Looking back at last night’s East-West All-Star soccer game

I got there just at the end of the girls game which went to the West by a 4-1 score, but I did take in all of the boys contest….

The East claimed the 2-1 victory over the West and early in the game the East held the advantage in the first 10 minutes, taking contorl and controlling the game from the 45 minute mark, up to the 35 minute point of the the first half….

The West keeper must have been a player with a foreign background, because I couldn’t understand a word he was saying, just his call to his back defenders; Keep, Keep, Keep…..The defenders on both squads were so engerized early on, that it was almost impossible, for either offensive side to get anything going….East advantage for the first 10 minutes of the contest…

For the attackers and the defenders in the first 15 minutes of play it is, Run, Run, Run, Run your guts out….

The West attack picked up, at the 26 minute mark of half number one and the the East made a big save defensively right before that surge, at the 27:50 stage of half one…No cheap shots on loose balls, as the defense for both units does a good job of sweeping up, along the back lines….

The East put up what had to be the top shot of the game to this point, when James Johnson let’s one rip from about 18 yards out, but the West goalkeeper makes another outstanding save….

The East makes another save at the 2:45 mark of half one and it appears that the West may be taking over the flow of this game….Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, the East makes a run and game MVP James Johnson, moving left to right on the UNCG pitch, puts a shot from about 10 yards away into the back of the net, for the East, at the 2:10 mark and they go on lead the West at the end of 45 minutes, 1-0….

In the second half my phone started ringing, but I was still able to capture most of the game’s key moments, as the East began to boot the ball to clear it on defense, but the West had made plans at halftime and the equalizer came from the West’s Jeremy Dennis, at the 34:06 mark and now a game, that you thought the East had total control of, was all tied up at 1-1….

The East counter-goal, that proved to be the game-winner, came from James Johnson again, this time at the 18:49 mark of half number two….The East takes a 2-1 lead that they would never relinquish and the East begins to dominate their offensive end of the field. From the 19 minute mark on, there were very few shots for the West…..

The West saw a goal opportunity at the 11:52 mark of the second half, but they were turned away by the East keeper…The West made a little bit of run, but a huge East defensive play comes at the 5:17 mark, as the East defender had a big take-away, to eliminate the West threat….The West got off a hard shot at 3:27 but it, like so many others missed and the games ends at 2-1 East, and we are on to the football game on Wednesday night….

Final again, East 2, West 1…………..