The Madison 56ers (in red) defeated the Bay Area Ambassadors in the 2012 NPSL Championship consolation match. Photo Credit: Stephen Prendergast

Soccer News: Madison 56ers Hang on for 3-2 Win in NPSL Consolation Game

It may not have been the championship final they had hoped to reach, but the Madison 56ers dug down deep to come up with a 3-2 victory in the 2012 National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) Championship consolation game against the Bay Area Ambassadors on Saturday night, July 28. Only a little more than 24 hours after a disheartening loss to FC Sonic in the first semifinal match, the team came out with new determination to earn the third-place trophy.

Both the 56ers and the Ambassadors had put their hearts and souls on the line the day before, and now had to come to terms with playing in the consolation match. But professionals find the way to do what they need to, even in the face of disappointment, and the match was hard fought from start to finish.

For the first 20 minutes the two teams battle back and forth, with neither side able to finish off an attack. Then in the 23rd minute Madison’s Carlos McCrary blasted a shot that Bay Area goalkeeper Derrick Leslie stopped but could not control. The ball dribbled out to Derek Pitts who slammed the shot home for a 1-0 lead that the 56ers would never relinquish.

Madison struck again just four minutes later as Jed Hohlbein, who was also acting co-coach for the match, found himself also in the right spot after a McCrary set-up. “Carlos made a great run in behind,” Hohlbein explained. “With his speed he beat the guy to the line and I was just following up. He played the ball back across the line and all I had to do was tap it in.”

For Bay Area it was a case of déjà vu, after going down 2-0 against Chattanooga FC in the semifinal match the day before in a game they eventually lost 3-2. But again, as before, the Ambassadors battled back with a will. With just minutes left in the first half forward Jordan Keys sent in one of his trademark flip throw-ins from the right. The ball was cleared off to the left, but Bay Area brought it back into the middle where Francisco Lopez lofted a header just beyond Madison goalkeeper Maxwell Jentsch’s reach to cut the lead in half.

Bay Area Ambassadors score one of their two goals in a 2-3 loss to the Madison 56ers. Photo Credit: Stephen Prendergast

Madison came out of halftime determined not to let this match get away. In the 50th minute McCrary and Pitts combined on a beautiful setup for Hohlbein. McCrary brought the ball up and played it out wide to Pitts on the right. Pitts then crossed it back across the goal mouth to Hohlbein on the far post for the tap-in and eventual game winner.

Bay Area struck back six minutes later as Nick Cashmere went in one-on-one against Jentsch to net the final goal of the match. The Ambassadors upped the pressure as the time clicked down, hoping to pick up the equalizer, but in the end found themselves once again on the wrong end of a 3-2 score.

After the game several Madison players acknowledged that this had been the better of their two matches in San Diego.

“Yesterday we didn’t look sharp enough,” said Matthew Balshaw. “All the lads knew that we came down here and we didn’t give our best. We couldn’t keep the ball. But today we passed the ball around well and created a lot more chances than we did yesterday, which is a lot better. We came out here giving a good fight and hopefully next year we’ll be back here.”

“Overall, we had some ups and downs and they definitely had some good plays,” said Pitts, “but overall we held the game on our side and played the way we play. We switched the ball around well and had good possession.”

Madison Head Coach Jim Launder had been unable to stay for the consolation match due to U.S. Soccer responsibilities, but in his place Hohlbein and Sean Ronnekleiv-Kelly handled the duties admirably.

Reflecting on the way the season had ended, Hohlbein said, “I think it was a great way to end the season. It was a tough loss in the semifinal – we lost to a very good team. We had a great season, and it wouldn’t have been fun ending our season on a loss. I’m glad the guys came out, played hard, wanted to win this game and put their hearts into it. We took care of it, won our last game and had a great season.”

2012 NPSL Championships - Third Place Madison 56ers

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