The TABC Varsity soccer team stormed into the new season with a perfect 3:0 record. This year’s team has a deep roster, with ten returning seniors being joined by a group of talented juniors. The team began practicing in November, and this has paid off handsomely at the start of the season.
After over 3 month of practices the team could not wait for the season to begin. The first game, unfortunately, had to be postponed by yet another snow storm. Finally, on March 11th, TABC opened the season against Hillel, at home. On the second shift of the game senior Ben Shelling opened the scoring with a elegant redirection of a beautiful cross court pass from Alex Malech. This opened the flood gate, and midway through the second quarter TABC lead 7:0, putting the game out of reach. Assistant captain Ben Book and junior Calev Minsky recorded hat-tricks, and everyone on the bench got into the game. The final score was TABC 12—Hillel 4.
The game against Kushner Cobras was a much harder challenge. TABC always had problem playing at Kushner’s cavernous gym, and has lost there for the last 3 years, so, despite being early in the season, the game was very important. The game started on the positive note, with Calev Minsky scoring 2 goals on the very first shift. But Cobras cut the deficit to 2:1. The teams then exchanged “own” goals, and Minsky added another goal before the half time. After the break Minsky remained hot, quickly scoring two more goals, to bring his total to 5! With 10 minutes remaining in the game TABC held a commanding 6:2 lead. But Kushner had no intention of giving up. The entire team went on the attack, and TABC’s lead began to shrink. With just over 3 minutes to go in the game, the STORM’s lead shrunk to just one goal 6:5. This is when the team’s captain, Ehud Adler, frustrated the entire game by Kushner’s physical, man-to-man marking and good goaltending, beat two Kushner defenders, and buried a powerful shot it the bottom corner of the net. This goal took the steam of Kushner’s comeback attempt, and the game finished 7:5 for TABC.
STORM didn’t have much time to enjoy this victory. Two days later they traveled to JEC to play the Chargers. The game started on a negative note—just 5 seconds into the contest, a powerful shot from a JEC forward hit the crossbar, but the referee inexplicably called it a goal. For the first time the entire season the STORM was trailing in the game, and they did not like the feeling! Yet, they certainly did not lose their composure. Calev Minsky continued his hot streak, quickly equalizing the score, and then putting TABC ahead. Tomer Mizrachi and Ben Book extended the TABC’s lead, but JEC got one goal back. The game stayed close, until midway through the 2nd quarter, when junior Josef (Joe) Moskowitz scored a natural hat-trick during a single shift, extending TABC’s lead to 7:3. The STORM continued to apply pressure, pelting the JEC goalie with a barrage of shots. Eight different TABC players ended up scoring. The highlight of the game, worthy of the ESPN’s Top 10 plays, took place near the end of the third quarter. Forward Ehud Adler, deep in his own end of the field helping on defense, gained control of the ball and noticed that defender Doni Kilimnick was making a long run on the opposite side of the field. Ehud hesitated a moment, to give Doni time to get to JEC’s side of the field, and then, with laser precision, sent a perfectly placed, high, diagonal pass the length of the gym. Without breaking his stride Doni unleashed a powerful header in the top corner of the net, leading to a spirited celebration on the TABC’s bench! The final score was TABC 12: JEC 5.
By Sam Shteingart
