We arrived at Tongji University at 10:00 A.M or so, and spent a good amount of time wandering around the field area. We eventually started to practice at around 11:00. We practiced for about an hour just to loosen up, then we proceeded to a convenient store to have "lunch."
After "lunch," we headed back to the field. We took a small tour of the campus, which most people were very impressed by. The campus library was 20 stories high, which puts the Rollins library to shame. The academic buildings were very large and were designed in unique ways.
After the tour, we headed back to field. We changed in the away locker room, where we put on our brand new away kits. The players were excited to finally put on a uniform other than the standard yellows.
Before the game began, there was a 30 minute ceremony in which Tongji University welcomed us. Also, Keith gave a speech, in which he spoke some fluent Chinese. Well, it sounded fine to us. The Chinese may have thought differently.
After the ceremony, the game was underway.
The Chinese team came out pretty aggressive, and we were impressed at first. Their midfielders were playing great through balls and they had some good chances early on. Chris Cummings made some good saves early on, which helped us eventually take over the momentum.
Dennis Chin got the scoring started, taking a ball from Nick Sowers and placing it in the lower right hand corner past the opposing goalie. Chinny did a little dance, and the Chinese crowd seemed to like Chinny a lot. No matter where we play, the crowd is always a Chinny fan it seems.
After our first goal, Tonji University stepped up the physicality. Chinny got elbowed in the mouth and several other players received minor injuries from flailing Chinese arms. When Biddy went up for a header, he came down hard and we learned later that he broke his foot. This is unfortunate because Biddy is one of our better players, and a co-captain.
The first half was plagued with poor referee decisions and more physical play. Jake Deloach and Matt Bauchle-Mcfarland got yellow cards. Nobody was surprised to see this happen.
The second half started off with yet another terrible referee call. Jake played a through ball to Sowers, who was cleared fouled inside the box. The ref spotted th ball a yard outside, and we did not convert the free kick. At this point we realized that we were not going to get any calls. We can't even get calls at Rollins, so how could we expect to get them in China?
Sowers scored two goals early in the second half, which sealed the victory.
Midway through the second half the Chinese opposition essentially gave up. We were able to knock the ball around and keep possession to hold on to our 3-0 lead. The game ended 3-0, but it could have easily been 5-0 or 6-0. Everybody on the team got a chance to play substantial minutes, but the Alumni did not receive any playing time. We are awaiting the game where they get in.
After the game, we went back to the hotel. Most people on the team took advantage of what our 5 star hotel has to offer. People jumped into the infinity style pool, then went into the steam room to clear out the pores. After a long while in the steam rooms, people used to showers within the spa area. After everyone got their spa fix, we went out for authentic Chinese dinner for the third night in a row.
The dinner has gotten better each night. Tonight we had steamed rice, fried beef, kung pao chicken, spicy and sour soup, french fries, spinach and possibly some dog. The dinner was excellent.
Overall, day 3 turned out to be a blast. We are now officially undefeated in China, and we plan on keeping it that way.
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