Frustrating Finnish By Norman Kwong Toronto Inferno (August 7th, 2002) Opposing players can be easily frustrated playing against the Boston Renegades’ Laura Kalmari, who suited up against the Toronto Inferno on Friday August 2nd with six more limbs than any other player on the field. The Finnish forward, whose last name translates into squid, played as though she had ten limbs, like a real squid. Her additional appendages gave her opportunities to get to balls that would be out of reach for most women. One play that stuck out happened when a ball sailed over her head while she faced her own goal. Kalmari kicked her foot backwards knocking the ball down, spun around, and started a scoring chance for Boston. The Finnish forward’s contributions played a large part in helping the Renegades swim to a victory over the Toronto Inferno in what was a soaked Bowditch Stadium. Thunderstorms had drenched the field for a couple hours prior to kick-off, thus increasing the possibility of a game featuring bizarre occurrences (aside from a player having ten limbs) as a result of the slippery surface. Seven minutes into the game, there was a sighting. Renegades forward Meghan Moore sent shot towards the Inferno goal, which Inferno goalkeeper Leisha Alcia was set to stop after moving to her right. On its course to the net, the ball got deflected by a Kalmari tentacle, making it head to Alcia’s left. When the Inferno goalkeeper tried to reverse her direction, she slipped. The ball dribbled in and Meghan Moore was credited for making it 1-0 in favour of Boston. For the next ten minutes, play occurred in both ends. At the 17th minute, Kalmari took a shot which Alcia made a nice diving save on, but no one cleared the rebound and Boston’s Erin O’Grady retrieved it. O’Grady went through three Inferno defenders before putting it into the back of the net. As big as the first goal was, the second Boston marker had the effect of tilting the field in the direction of the Inferno’s goal. O’Grady was not as lucky later on when she pulled her shot wide right on an unabated breakaway in the 24th minute. Kalmari would make up for her teammate’s missed opportunity when she capitalized on her breakaway, made possible by a pinpoint Meghan Moore feed at the 40th minute. The Inferno showed some signs of life before halftime when Tina Blaskovic was sprung on a break of her own. Two Boston defenders and their goalkeeper Meghan Frey, however, quickly closed in on the Inferno forward and the ball was deflected harmlessly wide of the net. A minute before the half, Alcia gave Toronto more hope when she made another diving stop on Kalmari, this time the rebound rolled out of bounds. Toronto returned to the field in the second half without one of their veterans on defence when Stacey Janetos replaced Gigi Cignini in the game. Cignini had received a cut to her lip at the 30th minute and some gauze had helped her finish the first half. During halftime and the opening minutes of the second half, she got stitched up to stop the bleeding, preventing her from returning in time for the game. On the field, the bleeding continued for the Inferno. Laura Kalmari scored again from another Meghan Moore feed at the 62nd minute. Kalmari’s substitution after her goal should have ended the barrage of goals, since everyone on the field now had four limbs. Boston’s goal drought would last all of two minutes when Mary Guarino made the lead 5-0 after burying a pass from Sarah Popper. In the 70th minute Meghan Moore scored the prettiest goal of the game when she cut in from the left of the Inferno goal, separated herself from an Inferno defender, faked a shot to the far side of the net, and fired a shot past Alcia’s short side. One of the Inferno’s few bright spots was the debut of Melissa Diaz Caballero, captain of the Peruvian Women’s National Soccer Team. She was finally given her international transfer papers a few days before the game and replaced Emma DiCesare in the second half. Diaz Caballero, greeted to the North American game with a cleat to her thigh, nonetheless fought back with several nice tackles and a sliding stop of a free kick with a minute remaining in the game. Before that final minute, Boston would add a couple more goals. Mary Guarino recorded her second tally of the game from Rebakah Splaine. Splaine would score the Renegades’ eighth and final goal from a Sarah Popper pass. Boston’s final goal total in their 8-0 win matched the number of players on the Inferno game roster who were also in their first season with the Inferno. Eighteen year-olds Nicole O’Brien and Heather Gallacher were among that group and received valuable playoff minutes up front that will benefit them in the future. Each of the 14 players who made the trip to Boston witnessed what their season should have been had the Inferno given in to the turmoil that had confronted them during the season. From a citywide work stoppage, to players not being available as a result of other commitments, to at one point not having a home field to play on, the Toronto Inferno had been through a lot in the 2002 W-League season. The players cannot be disappointed with getting as far as they did given all that has happened to the team. An 8-0 loss should have been the fate of the Inferno in their July 26th match up with Boston, had the team not rebounded and joined together after a slow start to the season. When the Inferno fought together, they could play with anyone, even Boston. Their first game in Boston ended in a 4-0 loss, yet the game was much closer than the final score indicated. A couple of the goals were scored during the latter stages of the game when the Inferno moved extra players up to cut into the 2-0 deficit. In spite of that defeat and everything else, the Inferno made the playoffs for a third straight year. Two days after their victory over Toronto, Boston defeated the Long Island Lady Raiders 4-2 on Sunday to advance to the Final Four in Vancouver taking place between August 9th -11th. Now in their off-season, the Inferno will have time to contemplate a few questions that will only help the team progress when answered. Is there a possibility that Laura Kalmari only has two arms and two legs? Should that be true, can the same not be said about the remaining Boston Renegades’ players? Then, conceivably that impenetrable wall surrounding the Renegades may not even exist at all? If all this is true, the Toronto Inferno will only notice eleven women on the opposing side next season and nothing else. By avoiding the gaze of frustration, the Inferno will be able to see deeper into the 2003 W-League playoffs.
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