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Hammerheads Off to a Good Start

by Marissa Blackman

Many people mistakenly equate the result of a draw with a boring game. Tonight’s match between the Wilmington Hammerheads and the Richmond Kickers is exhibit A in the case to prove those people wrong.

As Cody Arnoux said, “I think our first half performance was a little bit better than the second.” Both Hammerheads goals, scored by Troy Cole and Justin Moose in minutes nine and eighteen respectively, occurred in the first half. Wilmington had a pretty decent attempt on goal within the first few minutes. While possession was not completely one sided, the Hammers seemed to keep more of it in the first half.

Both Richmond goals happened close to half time. The first one, scored by Robinson, came in the 41st minute, and the second, scored by Delicate came in the 51st.

At least for a spectator, 2-2 is not a bad score line.  The best part of the game in my opinion was the last ten to twenty minutes. It was crunch time, and both teams only needed one goal to leave with three points. I don’t have to tell you how hard all of the players worked to make that happen. The Hammerheads had corners and a few other golden opportunities that made me think “This could be that goal.” The crowd was deafeningly loud then more than ever. It was the exact kind adrenaline filled of atmosphere I love.

I’m very pleased with Hammerhead performance. There are several new players and there are some old players playing new positions. Despite all of this, the Hammerheads looked like a team. There were some rough areas, but overall, the team was very cohesive. This game makes me very optimistic for the rest of the season. As Andrae Campbell put it, “I know we get better from here.”
Richmond has never been an easy team to beat, but the Hammerheads didn't make it easy for the Kickers to win either. I always look forward to games against Richmond the most because those are the matches that seem to be perfect to my standards. There isn't a lot of stop and start, it’s perfectly matched competition, and there are lots of goals. This game was no exception.

The players I spoke to had a very positive attitude about the result. They were neither devastated nor ecstatic. The general consensus was that this is just the beginning. There is room to improve, but there is also time to make those needed changes.


Temperatures were absolutely freezing tonight, but there was nothing that was going to make me leave the stadium. The game was simply too good. It was like an unpredictable movie…I just had to see the ending! The game ended in a tie, which is neither the best nor worst result. By the end of the game the cowbell in my hand (the first couple thousand people got one for free) was involuntarily shaking because I was shivering so much. Despite all of that, I would sit out there for all ninety plus minutes again. It was just good soccer, and you can’t beat that. 
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