They say there is no such thing as a friend on a powder day - except on the soccer pitch.
This proved to be true last Sunday (Mar. 7), as players from the top two teams of the Howe Sound Men's Soccer League passed up 20 cm of fresh in Whistler to hit the pitch at Brennan Park in Squamish in a battle for league supremacy. Although they have become fierce rivals throughout the last three seasons, many of the players on Team GLC and Amsterdam are close friends on and off the field.
But on game day, all friendships were set aside - it was time to play. Coaches from both teams were slightly concerned that they would lose a couple of players to the call of fresh powder, but were pleasantly surprised with the turnout.
"When you wake up to a fresh dump of snow in Whistler, it's hard to get ready to head down to Squamish knowing we're gonna be playing on gravel," said Amsterdam team manager/captain Shaun Hughes. "But I've never seen our team so riled up and ready to play. Everybody showed up early, everyone was so focused and ready to win. We were ready to battle as hard as we could - we wanted the win."
With the rain pouring down all morning, the game was played on the sand/gravel pitch, which isn't too popular with players. The ball bounces around in holes and ruts, puddles of water accumulate everywhere, and it's harder to run on than grass.
But the wet conditions couldn't dampen the intensity of the players, and both teams came out charging. Passing the ball well to start the game, Amsterdam held possession of the ball for the majority of the first 10 minutes, but it was the GLC squad who opened the scoring on a goal from Antony Dunne midway through the first half.
Amsterdam responded five minutes later, with Matt Delasalle kicking in the equalizer for Amsterdam.
Because the two teams have been grappling with each other for top spot in the league for the past three seasons, the game was packed with trash talk and plenty of contact, all part of the healthy rivalry that exists between players. Bloodied knees and elbows were a common sight.
"We get into it pretty good - it's pretty intense between these two teams," said Matt Goldie from Amsterdam. "The referees did a great job out there; usually there's a few more cards handed out."
With less than five minutes remaining, Amsterdam scored the eventual game-winning goal with a little luck and some good timing. With his eye on striker Marvin Sanderson, Amsterdam captain Hughes sent a corner kick into the crowd in front of the net. The 6'3" Sanderson jumped over everyone else to get his head on the ball and send it towards the net. GLC netminder Rob Gallaher made a brilliant effort to slide across the crease and make the save, but couldn't hold on to the rebound. The ball struck Franco Michienzi on the knee and crossed the goal line to make it Amsterdam 2, GLC 1.
"Franco was in the right place at the right time," said Hughes. "It's a huge win considering these guys are our arch-rivals. Everyone hustled and played together as a team. That was the key, we played as a team both defensively and offensively."
For GLC, the loss was their first in five games since play resumed after the winter break, and captain Richie Middleton isn't ready to throw in the white towel just yet.
"It was a tough-fought game that ended with a pretty scrappy goal," said Middleton. "We were really disappointed to lose, but Amsterdam is a great team and they're playing well. They've got some good, young fast players."
The loss puts the GLC two points behind Amsterdam with a tougher schedule to finish the season. GLC plays the third place Ellis Moving Eagles in the next two games, while Amsterdam takes on sixth-place Khalsa.
