Miracle on Turf

Several players of FC Montarina got their first international caps this evening. After class, we invested in a soccer ball and about twelve of us went to the nearest soccer field to kick around a bit. We found a turf field about five minutes away from the Montarina by foot. When we arrived, there were five children under the age of ten playing World Cup on one side of the field and six men ranging from ages eleven to thirty on the other. All of them were incredibly talented. Even the kids were nailing volleys with notable consistency.

After about twenty minutes of playing Monkey in the Middle, the locals asked us to join them in a full field game of five vs five. We accepted the challenge. The rules were set: the first team to score three goals or whoever had the lead after eight minutes won.

We lost our first game within three minutes. It was in part because the team of locals we were playing was very skilled, and in part because we were under the impression that we couldn't play with a goalie. The MVP by far was a young kid, no older than 13 named Leeriam. His passion for the game was admirable, and his skills made us all look ridiculous.

While we got smoked in the first few games, we rallied back. In the third game, we got out to a 2-0 lead. I scored my first international goal! The lead was a nice change of pace after multiple beat-downs. I got a little too excited and compared our performance to the "Miracle on Ice" from the 1980 Winter Olympics. Within a few minutes, we relinquished our lead, and lost 3-2. We remained competitive throughout the rest of the evening and played for about two hours before calling it a night. Here are a few instant replays from today's games including members of FC Montarina getting smoked by a local, and a rocket from FC Montarina's Kaitlyn Kicia.

The plan is to start playing soccer regularly while here in Lugano. In the meantime, I'm headed to Milan for the weekend and will be attending the Inter Milan vs Catania game Sunday. 

Ciao!