(March 26, 2006)

 The Generals stormed through the group stage and semifinal round of the PWSI Icebreaker Tournament, but came up short in the championship match, losing to the PFC Junior Hounds, from Pittsburgh, PA.

The Generals opened the tournament with a hard fought 1-0 win over their eventual championship match opponent. The match was played on a difficult pitch – small and uneven – but after an extended period of adjustment, the Generals settled down. The Junior Hounds starting keeper was injured early in the match on a breakaway, and that injury ultimately proved costly to them. The match’s only goal was scored when the backup keeper was fooled by a tricky bounce on a speculative shot; the ball slipped under the keeper, and into the net. The match raised a couple of questions: “were the Generals off their game?” and “was their opponent a cause of their struggles?” By tournament’s end, the answers were “yes” and “yes”.

In their second match, the Generals faced a local opponent, the division 3 Reston Revolution. In this match the Generals were in control from the start, and came away convincing 3-0 winners. With two wins, the Generals were on to the knockout phase of the tournament.

In their semifinal match, the Generals drew a team that they will play again during the Spring 2006 NCSL season, the division 4 Ashburn Sting. With another 3-0 win and another fine performance, the Generals booked a ticket to the tournament championship match.

With three wins under their belt – all clean sheets – the Generals entered the championship match against the now familiar Junior Hounds. The Generals looked flat early, but it was clear now that the Junior Hounds had something to do with it. The Generals defended well, and the match appeared headed to halftime without a score. Just before the break, however, the Junior Hounds found the back of the net on a blast from outside the box that snuck in just under the crossbar.

The Generals needed to regroup at the half in order to keep their championship hopes alive, and regroup they did. For the first time in the two matches against the Junior Hounds, the Generals took full control of the match and poured on the pressure. They generated several good scoring chances, including two hard shots that glanced “off the underside the bar” – unfortunately, they were just under the bar of the football goalposts behind the pitch, and just OVER the soccer crossbar!

In the end, as often happens in the game of soccer, just after luck deserted them on their scoring chances, luck deserted them at the other end of the field. Pressing forward for the equalizer left the Generals vulnerable at the back, and a counterattack against the run of play resulted in a penalty shot and a goal for the Junior Hounds. With that the final score was set, and the championship was decided.

While the Generals came up short in the championship match, they nevertheless had, on balance, a good tournament. They reached the championship match with three clean sheet wins, including a win over the eventual tournament champions. The championship match was hard fought 2-0 loss that turned on a few plays, none of which went in the Generals favor.