2004 American Revolution vs California All-Stars

Opponent: California All-Stars
Date: January,2004
Location: UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Result:
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
G.P G.P G.P G.P.T
Revolution 2.4 8.7 16.7 23.8.146
CA All-Stars 2.1 3.4 5.7 7.9.51
Goals:
Revolution J. Purcell (5), C. Ellis (4), E. Kalhovd (4), C. Carroll (3), J. Brunmeier (2), G. Lakomy (2), M. Curry (2), B. Pope
CA All-Stars none provided
Best:
Revolution
CA All-Stars none provided

There were three Australian Football matches played at UCLA during the Australia Week festival. The main game of the event was the showdown between the Revolution and a California All-Star team. The California All-Stars team was made up of some of the top Aussies playing in California as well as some fine American players, including a few of the Revolution players.

Several new players from all around the country had been selected to be a part of the 2004 Revolution squad, mainly because of their efforts at the 2003 Nationals. This would be their first chance to impress selectors and make a play for a spot in the team to compete in the Atlantic Alliance in August.

The Revolution team that took on the California All-Stars:

B Kyle Strenski Matt Jagger Tommy Ellis
HB Brandon Blankenship Brad Rinklin Dave Thurmond
C James Brunmeier Donnie Lucero Dan Sarbacker
HF Charlie Ellis Chris Carroll Marty Curry
F Brad Pope Jeff Purcell George Lakomy

R Mike Waller Chad Martin Dan Kocka

Interchange - Ross Siegel, Colin Carroll, Erik Kalhovd, Aaron Nelson, Phil Shreibman and Tim Weir.

Captain Donnie Lucero
Vice-Captain Charlie Ellis

Revolution Players on CA Team - Zac Holway, Andy Lindsey, Matty Dainauski, and Mike Herstein.

A few of the key disciplines were missing in the first quarter but after the address by Coach Scott Nicholas the team pulled together and began to play some of the finest football played by a Revolution side to date. The Revos went on to dominate the game, never letting up, and finishing with a great victory. Cameron O'Brien was heard to say at the end of the match that "this was without a doubt the best game of footy I have ever seen in America", which is a huge compliment coming from a former AFL player. At one stage the Revos had kicked 15 goals straight, which is a huge accomplishment considering that we had a new look forward line including rookie center half forward Chris Carroll.

After the game, at the players post game address, Coach Nicholas paid praise to everyone for a great game but reminded the team that "this is just one step towards reaching our goal, of winning the International Cup in 2005. We have shown that we can play footy. Now we need to get fit and constantly work towards our goals. With the players that we currently have, and some hard work and discipline, we can achieve anything we set our minds to". Some players that were mentioned in Coach Nicholas' address were Chris Carroll for his first game effort at Center Half Forward, James Brunmeier for his great debut on the wing, Ross Siegel for his guts, Brad Pope for his discipline, Donnie Lucero for his solid "Captains" game and leadership, and an absolutely sterling performance by "one player who if he was born in Australia would have surely played professional footy" Charlie Ellis.

Votes were as follows:
Charlie Ellis 5
Donnie Lucero 4
Chris Bluey Carroll 3
James Brunmeier 2
Jeff Purcell 1