Season 2 – League Match #2
Neon Genesis Evangelion vs. Screamin’ Seamen
Date: December 22, 2002
Venue: Shinji’s Stadium (Pennsylvania)
Attendance: 52,796 (67,000)
Weather: Overcast
N.G.E. looked to be our toughest competition to date. Although our midfield was superior, they boasted a solid offense and a ferocious defense. And to make matters worse, the match was on the road. Pre-season polls had picked Neon Genesis Evangelion to finish second in the series, and we definitely appeared to be the underdogs. We would be satisfied with a draw in what was sure to be a tough match.
Formation: 3-5-2
Starters
Keeper: #1 Darryl Read
Right Wingback: #5 Arlen Lucas
Central Defender: #2 Chuck Scales
Left Wingback: #23 William Brown
Right Winger: #16 Otis Johnson
Inner Midfielder: #7 Lucian Tere
Inner Midfielder: #4 Pete “Old Goat” Tomlin
Inner Midfielder: #6 Charlie Bautista
Left Winger: #10 Olav Mauffret
Forward: #15 Forrest Tobias
Forward: #11 Johannes Henriksson
We made two changes to our standard line-up, one at wingback and one at winger. At wingback, we felt that Ben McMahon still wasn’t playing up to snuff, and could not deny the intensity with which William Brown had been playing lately. We also were displeased with Max Dodge’s continued troubles early in the season, and replaced him with Otis Johnson, a young backup who had played well thus far.
Match Report
A well placed corner kick from Johannes Henriksson was followed by Arlen Lucas´s hard but accurate header. The nice combination meant 0-1 for Screamin'. In the game's 17:th minute Screamin'´s Lucian Tere limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. EVAs Leslie Smiley got himself booked after a foul. The Screamin' player was Otis Johnson who had to be helped off the pitch, unable to finish the game. Frederick Ayres was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the enemy box - Johan S. Beckquist managed to kick one of them into 1 - 1 in the 27:th minute. EVA broke through to the left in the 40:th minute, Steven Fortune firing at an acute angle giving the home side a 2 - 1 lead. In the games 41st minute EVA´s Michael Waldrop fell dramatically just outside the penalty area.The referee, however booked Michael Waldrop for taking a dive. The teams went for a half-time break at 2 - 1. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 57 percent, dominated the battle.
47 minutes into the game Screamin'´s William Brown found a gap in the home sides central defense scoring with a long shot, making it 2 - 2. Screamin' had to manage with a reduced squad from the 54:th minute on, as Arlen Lucas got sent off for a foul in a free situation. Screamin' had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially in the 75:th minute when Olav Mauffret came up alone against Xian Wai-Wah who managed a block. Screamin' took the lead after 76 minutes with 2 - 3. Chuck Scales placed the ball out of reach for the home sides keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. Screamin' came close to extending their lead as Forrest Tobias delivered a long range shot from the right but the angle was to sharp, and the shot hit the side of the goal. Screamin', bringing the final ball possession rate to 80 percent, dominated the battle.
Final Score: Screamin’ Seamen 3, Neon Genesis Evangelion 2
Goals
Lucas – 1 (1)
Brown – 1 (2)
Scales – 1 (2)
Cards
Lucas (red)
Player Ratings
Read: **1/2
Lucas: ??? (Ratings are not provided for ejected players)
Scales: ***
Brown: **1/2
Johnson: *1/2 (injured)
-Peralta: ** (replaced Johnson)
Tere: **
Tomlin: **
Bautista: **1/2
Mauffret: **1/2
Tobias: **1/2
Henriksson: **1/2
Team Match MVP: #2 Chuck Scales
Team Ratings
Screamin’ Seamen
-Midfield: Inadequate (5)
-Right Defense: Solid (7)
-Central Defense: Excellent (8)
-Left Defense: Formidable (9)
-Right Attack: Passable (6)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Inadequate (5)
Neon Genesis Evangelion
-Midfield: Poor (3)
-Right Defense: Brilliant (11)
Central Defense: Outstanding (10)
-Left Defense: Excellent (8)
-Right Attack: Solid (7)
-Central Attack: Passable (6)
-Left Attack: Excellent (8)
Comments
Woohoo! Chuck Scales is
da man! 
After we scratched back to earn a draw, our central defender knocks home the game winner with only 15 minutes remaining. The lads carried Chuck off the pitch and were buying him beers for days after that one! The ironic thing about this match was that all three of our goals came from our three defenders.
The bad news is that Arlen Lucas was ejected. Not only was he removed from this match, leaving us a man down (making our comeback even more unlikely), he will also be unavailable to play in our upcoming Cup match, which looks to be a tough one.
All the same, I’ll take it. Any league road win is a good one, especially against a good team.
Up Next: Our round 3 cup draw looks to be a very tough one, as we face off against FC Zeljeznicar from U.S.A. Division Three. Stay tuned!