U15 Premier League Game #3 vs Coon Rapids

I wasn't looking forward to this game.  Coon Rapids was a big, strong, physical team.  Not a group I wanted to see prior to our State Cup final game on Wednesday.  We've been playing so well, apart from a decent but not-spectacular-as-our-last-5-games showing against NL yesterday.  I was a bit worried about us picking up an injury today that would throw us out of sync for Wednesday.

I was tempted to forfeit the game today.  I've said it all along, our standing in our local Premier league is the least important of my concerns for this team this year. 

I didn't want to tell the girls to be careful of injuries in this game, for if they went into tackles thinking about not getting injured, that was a sure way to GET injured.  Instead, we talked a bunch about keeping the ball moving.  We'd avoid the 1v1 physical battles if CR couldn't get close to the ball.  If a player would hang onto the ball too long, they invited a tough tackle from an opposing CR player. 

It didn't help that Blondie was sick and not in attendance, and Lily had a school commitment and was also missing.  With Maddie still nursing a back injury, we had 3 subs for the game.  I would have no chance to rest some players for Wednesday, and the increased fatigue the girls would feel due to our low numbers on the night could lead to increased injury potential.  Not ideal.

I wanted to lighten the mood prior to the game with a fun warm-up.  Again, trying to minimize the focus on this game and on getting a result today.  We played Rugby for a good 15 minutes, with the girls whooping and hollering around the field, enjoying the lively warm-up game.  We finished with some fun shooting and the girls were ready.

 Last year, we had lost and tied this CR team.  We were the better soccer team in each of those encounters, but CR's size physicalness had been the great equalizers to our skill.  I told the girls last year that as our physical presence caught up with CR's in the coming years, our technical abilities would see us get the results.  I've been with younger play-up teams since 2001 and witnessed this "catch up" with my old Woodbury Inferno team.  We got beat by a Cottage Grove team 6-0 a couple times as U11s and U12s, mainly because they had one player who could run by all of us.  The rest of their team was physical and our strength was no match for them.  Then, in our U13 year, the games all of a sudden became much closer.  The following U14 year, there was no comparison between the two teams - with the Woodbury group showing complete dominance as the physical gap had been narrowed.  I know this is due in part to roster changes, but let me make my point.  Take the Woodbury team vs the CG team now at U16, and I bet it's close to double digits in the end result.

My Check Tire Pressure indicator had popped on right as I arrived in the Bielenberg parking lot.  I called someone to come and check it out, not wanting to drive more and risk damage to a rim to to a semi-flat tire.  The help arrived right as the game kicked off, so I spent the first 10 minutes or so in the parking lot with the Ford Roadside Assistance crew.  I couldn't see much of what was happening in the game as all the play was down at the far end of the field.  This was a good thing though as that was the end we were attacking :)

As I finished in the parking lot and headed back to the bench, I heard a cheer go up.  Apparently, we had scored a great goal, a quick little Give & Go between Millie (LF) and Jilly (RF), ending with a good strike by Millie to give us the lead.

I settled onto the bench and begun watching another simply fantastic performance by the girls.  We were on absolute fire.  Composed and relaxed on the ball, sharp and creative in the attack, solid and tough on defense.  CR had some very fast players, but our back three, even without Blondie, were up to the task.  It was a joy to watch. 

Our pressure finally paid off just past the 30 minute mark as Macky (RF) headed a CR goal kick back into the area.  Bidi (RM) raced to the ball, colliding with the CR GK as she slipped the ball into the net from 6 or 7 yards out. 

Again, like I like it, not much to change or correct at halftime.  The girls were playing some fantastic soccer.

8 minutes into the second half, we got the all important 3rd goal as Millie (RF) was hip checked in the box by a CR defender.  She converted the PK with a hard shot to her left.

Another 10 minutes later, we got our fourth.  Ripper hit a free kick from about 35 yards out.  It skipped right in front of the CR GK and squirted past her into the net.  Not a high percentage shot, but not an easy one for the GK either with the wet surface and pace on the ball.  That took any wind left in the CR players' sails out of them, while giving us additional though unneeded confidence.

We then proceeded to put two more in in the span of the next 4 minutes.  If we had a Top 10 Best Goals, these two would likely be in there.  Both involved too many sequential passes to list all the players involved here. 

For the first, the ball got to Nash (LD) about 15 yards in our half right in front of our bench.  She played a 20 yard ball up to Macky (LF), following her pass and demanding Macky hold the ball ("Hold it!), triggering the overlap combination.  Macky chose to use the overlapping run as a decoy, turned inside the field on her right foot and served a ball to Millie (RF).  The ball was cleared out to Korky (Def Mid) at the top of the cirle.  Korky took the ball out of the air well and ran right at the defenders, forcing someone to commit to her.  As the CR central defender stepped up, Millie pulled away from her to create a passing lane for herself, and Korky found her with a slotted through pass.  Millie took a touch and hammered the ball home from about 16 yards out.  Lots of great coaching points in this goal.

A few minutes later we had another terrific passing sequence that must have seen 7 or 8 players involved.  The ball eventually was played to Bidi (RM) on our right flank, 20 yards from the endline.  She used her patented Stop & Go move to create some space, then served in a driven cross to the near post.  Getch (Att Mid) got there on the run and flicked the ball into the net with a volley.  

Cook and I, in bad taste in some hindsight, couldn't help LOLing.  The goals were so pretty, so well worked, so cooperative.  It was just fun to watch.  

6-0 on a team we have never scored on until this year.  Are we 6 goals better than them?  No, but we were today.  Could they beat us next time.  Of course they could.  But we play better soccer.  More importantly, we are playing excellent soccer at the right time of the year for our other desired team goals. 

And no one got hurt :) 

U15 Premier League Game #2 vs Wayzata-2

Our second game in the 2008 MYSA U15 Premier League against Wayzata-2, a team that had earned Premier status last summer, promoted from the U14C1 league. 

Our first game at Bielenberg in Woodbury.  Decent field - good size for us (large), with a good surface, except in the middle of the field which was a bit hard and bumpy.  

Still without our GK, Zazu (formally known as Tori), Maddie once again stepped in to tend our net.

We continued to work on our 3-5-2 shape, with Becs (CD), Blondie (LD), and Hannah (RD) in our defensive roles.  We'd get Gratz some time back there as well today, though now mainly in a back 3 instead of a back 4, we're looking at using Gratz's speed up top.  

Prior to the game, I took our forwards (Macky, Millie, Jilly, and Gratz) and our two attacking mids (Lily and Getch) to do some shadow play work.  Just some simple movement exercises for our forwards as the ball is played side to side in our midfield.  One showing, one deep.  If a ball is played into a forward, she looks to find the other (non-passing) midfielder with a lay back, and that mid looks to spring the second forward with a dangerous ball over the top into space.  Buzz used to do this all the time with the Thunder forwards and mids, just to try and give attacking players some ideas relative to where the ball is in our midfield.   

The game went well for us.  Another very, very solid performance on our end as we created a number of chances early.  Defenders were solid, though tested by some speedy, strong Wayzata-2 players.

We got on the board twice in the first half.  The first, 7 minutes in, was set up by Millie (LF) as she fought for a loose ball near the endline to the right of goal, won her battle and pulled the ball back for Bidi (RM) who fired a great, low shot hard into the far post side netting. 

Our second came 12 minutes from the end of the half on a corner.  Bidi (RM) drove a near post ball in that Macky (RF) flicked on the dead run towards the back post.  The ball hit the post hard and rebounded across the goal for Gratz (LF) to tap in.  

Numerous chances throughout the remainder of the contest, though we failed to tally another.  Solid defensive work by our back 3 (Becs, Hannah, and Blondie) and no real tough saves needed by Zazu (formally known as Tori) in goal.  

Another really, really good performance by the girls.  On a roll now, with back (EP U15 Prem) to back (Wayzata MRL) to back (today) showings.  Love to see the girls play like this.  Personally, and I'm sure I speak for Cook as well, it's a true pleasure to see concrete results of years of work. 

U15 Premier Leage Game #1 vs EP

We opened up our 2008 U15 Premier League season against arguably our biggest league play rival, Eden Prairie.  When I say "rival", I say it out of respect to a team that provides us a stiff challenge every time we match up against them.  We finished #2 behind them in the U14 Premier League last year as U13s, and the year before we lost to them in the U12 State Tournament Championship as U11s.  I said last year that either team was capable of beating the other by three goals on any given day, and we proved that this winter when we scored 4 on them in an indoor friendly. 

The EP team has a core group of solid U15 players.  Overall, we are a more skillful team as a whole, but their additional year of size and speed keeps the games tight.  Oh, and they have a forward who we have yet to stop from scoring on us.  I'm almost 100% certain that she has scored on us at least once in every game we've seen her in over the last 3 years.  EP without her, it's a pretty even contest between our teams, though I (with all the bias I bring to the table) give us the edge.  EP with her, and we need to score more than 2 goals to beat them.

Before all the cut-paste-haters (I love that newly coined term I saw on another local soccer blog - a term for people who don't really care for me, yet read this blog then post what I write on the other blogs in order to rip apart) somehow interpret from this last paragraph that 1) I'm totally disrespecting the other 16 EP girls on this team, or 2) am trying to somehow recruit this player away from EP, I'll state that I'm simply posting my thoughts as I see them.  Do I think we walk all over EP if their star forward is not with them?  Of course not.  Do I think that a player like that would take her soccer development to another level if she was training with a team made of of more talented players?  Of course I do.  Will it break my heart if chooses to remain in EP rather than move to what I think is a better development environment (our U15 Blue team) for her?  Of course it won't.  If I ran into her parents on the street (assuming I even knew who they were), I wouldn't hesitate to give them my opinion on what I feel is the best development option for a player like her.  The same thing would happen if I came across a super talented U16 girl - I'd encourage her to seek out the most competitive team at her age group, which happens to be a team outside our club.  Anyway, I can see my train of thought is leading into a rant about recruiting and all the nonsense that surrounds that topic.  So I'll move on.

* * * * *

Nice night for a game.  The match was scheduled under the lights in the EP high school stadium at 8:15PM.  Cool atmosphere for the girls!

Cook and I talked before the game and decided to go with our 4-4-2 formation as we prep for Portland in a few weeks.  With very few training sessions this last month and in the weeks prior to our Memorial Day trip to the beautiful upper Northwest, we are looking to use our league games as training opportunities for the girls.  All youth games are training opportunities, but with the pressure to get results in State Cup and in MRL (to ensure that the girls are in the most competitive MRL division next spring), it's tough to stress the development.  Neither of us give a rat's behind about where this team finishes in our MYSA Premier league standings.  That's the honest truth.  We want the girls to compete and work hard in every match, but we are focused on preparing the girls for Portland where we will face some of the best competition at our age group we've seen.  We want the girls to play well in Portland so we can best gauge what we need to focus on developmentally prior to Regionals (assuming we get out of our State Cup).  

Historically, we've needed at least 5 in the midfield to stay competitive with the EP girls, and tonight was no different.  They killed us the first twenty minutes, forcing Tori into a number of very good saves.  We just couldn't get a hold of the ball in the midfield, and our two central mids (Ripper and Korky) were disconnected and running ragged trying to defend.

Gratz (CD) signaled that she needed a sub about 20 minutes into the game as she's been battling a sore hip.  Ripper was on the bench for a needed break, so we decided the timing was right to make a formation change to our 3-5-2.  Gratz came out, we tucked our wide backs (Blondie and Hannah) ina bit to help Becs at the center defender position, and asked Ripper to go back in as a holding mid, playing alongside Korky.  That change proved to make all the difference as we dominated the final 20 minutes of the first half. 

EP still created chances, and a few minutes later as we were still trying to settle into the new formation, EP's pressure paid off.  A long ball clearance from an EP defender about 20 yards in their own half, skipped past Blondie (LD), caught Becs by surprise a bit, and sent Terror (my own personal nickname for EP's forward) off to the races at our goal.  Tori came out, but Terror calmly slipped the ball past her at the top of our box to give EP the 1-0 lead.

However, the rest of the half belonged to us.  Finally able to play through midfield and finally able to stop EP from doing so, our skill began to show through with some great combination play, change of fields, and chances at goal.  The half ended 1-0, but I was proud of our effort and adaption to the situation.

At halftime, we talked about the formation adjustment we made and the girls were aware of how the game had changed because of it.  We encouraged our central players to look to switch the point of attack as we had worked on yesterday at training, needing to continue looking to play across the field at times, not always up and down the pitch.  We also talked about trying to match EP physically as best we could. 

Second half was a good battle.  A very even battle with boths teams creating good opportunities at goal.  I think Tori might have had to make one or two very good saves in that half, as opposed to the 5 or 6 she was called upon to make in the first half.  Our girls played hard, got stuck in on 50/50 tackles better, fought for loose balls, and were more composed with the ball under pressure.  Again, our side to side movement was the focus and the girls really seemed to begin to be warming to it.  We couldn't find the back of the net though, and the game ended 1-0 for EP.

3/4 of the game was very good for us, and I'm encouraged after our so-so showings in State Cup and MRL over the last two weeks.  Our side to side movement is getting better with more and more of the girls on the same page.  Our holding mids in the 3-5-2 are starting to click (Korky and Ripper have been the usual suspects in those roles and are really starting to work well together).  We have another training session on Saturday which I'm sure will be another one focused on keeping the ball and changing fields through midfield.