Opening Day Blues
By John Fink

United got off to a slow start on Saturday, and Strikers made 'em pay. A lack of clearing 15-minutes into the game left two Strikers' strikers open, and one found the net to make it 1-0. United's passing was suspect throughout the opening frame, but the Redmen came out strong to dominate the 2nd half, and tied things up when Dave slipped one in on a nice pass from Mike W. United dominated play in the 2nd half, with better hustle, better efforts on 50/50 balls, and better passes to guys in red shirts. Alas, a Strikers' free kick with 25-minutes left just outside the penalty box on the right side found a midfielder who headed home a laser to give Strikers (what turned out to be) the game-winner, as United simply could not finish its solid pressure in the final half of the final half. A few dubious offsides calls did not help us in the 2nd frame.
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> Last year, United also lost to Strikers, one of only three teams to beat us in the regular season. Next week Saturday on field #22 at 1pm vs. Sharks (new team, lost to Asrenal about 5-1 this week). Having 16 players helped on a hot, no wind day, and learning our colors in the 2nd half certainly helped, too.