Fire Dept. wins championship after sudden-death penalty shoot-out

  • Published
  • By Gary Rogers
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Paul Cusden, 48, held his nerve to slot the ball home in a sudden death penalty shoot-out to give the 100th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire Department the outdoor soccer championship against the 727th Air Mobility Squadron at the sports field, Oct. 18.

A good crowd on a bright sunny day greeted the top two seeds in this highly-anticipated match. The Fire Department applied the early pressure and went close on two occasions. Then at 11 minutes, hesitation in 727th defense allowed Fire Department's Todd Sorbin to nod the ball around the keeper and slide the ball into an empty net. The Fire Department wasted two further opportunities to increase their lead before halftime.

The game itself became very heated with lots of crunching tackles and niggley fouls that led to Staff Sgt Chris Groves, the Sports coordinator, pulling aside the two captains at halftime to tell their players to calm down.

Six minutes into second half, the 727th got themselves right back in the match when again some hesitation in the defense, this time by the Fire Department, let Mike Dedousis find Austin Orthman to tuck the ball into the bottom corner. This gave the 727th a lift, and they started to create some openings of their own. Fifteen minutes in, the game boiled over again with some controversy surrounding a foul in the penalty box, but without a referee, the players came to a standstill. The crowds from both teams were actively keen in voicing their opinions on the incident. The game did start again after a couple of minutes. With two minutes of normal time remaining, the Fire Department had the best chance to seal the game, but James Brown saved their effort on goal to take the game into extra time.

In extra time, the Fire Department had three chances to win the match; two of those efforts fell to Todd Sorbin who was looking stronger as the game went on. With the 10 minutes of extra time running out, 727th had the last chance to seal victory when a good effort from Pete Webb brought a good save from Mark Melville. The game now required a penalty shoot-out.

In the penalty shoot-out, each team had to take five penalty kicks, so it was the best of five. After the five kicks, the teams still couldn't be separated as each team scored three goals apiece. The drama continued with sudden-death kicks. The sudden-death penalties began with both 727th player James Berry, and the Fire Department's Tim Faircloth, both failing to find the back of the net. Up next was Lloyd Boston for the 727th. He too failed to score, so it was down to Paul Cusden to keep a cool head. He stepped up and slotted the ball home, and was immediately mobbed by his players and fans alike.

Steve Duffin, Fire Department captain, spoke after the game and said, "I thought we deserved to win it, but it was hard because we didn't have a referee. In games like this, it's a necessity. Decisions turn games, and there were a few decisions that didn't go our way, but all in all it was a good tough game that we deserved to win."

Match winner Paul Cusden, who happens to be the oldest firefighter on his shift said, "When it came down to the penalties we had the cool heads, and the importance of having a good goalkeeper making crucial saves at the right time."

Spare a thought for the 727th AMS -- for the second time this year, they were narrowly beaten in a soccer championship game by a team from CE.