Brown 3, Fordham 1 - Brown Soccer Classic Champions!

Winning your own soccer tournament is sort of like winning pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey at your own birthday party. Sure, you deserve the victory, but you feel kind of bad for beating all your guests.

If the Brown Men's Soccer team felt any such guilt, they certainly didn't show it on Sunday afternoon. They beat Fordham 3-1, clinched the Brown Soccer Classic title, and then celebrated wildly. Dylan Sheehan '09, Kevin Davies '08 and Darren Howerton '09 scored for the Bears, while Jarrett Leech '09 earned the victory in goal. As you might expect, the awards also followed: Sheehan was named Offensive MVP, Rhett Bernstein '09 was named Defensive MVP, and Sheehan, Bernstein, Chris Roland '10 and David Walls '11 were named to the All-Tournament team.

And if those awards weren't enough, Sheehan was named Ivy League Player of the Week, Walls was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week, and Bernstein was named to Soccer America's National Team of the Week. All in all, it was a very successful weekend and a promising start to a promising new season.

And yes, I am aware that it is now Thursday, making this old news.

Nonetheless, here is your (belated) post-game report:

Saturday - Heading into the match, Coach Noonan worries that, after such a dramatic Friday night victory, Sunday's game might be a "hangover" match--a hot afternoon, a small crowd, and heavy legs leading to a sluggish performance.

1st minute - The boys show they have taken the soccer equivalent of two aspirin and a glass of water (and maybe some late night pizza), looking fresh from the opening whistle as they apply trademark Brown pressure all over the field.

26th minute - Steve "Chief" Sawyer '09 plays the ball wide to Darren Howerton '09, who plays a first time ball forward to Sheehan. The Fordham defender misjudges the bouncing ball, and Sheehan sneaks behind him toward goal. As the keeper advances, Sheehan releases a low shot that slows as it slips between his feet, then trickles across the goal line as a late defender slides to save it. Sheehan celebrates by running toward a section of the crowd and having a short conversation with a friend. 1-0 Brown.

32nd minute - A bouncing ball outside the box is met by Darren Howerton '09, who spends most of his free time practicing watching internet soccer highlights. Howerton's first-time volley from twenty-two yards out is itself worthy of a highlight video, as it sneaks through a crowd of defenders and finds its way into the lower right corner of the net. Howerton celebrates by running toward the same set of fans and apparently having the same conversation with the same guy. Is this where the boosters hand out cash prizes for goals? 2-0 Brown.

46th minute - Fordham pulls a goal back. A long throw-in is poorly cleared by the Brown backline, and a Ram player gets his head on the ball. Jarrett Leech saves the initial effort, but a second Fordham player hurls his body toward the rebound and heads it in. 2-1 Brown.

69th minute - Jon Okafor '11 makes what is fast becoming a trademark run down the right wing. Getting past two defenders, he lines up a shot but misfires across the face of goal, where Kevin Davies '08 is surprised to find an easy tap-in. 3-1 Brown.

70th - 90th minutes - Brown misses a plethora of chances, several in dramatic fashion. Fortunately, they don't concede any goals, so these missed opportunities never come back to haunt them. Not yet, anyway.

Final Score: Brown 3, Fordham 1
Overall Record: 2-0