Soccer action still hot in cold weather

By Gus Bode

It was bitterly cold this past Saturday, but that did not keep the championship game of the International Student Council World Cup Soccer tournament from being played.

The flags from the Greek Originals and the U. S. Victory team were easy to see as wind gusts of 25-30 miles per hour blew heavily and often.

The Greek Originals, last year’s runner-up to Palestine, fell short once again, as they were defeated by U. S. Victory, 2-1.

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As the game got underway, scoring opportinities were few and far between.

Less than twenty minutes into the contest, U. S. Victory’s Scott Coracy scored a goal scored a goal from more than forty feet away and helped his team to an early 1-0 lead.

Less than two minutes later, the Greek Originals team scored easily on a penalty shot that tied the score at 1-1.

Despite many attempts by both sides for goals, the nets remained untouched for the rest of regulation play.

As the match went into overtime, the only yellow card of the game was issued to the U. S. Victory team for arguing with a referee on a controversial call.

Half way through the overtime U. S. Victory member Ben Tiger Sheperd scored the go ahead goal, which was the final goal in the game.

For the Greek Originals, the loss was an emotional one.

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I felt that poor refereeing played a part in our loss, Greek Original team coach and player Costas Markides said. I am happy for the U. S. Victory team, though.

Markides added that he was proud of his team and it gave its best effort toward the game.

I am proud to be Greek and to be able to come this far in the tournament, Markides said. I am proud of my team as well.

For U. S. Victory, which was formed in 1993, winning this championship was especially important. The team wanted to express thanks to those who supported their efforts and helped them purchase uniforms.

As team member Scott Coracy explained, the defense for both teams was especially good.

Every goal that has been scored on us wasn’t really a legitimate goal, it was either a penalty kick on a foul or some other mistake, Coracy said.

It was definitely a defensively minded game, Coracy said. You just can’t say enough about our defense.

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