BC Moves to 2-1 in Rainy Win over East Bay

The previous weekend’s California sunshine was not to continue as Barbary Coast and East Bay Athletics took the field on a windy, rainy evening at Beach Chalet Fields (located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park at Ocean Beach).  Both teams showed up ready to play, getting off to hard-hitting start in-between the lines.  Strong play by BC’s Yosef Becher at the face-off X afforded BC numerous possessions but the East Bay defense was up to the task, both East Bay goalies were solid in cage and their defense won the ground ball game over the course of the evening.  However, deliberate offensive execution maintained balance for Barbary Coast, with both teams tied 4-4 going into the half.

A slew of door-step saves by East Bay goalies coupled with strong midfield play allowed East Bay to win the third quarter, pulling ahead of BC 6-4 going into the fourth.  BC rallied behind stand-out goalie play from Matt Levy and Tyler Page as well as individual clearing efforts from James Wright, Frank Cuneo, and Tommy Gibbons to the tie the game up 6-6 as the rain poured on. Play became increasingly physical as minutes ticked away, neither team giving ground defensively.  After a particularly strong defensive stand led by Tyler Page, Connor Handy, and Tommy Gibbons, BC attackmen Colin Short and Dean Granoff notched a pair of goals to put BC ahead with only minutes remaining.  Effective clock management and short-time strategy allowed BC to maintain possession as time expired, BC coming back late to win 8-6 over their cross-bay friends.

Keep an eye on East Bay throughout the season, certainly not a team to be taken lightly.  Also a massive thank you to the NCLA referees for dedicating their Friday night to stand in the wind and rain to officiate the game.

UPDATE: Sunday’s game against Sacramento was postponed due to unplayable field conditions resulting from the rain.  The game is intended to be rescheduled for the coming weeks, date/time/location pending.