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Hello to everyone out there. I would first like to thank everyone who stuck through the bad weather to support the team. Furthermore, I was amazed on how many people were chanting and cheering us on in the rain. It really means a lot to us. On the contrary, it was very disappointing to lose our first game of the season and in Real Maryland history. I felt really confident going into the game that we were destined to win.

In the locker room before the game all the guys seemed relaxed and our nerves were not as bad as I thought they might have been. However, the first 15 minutes of the game seemed to show otherwise. It seemed as if we were nervous and hesitated on a lot of challenges. From my experience playing against and training with USL teams, I observed they sometimes play a physical, kick and run game. We looked as if we were content with playing Western Mass’s style of soccer, instead of playing our style. Moreover, I knew with the way the game was being played in the pouring rain, the team that made a mistake would lead to the first goal; in which we happened to make the first mistake. However, shortly after the goal, a much needed lightning delay forced us back into the locker rooms for 30 minutes.

Coach was furious with how we were playing and he tried to get some of the guys fired up to come out and play a better 2nd half. Honestly, it seemed as if his tactics in the locker room worked. We came out in the 2nd half and played better then we were in the first half. However, it still was not up to the standards we are capable of. We dominated most of the possession but lacked self motivation and drive to stick the ball in the net. I thought Victor Ramirez’s shot towards the end of regulation was going in, but somehow the slickness from the rain caused the ball to skim of the cross bar and hit exactly on the goal line. At that point it seemed as if we could not catch a break. The final score ended at 1-0 in favor of Western Mass. Overall, our team’s first game was a good learning experience which showed us that we need to come out and play better against a very challenging Pittsburgh Riverhounds team.