..and made our way to the rental cars with our gear
Our first stop?? -- a team meal at a nearby diner! The team was in great spirits right from the start of the trip...
..and it was certainly encouraged by a few cold ones!
Mario and Bode were clearly enjoying themselves.
an artistic view of the feast
We finally loaded up the vans for the 1.5 hour ride to Hanover, NH, location of Tuck b-school at Dartmouth. From left, Javier, Jeff, Santiago, and Tass were all sporting the tough look, trying to scare Napoleon - HA!
Soon however, Santi and Tass were catching some Z's ...
while our newcomer goalie, Jeff, was fitting right in!
The next morning we grabbed a quick breakfast at the '5-star' Comfort Inn...
..and then waited in the lobby for our latin teammates (Javier, Sergi, and Santiago) who were clearly on Latin time! - i.e. we had to wake them up to join us.
After our first victory on Saturday over Babson, we found a nearby slope to relax until our next game against Yale. We won the first 2-0, and tied the 2nd 0-0.
Our latin teammates made quick friends with the IPADE team visiting from Mexico. Ironically, we would meet them in a hard-fought semifinal battle the next day.
Before our 3rd game against Cranfield from London, our English counterparts wanted to grab team photo. The game was a laugher (~6-0), but the London boys were good fun.
some action shots from the Cranberry game..
...and another
..and one more; Mario is showing off his 'ups' here
The next day we were in the single elimination round. Our first game against Tuck Alumni was fairly easy, as we came out firing and prevailed 4-1. However, our semifinal match that followed vs. IPADE from Mexico (shown below) was definitely a hard-fought battle. We prevailed 1-0 on a great goal from Mario as he shot through the middle and placed the pill in the lower left corner. The assist was granted to Bobby D, though Mario claims he 'stole' the ball off my foot :)
Tass got a little mouthy at one point in the semi, and was shown the yellow. This photo is a classic
I played a free kick into the box late in the half.
After our semi-final victory over our friends, both teams showed true class and we gathered for a photo shoot.
After 5 games in 2 days, the Finals awaited us, ...but I think it's fair to say that everyone was absolutely exhausted at this point. My pose below captures our sentiments...
The Final against Tuck A was another hard-fought battle. They had finished 2nd last year to Tuck Alumni, and came out determined to capture the title. However, Kellogg was not to be denied!! After I received a highly questionable red card midway through the 2nd half for gently nudging one of their mouthy, latin players, Santiago turned our despair to GLORY when he received a brilliant ball from Brock, our Sweeper, then smoothly side-stepped the last Tuck defender, and slotted home the first and only goal of the match from ~15 yards out. YOU THE MAN Santi!!!
Our defense remained impressive throughout, even after losing our starting goalie, Jeff, to an injury in the semis. Marc Luley stepped right in, and we never missed a beat. Bode, shown below hovering over the ball, and Brock anchored a defense that refused to give up a goal when it mattered most -- i.e. they pitched shutouts in the Semis and Finals.
It was celebration time! Kellogg had captured their 3rd MBA title of the school year, something that has never been accomplished before to the best of our knowledge. The hard-work never felt better. We huddled for a little team talk ..
..and then gathered for a team photo with the most prestigious MBA trophy: the Tuck MBA World Cup.
Everyone on the team deserved a hand on the trophy. We did not have a weakness on the field, and after 25+ years of playing soccer, I can say this is very rare. This is one of the most talented, dedicated, and enjoyable team I have ever played with. Well done boys!
The smiles have not left our faces since.....
Tass, my roommate, and I had to grab one quick photo with the team trophy before heading back to Chi-town.
Everyone on the team deserved a hand on the trophy. We did not have a weakness on the field, and after 25+ years of playing soccer, I can say this is very rare. This is one of the most talented, dedicated, and enjoyable team I have ever played with. Well done boys!
The smiles have not left our faces since.....
Tass, my roommate, and I had to grab one quick photo with the team trophy before heading back to Chi-town.
