ACC Soccer Championships

Took my son to see his first live sporting event, which was also my first ever live soccer match. We took in a Wednesday afternoon quarterfinal matchup in the ACC Men's Soccer Championships at the Germantown SoccerPlex. The match pitted two top-10 teams in Wake Forest and North Carolina, and as luck would have it, they played 110 minutes of scoreless soccer. While the shootout was exciting (especially with our view from 10 yards behind the goal), it didn't quite make up for the nearly two hours of nothing before then.

Other observations:

The SoccerPlex is a beautiful facility with a great view of the surrounding hills. One upgrade to consider before they host their next tournament would be real locker rooms. At halftime, the two teams retreated to tents set up at the far end of the field. Either that or they were spending the break at a wedding reception.

The best shot in regulation was when a Demon Deacon midfielder cleared the ball to the sidelines with a blistering kick. Unfortunately for the sideline cameraman, that kick was aimed perfectly at his crotch. To his credit however, he refused to go down. When you lose the ability to have children, you at least want to show people how tough you are.

The Demon Deacon goaltender, while talented, is a bit of a jerk. If he wasn't yelling at the officials for possible offsides calls, he was yelling at his left back for failing to clear the ball.