Advertisement

“It was a real test for us right away,” Riederer said. “It was a hot, humid day so both teams were pushed to physical and competitive limits in their first game. With just a few days of practice, there was not much chance for extensive conditioning or game strategy planning before actual competition.”

Both goalies played a strong first half keeping the game scoreless. Junior Julian Becker was in net for the Bulldogs. “There was a good half of soccer played by both teams,” Riederer said. “Give both teams credit for playing well with so little practice time.”

Romeo had many scoring opportunities as the Bulldogs controlled play early in the second half. Despite controlling the play early in the period, Ike got the first score at 23:54. “Our guys stayed in the game despite giving up the goal,” Riederer said. “They kept up strong pressure on the Ike net.”

Mike Shaffer made what Riederer said was a sharp pass to Marko Milicevic who put the ball behind the keeper to tie the game at 8:59. The game concluded as a 1-1 tie.

“We had our chances but just could not finish to get the W,” said Riederer. “Overall it was a very good first game.” He recognized the play of Becker, Milicevic, Patrick Cymbalski, Zack Mabey, Steven Saliga and Ryan Behring in the contest.

“It took everyone stepping up against a class opponent,” he continued. “The heat caused us to sub frequently in the game. The guys showed me that they are competitors.”

Milicevic, Alan Zang and Cymbalski are the 2008 team captains for the Bulldog varsity.

The dawgs have one more game before the Labor Day holiday. They play at Grosse Pointe South on Wednesday, Aug. 27. The JVs take the field for a 5:30 p.m. game while the varsity follows at 7 p.m.

The next action will be home games on Wednesday, Sept. 3, and Friday, Sept. 5, against L’Anse Creuse North and Fraser, respectively.

“Nobody has explained the very early start to the season to us,” said Riederer. “However, I was happy with our efforts.”