April 28, 2002
Memphis Shock vs Waves

On a beautiful day we were playing the Waves who were currently in last place. We had all intentions of keeping them down there. We knew that this game would be a battle since both teams were talking smack to each other. The only thing for sure today, was someone was going to lose some money. Game day conditions were mid 80’s and soft, albeit somewhat long grass.

We started the game off missing 2 players. One was running a little late and the other came with like 10 minutes left in the game. Hey, we had everyone there!! Anyways, coming out of the box we had all the momentum. We were making runs on their goal in which shots were just barely missing. All of that momentum was snatched away in a span of a few seconds. The play before this was just about the same thing, except different players. The first play was when a Wave forward was sent a ball on the left side and was racing toward the goal. Baxter made a diving horizontal save that you see in highlight films to stop the goal. A few moments later we weren’t so lucky. A switched pass was lifted delicately just over our defender right to the running forward. With 2 defenders converging on him he got off a shot that went back post. Waves jump out to an early lead 1-0.

Unfortunately for the Waves, their keeper Patterson and JJ tripped each other up on a play that looked harmless. Patterson got the worst of it. He was limping for the rest of the half only to be subbed out at halftime and leave during the second half.

Frustrations were running high as we were playing later to be called “8th grade kick-ball”. We did manage to have a few good plays every now and then, but they were few and far between. One play was from a corner kick Todd came running in from 3 fields away and got a head on the ball that hit the crossbar. Later, off of a goal kick, Kevin settled the ball at midfield and turned toward the opposing goal. He dribbled a couple times and passed the ball over to Dennis. Dennis one-touched to Bishop. Bishop took a couple of dribbles and tried to send the ball left through to Matt. The ball hit off a defender and deflected to Dennis on the right who settled the ball and shot low front post. Score tied 1-1. Minutes later from a free kick, John sent the ball low and it deflected to Jeremy who site footed the ball that hit the crossbar again.

Our play wasn’t too good this half. David did receive one of the most humorous yellows ever. On a breakaway, the Wave forward dove when he was touched. Plain as day. When David was running past the center ref he was tripped up by the high grass and fell. The ref awarded David a yellow for being a jokester. Funny stuff. 10 minutes later it was half.

We went to the only shade on the upper half of the fields for rest. It was pretty hot and sunny. We sat around and talked about what we needed to do to win this game. We were determined to not lose this game.

Just after the second half whistle, another Wave player got helped off the field. Someone from his team blasted a pass too far for the forward to get too. Todd was shielding the guy from the bouncing ball. Baxter came off his line to come get it. With the ball bouncing, he had to jump to get it. As Baxter was in the air, the forward came running full speed into him. The forward got the worst of it. He ran into Baxter, and went straight to the ground with the thud of his head hitting the grass. After a few minutes he was helped up and off the field. Dude had to have a concussion. So for the last 35 minutes of the game the Waves were down to zero subs.

This half we were playing much better. We were winning many more loose balls and had a hunger to win the game. After about 20 minutes another goal was scored. Todd sent the ball over to David, and David sent it to Jeremy. Jeremy then passed it over to Matt. Matt hit a bending ball to Bishop. Bishop took the cross off his chest, settled, juked a couple of guys, and scored. Shock up 2-1.

Not too much longer, Bishop stole a ball and took it up the right side of the field. When he centered, Matt, the goalie and a defender were all going for the ball. All 3 hit at one time, with Matt getting a “toe” on it. The ball bounced straight back to David who was following on the play and he easily surfed the net. Shock leading 3-1.

Just like last game against the Waves, we had a horrible center ref. He would let real fouls go, but would call touch fouls. Once again, our center ref was losing the respect of the players. We ended up getting another yellow called against us and the Waves getting 2 yellows. Baxter got his for telling the ref he was Fabien Barthez when he asked for his autograph. Kip nearly sneaked a goal in when he took a free kick from about 10 yards short of midfield that hit once again, the crossbar.

With around 8 minutes left, the ref made a horrible call. A Wave forward was tripped up outside the box. Although where Billy was standing was outside the box, where the foul happened, the ref decided to award a penalty kick. So the guy stepped up and scored. Shock still leading 3-2.

After a couple of Wave flurries into our area, including an ugly tackle by Todd (not ugly in the sense of a bad tackle, ugly as in he looked like he stuck while sliding and barreled into him) that lead into absolutely nothing. Finally, the ref blew the whistle 3 times to ensure the Shock of another 3 points.

The first half, was well, blah. The second half was a much better performance out of our team. A good part of the game was spent on the Wave side of the field. Unfortunately, the woodwork wasn’t too kind to us today. Comparing this game to the last time we played, we didn’t have to sneak this one out. This win left us with even more of a strong hold on the race for the division crown. We need at least 1 win in our remaining 3 games. I don’t wanna sound cocky, but I know we can do it. We have been doing it all year long. Hopefully we can clinch it Thursday night.

Dennis Thompson