Hotspur Play to 1-1 Tie with Piranha

For ninety minutes, the Fredericksburg Hotspur and Virginia Beach Piranha left it all out on the pitch. Tempers flared, bodies became entangled, and little rectangular pieces of yellow paper flew with relative frequency. But with the merciful "tweet-tweet" of the final whistle, it was all hugs and handshakes between the two squads. And why not, that's the way soccer should be played.

The FASA Hotspur, members of the United Soccer League's PDL (Premier Development League) is a squad composed of players ages 18-26, all of whom dream of someday making "il calcio" their day-job.

The Hotspur play their home games at the University of Mary Washington's soccer stadium, and Saturday, under a hot sun, fans showed up in droves to represent FXBG's very own FC.

The Hotspur put on a clinic early in the first half, demonstrating crisp passing and crafting beautiful balls up and down the field. The precision paid off in the 19th minute when Nicholas Surkamp drove home a header after being fed a beautiful ball by defenseman and college teammate Michael Tegler.

Surkamp, who plays for Longwood in the spring, discussed the goal.

"The ball got headed back out to Mike Tegler. He crossed it, and I saw it was going over the head of the defender, so I just got up and headed it down like I've been taught. I put it right into the far post over the keeper's hands because it's hardest when it's spinning, and the keeper couldn't hold on to it."

Just minutes later, the Piranha nearly notched an equalizer when the Hotspur keeper found himself drawn out of the goal and a Virginia Beach defender had a clear shot at the open net. In the nick of time, a defender squared up and deflected the shot, and the crisis was averted.

With the Hotspur up 1-0 at halftime, "dizzy soccer" took over as the intermission's main attraction. Two teams of kids were instructed to spin around repeatedly before firing shots on net. The crowd ate it up, a microcosm of the fun and family-oriented atmosphere at the Battleground.

In the second half, things got chippy. A total of five yellow cards were awarded, and a Piranha player was issued a red and ejected. Virginia Beach mounted constant offensive pressure and was finally able to get a goal out of it in the 58th minute when a Hotspur defender scored an own goal, inadvertently deflecting the ball into his own net.

The final thirty minutes featured gritty, determined play by both sides, but neither was able to put away the decisive shot.

The Hotspur may be 1-7, but the experience of playing at such a high level is not lost on the players.

"This league is THE way to take the next step if you want to play professionally," remarked Surkamp after the game. "Especially for me; I'm only eighteen years old out here playing with some guys who are in their thirties. Coming out here and now being able to be tied for the lead in goals only playing half the season with this team. It means a lot. Especially to get to the next level like we all want to."

The Hotspur's next home game is Saturday, July 9th, at 5:00 P.M. Fredericksburg will host the Carolina Dynamo.