3 Questions: Ft Lauderdale (Home)

Ahhhhhhhh yes, the final home game of the season. According to this excellent article I read on Friday, we’ll know what exactly we are playing for around the 30th minute of first half. My throat gets dry just thinking about the drama. I was tempted to just ask one question, but this game is going to be a little more complicated than: “do we win?” so here are the usual three questions:

1) Do we come out tight or loose?

One of the things I’ve been most impressed with about this team this season is that it gives consistent effort in any situation. Check out their reaction in Statesboro, GA after going down two goals. But, if they were ever going to get flustered and try too hard, this would be that game. Staying true to our identity will be critical to any success.

2) Can we keep a clean sheet?

In our 3-2 win in Fort Lauderdale, we were unfortunate to give up two goals. Given this is our field, and we have a generally good defense, I’d think we could. Some additional reasons: a) it is our only shot of tying Forward Madison for second most clean sheets in the league b) our guys deserve it, they have had a lot of rotation throughout the year, but they have been consistently great, and c) it would help our goal differential. Now I realize that goal difference will not come into play at all, but if we are on the outside looking in, I’d like our goal differential be as high possible for off season moral high ground purposes.

3) If the stakes change, does the game change?

The crowd is gonna know if we’ve got a shot at the final or not around the 30th minute. The adrenaline flows just thinking about it. If we have a shot, does the crowd perk up? If we don’t have a shot, does interest drift elsewhere? Do the players know? Does Jay tell them? Does the stadium announcer make an announcement about it? Only if we have a shot? Is there a murmur as the other game goes final? So many questions in this vein, but the most important one in my mind is “do we all fully appreciate how great this ride has been?” I’ll be there tomorrow night appreciating at the top of my lungs.