Olympic Club Edges 9-8 Win Over BC in First League Meeting of 2016
Another Saturday in Sausalito found BC matched up against the always-talented Olympic Club in the first league meeting between the two teams in 2016.
Strong draws and a successful ground ball game at the faceoff X allowed Olympic Club to jump out to an early lead. Scrappy faceoff play by Matt Rudow, Kyle Jordan, Frank Cuneo, and Mik Tareen allowed BC to earn several possessions converted into goals by Kevin Busch, Logan Quinn, and Kevin Nguyen that closed the scoring gap slightly. The remainder of the game featured back-and-forth goal scoring among each team, with a well-oiled Olympic Club staying ahead of BC by one-or-two goals throughout the game.
Turnovers and a deliberate O.Club offensive set kept BC on the defensive for the majority of the second half. Late in the game Kevin Nguyen capitalized on a broken O.Club clear to bring BC within 1 with several minutes to go. Barbary survived a several minute grinder on defense, fighting off several great Olympic Club looks and taking the ball away on a timely double by Tom Jackson and Frank Cuneo. A successful clear found BC with the ball, dodging with only seconds remaining, only to be closed down by a stout OC defensive stand as the final seconds expired. At the end of the day, BC fell just one goal short to the more disciplined Olympic Club. BC is looking forward to a rematch in just one week.
Saturday also marked the second annual Barbary Coast Alumni Event, with many past players and BC legends showing out for the game and enjoying post-game burgers and libations with the current squad. If you’re a Barbary alumnus and have not yet made it out to an event, please get in touch with Tyler Kreitz to get involved.
BC enters a game-filled week to round out 2016 league play, taking on Marin again on Thursday, May 19th at 7:00 pm in San Francisco at the Beach Chalet Fields (West end of Golden Gate Park) and facing off against Olympic Club on Saturday, May 21st at 10:00 am at MLK Playground in Sausalito.