Scheduling announcement - the third place game and final are both being moved forward a day. The third place game will be TOMORROW at HPS Stadium (Rutgers’ football stadium), while the final will take place on THURSDAY at MetLife.
2015 LBad Cup Third Place Final
The third place game of the 2015 LBad Cup took place this afternoon. This match was an Upstate NY derby (rivalry) between the two losing semifinalists, the Syracuse Orange and the Binghamton Bearcats at HPS Stadium. Syracuse were victims of a pretty big upset in a 2-1 loss to UNC Wilmington at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. Binghamton, meanwhile, completely lost all self-discipline in a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Quinnipiac at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA. This was the match for broken hea-
Wait, who really cares? 
Let me just say this: Syracuse crush a depleted and tepid Binghamton to take home the bronze. @lostaccount 1, @jimtoes 0. 
FINAL SCORE: Syracuse 4-1 Binghamton
GOALS: Rachel H. 3’ (pen), 81’ Johnathan T. 10’, Roberto G. 74’; Nate B. 90’ +1
I say it like it is. I cut hype at the quick!
@lostaccount That is why you’re so controversial, sir! But I do indeed respect that. 
I’ve been tailgating as I await the match between UNCW and Quinnipiac…finally we learn what sweatshirts (Quinnipiac) or T-shirts (UNCW) that will be worn by @LBad96 for, most likely, the rest of his life! Hot dog anyone?
Whereare you going to attend @lbad96? Did I miss it??
Isn’t the game over yet?
Which sweatshirt did you buy, LBad!!! Tell us!!!
I’m getting scared the referee threw the game :s and while UNC w was winning an unfair whistle blow made them lose! LBad, do let us know.
I was getting nervous also so I looked at Lbad’s latest posts. He had one yesterday that lets you know which school he chose. I don’t want to steal his thunder but if you are really dying to know you can find out that way. Unless of course, something changed drastically that even that post did not take into account. We all still await your latest post to this thread. Don’t keep your public waiting.
Well played @bucky0926. Perhaps that was the game after-all. Who would be sleuth enough to determine the ‘match’ was fixed before it was even played? Rumor has it the losing team refused to take the ‘pitch’ so the match was never actually played. Meanwhile, @myos1634, @redpoodles and @cakeisgreat have been shivering for days at MetLife Stadium. Congratulations @LBad96 – I’m sure you’ve made the right decision and will enjoy and benefit from your college experience. OK, now that I know where @LBad96 is going, I should try to get my son to give me his final decision!
I am with the crowd at MetLife stadium but I brought a good down jacket and stadium blanket so I am hunkered down for the wait to hear the winner.
Hey guys. Terribly sorry for the delay; I’ve not been able to enjoy much Internet access in the last week or so, and when I did, I was much too distracted with FB and IG to even post this! so, here it is.
2015 LBad Cup Final
This is it. MetLife Stadium, LBad Cup final. It doesn’t get any bigger than this. The final two schools I would decide between - the UNC Wilmington Seahawks and the Quinnipiac Bobcats. I loved both schools, but the cons at one were more glaring than at the other. The only similarities between these two are the gender and race ratios. It certainly made for an interesting dynamic. Which of these great, growing universities would win the right to have me as a member of their Class of 2019?
Both teams were walking out onto the pitch, led by their respective captains; central defender Katie S. for UNCW and left winger Nick G. for Quinnipiac. The FIFA anthem was playing in the background as the teams walked out, reverberating across the stadium. A full capacity crowd of 82,000, seas of teal for UNCW and yellow for QU. Fittingly, those were the colors each team wore. My family and I were all in the sky box watching from above. We all made our picks to win; I was the only one who said UNCW would win. Whatever happened, I had signed an official contract to attend the winning school.
The match kicked off to a crescendo of noise, UNCW starting it off. Although I picked the Seahawks to win, I would be lying to you if I said that I predicted that they would go up 2-0 in the opening fifteen minutes. Striker Olivia C., who came into the final as top scorer, set up attacking mid Brooke R. before scoring her sixth of the tournament just a few minutes later. UNCW took the game by the scruff of the neck in the opening half, and it looked like it was going to be an absolute rout. They controlled possession and had literally ALL the chances. I wouldn’t have been surprised if it ended 6 or 7-0 with the way things were going.
Then, the second half started, and UNCW once again looked like they were going to run away with it, but Olivia’s strike partner Malik B. hit QU goalie Aaron R.'s crossbar. Quinnipiac began to attack and string some decent passes, and had a couple of shots. However, none of them were on target…until the 63rd minute when captain Nicky G came up big with a header that flew past Dyshon. I was a little surprised, but not very nervous. UNCW, however, switched their formation from a 3-5-2 to a 4-2-3-1 when left back Maci came on for d-mid Kyra S. in the 68th. I was all ready to celebrate wildly until a crucial moment; central mid Jaycee S. equalized in the last minute for the Bobcats. The 2015 LBad Cup Final was going to extra time.
The extra time period of thirty minutes saw two important substitutes come off the bench for their teams. UNCW forward Graham H. and QU midfielder Ashley V. made their tournament debuts when they came on for Malik B. and Christina M., respectively. QU’s equalizer gave them the confidence to continue venturing forward, but Dyshon came up huge with saves on both Nick and Emma R. The first fifteen-minute period ended with the scores once again level. There were only fifteen minutes left for potentially the rest of my life to be decided by either real football or a dreaded penalty shootout.
THAT’S when I got VERY anxious. Almost out of nowhere, Ashley split two Seahawks defenders and scored to give Quinnipiac the lead. I started breathing heavily out of stress while my family roared along with the Bobcat contingent. Then, with about seven minutes remaining, QU were awarded a penalty. I was thinking, “holy crap, this is surely it”. My heart pounded in my chest. I could feel tears forming in my eyes. BUT…Nicky G’s penalty slammed off the crossbar and out. I was only slightly relieved. AND THEN…Maci blasted a half volley home from a corner with TWO MINUTES REMAINING, and the teal-clad fans screamed out in relief.
Final minute of perhaps the entire tournament. It’s about to go to penalties, everyone in my family accepting that reality. However, something happened that almost NO ONE saw coming. UNCW SCORED. Not only that, but it was the substitute GRAHAM who chested the ball down before volleying it past Aaron. Everyone in the stadium was going INSANE. UNCW supporters screeched for joy. Meanwhile, I went totally BALLISTIC. I screamed out “YES! YES! YEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!” while ripping off my shirt and twirling it around.
And then the final whistle sounded. It was over.
The University of North Carolina Wilmington Seahawks were officially crowned LBad Cup champions. Tears flowed down the cheeks of everyone in the stadium involved with QU. Captain Nick was overcome with sadness; had he scored that 114th minute penalty, he would have put the game and my future in the hands of Quinnipiac. My family and I had come out to the pitch, first to console all the Bobcats players with silver medals. I had hugged Nick the hardest; he was the best friend I’d met through any college group I joined. But then, it was party time with my future UNCW classmates. I shook all their hands and hugged them, gold medals around their necks and all. I especially congratulated Graham, for he is my intended roommate. Katie surprised me with a kind gesture; she had given me the captain’s armband so I could lift the trophy. I let out the biggest scream of my life when I lifted the golden trophy to the heavens above. I have officially signed with a school, and I was delighted that it was the one that I wanted all along.
FINAL SCORE: University of North Carolina Wilmington 4-3 Quinnipiac University AET
GOALS: Brooke R. 11’, Olivia C. 17’, Maci 118’, Graham H. 120’; Nick G. 63’, Jaycee S. 89’, Ashley V. 108’
Thank you for the recap!
AND CONGRATULATIONS!!! I hope you’ll update this thread to let us know how you like it in Wilmington - ups and downs, since they’re bound to happen.
What happened with Captain Nick that tipped the scales?
@MYOS1634 Well, as you know, my parents placed an ultimatum on me to improve my judgment or be forced to have my school picked for me and stay closer to home. Although I hadn’t made any TERRIBLE decisions, my parents had been watching a lot of little things here and there. For example, I would sometimes forget important instructions given to me (such as putting money on my DD card) and my parents would nitpick everything I did, putting me in a bad mood for a while afterwards. However, my parents did eventually come to terms with the fact that I had mentally chosen UNCW long ago, even before my UMass rejection. The last minute goal represents my April 30th announcement that I would be joining UNC Wilmington, and it was a brutal fight till the bitter end.
lol. Now you have to allow all the posters who were rooting and monitoring to visit you. Especially important during winter for those of us living by very large cold lakes way up in places like Michigan!
Congrats @LBad96! That climactic overtime had my heart beating. 
I wish you all the best at your new school and I’m sure I’m speaking for everyone when I say that we hope to see you back here in the future telling us how UNCW is!
Hey @LBad96 - you have to reach out to @Phillyy15. He/she wrote the 24th post on this thread:
07-29-2014 at 5:20 pm
UNC Wilmington is my bet.
I wonder if they bet on today’s Kentucky Derby?
@lostaccount of course!! You ALL can visit me!!
@TheDidactic thank you so much!! I’ll try to post monthly recaps and all, but I’ll be sure to update as often as I can!
@brucemag lol, he already knows where I’m going
Congrats Lbad!!! What an exciting finish, I have really enjoyed the ride. Still smiling…