Trip Down Memory Lane - #9: MSX lose last Cup game in OT

The Medford Strikers Xtreme had existed since U9 in Marlton, and had been in the Strikers organization since U12, when I joined them. But now, at U18, we knew our days were dwindling as we played in the 2008 State Cup. The next loss could be the last game we were together.

After a first round bye, the Xtreme shut out US Parma Azzuri, 3-0 at Rutgers-Newark to advance to the quarter-finals against Manalapan at the TCNJ Soccer Stadium on May 3. Here's the coverage of the game from the MSX website:

Only the Russian Linesman Was Missing as Manalapan Ends MSX Cup Dreams

A strange overtime goal ended the Xtreme’s final State Cup dream last Sunday.

In a dramatic and intense quarterfinal match against the Manalapan Shooting Stars that was eerily reminiscent of one of the great games in soccer history, Brenna Rubino evened the score at 2-2 with a goal just 2:40 from regulation time only to see the Shooting Stars clinch the victory with a goal that appeared to defy the laws of physics.

Forty-two years earlier, in the 1966 World Cup final at London’s Wembley Stadium, Germany came from behind to tie the game, 2-2 in the closing seconds. In the overtime England sent a ball that struck the underside of the crossbar, bounced down and out. The Swiss referee could not tell if the ball completely crossed the goalline, but the Russian linesman ruled it a goal to put England up, 3-2. As Germany pushed everyone forward in an effort to equalize, England scored once again for the 4-2 final.

Like that long-ago Cup final, this match was played in a top venue – The College of New Jersey soccer stadium. And while the crowd for this one was about 100,000 less, the intensity on the pitch was the same.

This was the third straight year these two sides had met in the quarterfinals with MSX winning in a shootout in ’06, and MSS by a 3-2 score last year. But Manalapan apparently forgot to read the memo that said it was Medford’s turn in '08.

Although the Strikers controlled play in the opening minutes, Manalapan drew first blood in the 12^th minute when it scored off a corner kick that the Xtreme failed to clear. Medford had a chance to tie with 15 minutes remaining in the half but the MSS keeper, who played an outstanding game, made a diving grab off a close shot by Marissa DiMarco to preserve the lead. Ten minutes later Barb Previ had a chance but her shot was just wide left and the half ended 1-0.

Just three minutes into the second half Manalapan increased its lead to 2-0 when a player won a ball in the defensive third and went 70 yards for the goal. But DiMarco cut the lead in half a minute later when she looped a ball from a sharp angle on the right just out of the keeper’s reach and into the left side of the goal.

As the clock wound down, the Xtreme put Bridget Claus, a fullback by trade, in goal as a “keeper-sweeper,” akin to pulling the goalie for an extra skater in ice hockey. This enabled Medford to attack with 10 and the strategy paid off. Just as Wolfgang Weber scored for Germany in the waning moments to tie the ’62 game, Rubino did the same for the Xtreme.

Linda Sierra won a ball at midfield, passed off to DiMarco then took a return pass and streaked down the left side. She crossed the ball in front of the goal where Rubino came in from the right and knocked it home less than three minutes from time.

The first 15-minute overtime was scoreless, but it took another great save by the Shooting Stars’ goalie to keep her team in the game. The teams switched sides, and there were thoughts of a shootout as the second extra session reached the halfway point. But suddenly, in the 114^th minute, a Manalapan shot hit under the crossbar, went down and out, just as Geoff Hurst’s shot for England had done in '66. And as in that Cup final, the referee could not make the call but instead relied on his assistant referee (as linesmen are now called) who signaled the goal.

Once again the Xtreme went to Claus as the keeper-sweeper in hopes of another miracle. But this time there was no miracle, and as England did in ’66 at Wembley, Manalapan did in ’08 at TCNJ by scoring an empty net goal to make the final 4-2.

Manalapan goes through to the semi-final against Arsenal Blast, a 2-1 come-from behind winner over ESA Flames. The match will be played May 17 at 3:30 at TCNJ Field #2, with PDA Power facing defending state champion Wall Strikers in the other U18 semi-final.

Congratulations from the Xtreme to Coach O, one of the class acts of the sport, and the Manalapan Shooting Stars on a well-played and hard fought win, and best of luck in the semis.

The disappointment of losing was softened somewhat by the fact that we knew we never gave up and the girls gave it their all for 120 minutes. Was that third goal all the way over the line? Hard to say and just as no one in Germany or England knows for sure if England's third goal really was a goal, we'll never know. All that matters is that the "Russian linesman" said it was, so it was.

We actually played one more game - a meaningless league game at Cranbury played as much for nostalgia as anything. And to show that there's a reason they play the games, before the match started, the MSX and Manalapan coaches watched Arsenal Blast edge ESA Flames, 2-1 in another quarterfinal and agreed that whomever won our game would have an easy win over Arsenl the next week and a trip to the finals. Wrong. As great a team as MSS was, the following week they, too, ended their run with a loss to Arsenal.