The Shoreland Soccer Heartbreak....

 Not every story can have a happy ending.  Sometimes, the team goes all the way to the top only to lose at the buzzer.  Drop the ball on the One Yard Line....   Or turn into a pumpkin at the midnight hour....  And that is how it was with the Shoreland Soccer team today at the State Finals...

 Shoreland lost 0-1.  

It was a close game.   With both teams closely matched in skills.  There was an equal number of shots on the goal and Shoreland missed TWO by mere inches!  One ball hit the goal post.  And the other time, with an open goal and no goalie in sight...  The shot was just a few inches outside.  It could have easily been a 2-1 score, with Shoreland on top!  

But it wasn't.   In a game where inches count, inches can make all of the difference.  And today,  those inches were not on Shoreland's side.  

But the team got the silver.   Hey!  Going to the Olympics and scoring a silver is not something to be ashamed of!  And as returning champs,  that means they have been in this position twice now!   ( Only last time, they won it all.) I was commenting to one of the parents that I'm not sure many people know what it is like going all the way to the top in their sport.   There are a lot of soccer teams that are lucky to even have a winning season!   So to go to the top in High School , it is easy to think that that sort of thing happens all of the time.   It doesn't!  So they should hopefully understand that simply getting into the playoffs...  Two years in a row!   And going all the way to the finals... Two Years in a row!   IS kind of a big deal....   

They added another trophy to the trophy case.   So that will tell
future generations what the soccer program was capable of back in the 2023-24 years.  And they will have the stories to tell their kids when they get older.
  Just like my generation tells the State Championship Football Team MLS had back in 1986.  The Pontiac Silverdome no longer exists anymore!   But it was an experience of a life time. 

So hats off to the Shoreland Soccer Team.   May they enjoy their moment...  even if it fell just short of where they were aiming.  Raise a glass to the sportsmanship that they learned and earned during this historic trial.   We only grow if we learn something throughout our lives.   And sometimes it may take a while to discover what lesson was actually taught there.  Because life is short. 

And every second counts!    Well Done Boys!   May you still celebrate your Achievement.