John Basanese Sr. goes up for a header in the CAA final.

Firecrackers Take 4^th Title in 5 Seasons

4 June 2007

In a season dotted with 2 Firecracker losses, the season’s end result was the same as many previous seasons.  The Firecrackers are again CAA champions!

The game was very exciting with the Firecrackers taking control from the beginning.  The field was really to their advantage because it was wide and level.  The Firecrackers used the playing surface to pass the ball crisply and keep the CityTeam players chasing.  The Firecrackers were awarded a penalty kick for an obvious handball in the CityTeam box.  Brandon Stirm stepped up and cracked the ball and hit the inside of the post.  One inch to the right and he would have scored the opening goal. Instead the ball went practically parallel with the goal line, and soon after the Firecrackers ended up with a corner kick.

This corner actually did set up the first goal at about the 12^th minute. Two of the five Basanese’s hooked up for a goal on the free kick.  Older brother Johnny hooked the ball in towards the back of the goal to Justin, who placed a screaming header into the back of the net. 1-0 Firecrackers.

The rest of the first half was controlled by the Firecracker defense.  Usual stalwart defender Aram continued to perfect his “pickpocketing” defense.  Aram has the knack of knowing when to stick his foot out as a defender dribbles past to steal the ball.  Newly crowned “.44 Magnum”, Dan West held his ground on the field as he fought off would be attackers from CityTeam. 

Then, about 8 minutes before halftime, Justin Basanese opened up a can of “How About I Just Drill This Ball From 30 Yards Out On The Goal Frame And See What Happens”.  Seriously, the ball had ripped off a part of the net before the keeper could even react.  Absolutely amazing shot that caught everyone off guard.  Garret and Antonio formed the backbone of the defense and made Paul’s job as keeper fairly boring.

Halftime found the Firecrackers in jovial spirits, as Aram mentioned, “You know, this would be the first shutout for the Firecrackers this season.”  The onus was then on Paul to stay sharp in the second half.

The second half started out as well as the Firecrackers could have wanted.  The defense was just plain solid with Patrick recovering from his heel injury, and Justin playing well as one of the fullbacks. The defenders got into the attack as well with Luis and Garret both pressing up the front line.  Garret had an excellent chance on a breakaway, but the goalie came out on him and blocked his shot, as he had done to forward Dave Ahlgren just minutes earlier.

Gonzo found himself in the midfield this time around and managed to keep the skin on his knees intact.  Some of you might remember the last time the Firecrackers were in the championships, Gonzo was tripped up and has his knees removed.  He, along with Basanese patriarch John Sr., Jeremy Basanese and Ralph Ahlgren made some fantastic passes through the midfield.  And when I say fantastic, I really do mean very smart and on target.  Several shots and crosses came from setups from these guys.

John junior took a pass about 30 yards out, and took one step then passed to Dave who was just inside the goal box.  Dave hit it first touch back to Johnny and, despite telegraphing the play to the CityTeam defense, the ball made it back to its originator who took a shot and scored on the follow up, for a 3-0 score with 15 minutes to go.

Adan and Rich Ahlgren subbed into the game and picked up right where the Firecrackers had been heading.  With his gazelle-like speed, Rich took a through ball from the midfield and broke away with a 5-yard lead over the last defender.  Since it was his 734^th goal of the season, he decided to go in style and hit the goalie’s 5-hole.  “I didn’t mean to nutmeg the goalie, but that’s just where the ball went, and I’m glad it went in. I thought for sure you were going to score on your breakaway… oh well, don’t worry, I picked up your slack.”  Haha little bro, haha.  To Dave’s defense, though, he headed a cross home, only to have mixed-up defender Antonio clear it off the line.

Then Paul, who had been busy scooping up through balls that had gone to far ahead of the CityTeam forwards, was all of a sudden called to attention.  CityTeam had ripped what looked to be a sure goal.  They thought they were going to remove the goose-egg on the scoreboard and find some solace in a really nice goal.  Their fans were even celebrating, screaming in the stands for their side.  But it was not to be.  Paul, with a spry, catlike leap went horizontal and deflected the ball outside the goal.  To say it was super save would not do it justice.  “I had to keep Aram’s shutout, so I just dove for it,” reflected Paul after the whistle.

The teams shook hands and took pictures.  It was all a memorable event and a great 5^th season for the Firecrackers.  Congrats to all!!

A special thanks to Josh Basanese for the myriad of photos.  He certainly has a keen eye for the game and took many great photos.  Thanks!!

Photos can be found here 

www.sjfirecrackers.com