We would also thank those who supported us on the side line, including Dong Jian's love one, He Yi's love one, Tim, Lao Wang, Da Peng and Zhou Ge's friend. They have been wonderful cheer leaders!
We could have better score if Ray would not have fever a night before the game But he still came to the field and participated 15 min fight in the first half with 99 F fever.
Dick Cai
----- Original Message -----
From: Scott Bao
To: dragon@ez.swmed.edu
Sent: Monday, November 19, 2001 9:26 AM
Subject: WE ARE THE CHAMPION!
Congratulations to all Dragons! We are agailn the division Champion!
Still with pain breathing and my legs sour, I can't contain my thrill and joy. We fought a tough game and
we won at last. Here is a brief game summary:
We started the game missing a lot of players: Chen,Si, Zhang,Cheng, Bing-Bing, Bai,Qiang and Lao Tang and Daniel.
We had Ray in the " injured list" and couldn't perform 100%. Our oppenents beat us in regular season and they blowed out Networks 9:2 in playoff.
So odds are aginst us and people think we are the underdogs.
Here is our starting lineup:
Forward: He,Ye, Dick
Mids: Da Gang, Zhou,Ge, Xiao,Su, Alex/Zhou,Wei.
Defenders: Dong,Jian, Chen,Jun, Li, Huai, Scott.
With the game starting, the Reds are overwhelming the drillers. We fully controlled the first half, with numerous opptunities. He,Ye and Dick have both a couple of shots on
target, Andy had one on the bar, I had one at close range, miraculosuly saved by the goalie ..... We are controlling the game. Our defense is superb. Their #53 and #6 are neutralized by
Li Huai and Dong Jian. Chen, June's right corner is as tight as I ever seen. His long pass is surprising long and good. And most of all, he seems always make the right decision at the
right time. Coming back from injury list, Dong Jian's fresh leg yield no signs of shaky play. He plays tough and quick, with great composure in the field, showing he is a true veteran.
Mid-field also played tough. Da Gang's head kept dominating the airspace and as usual, he is the play maker, threading the ball flow and kept the ball low and ground to give us control
of the game. Zhou Ge presence is a big-plus to our mid-field. His switching and passing as well as his defensive role give defenders a big relief. An unsung hero. Again, Xiao,Su 's long
pass is as deadly as before, causing chaos in their defensive lines. Not many folks in our team have his legs. It's one of a kind. Alex's dribble was as powerful as always. It did drag down
the energy of their defenders. Zhou,Wei's handling of the ball is smart and right. His lightness is really hard to defend. His passing is also delicate.
Eric, our goalie, does not have much pressure in the first half. Our defensive lines were pushed close to the middle of the field.
First half ended with 0:0. But apparently we are the upper.
2nd half starts.
#53 did a couple of damage in our right wing, ripping through our defense and crossed the ball. But that's all about it. With our persistent pressure, the quality of crossing was no good.
That is as much as I could recall all their offense was. But we did played zig-zag in the second half, not as dominating as the first one. Maybe due to playing aginst the wind. But the play
was extremly intensive.
They socred first almost into the mid of 2nd half. Though it is a questionable goal. They got this guy who can throw the ball really far. And he essentally throwed the ball into the net
with nobody touching it. ( the side ref is guilty of the misjudgement, cause the field referee initially ruled out the goal .)
We were disappointed and discrougaged for a while. But we regrouped and commited more attacks. We won a corner kick and He, Ye , again delivered a quality cross. I was just in the right
place and right time and knocked the ball into the net. out of the two defenders. That gave us confidence back and turned around the momentum. Zhou Ge had a shot on goal but it was
again saved by their goalie. He, Ye had a couple of shots which could end up in the net. Free kicks as well. But our luck comes when Dick, again our breakaway hero, dribbled the ball into
the forbidden box, thanks to a pass from Andy. Their tall defender fouled him clearly and we won the penalty. Give the referee credit for making that call, even though it was a obvious
penalty. With composure and accuracy , He, Ye delivered the fatal shot and changed the game forever.
The remaining minutes was tough defense. Forgot to mention our secret weapon, XiaoYe. This guy is quick and fast and his marking capability is just remarkable. Due to the injury of
Li, Hui while clearling out a shot and bumped with their players, Xiao Ye was marking the top player #53 and he did such a tremendous job that after the game, Xiao Su was joking to grant
him our Green Card--- turning him into a permanent Dragon.
So here we are , with the whistle blow, 2:1 is the score and we becomes the Champion, only winning four games of the whole season.
It is team work, encouragement, hard-fought spirit and some luck which brought us where we are. I fully believe as a team, we are much stronger than the season starts. We know
how to win crucial game and we have the confidence and means to do so. All our key players stood up and became strong and carry the team over to the championship. My hat off to
everybody in the team, as well as Tim and Wang,Qi and others who stood in the side line cheering and encouraging the dragons.
At this point, please take a good rest and enjoy the championship. Everyone of the team deserve the honor because everyone fought hard for this. Take good care of your injury and
we will certainly have a party at my place, tentatively scheuded for the Saturday following the Thanksgiving weekend. Will send out detail email for that after the holiday.
Please be comuicative and send out your comments to the team alias, expressing everything in your mind.
thanks,
-Scott
--
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Scott Bao | | fax: 469-255-9490
Cisco Systems, Inc .|||. .|||. voice: 469-255-4176
2200 E. President George Bush Turnpike .:|||||:. .:|||||:. http://www.cisco.com
Richardson,TX 75082 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::: mailto:sbao@cisco.com
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