Back to the Future

Bolt and my youngest at Saturday's Tormenta game.

We're going to try something and see if it works. It's preseason and so much like the players and coaches are working out the kinks and trying new things, we'll do that here, so let's see how it goes. It may be fun or it may be the absolute worst thing I've ever written, which would be saying a lot because I've gone back to read some of my stuff when I was working for the college newspaper and it was... well let's say I wasn't winning any awards and, if anything, was actively hindering the Georgia Southern paper from winning any awards. Anyway, we're going to try to write this as though it was an early 1900s baseball writeup with the vernacular and phrasing that I imagine would be used for a soccer game. We'll find out together how this goes.

The quotes are actual quotes from Ian Cameron and the players, so they're not going to sound like they're from early last century.

A blustery and wind-swept Saturday saw the South Georgia 11 facing off against the visitors from Florida on a sunny afternoon in Statesboro. 

The home patrons were entertained by a thrilling competition between the two squads with the competitors from Statesboro emerging victorious by a score of one to zero over the Dophins of Jacksonville University.

Those in attendance were dressed in various clothing of the Tormenta team as they cheered and banged drums all while also being delighted by a large birdlike creature* who the patrons referred to by the name of Bolt. 

On the field, the Statesboro 11 utilized their superior age and talent to maintain possession of the ball for large stretches of the contest. Multiple opportunities to take an advantage on the scoreboard were denied by the stout defense of the visitors while the home team continued to press their advantage to no avail.

The first 45 minutes saw neither team able to break through and put a goal on the scoreboard as each team retreated to confer with their managers in an attempt to break through in the second half of the contest. 

Following the intermission, the home team came out looking to take the lead. Manager Ian Cameron made changes to the team as the practice game allowed for more players the opportunity to prepare for the games that count.

Eight minutes into the second stanza, fans erupted in applause and cheers as Trialist 8 was able to receive a cross from the left side and placing his shot by the hapless defenders to give the home team a 1-0 lead. 

Moments later, the South Georgia team appeared poised to extend their advantage, but an outstanding play by the goalkeeper for the visitors kept their deficit at one. 

The home team was able to run out the clock and keep the visitors from scoring to ensure the home fans were able to leave with smiles on their faces.

"You can have games where you're fluid on the attack and you'll have games where you miss some chances," Cameron said following the match. "But the clean sheet and the defensive display you want to be really rigorous week to week and I thought that was was there. We didn't give up many chances in the game and I don't think we had any scary moments."

With the championship season starting in a matter of weeks, the Tormenta manager remains focused on preparing the squad for the games ahead.

"There were improvements from Friday to Sunday last week and the question today was 'would those improvements become a wee bit more permanent or would we be regressing in them?' And today the group made the thing that we focused on a bit more permanent," Cameron said. 

"I think what we're starting to see a little bit is guys naturally thinking less about the positioning and where they're supposed to be on the field because they've ingrained it more and more from training and that leaves them a little bit more brain power and a little bit more energy that can be expended on making actions on the field. That comes with time and I think today that showed through a little bit more that they had a better understanding of where they're trying to arrive with the ball and then attack," he stated.

New forward Niall Watson said the team's efforts on the training pitch have begun to pay off as they see development in the contests.

"I think the first game against Mercer was a bit sticky," Watson said. "It was a brand new system and it was our first game as a team. "But I think after the past few games that we've had, I think today you can kind of show what we're trying to do and it's paying off at times and that's very exciting."

Callum Stretch, one of the new defenders for Tormenta, said the team's focus was primarily on making sure they continued to make improvements as the regular season draws near.

"I think we looked at this game not necessarily trying to get a result but how we played and how we won," Stretch said. "I think it's a step in the right direction but there's still a lot of work to do because we'll obviously face a lot better competition (going forward.)"

"One of the challenges is to work out the kinks and that's hard because you can't rush time. You've just got to keep playing with each other," he said. "It's trying to get to know their tendencies. The more games and the more reps that you have together is what's going to help us mesh."  

*Mascots like Bolt or the Philly Phanatic would have been unknown to fans in the 1900s and it really wasn't until the 1960s and Mr. Met that costumed mascots became more mainstream.