Nicholas Gerard-Larson, a senior on the 2009 Milwaukee men's soccer team, will be blogging all season long on the UWM website. Today is his fifth blog entry.
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California has always held a very significant, even mythical attraction for me. Indeed, our country’s history is steeped in this utopian longing for the West, hopelessly enamored with the prospect of infinite expansion. Early settlers were pulled by gold rushes, cheap land and frontier mentalities of limitless freedom. In most cases this optimism was quickly replaced with hardship, disillusion and pessimism.
In many ways the draw of California remains the same in today’s age. Numerous attractive enough young people migrate west to the Hollywood slaughterhouse, searching for similar rewards of fame, glory, and wealth. And, similarly, they meet reality’s unfortunate and brutal fate. But a small number of these dreamers succeed, and it's that hope for victory, what Hunter S. Thompson termed “humping the American dream,” that keeps these unknown faces streaming westward.
We arrived in LAX late Wednesday evening and went straight to the hotel for a much-needed night’s sleep. After breakfast the next morning we drove to Cal State Northridge, about 20 minutes away, for a light practice and a chance to check out their stadium. The temperature hovered around 100 degrees, but completely lacked any humidity. Normally my body sweats profusely, even in mildly warm conditions. However, the dryness of the San Fernando Valley, coupled with the triple digit temperatures, seemed to instantly transform any nascent sweat particles directly into secluded water vapor. The overwhelming sense of perpetually dry cottonmouth was reinforced by the low, arid mountains surrounding the valley, enclosing the region with stark and barren outcroppings of brittle, dying trees and isolated cacti.
Our game the next day harbored very similar weather conditions, although they were slightly tempered by the introduction of a calm breeze. Cal State Fullerton fulfilled the traditional West Coast style of flashy, attacking movement and strong individual skill on the ball. They proved dangerous in the attacking third for most of the game and only through some heroics from our goalie and backline did we avoid a more unequal outcome. This is not to say that we were outmatched, in fact, very much the opposite. We were able to put some strong attacking patterns together and had several very good opportunities, especially in the second half. Cody Banks completed the proper conclusion of an intricately built-up series of plays in the first half to give us our only goal, however this was not enough. Fullerton scored a goal in each half, with their second coming from a blistering shot outside the eighteen. Although the heat and fatigue was certainly a factor for us, we maintained strong attacking schematics, simply lacking the final finish to provide us with a better result.
I spent much of the evening after our first game with my relatives in Santa Monica, enjoying some of the most pristine surroundings California has to offer. It’s interesting how so many streets in the area are given the title boulevard instead of road or avenue. This suggests a much more scenic and sweeping route, reinforcing the nature of Californian relaxation and style. These communities, nestled into the canyons and lush jungle-like undergrowth along the Pacific coastline, pervade individuality and esoteric exclusiveness. Many of the smaller dwellings, built directly into the hillside, offer a flurry of artistic shapes, colors and designs and demonstrate the originality of the region’s architecture. One moment you’re transported back to the bohemian bungalows of the 1960’s and another you’re cruising along a row of ornate, gated mansions surely owned by some Hollywood celebrity.
We had a very light session in a park next to our hotel on Saturday, enjoying a slight drop in temperature from the previous day. Later in the afternoon we spent about an hour experiencing Venice Beach, although unfortunately the sun stayed hidden behind an overcast sky. Little boutique shops and eclectic food stands characterize this well-known tourist hub. It’s full of diverse characters: old hobos sporting military surplus gear and carrying dirty sleeping bags, long-haired surfers still wet from the tide speaking in the typical West coast vernacular of “gnarly” and “bro,” bikini-clad teens wearing sunglasses five times the size of their eyes and strutting around like modern day Aphrodites. I can almost see Jim Morrison meandering along the beach, deep in some psychedelic stupor, dreaming up the next bit of poetry he and the Doors would turn into penetrating, ethereal vibrations.
The climax of the excursion brought us to the Home Depot Center where we watched the Los Angeles Galaxy host FC Dallas in what proved to be one of the most exciting games of soccer I’ve witnessed. We had excellent seats, about three rows up near one of the corners to watch Tony Sanneh, one of our most distinguished alumni who ended up seeing the field for the Galaxy in the second half. Along with the rest of the stadium we marveled at Major League Soccer’s proverbial golden child, David Beckham, as he swung in several corners with his typical bending brilliance. Unfortunately, this was not nearly enough for the Galaxy. In what must have been one of the highest scoring games in MLS history, Dallas emerged on top of a colossal 6-3 result. We exited the stadium still reveling in the atmosphere of such an unspeakable and exciting spectacle.
Our game the next day would prove disappointing to anyone expecting similar antics as the night previous, although it’s hard to imagine any match that would rival the nine goal exhibit we had experienced. Cal State Northridge had visited our tournament last year and been handed a tough 1-0 loss, and expectedly, they came out looking to avenge their past misfortunes. However, we struck first when (Eric) Frazier crossed in an early free kick that found Ross Van Osdol’s head, giving us a one goal advantage in the second minute of play. Despite several other strong chances throughout the game we were unable to capitalize on any other opportunities. In the second half Northridge took advantage of a questionable penalty kick to put in the equalizer and achieved the go-ahead goal shortly after to make it 2-1 against us. Missed scoring prospects and unfortunate breaks in the defensive third cost us yet another one goal defeat.
We toured a bit of Hollywood’s walk of fame on our way to the airport after the game, observing the multitude of characters attempting to mimic celebrity stars in order to make a buck or two. A bunch of the guys took some great pictures with a Jimi Hendrix look-a-like as he strummed out “All Along the Watchtower” for our enjoyment. The tasteless and gaudy souvenir shops quickly lost their novelty and we headed to the airport after only about an hour or two in the area. Our trip home involved a slight detour to Atlanta, where we spent a few hours sleeping or aimlessly frittering around, before arriving back in Milwaukee around ten thirty Monday morning; quite a trek without a concrete result from either game. Nevertheless, our play has consistently improved over the course of the last few games and we can look forward to the upcoming Panther Invitational, hoping for a more cohesive performance and a much deserved second win.
