Augsburg men's soccer assistant coach Evan Fuhs is sending daily diaries during the Auggies' team trip to Spain. Here's the team's diary entry for Thursday, May 6, when the Auggies ventured into Perpignan, France for a day trip:
From Roses, Spain, the team traveled through the countryside to a sleepy French neighborhood with another turf pitch for a game against the
Perpignan Mediterranee AS club. Considering that the Auggies played a match yesterday, there were some heavy legs during the warmup. Nevertheless, when the match began, the Auggies didn't miss a beat.
Having gained confidence from the match yesterday, the Auggies pressed from the beginning. Despite conceding two goals, the Auggies controlled the run of play for much of the first half and earned a corner kick goal of their own. From a
Peter Osborn (SO, Eagan, Minn./Eastview HS) service,
Chad Gilmer (FY, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) rose above the crowd to power the ball towards the lower corner and
Marc Jacob (JR, Maple Grove, Minn.) gave the final nudge.
In the second half, the Auggies continued to pressure the Spanish opponent beyond their comfort zone and continued to create scoring opportunities. The Perpignan Mediterranee AS squad finished the game with one more goal, just as the game ended. Final score: 3-1.
Thoughts from Augsburg defender Chad Gilmer (FY, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS:
Last night, the game was much different than the first. The other team had a couple players that were much more technical than us again, but we were able to hold the possession and move the ball fairly well.
The teams in Spain love to keep the ball and play quick set pieces instead of knocking it forward. They are much better on offense on defense, but when they lose the ball they press super-hard to win it back as soon as possible.
Another big difference is that there is never a quiet moment on the field with the Spanish teams who continually are talking with each other. By playing these teams from Spain, it is easy to see the difference of importance of soccer to Spain, and the United States.
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