The Ormes: Ryan in the FINALS!!!!

With a win by forfeit in the semi-finals, Ryan's team got to play in the finals. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and Cyn and Jeremy were unfortunately unable to go. It was fortunate for Tom and me because we felt we definitely had to go to cheer him on, and we were excited to go. With Declan napping at home and the girls watching Saturday morning cartoons with a groggy Madison, Tom and I headed over to the game.

We were excited to see the game because we knew it would be a good one. The other team in the finals was the only team to come close to beating Ryan's team . . . they were the only non-win Ryan's team had, and it was a tie. With warm-ups done, the game was ready to begin. We had finished watching the girls' finals, and it was a well-played team, and the girls were all good sportsmen. Unfortunately, the boys were a bit more aggressive, and the finals game was fierce.

The other team had a quite a few Spanish speaking kids and we were fortunate to be by their dads. The entire game we heard "Jesus . . . " and then some FAST Spanish or "Jose . . . " It was fun to be by them; I just wish I knew what they were saying. You can see one of those dads walking the sidelines in the picture above.

During the first half, Ryan played defensive, which was a fortunate thing. It didn't take too long for the game to get heated. The boys were playing pretty rough, but Ryan's team was so good that the ball was mostly on the other side, so Ryan didn't have to be apart of the rough game very much. The few times the ball did come his way, he was ready and it didn't take too long for he and his teammates to get it back to the other side.

By the second half, the game was tied. It was such a rough game (and there was a lot of mud) that two boys ended up getting into a fight. All of sudden one boy from Ryan's team tried to punch the other, but fortunately missed. The other started coming at him and cussing, but the fight was broken up before anyone connected with the other and the boys were tossed from the game. Both teams got a good yelling from the refs to CALM DOWN.

During the second half, Ryan got to play goalie. He did a good job and made a few saves. One was quite memorable. The best player from the other team broke away with the ball and was heading straight for Ryan. I thought for sure Ryan was going to get beat. Fortunately the other boy decided to get a little closer instead of kicking, which Ryan would have not been able to block. As soon as kicked the ball to get a little closer, Ryan bravely . . . and I mean bravely . . . rushed forward and landed on the ball. It was a good move and a good save, and we all let out a big sigh of relief. With not too long to go, the game was still tied, but the boys hard work and determination finally paid off, and they scored two goals in the last few minutes of the game.

By the time the whistle blew, Ryan's team was up by two and had one the game. It was an intense game the entire time, and the boys worked HARD. They of course immediately started celebrating.

With the game over with, it was time for the trophy ceremony. They got another talking to about good sportsmanship and playing hard by the ref (in a fairly nice way).