Here's your postgame report from the Marshall Island's second match from the weekend of the Outrigger Challenge Cup in Springdale, Arkansas at Springdale High School. And so what we decided to do, John Nelson here with you is we caught up with a couple of folks that were part and parcel to the growth of the program and were responsible for moments in the three to two thriller before ninety
plus two. And I don't know how two minutes were only added by the end of it all, but ninety two minutes were done and it would be a a gripping win for the Turks and Caicos in the second match for the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation. But the Marshall Islands, we've got some copy up at soccerdown here dot net with some postmatch interviews that you'll hear here as well coming up in just a little bit with a couple of added bonuses along the way. But it's a great
conversation and it's a great marker for the program. Now that they have played their first two international matches against the US Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos, it's a time to reflect, a time to learn, a time to enjoy, and a time to go forward. So we'll see what happens next with the Marshall Islands as they continue their trek as the most recent last team on the planet to have a national soccer program. So what we're gonna do.
We're gonna go through some of the postgame comments that we gathered while we were amongst all of the noise, and it was a joyful noise, rightfully so for the Marshall Islands after the two matches and the three two win before the Turks and Caicos against the Marshall Islands
once again on the weekend in Arkansas. First and foremost, we're going to catch up with someone who kind of had to be put into service and he did some yeoman work at the back and it is a director communications Marketing for the Marshall Island Soccer Federation, Matt Web. Matt Web putting in some minutes and we caught up with him after he caught his breath and I mean that literally, how are you feeling tired?
It's a bit of a hot one out there, but I mean really proud of it boys, to be honest, looking at where they've come from. We only played together for the very first time on the training field last Saturday, I think, yeah, seven days ago, so five training sessions, two matches, and here we are looking like a team so exceptionally proud, wondering potentially where we go from here.
I think the message is really let's keep on the momentum, keep building upon this, don't stop when you go home, keep doing everything you can, and hopefully if we do this again this time next year, we're in a much stronger position.
There have been folks who have already said on social media that groups see can't cook. Care if you guys can hang.
What's it like to hear stuff like that.
I mean, obviously that's very nice for people to say. Obviously, in reality we know we're still a long way away. It's not just on the pitch, it's also off pitch and having strength and death. If you look at the teams we've played against in this series, but they've got youth teams, they've got women's structures as well. So we're still committed to doing this in a very structured way. We don't want to run, yeah before we can walk this well sorry, but yeah, we want to do this
in the right way. Obviously, it's very nice. Obviously on the pitch, I think we held our own and it's nice of people paying his compliments, but we're still focused on how we can develop in a sustainable manner.
When you think back to day one when we started having these conversations to today having seen what was going on here in Arkansas, has it sunk in that you've gone from day one to here?
No.
I think throughout the week I've had a few pinch myself moments when you kind of sit down and you take stock, when you're in news of certain people, when you're meeting people in real life and you like, go, what on earth is happening here? How do we get here? But no, I don't think it has some ken. I don't know if it will for a little while just yet. I have a little moments, But still I think it's an awful lot, quite overwhelming.
So yeah, we'll say.
And for those that might have missed the match, Matt had a couple of key stops at the back, backtracked and helped out when it came to the deadly transition opportunities that the Turks and Caicos offense had when they
were coming off of turnovers. Their speed was really something that they were taking advantage of Matt doubling back from the back line and doing some yeoman work in cutting off some angles and stopping some chances as they would get in toward the edge of the Marshall Islands eighteen. So that's Matt Webb catching up with us on the
postgame review from the Outrigger Challenge Cup. Also on the board, time to catch up with yet another one of the assistant coaches, another part of the brain trust that has been a part of this with the Marshall Island Soccer Federation, Justin Wally. Justin by the way, we caught up with Justin literally ten minutes before he had to lead to catch a plane to go back to Europe, and so this is an interview where we kind of pulled him off to the side and there'll be another you'll remember
this location later on here in the post game. But here's our quick interview with Justin before he got to his plane.
When was the last time you did an interview in a bathroom?
I don't want to answer that. No, this is the first second.
Now that these two matches have happened.
Yeah, as it's sunk in yet.
I think when we scored the first goal, there was a lot of energy came out. Raw energy came out of us. We were really good to see a goal will him quite quickly afterwards, and as you can see, play on and we said to his boys in the change in halftime, you can score three or four goals here. We can still get a result. And I think that that feeling at the end when he was three to two, we're pressing for an equalizer in the front and you can see I keep looking for the referees. Are going
to blow? Is he going to blow? And then that sense of disappointment that we've only lost three too. We could never have imagined going into the tournament that would be gutted at the last moment that we haven't won the game or got a drawer out again.
Yeah, so what's next, he asked.
I'm going to the airport in ten minutes, time to flow back. We've just got to regroup, We've got to look at what we've done. I'm hoping that people will come in and support us. We'll get sponsors, more and more people from the community interested in helping us. Some funding. Now we can do an even bigger job. This has been done with almost no resources. This has been done from ten thousand miles away on occasion, right in a couple of thousand miles from here, so we can achieve
a lot lot more. We've got a great group here football. They've gone above the quality they probably are yeah, as a group, a fantastic group of human beings. So we want to continue this. We don't want this just to be you know, some beautiful chapter doesn't have a next part.
One of the assistant coaches for the Marshall Islands in the three to two loss to the Turks and Caicos on the weekend, and so it's time to catch up with a moment of history for those of you who are attached to the Georgia high school soccer scene from a handful of years back. Jasiah Blanton played at Roswell High School. Then he went to James Madison and that's where folks know him from that next level from the
intercollegiate play. But Josiah Blanton is now your trivia question and it means a lot more than just the answer for a piece of trivia. But he's the first ever goal scorer for the Marshall Island Soccer Federation. We caught up with him after the match as well.
When you think back to the idea of Hey, the Marshall Islands want me to play internationally for them today and what happened go from day one to now, what does make you think?
Yeah?
No, no, no, going from day one being invited by a great person, Pierre, I played with him this summer, uh the fact to let me be involved in this, and thought I'm a good enough person to help provide my speciality to them. It was a big difference coming from thinking I was going to be in the marsh Islands and finding out I'm in Arkansas these past couple of weeks. I've got to learn these people and they're
great individuals and it's a great community. So score be the first to score with them is great and very exciting.
I was going to ask if that it's sunk in yet the gravity of what happened today.
Yeah, yeah, no, I think I think it really did. And I'm looking up at the crowd and seeing how excited they were even yesterday, seeing these guys come out and really cheer at a point in time where we knew we weren't going to win there. It just shows the impact that I bring to them and kind of the importance to me as well that I can bring my abilities to help them out.
So one of the cool moments, also attached to all the stories with the roster that you have with the Marshall Island Soccer Federation, is that you have the soccer moms.
And one of those soccer moms happens to be the mother of two of the players on the roster, and one of them was named captain, and so we could not resist catching up with I guess the first soccer mom of the Marshall Island Soccer Federation, doctor Stacey Seidel, to find out what it was like for her to see her sons out there representing the Marshall Islands.
What's it What's it been like to see all of this happen and have it make the impact that.
It has here.
It has been absolutely phenomenal. My boys have been hearing about the possibility of a Marshall Island soccer team since the beginning and to see it come kind of full circle and for Set to have this opportunity has been fantastic. We're super proud of him. We're in love with the coaches who and all the people who have made this possible. It's been fantastic.
And there and I will say this, when it came to a reping and getting after the officials and and cheering on her sons, it was really cool to see doctor Seidel going just full boar, one hundred and twenty percent, representing her family, representing the country. And she could not have been more proud. She could not have been more nerve wracked, don't get me wrong, But at the same time, she could not have been more proud, and you could
hear that from her there. Now for those of you that missed it on social media, we're replaying it here at the end. This was our initial conversation that we had with Lloyd hours after the match, the technical director and the head coach for the Marshall Island Soccer Federation. This is our conversation we had with him about this week, these few seasons and getting everything to this point. Here's our conversation. Well, Lloyd, three to your.
Final score Outrord Challenge Cup Marshall Islands. A lot of fight over ninety minutes and I'm joined by somebody particularly you recognize this.
Again, Oh how haween.
So the look at that ninety minutes, Yeah, what's sticks in your head? With the fight that these guys had.
Honestly don't believe we couldn't describe it because three two down, ninety have been in.
I'm losing my ways.
I put first, I genuinely think it's a penwy's a stone wall, and that brings it to three to three.
It takes it to fenways.
That changes the game.
But to get into that position with every player on.
The roster listening of playing, yeah, we couldn't ask the more so you looked at this from when we started, time been one and now has this weekend sunk in for you in the game?
Yeah?
No, I think I think it's going to sink in over the next few days.
For the next few days is just the case to enjoy where we are and build on for the next stages.
But right now I don't think it's sunk in yet.
How incredible these guys are in the backroom, staff, players, everything involved.
How has the response being response has been astronaut up on social media, It's been amazing. There has it belonged? You guys away of pointing to see what the response has been about what you've been able to.
Build it on top of the hand and play.
Yeah, we knew that it's gonna be big, but I think it's bigger than you know of me.
This week has been incredible in terms of the amount of support we have people on the accommodation campus.
Just yeah, I've been around the group, but yeah, we're in a position now where we can just develop and bush on me and more and more hopefully with the support of people around the group.
Has everyone seen what we can do.
Where we can take this as a story three two fantastic effort an out Record Challenge Cup.
He's going to take a shower because he's earned it and he definitely he's definitely earned it.
And he's gonna go watch games.
We're gonna go cut a bunch of stuff because this is social that's a story for Markansas.
Thank you.
So it was a historic weekend, historic week historic years leading up to this point in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale High
School for the Outrigger Challenge Cup. Thanks to everybody that is a part of the Outrigger Challenge Cup that made it happen, especially everybody there at the high school and with the Board of Education and everyone in athletics to make sure that facilities were ready to go, and it was just a very very cool moment to see everyone pitching in with this Marshal Lea's community here in northwest Arkansas to see this event come off and mean what it meant on as many different levels as it did.
So once again, thanks to mad Web, Justin, Wally, Josiah Blanton, Doctor Stacey Seidel, Lloyd Ours, and thanks to you and thanks to all of you for understanding our support and telling the stories, continually telling the story of the Marshall Island Soccer Federation because it's not just about soccer, it's about a bunch of different other things. But this is the venue that we get to continue as that opening
to tell these stories. So that is your postgame report, and we're going to effort to have Matt and Lloyd and maybe Justin on the show next week on SDHAM so we can catch up with them and see if they've officially slept in, caught their breath, and find out what it's like back in the real world, juggling real world with national team duties. That is the postgame report once again, Marshall Islands and the Outrigger Challenge Cup from Day number two, going up against the Turks and Cacoast.
For everybody here at SDH, I'm just John. Thanks for dropping by and listening to pieces of history from Spring Deal Arkansas. Play safe, everybody, boota pot yea. We'll catch up with you next time.