Well, a few of them might not be that familiar, but they will be household names like Michael Jordan in no time.
This past Saturday, all of South Africa and UCT spent the morning with baited breath awaiting the arrival of the stars of Interstudy (our study abroad program) to face the highly favored UCT Women's Soccer Team. The team comprised itself of about 15 enthusiastic, and in some cases a bit hungover, players to form the Interstudy Tweakers (great name, i know).
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| Kira Mack (left) and Ben Bakk (right) lead the team in stretches |
The 'Women' of UCT's Varsity Club were comprised of about 8 girls, one barefoot old guy, and Usain Bolt (yes, HE was that fast).
We squared off just after 12... that's 11 Africa time. Falling behind 2-0 early on, the Interstudy Tweakers were feeling the heat from their coach Charles, teammates on the sideline, and the raucous supporters section made up of Interstudy employees and those still feeling Friday night.
It didn't take long for the famed Tweakers to improve their play, however, and Andrew Laughlin scored a beauty of a goal assisted by myself and Dave Marvin. At halftime it was a one goal game and the heat was now on... from the hot, hot African sun.
In the second half Andrew scored a replica of his first goal, assisted by Dave and I once again. It was 2-2!
The UCT team was not about to go away, and began a barrage of the Tweaker goal which didn't let the shots hit the net thanks to stellar play from goalie, and Minnesota native, Ben Bakk and the selfless defenseman and defensewoman. Aggressively halting every attempt for a goal by UCT, Ben received wild cheers from teammates, booming vuvuzela from the supporters, and tears of joy from Nelson Mandala himself.
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| Dave Marvin about to pass to Andrew Laughlin |
After a fantastic shot from one UCT player managed to avoid the outstretched arms of Ben, the score was at an unfortunate 3-2, in favor of the 'bad guys.' Moments later, California All-Star, Kira Mack took a beautiful pass from Carolyn Gunther and fed it to myself, who snuck a shot past the goalkeeper. It was 3-3!
The score would remain 3-3 in the end, but the amazing play by the men of Kendal 8 (Andrew, Ben, and myself) among other players left everyone satisfied with the hard fought result and ready for a rematch... after we are no longer sore!
The play of Kendal 8 left Tweakers' fans and worldwide sports enthusiasts in awe of the talent level kept in that single apartment. It begs the question:
After seeing the boys playing the beautiful game on the pitch and cooking-up masterpieces in the kitchen, what can't they do?
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| Interstudy Tweakers. Post-game Tweak |
