Things Happen Sometimes

Photo courtesy of Tormenta FC

We all knew the rules going in and I don't have a better way of ending a tied game, but losing in a penalty kick shootout just feels dumb. But no one asked me and so here we are at the end of the Tormenta season after they fell in penalties to Spokane Sunday night.

It was a tight game with both teams having opportunities to score in regulation that weren't capitalized on. Both teams converted penalty kicks in Extra Time to send us to the shootout. It was an intense, exciting game.

Now for a quick digression before we get back to Tormenta.

I was reading Craig Calcaterra's excellent Cup of Coffee baseball newsletter Friday morning and he brought up something that I'd kind of known, but could never really could put it into words until he crystallized it for me. 

There are no grand conclusions to be drawn from any one playoff game or postseason run.

That's not to say they're not important. The games mean a lot to the fans, the players, the coaches and anyone else who decides to invest their time, money and attention into them. We want to see incredible athletic performances, amazing plays and the drama that comes with it. At its best, postseason stress is anxiety inducing, exhilarating, heart pounding agony for two hours or three hours on a Sunday night. (To be clear, those are all good things, in this context).

Tormenta Co-owner Darin Van Tassell told me Sunday night that the locker room was incredibly sad following the loss as they were a group that liked being around each other and were disappointed they weren't going to work this week.

But the winner of the game doesn't truly mean Team A was better than Team B. As Calacaterra put it in a baseball context, "... Mainstream baseball analysis has, for a good 25 years or more, consisted of people making far, far too much out of a single game or three and acting as if such insights are significant. The genre - especially in the postseason - does not allow for simple 'hey, that happened, wasn't that a hell of a thing?' observations. This, despite the fact that 'wow, a hell of a thing happened' is about as much as one can say when trying to explain what went down in a single game or even a series."

His column, to be fair, is more of a criticism about the media's desire to attach large, grand meanings to the outcomes of single games or a single series. In this case, it's about how columnists and pundits tend to react to one game and, using hindsight that they rarely display beforehand, try to "construct the illusion of wisdom and insight that, had the ball bounced a bit differently in the three hours that preceded its drafting, would've been totally repudiated while completely opposite conclusions would've been reached." 

In my first post-match interview with Tormenta Manager Mark McKeever, I asked what he took away from the game that he can use next week. To my surprise, he said "We take nothing. We take the confidence, right, but next week is different. It's a different kettle of fish. It's a different team. It's a different night. It's a different environment, different, referees, so, you know, each time the whistle blows for a new game, it's a new game. It's as simple as that."

It's one game. It happens and you try to get better for the next time. 

Back to Tormenta and Spokane. 

Balls bounce weird sometimes man. As much as I wanted Tormenta to win Sunday at Spoakane, it's a game and things just happen sometimes. If Makel Rasheed's arm is in a slightly different spot or the attacker deflects the cross, maybe the penalty doesn't happen. If Mason Tunbridge's shot at the end of regulation curls just a little bit more, he's being hailed as a clutch contributor who scored an amazing game winner. Just because the shot went wide doesn't mean he's any less of an amazing player. That's how it goes in soccer and to impose any grand pronouncements after one game is a way that leads to madness. It's fluff masquerading as insight. 

In any game there are dozens of "What If" moments. Sometimes the ball just doesn't bounce your way. Other times the opposing team does a hell of a thing and you just tip your hat and go, "yep, that was a hell of a thing." As an old high school coach told me one time, "the other team practices too."

Sunday ended in penalties. There's no rhyme or reason to the outcome of a penalty shootout. There's no conclusion to be drawn other than Spokane made four and Tormenta made three. That's it. 

There's no grand unifying meaning we need to attach to the outcome of Sunday's game. It's disappointing. It sucks for the players, coaches and staff who worked all season to get to that point only to see it end in what is essentially a coin flip. It sucks for the fans who wanted to see the fairy tale season continue. 

But it's just one game. Things happen. In this particular case, it just didn't happen in the way Tormenta fans wanted. 

The season isn't any less memorable or special because it didn't end with a title. There are 13 teams that are going to see their season end without a championship and if you are going to decide if a season was successful based solely on if it ends with a title, then I hate to be the one to break it to you but sports are going to be a lot of misery for you.

All in all it was an incredibly memorable season. From the lows of the losses to the disappointment of Ian Cameron's resignation to the surprise of McKeever's hiring and the highs of the incredible run to the amazement of Niall Reid-Stephen's final stretch to the sadness of the loss in penalties to Spokane. 

I mean, goalkeeper Austin Pack scored a goal! 

This was an incredible season and I'm glad I got to witness it. It didn't end how we all hoped it would, but I, for one, won't let one game, no matter how disappointing, erase the joy and fun I had in 2025. I hope you don't either.

With that, barring any breaking news, I'm going to take a little time off from here. This is a labor of love and I certainly enjoy it, but it is still a labor at times and I could use a break. This is my 68th post this year not counting any stories for the Statesboro Herald. That's more than anyone needs to hear from me. I'd hoped the break would come in two weeks, but alas. I'll probably pop in when the schedule is released and maybe a few other times, but it won't be often until February-ish. 

As always, if this is your first time visiting here or you've been here since the beginning, my sincerest thank you for choosing to spend some of your time reading my posts. I hope I haven't wasted your time. This started out as a way to write more about Tormenta than I could as a freelancer for the Statesboro Herald and turned in to something I enjoy getting to do. 

A special end-of-season thank you to the Tormenta staff for always welcoming me (and my oldest) to practice when I wanted to show up. I was nervous when McKeever took over that he might close practice, but to the contrary, he welcomed me with an open invitation. Bernadette O'Donnell is as good a Director of Communications as it gets and South Georgia is fortunate to have her. She is wonderful to work with and I appreciate her arranging for me to speak with McKeever after Sunday's game as well as all her and her staff's efforts during the season. That willingness to help comes from the top and the culture set by the Van Tassells so I'm also thankful to them for their continued help in making what I do possible. 

A huge thank you to those in the USL League One community who took their time to write guest posts here previewing their teams for us. And my gratitude to those throughout the league who gave of their time to answer my questions to, hopefully, make this more informative than it otherwise would have been.

Finally, to you reading this, once again, thank you for your time. And if I could ask one favor from you. Things are hard for a lot of people right now. If you're in a position to do so, please consider donating to your local food bank (food is good, if you can donate money, that's even better.) We're all fortunate to share this game that gives us hope and joy together. If you're able, let's spread some hope and joy to those who may be less fortunate. 

Enjoy the offseason. The 2026 season will be here before you know it.