I'm sitting here on the bus on the way back from the game, and honestly, it's hard to find the right words. Everything was still possible yesterday – today our season is over. We lost Cowley County Community College 2:1 after extension. It was a game that feels like a Déjà-vu – because just like last year it was Cowley who finished our dream from the semifinal.
We started as an underdog in the tournament – as number 6 of the betting list – and yet we believed in us. After the victory against Murray State on Monday we were full of energy. I remember my goal in this game – one of those moments where everything just fits.
Even today against Cowley we had a great start. In the first half, after a nice play by Stephen Gilbert, I could take the ball in the penalty room and push it to 1:0. 19 minutes and 7 seconds were still there to play – and for a moment I thought we had the thing under control. We fought, blocked, called – everyone gave everything.
But football can be cruel. Ten minutes before the end, the moment that changed everything came: a foul in the penal room, which from my point of view was very hard grounded. Renan Syrio joined the Elfmeter and hit – 1:1. Suddenly the energy in the stadium was different. You could feel that the momentum tipped.
It went into the extension and there the one decides the game that shoots the next goal ("Sudden Death"). At once it took just a little more than a minute – and then it happened: Alberto de Miguel met for Cowley. 2:1. Quiet. The game was final.
It hurts to fail again in the same place. But if I'm honest, I'm incredibly proud. To my team. To our season. To what we have achieved. 12 victories, 4 defeats, 1 undecided – and for the third time in a row with the national championship. This is not self-evident.