The recently formed HBS Alumni Soccer Team competed at the National MBA Soccer Tournament at UT Austin during the weekend of February 23-24, 2002. The team played 6 hours and 3 minutes of soccer and–in disbelief–walked away with the Champion trophy. Another soccer addition to the Shad trophy case!
The team beat Texas A&M, Kellogg, Chicago, Yale, and Wharton on the way to the Final. In the Final, after both teams scored two goals during regular time, it took the team three minutes of sudden death overtime to beat Texas Law 3-2.
Team members making the journey to Austin were: John Andrews (HBS ’01), Luca Barone (HBS ’00), Vince Barrett (HBS ’99), Antoine Colaco (HBS ’00), Jean-Philippe Emelie Marcos (HBS ’01), David Gile (HBS ’01), James Gowers (HBS ’01), Mark Grodzinsky (HBS ’00), David Linn (HBS ’00), Rich Lloyd (HBS ’99), plus three friends Beto, Diego, and Fernando to make up numbers.
Linn and Barrett worked central midfield tirelessly in both attacking and defensive roles. Andrews, Barone, Lloyd, and Fernando made important attacking runs on the wings. Colaco worked with Beto up front to score goals, while Emelie Marcos, Grodzinsky, Diego, and Gowers served as the team’s defense. Our goalkeeper Gile saved the day with two crucial saves against Wharton in the semifinal.
Outstanding teamwork and smart tactics made this win possible against the odds. The team may not have had the best players, they were certainly not the most fit (work and family life…), had not played together before, and had only two substitutes. But teamwork, discipline, and passion made the whole worth much more than the parts.
Just as important as the soccer was the socializing in Austin. Players had a great time sampling Texan steaks, beer, and getting together with HBS Alumni living in Austin for Mexican food and drinks on Saturday evening. The warm weather certainly was a welcome change for those who had flown in from the North.
The Alumni Soccer Team was formed in September of 2001 and first competed at Yale one month later. The squad now includes players from 1999, 2000, and 2001. As we further develop the team and add more depth to the squad, we hope to improve our odds of success in future tournaments and to expand our social network.
Our next tournament is at Dartmouth the weekend of April 27-28. We look forward to welcoming 2002 players when they graduate in June. The Alumni Soccer eGroup website is
HBS alumni soccer and please feel free to contact James Gowers (jgowers@mba2001.hbs.edu) with any questions.
