The 2010 USPSA National Tournament was going to be the culmination five great years with the Arizona Heat soccer team. After spending the last five years with the Heat, I decided to join the new Arizona State University Power Soccer Club at the conclusion of the season. But before I join my new team, I wanted to make sure that my final season with the Heat would be our best season ever.
Expectations were high as we welcomed two new teammates from Indiana, Ginny Munson and Katie Dickey. The two came from a successful power soccer program, so we were hoping some of that winning spirit would follow them to the Valley of the Sun. And follow them it did. From the first practice, our new teammates brought a renewed vigor to the Heat squad that hasn’t been around for a long time. Our team had a new dimension and excitement that gave us hope for a very successful 2010 season.
It didn’t take long to see the impact of our new teammates. The Heat won their first ever PowerBlast tournament and even took Third-Place at the Western Regionals. The Arizona Heat won more games during the season than they've ever had before. We had developed a great chemistry throughout the season and were eager to see how we would do against the Nation's best at the National Tournament.
We arrived in Indianapolis and couldn't wait to get things started. Our first game of pool play was against familiar western region foe San Jose. We played well against them, but we could never seem to break through with a W. It was a back-and-forth battle all game long as both sides had to settle for a 1-1 draw. Up next, we faced the Atlanta Synergy. They've always been one of the top teams in the country, and it showed as we were put away 4-0. Day one ended with one draw and one loss, but day two was a brand new day. The second day of competition started off great as we came away with convincing wins against Tampa and Ball State and took 3rd in our pool. Our first opponent in the playoffs was the Tampa Thunder and after the way we came out in day two, we knew we had a great chance at a win.
The entire game was a defensive battle. Tampa scored an early goal, but we stayed composed and kept the game in hand. It stayed 1-0 in favor of Tampa until the final three minutes of the game. We had possession of the ball on the offensive end when Katie made a great pass across the box to me and I redirected the ball to the goal. I dribbled the ball to the goalie and tried to squeeze the ball through an opening near the post. After some dueling between me and the goalie, I was finally able to push the goal across the goal line. Everyone cheered as we managed to tie the game up a 1-1.
Or so we thought.
After the ball crossed the goal, the referee sternly waved his arms, blew his whistle and disallowed the goal because he said I used excessive force. Everyone was in disbelief. What looked to be like a clean goal was taken away by a controversial call. There was too little time left for us to recover, and we ended up losing the game 1-0. With that heartbreaking loss, we were now out of medal contention. It was a harsh end to a great day.
Even though we were out of medal contention, we knew we had to rebound after that devastating defeat. Our first game of day three was against BORP from California. Just like the Tampa game, BORP jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead, but we persevered and managed to tie the game up at 1 all. The game remained tied at the conclusion of overtime, so we went to a shootout. It was close, but we lost the shootout 4-3. With the loss, we then played a rematch with Ball State and ended up winning our final game 1-0. We finished the tournament with a 3-3-1 record and a 7th Place finish. It wasn't what we expected, but we played hard and left everything on the court. The Heat played with courage and pride and showed that they have a competitive spirit that can never be out done.
While my time with the Arizona Heat has come to a bittersweet end, I will always be thankful for my teammates and the experiences I've shared with them over the past five seasons. It was a great ride, and I'll never forget it. So here it is for one last time...
GO HEAT!
by Gabe Trujillo
