The Spikes played their fourth game of the Marin season on Saturday April 26th, at McGinnis Park . On what turned out to be such a hot day, the Spikes were thankful for the early 9 AM start time, as it was really starting to heat up towards the end of the game. The Spikes started the game in control, passing well and moving to get open and receive passes. This left the Cougars chasing a lot at the beginning, but they clawed their way back into the match, making the game less lopsided in terms of possession. The first half ended at a goal apiece, with the Cougars scoring on a high looping cross from the side, and Barry heading in a nice cross from the corner. The Spikes were able to break though the defense of the Cougars repeatedly, as the sloppy off-sides trap they were playing often worked more like an off-sides sieve. However, their speedy sweeper was able to catch up most of the time to prevent us from taking advantage whenever the sideline ref’s flag stayed down.

The second half leaned in favor of the Spikes as well, as the generous Cougars defense allowed many opportunities. After a few good opportunities were squandered by the Spikes, Bob broke through and banged a shot past the goalkeeper to move the Spikes ahead 2-1. The Cougars woke up at this point, pushing more into the other end of the field, putting the Spikes on their heels. They created a few good chances that Matthew and the defense fended off before they finally broke through to tie the game with just a few minutes left. The game ended shortly after that in a 2-2 tie. Strong 90-minute performances were put in by all 11 players, battling through a warm morning in Marin with no substitutes. David Yu deserves a special shout out for making his Marin league debut in this game. This stretched the unbeaten streak of the Marin team to three games, with our old foe, the Pikers, up next week. Good job by everyone. Go Spikes!

Players: Adel, Barry, Blake, Bob, David Y, Kevin, Matt, Michael, Patrick M, Thang, York