raucous celebration, the teams shook hands and posed for pictures. The pictures can be found here (most are up, the rest will be uploaded this evening).
Superlatives are as follows:
Most Valuable Player - Elder Tim Rupp '10 Most Valuable Rookie - Active Mario Iacuone '13 Unsung Hero - Elder Eric Anderson '10 Sportsmanship Award - Active Ed Reis '11 Most Surprising Ringer - Active Kyle Gleken '12 Biggest Fall from IFC Grace - Elder Kyle Jurney '07 Best Resemblance to a Horse when Running - Elder JP Devlin '08 Worst Dressed - Andrew Darst '11
Both teams would like to thank Tom Moberg '71 for refereeing the game and enduring the heckles of both benches and their supporters. We hope to see everyone in Troy for Alumni Weekend '12 and the much-anticipated rematch.