Of Blah and Water Lilies

When the final whistle blew on Sunday giving us the State Cup championship, it was… well, a bit anticlimactic.  And even that’s an understatement.  I don’t really know what I was expecting to feel… pride? Exaltation? Relief?  I guess if I had to try and define my feeling in one word, that word would be “Blah.”

I don’t know if I was looking for more, if I had built up the end result too much to myself, to the girls, and to their parents.  Maybe it had something to do with the fact that we were heavily favored to win the event, or maybe with the overall atmosphere surrounding the win.  We were the very last game played on Sunday and the only people around besides a handful of MYSA staff people who, after a long three weeks of State Cup admin, not to mention the countless hours of prep prior to the commencement of the event, looked like they just wanted to go home to bed.  Our pool games had more of a tournament feel than our final did.

We went through the picture ceremony at the pavilion, got our new blue Adidas shirts to wear at Regionals, received cursory instructions and information on the hotel and tournament procedures for Des Moines in June, and were sent on our way.

Had I been putting too much emphasis on this event?  The end result just didn’t seem like that big of a deal.  Was all the time and effort that we all put towards this goal over the years worth it?  If you asked me this question at 7PM on Sunday, I’m sure the answer would have been yes.  But I don’t know if I would have truly believed this myself.

Four days later the answer is still yes, this time with way more conviction behind the word.  Why?  Well, I’ve been hyper-focused on the single event, winning the State Cup, but now see this single event is just the final brush stroke.  If scrutinized too closely, it looks like just another slash of paint among a multitude of slashes.  However, once viewed from further away to see the bigger picture, viola! Water Lilies.

OK, before the haters who can’t stop reading this site rush to open up their Favorites folder, click over to the other MN soccer blogs, and start hurling their hate about Abboud now likening himself to Monet, let me say that this is not the case.  Just trying to paint a picture (excuse the pun) for people here with some analogy.  Or is it through extended metaphor?  Who knows.  Remember, I avoided creative writing classes like the plague through college.  Regardless, I hope most people know what I’m getting at.

In the last few days, I’ve been able to shift my focus away from the end result to the amazing series of events that brought us all to this particular point in time – shift from reflecting on the final destination point to reflecting on the wonderful journey it took to get here.  That has made all the difference.

For some of the girls (Brownie, Scratch, Sting, Becs, Jilly, Getch, and Mudd) it has been a 10 month journey, for Hannah it has spanned over a year and a half.  This journey has seen them through soccer experiences that they could not have found with other teams in our area.  It has been difficult for these girls at times to “fit in” with our core group and all of them have battled confidence issues when placed in a training environment surrounded by other quality players, but I have no doubt in my mind that they have all come a long, long way mainly due to the fact that they have been challenged by other players at every turn in training sessions throughout the year(s).  This is what our club is all about with our top teams… bring some of the best players together and make them better.

For Bidi, Macky, Nash, Soph, Millie, Lily, Ripper, Maddie, and Blondie, the core group of girls who I have had the extreme pleasure of working with since the team’s inception in the fall of 2004, their journey has a bit more complex… and a bit more rewarding I think due to their longevity.  Though Ripper joined us after the 2004 fall season, though I still think of her as part of this core group.

From the Woodbury Soccer Academy Magic to the Bangu Tsunami Academy Magic to the Bangu Tsunami 93/94 Blue, from the dominance at their own age group in 2004 to the challenge of the boy’s league and playing up to the top level of the older age group in 2005/06 to competing in the U14 Premier league this year, from the two years of weekly small group technical sessions at Acceleration East to the demanding FIT Training this year, from our first regional event in Milwaukee in 2004 to a number of events in Des Moines and Rockford to a plane trip to Virginia to Regionals this summer, this journey has been a constant progression, a constant look for more challenges in order to give the girls a solid foundation on which to find success in the sport in future years.

Watching State Cup this past month, it is obvious to me that these 9 girls possessed skills that the great majority of other girls at this age group do not.  This is a simple testament to the work they have put in over the last three years and the sheer number of touches the girls have had under semi-qualified guidance in a proven training environment surrounded by other talented players.

The team was strong back in 2004 because we were athletic and organized.  We also had a few of what I call the gamebreakers, girls who could take over and dominate a small sided field, and even one of those players at the U11 age level will usually translate into winning results.

Three years later, we are still athletic and organized, but now the gamebreakers do not, as expected, have the impact that they did on the small field.  However, due to the technical and tactical development of the other girls who played more “supportive” roles (for lack of a better word) at the younger age groups as well as the continued progression of our small sided gamebreakers, all 9 girls are now true forces on the field of play, too strong as a group for other local teams to deal with.  Now the team, the core group plus the more recent additions, has become the gamebreaker and all the girls as individuals are better because of it.

It's good to have an end to journey towards, but it's the journey that matters in the end.

* * * * *

It will be tough to pass this group on come the fall. There has already been talk among the girls and the parents and I know they would like me to stay on for another year.  There is little doubt in my mind that I have the knowledge and capacity to see the group through their U19 year though I don’t know if it would be in the girls’ best interest to have me do so.

For the rest of the summer, my plan is to do what I can in the next 3 weeks to get the team ready for Regionals.  I also plan on enjoying watching the girls compete in the Premier league and in the two local tournaments we have on our schedule (NSC Cup at the U14 “A” flight, and USA Cup).

State Cup Championship vs Bangu Tsunami 93/94 White

Championship Sunday!  Too bad it was like 40 degrees out.  I really hope I get to pack away the winter jacket soon.

With our game scheduled at 5:30PM, I got to the complex to watch some of our other teams in action.  Our U16 boys faced a tough test against EP, but came out on top 2-1 in overtime.  Our U16 girls battled a tough Wings team to finally grab the winner in overtime as well.  Our U17 girls easily handled a Tonka United team, beating them by 5 or 6 to claim the championship. 

Up until that morning, in my world, I was still pretty sure that as a retired pro player, I could still step on the field of any boys youth game and completely dominate.  Don't ask me why I think about stuff like this, I just do.  After watching the talented U15 boys PSA team, the U17 boys Valley United team, and the U18 boys Bangu team (all State Cup champions that Sunday), I've been hit with a does of reality and must amend my claim.  Now, I'm fairly confident that I can completely dominate any small-sided girls game.  The higher level boys teams were really a joy to watch, with some real talent on the field.  It's amazing how far the level of the youth game has come in... OMG!  It's been 20 years since I was this age!  Geez...

It was also nice to see my old Inferno team win the U15 girls age group in fairly convincing style.  I had the chance to see many of the girls and their parents this weekend and I was extremely humbled by their comments of the girls missing me and their recognition of the work that was put in at the important 9 to 12 year old age group to put the girls in position to more readily find success at the older age groups.  I hadn't seen the girls play since last year and many of them are blossoming into true forces on the field. 

Though having not lost any sleep over this upcoming game, I knew the White team would come out and play us hard.  As I mention to my girls on a consistent basis, we are guaranteed one thing in this event – we will get the very best from our opponents who know they are up against a superior team.  It’s the same that teams like Eclipse (IL), BVSC Ratpack (KS), Internationals (OH), and PDA (NJ) can expect from us.  Though I don’t think these teams are far superior to us, the thought alone of coming up against a tough opponent, an opponent that has beaten us before, is enough to get the Tsunami girls focused.  I don’t worry that we won’t come out with the needed intensity and aggression against teams like this, I do worry about it sometimes against competition like our White team.  Moreover, the whole idea of playing a club’s “B” team when you are on the club’s “A” team doesn’t help much to motivate the “A” team players.  On the flip side, many of the White team players are out to prove that they belong on the Blue team and will find it easy to put forth the extra effort to get to loose balls, win a 50/50 tackle, work hard defensively in 1v1 situations, etc.  All of this could make for a tough game for us.

Regardless, it was exciting to be where we were at, as well as a pleasure to meet our sister team in the finals.

As expected, the White team came out to play. Tony Bidwell (coach) had them well organized defensively with a lone forward up top.  I could have looked to push up the unneeded 4th defender up early, but I decided to let our strong attacking players see what they could do for the first part of the game.

I think Tony's game plan was sound.  Get numbers behind the ball (this is different than pack the box), and look to counter attack.  I think he knew that his players would find it difficult to match up straight up against our players. 

The work we had done in the last few weeks regarding looking for early crosses from our wide defenders was helpful as they usually found themselves with a ton of time and space on support passes.  However, the White team's central defenders were solid in the air and didn't allow many of these crosses to land unchallenged. 

We got on the scoreboard early in the 8th minute as Maddie (LM) received a pass on the left flank, beat a player down the line and crossed in a low cross behind the White team's defense.  With the White defenders running back to goal and the White team GK on her way out to get the ball, there was a little miscommunication and the ball slid past both of them to an awaiting Blondie (RM) who passed the ball into the empty net from about 12 yards out. 

I remember thinking this was just what we needed... an early goal to hopefully take some of the wind out of the sails of the White team and hopefully make the game easier for us. 

As it happened and looking back at it now, I think the goal took the wind out of our sails as I think the girls, and myself, thought that this was going to be another lopsided game. 

To the White team's credit, they actually looked to redouble their efforts and fight back while we seemed a little lackluster.  We played well, don't get me wrong, we just didn't bring the energy and intensity that the White team did. 

Most of the half was played in the White team’s end. They did manage a few forays into our end, but lacked the numerical support to pose any real threat.

At halftime, I made a formation change from our 4-4-2 to our 4-1-2-3 to give us more numbers in the center of midfield (where at times our two central mids were outplayed by the 3 central White team mids) and more fire power up top.  We were switching the ball around the back so often in the first half against the White team’s lone forward, that our two forwards were expending a lot of energy moving laterally across the field with the ball.  We also talked about attacking the endline more as we had sent in a ton of early crosses.  I wanted the girls to be more unpredictable when out wide while also increasing our chances of winning more corner kicks; set pieces I know we are dangerous on.

The second half saw us create more good chances at goal, but we were unable to finish.  The White team (having pushed another forward up top) was able to pressure us more in our attacking half, but I don't think Mudd (our GK) was forced into a save. 

The game ended 1-0 in a hard fought contest.  The White team players have nothing to hang their heads about, and I don't think any of them did (as you might be able to tell from the genuine smiles when posing for a pic after the game. 

The White team knew they were facing a more skilled team, and they knew the 1-0 result was impressive.  If anything, I think some of my girls were a bit down, thinking that they didn't play well due to the none-too-impressive box score.

I think the 5 days of soccer in a row was taxing on their energies, and I don't think I could have expected more from them than they gave. 

State Cup Semifinals vs Wings

There was a good vibe among the players prior to our semifinal match up against the Wings. Many girls had arrived early to the Coon Rapids fields and the chatter and goofiness as we sat around to watch the U14 semifinals was fun to be around. I had the girls head to our field to begin our warm-up about 35 minutes prior to kick off. We started with some athletic movements, then took a break to stretch and cheer on our U14 White team as they headed into PKs vs Eden Prairie on an adjacent field. I wanted to keep the girls focused on the game, but the drama and potential upset brewing on the other field was impossible to battle against. I didn’t see much of the U14 game so I don’t know how the game flowed, but I think most people would agree with me that it would be an upset if our White team won.

As it happens, Ripper’s sister Chelsea (GK for our U14 team) made a key save (with us cheering her on in support) and the White team won the shootout to advance to the finals against our Blue team.

It was a great result for the White team and for the club as a whole to have a Bangu vs Bangu match up in Minnesota’s biggest soccer competition. The goal was now to mimic the same match up at the U13 age group. Our U13 White team would need to get past a very much improved Green team in one semi, and we’d have to get past the Wings.

It was really neat to see three of our club teams in the semifinals.  All three teams had played well to get where they were, and the draw had also been favorable as none of the teams had to face each other in pool play.  I expected our Blue and White teams to make it this far, I did not expect it of our Green coming, having to battle their way through a group with Cottage Grove, EP, and Blaine.  The Green team has worked very hard these past 10 months and deserve to be where they are at.

To be honest, I wasn’t too worried about getting a result today. This is taking nothing away from the Wings coach, his players, nor from the Wings club as a whole. I had seen the team play a few games already this tournament, and I just didn’t think they had the technique nor the athleticism to put up much of a fight. Is this egotistical? I don’t think so… just an opinion based on what I’ve see and what I think I know about the game. If I was proved wrong, so be it.

We came out and got on the score board in the 2^nd minute. Lily’s (CM) persistence and hard work saw her block a Wings defender’s clearance at the top of their box. She followed the ball as it ricocheted towards the endline to the left of the goal (as we faced it), kept the ball in play with some great skill, and hit a tough angle shot at goal. The Wings GK got a hand to it, but the ball snuck in the near post. Nice start.

We controlled most of the half, but were unable to break through for another 20 minutes. The girls doubled their lead in the 22^nd minute as Jilly (RF) served in a dangerous cross of a corner kick. The ball was deflected out to the top of the 6 yard box by the GK in traffic, and Blondie (LF) pounced on the loose ball and slid the ball into the net.

Five minutes later, Millie (LF) received a ball in the left corner of the field, danced along the endline towards goal at an acute angle, and pulled a ball back to Brownie (CM) who finished first time.

Our final goal of the half came at the 31^st minute as Maddie (LD) found Millie (LF) with a terrific 30-yard pass to feet. Millie turned, beat the last Wing’s defender 1v1, and finessed the ball past the Wings GK.

At halftime, we talked about increasing our challenge in the game by going to 3-touch in the attacking half (except on breakaways) and looking to keep the ball on the ground (no long balls) except off crosses. I mentioned to the girls that even though the game was pretty well in hand, they should not let up defensively and take pride in the fact that we’ve been able to keep clean sheets in every game thus far.

The second half was pretty much like the first, seeing us with the great majority of possession and attack. It was more difficult for us in the attacking half with the touch restriction, but that was the idea. We created a handful more chances, finally finishing our 5^th goal one minute from time with Scratch hitting a left foot shot off the near post on a breakaway.

Our White team got by our Green team 1-0 in the other semifinal, so the anticipated Blue vs White match up was set.

State Cup Game #3 vs TC Fire

Another beautiful night for soccer.

I arrived up in Coon Rapids around 5:30PM to watch the Group A third round pool games, NSSA vs Wings and MapleBrook vs St Croix.  Wings led the group with 4 points, NSSA and MapleBrook each had 3.  If Wings won, they'd advance to the semifinals against us on Saturday.  If NSSA won and MapleBrook lost, NSSA would advance as group champion.  If Wings and NSSA tied and MapleBrook won, MapleBrook would advance.  Got it?

So, with three out of the four possible teams a possible opponent for us tomorrow, I perched up on the electrical box between the fields to try and scout out 3 teams.  Not really that easy, but it helped that I'd been able to watch them all over the last few weeks as most of the Group A games were played at earlier times to the other U13 games.  All I could hope for were some early goals to help narrow down exactly who I was watching.  Surprisingly, St Croix scored two on MapleBrook to kick them out of the hunt.  The Wings NSSA game was decent.  Both teams tried to knock the ball around a bit, and bother teams missed some clear chances at goal.  Both teams appeared to be slow in the back, and I didn't see anyone who I thought could match our speed up top. 

Wings looked to be playing a 4-5-1, content that a tie would send them through to the next round.

Wings played a flat back four while NSSA played with what looked liked a sweeper/stopper or at times 3 in the back with a defensive central midfielder.  NSSA also pulled an offisdes trap and I was looking forward to breaking that... often. 

I had seen a number of chances squandered by each side, with NSSA missing a PK on a dubious shoulder to shoulder foul in the box, then proceeding to miss a 1v1 breakaway on the GK a minute later. 

Wouldn't you know it, at around the 60 minute mark I took my eyes off the game to chat with Dom and Clint (the Wayzata coaches) and boom, the sidelines erupted with cheers behind me. Wings scored to go up 1-0, against the run of play I thought, and held on from there to set up the Wings/Bangu matchup tomorrow afternoon. 

I went over to gather up my girls who were watching the U13 Bangu boys play, and we headed over to our field to get ready for the TC Fire game.

Right before we took the field to warm up, I sat the girls down for a little chat.  I apologized to them for letting my frustration show last night during the end of the Coon Rapids game, and talked to them about why I didn't challenge the ref's decision regarding our apparent goal.  I told them that at that particular point in the game, I thought the ref went over to the AR and she called the ball out (I would later find out that the AR claimed not to have told the ref anything as she could not tell exactly what happened).  Ripper and some other girls who were on the field then informed me that I wasn't right about the AR and that the ref asked the Coon Rapids girls if the ball was out.  Wow.  Regardless, it's behind us and we now needed to focus on this weekend. 

I also told them that I take the blame for making a decision to push a defender up without giving her clear instruction, and used this example to remind the girls about the importance of communication.   

Lastly, I told the girls that I'm very proud of their efforts and their competitiveness.  They've worked very, very hard this past 10 months and they should all be looking forward to a fun and exciting summer.

In an additional effort to put the negativity of last night behind us, and also knowing that we had already advanced into the semis tomorrow, I ran through a couple fun warm-up exercises with the girls before the game: 8v8 Walking Soccer and 4v4 Linked Soccer (see Training - April 28).  Check that, I haven't updated that session yet.  Basically, for 8v8 Walking Soccer, I set up a 60x44 yard field (extend the lines of the penalty box to midfield) and add a cone goal at midfield.  Girls play 8v8 but cannot run.  The idea I'm trying to get across here is that the mind is quicker than the body will ever be.  Moreover, it's a ton of fun for the girls.

4v4 Linked Soccer uses the same field set up, but now the girls hold hands with a teammate, making 4 groups of 2 on each team.  The groups can run.  Another very fun exercise. 

Knowing that we faced a less skilled opponent tonight, I was able to prep the girls prior to the game what changes/restrictions we would impose once we got up by 3 goals.  My instructions to them were to play "normally" and look to put the game away early.  If we hit three goals, immediate restrictions would be 1) 2-touch in the attacking half of the field except if on a breakaway, 2) no beating a player 1v1 anywhere on the field, and 3) no passes in the air except on corners. 

I told the girls if the broke the rules I'd sub them out, and I didn't care if they were only on the field for 30 seconds. 

To TC Fire's credit, their girls battled hard all game against a team they knew was much better than them. 

In the 9th minute Ripper (LF) received the ball near the top of the Fire's penalty box.  She dribbled into the area, cut back on a Fire defender, and was fouled.  The girls looked at me for direction on who would take the kick, and I told them that they could sort it out.  Jilly (RM) stepped up and buried a low, hard shot into the bottom left (as she was facing it) corner of the net.  As one of our more quite and unassuming players, she works hard and has come a long way since joining us last fall.  She has undoubtedly been our most consistent PK taker in the last week when we've been focusing on the spot kicks, and I was proud of her when she stepped up to take it.

Two minutes later, Millie (CM) beat a few Fire defenders on the right flank and played a square pass into the box.  Maddie (LF) had made a cutting run into the box and finished with a low, right-footed (her weak foot) shot past a diving Fire GK. 

We scored our third goal at the 30 minute mark as Soph (CM) hit a left foot bomb from 30 yards out.

In the second half, with the restrictions in place, the girls played very well.  The new #3 restriction of no aerial passes was genius.  Not only did it severely blunt our strong over-the-top attack, but it forced the girls to look for passes to feet instead of long through balls, and passes to feet instead of long clearances from the back.  Couple this with the two touch restriction in the attacking half, and the girls were forced to work harder to generate positive attacks even though the game was already in hand.

Andy, the Fire coach who also coaches our U12 Academy group, made a change in the second half as his defenders now looked to step up quickly and compact the field in a semi-offsides trap mentality.  It worked as within the first 5 minutes of the half, Millie (LF) was caught offsides 6 or 7 times. 

In the 44th minute, we scored our best goal of the night with sweet 1 and 2 touch combination passing between Maddie (CM), Becs (LF), and Jilly (RF) that saw Maddie finish with a rocket.  I tired to illustrate it below, but it doesn't do the goal justice. 

In the 51st minute, Jilly (RF) played a slot ball across to Millie (LF) at the far post.  Millie's first touch was too close to her feet, her second touch set up her shot (which she curled in the lower right corner)... and I subbed her off for taking 3 touches.

In the 64th minute, Jilly (RF) capped off a great game with a fantastic far post, side netting shot off a nice slot ball from Blondie.

Our final tally came in the 66th, when Hannah (LF) played a ball back to Ripper (CM) on the left side of the goal.  Ripper took one touch inside the field and hit a good shot from about 18 yards away.

After the game, I asked the girls if they understood why the restrictions were in place.  They did.  The idea was to continually find ways to keep them challenged on the field against weaker competition.  The first 15 minutes, girls were coming off the field saying the game was boring.  When asked if the enjoyed the second half better, it was an overwhelming "Yes!".  That's what it's all about.

* * * * *

Our White team was also already through to the semis, and they beat Lakeville 2-0.  Our Green team beat Cottage Grove 1-0 and Blaine was beat 2-1 by EP, so our Green team advanced to the semis to face our White team tomorrow. 

State Cup Game #2 vs Dakota Rev

Taking nothing away from Dakota Rev, I didn't expect them to be able to put up much of a fight against us on Saturday evening.  I saw them play this winter a couple times and we just have too much all around athleticism and skill for them to be able to handle for 70 minutes.  This isn't saying that any team out there can't score on us or that we are guaranteed to step on the field and get a result in all our games, but IMO we would have to do something very wrong to drop either of our two remaining group games.

We came out in the 4-4-2 that we have been playing so well as of late.  My thought, right or wrong, was that if we could get up early in the match we would make the rest of the game easy for us.  Why?  Well, we saw the Rev girls two summers ago in league/tournament play a number of times.  Most games were relatively lopsided affairs and I felt that our group intimidated the Rev girls a bit.  If we could finish early, we could basically affirm the feeling of "we're up against a WAY better team" that I thought ran through a number of the Rev girls' heads.  They might then back down a bit and not have as much fight in them.  However, the longer the game would go on at 0-0 or even 1-0 us, the more the Rev girls would feel like "hey, we can play with these guys!"  I didn't really want it to get to that point as we would then be in a battle in which anything could happen.

I ended up playing Millie and Ripper up top to start, mainly for the fact that these two had been the main goal scorers against Dakota Rev for us in the past and they were known (and maybe feared).

By the way, in case anyone has failed to notice, I live in my own little world.  I hope people understand that I don't think my thoughts are gosple, just giving insight (right or wrong) as to why I'm doing what sometimes.

We got off to a flying start in the 2nd minute when Ripper (RF) tore down the sidelines and crossed in a ball, looking for Mille (LF) at the far post.  Millie made a play on the ball but the cross rebounded off a Dakota Rev defender and into their net.

Two minutes later, Ripper played a nifty little through ball to Getch (RM) who had made a blind side run.  Getch's early cross found Millie again at the far post, and Millie slotted a low shot past the Rev GK to put us up 2-0.

I made substitutions at around the 10 minute mark, and the new attacking crew had an immediate impact as in the 11th minute Sting (RF) received a pass at the top of the Rev penalty box and hammered a shot into the upper left part of the goal.

In the 20th minute Ripper got on the scoreboard herself with a long range effort from about 30 yards out that must have taken a weird bounce in front of the Rev GK and trickled past her into the net. 

Our 5th goal of the half came from a hard, low shot, again from the top of the box by Macky (CM).

At halftime, I talked to the girls about looking to keep possession of the ball, not always look to play in one direction (up the field) at one pace, but to look to change fields and change the rhythm of their play a bit.  In an effort to blunt our attack while also challenging the girls to play quicker/smarter soccer, I mandated a 3-touch or less restriction on our players in the attacking half of the field.  They had unlimited touches in our defending half, but needed to look for other alternatives to beat players in the attacking half of the field rather than by sheer speed and athleticism.  I did tell them that if they combined and went on a breakaway, they could use more touches and try to finish.

I will never tell my girls to stop playing the game, to not try and score goals (see Handling Blowouts).  I think passing around for the sake of passing around, or having players on a breakaway turn back from a clear goal scoring opportunity is more of a slap in the face to opposing players and coaches than scoring 7, 8, or 9  goals in a game through good soccer.  I saw an older team yesterday simply try and play possession soccer in their own half for much of the game without even a thought of going forward to goal.  No one is going to tell me that this is 1) enjoyable for their players (the team in possession), and 2) honoring the game and the other team.  Don't get me wrong, I understand the thought here, but I just don't believe losing opponents would rather chase a ball around a half field for 45 minutes rather than having additional goals scored on them through creative and exciting soccer.  I know which I'd prefer if I was on the losing end.  This is about respecting our opponents and respecting the game. 

As a side note, State Cup is the Minnesota's highest level soccer event.  Teams need to understand that the goal here is to try and find the absolute best team to represent our state at Regionals.  If you enter this competition, you need to be prepared to face the best and prepared to deal with potential lopsided games.

However, no matter what some people may think of me, I am conscious of opposing teams' soccer experiences.  I know the Dakota Rev coaches and have a lot of respect for both of them.  I also know that they will do/have done a good job of selling the State Cup experience to their team, stressing that their girls will get better by playing against better competition.  They will highlight some of our strong play and their girls will benefit in the long run having direct experience with the ideas their coaches are trying to get across.

The restriction definitely had an effect on our attacking play and it was interesting to watch the girls struggle to adapt to the more forced style of play.  We still generated some dangerous attacks are were rewarded for our efforts on a 41st minute corner kick.  I had spoken to the girls after our Premier league game against Eden Prairie last Thursday about looking to try and drive in our corner kicks rather than simply put them up high in the air and float them in.  Nash took this advice to heart as she served in a well hit ball that Maddog rocketed into the back of the net off her head from about 8 yards out. 

Two minutes later, an almost mirror image of the goal was repeated from the opposite corner, with Nash once again driving in a laser that Maddog again got on the end of with her head.  It was amazing.  These were also not just simply headers that found Maddog standing in the right place at the right time.  Maddog hit both these goals on the dead run, attacking both services aggressively finishing with powerful headers back in the direction the balls were served from. 

We got our 8th tally in the 55th minute as Scratch tore up the right side on a breakaway and hit a low, hard shot into the far post that the GK did well to get to, but couldn't fully stop the powerful shot.  Hannah was following up the play and scored on an easy tap in.

Out final goal came off a beautiful give and go combination between Mille and Getch at the top, left-hand side of the Dakota Rev penalty box.  Getch found Bidi in the center of the area with a little square pass, and Bidi finished well with a solid strike.

The team played very well and the girls looked sharp.  Our next game vs TC Fire will likely see a similar outcome as Dakota Rev beat TC Fire 3-0 in the first group game.

With this win (and Wayzata's 4-0 win over TC Fire) we have won our group (Group C).  Our White team has also guaranteed a place in the semis by beating Centennial 4-0 in their second game.  Our Green team pulled off what many will call a mild upset, beating Eden Prairie 2-1.  Our Green team has come a long way and now also has a chance at a semifinal place if they can beat Blaine next Friday.  I think I initially picked Cottage Grove or EP to win this group.  So much for what I know.

In Group A, NSSA fell to Maplebrook 1-0.  Wings tied St Croix 0-0, so the group will be decided next Friday when Wings meet NSSA (assuming Maplebrook will get a victory against St Croix).  We will face the winner of this group in the semifinals on Saturday, and we've lucked out that their games have all been played at different times than the rest of the U13 group so I've been able to watch many of them.

* * * * *

This will be a busy week for us.  Training tonight at Holy Angels and Wednesday at Macalester College, game in Woodbury vs Coon Rapids on Thursday (we'll be missing Bidi and Jilly for this one), game vs TC Fire on Friday, semis on Saturday, and hopefully a long awaited State Cup final on Sunday.