Short-handed NUTC comes up short against Beta 1
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. NUTC FC had a chance to right the ship against Beta 1, but a shortage of players and a couple defensive errors led to a 2-0 defeat to Beta 1.With much of the team not responding to the GroupMe due to pouring rain and midterms (sad!), NUTC FC trotted out nine players in its match against the fully equipped Beta 1 squad. I will not enclose a starting lineup this time because it was incomplete, but manager Cool Mike decided to throw out a 4-3-1 with Joe in goal.Surprisingly, NUTC FC did not struggle to open the game. The scoreline held at 0-0 for a few minutes, but the Runners began to absorb huge pressure from Beta 1 after the opening stint. With NUTC pinned in their own half without two players, it was only a matter of time before Beta 1 broke through. Some poor marking in the area (sorry) led to a snap shot on goal that just beat Joe to make it 1-0 for Beta. While the defense had actually been quite solid. NUTC could generate nothing going forward once again.That changed when Joe switched to the midfield, rotating Arpan into goal for the first time in his life. Both players made a huge difference as NUTC actually made it a wide open game in the second half. Joe repeatedly bulldozed his way down the flanks and managed to create some promising chances. Meanwhile, the switch to a back three with Arpan as a "sweeper keeper" worked amazingly well. Beta 1 was unable to capitalize on any chances and NUTC was providing much of the scoring pressure.Unfortunately, the undermanned team could not break through. A late scoring opportunity after a free kick fell to Cool Mike, but he bottled it and could not find a way to shoot through a tight angle. A few seconds later, a breakaway finally doomed NUTC FC and they conceded a second goal as time expired.The Runners With No Chill sit in 16th place of 22 teams in the standings. Next week is a bye week, but they will take the Confused Sadboys in their final match of the season at 9 p.m. on May 10.
