2021 ISL Match Report
Date:  9/29/2021
Home Team:  Middlesex
Away Team:   Tabor Academy
Score (H-A):  1-1
Goals (Assists)-        Home:             #10 Yared McDonald (72', Assist #6 George Lin)           
                                    Away:             #10 Liam Rorke (16', Unassisted) 
Goalkeeping-             Home:            Aidan George (90', 1 GA)
                                    Away:            William Synnestvedt (90', 1 GA)
Cardings-                   Home:             NONE
                                    Away:             NONE
Notes:            
Middlesex squared off against Tabor Academy on a beautiful grass surface in the early round at the ISL Showcase at Lancaster.  It was a matchup that pitted two very different styles of play, as Tabor chose the direct route from back to front while Middlesex built out of the back with varied passes and created a host of scoring chances. In the first half, Tabor came out pressing and Middlesex gifted them a goal in the 16^th minute when an errant pass from the keeper found the feet of Tabor's Liam Rorke in the penalty area.  Rorke took one touch past a Middlesex defender who had slipped and slotted the ball inside the back post with his second touch for the 1-0 lead.  The goal helped Middlesex to kick into a higher gear and the last 20 minutes of the first half saw a dominant performance, including point blank scoring chances for Yared McDonald and Aidan Falvey.  The half ended at 1-0 to Tabor, but Middlesex felt that they were growing in confidence.
In the second half, it was more possession and scoring chances for Middlesex and they found their reward in the 72^nd minute when George Lin picked out Yared McDonald.  The junior settled a pinpoint pass from the senior captain and cut inside to the right to unleash a classy finish into the side net from the top of the penalty box.  The goal was McDonald's fifth of the season and his third in two ISL matches.  With the score knotted at 1-1 there were more chances created, but none found the back of the net.  Middlesex enjoyed 61.2% of the possession to 38.8%, completed 244 passes to Tabor's 67, had 28 pass strings of 3-5 passes to Tabor's three, eight pass strings of six or more to Tabor's zero, and outshot the Seawolves by 19 to 5.  In the end, the only statistic that mattered was the 1-1 score, but Middlesex can take solace in the way that they played with intention.  Yared McDonald was Middlesex's most dangerous player and George Lin put in a Man-of-the Match performance.  Tabor battled hard and made it challenging throughout the contest and deserved the point that was earned.  The referee did an excellent job and there were no yellow card cautions issued in the match.