Regiona II Championships - Monday, June 25

In my nearly three years with this team, I have never looked forward to a game as much as I did for this morning's match up.  Chicago Magic would obviously prove tough competitors, a fact that we’ve witnessed three times in the last two years.

Our first meeting was in the Fall Best of the Midwest Tournament (Chicago, IL) in the fall of 2005.  We lost 1-0 on a set piece, a direct free kick from about 30 yards out that sailed over our GK’s outstretched arms.  We were U12s playing our first games on the 11v11 field.  I left the game thinking that they were good, but we were not far off.

Our second meeting was last fall in the Eclipse Select Invitational (Libertyville, IL).  We met them in our opening group game and tied 0-0.  I overheard their coach commenting about how much we had improved since our first meeting and I felt that we deserved a better result than the tie that day.

Our third match up against this team came earlier this year here in Des Moines at the West Des Moines Premier games.  We met in the championship game and after battling back from a 2 goal deficit to tie the game in the second half, we gave up two more goals late to finish as runner’s up in the event.  I again left the field thinking we were the better team.  Magic has a superb front runner with a ton of pace and skill to match.  The team is athletic and looks to knock the ball around at times, but not only do I think that our top 11 players (if named) would have an edge over their top 11, but our overall team strength and roster depth was something that they could not match.

Prior to this event, I had a hunch that our group would be decided on Monday morning in our match up.  I know we can beat this team and I believe the girls know as well.  There would be no better time to finally walk the walk than today.

* * * * *

The girls were excited as they arrived at the field.  It was a beautiful morning and I was glad to draw the early slot to beat the sure to be 90 degree heat later in the day.  My thought was to get the girls relaxed with a bit of the always fun and popular Walking Soccer and Link Soccer in the first part of the warm up, then move to crossing and finishing and 4v2 to try and simulate the competitive match environment.

Our warm up was sharp, the girls were ready to go, and there was a very positive vibe in the air.

We came out on absolute fire.  It was a bit of a tense start for both teams but we settled into the match quickly. Many people had told me that the #8 for the Magic was their go to player.  Negate her and we’d be fine.  However, it was #13 who had torn us apart in the last game, and her speed today was tough for our defenders to get used to.  I made a tactical change early and put Becs, our fastest player, out on the right flank to try and hinder the Magic attack through their #13.  Between Becs (RD) and Scratch (CD), two of our fastest and  most athletic players, we were able to somewhat contain the talented Magic forward.

I made substitutions at around the 10 minute mark.  I was a little worried about disrupting our flow, and the game definitely began to shift in Chicago’s favor for the next few minutes.  This had nothing to do with the talent level of the players entering the game.  More so, it was due to… well, due to a disruption of our flow.  I don’t really know how to explain it, but it would have likely happened no matter who I started and who came in at that time.

I’m sure many out there might question subbing at this point at all, and I saw the Magic coaches take a double take as 6 girls got off the bench to enter the game.  However, after serious consideration about severely limiting playing time for some of the group, I made the decision for today that we’ve gotten to this point as a team and will win or lose as a team.  Again, as I mentioned above, IMO our overall team strength and depth gave us an edge on the Magic.  Sure, I might play other girls in the second half more than others, but it has more to do with who is playing well rather than a set starting 11.

It was a back and forth battle for the rest of the half, but I think all who watched would have given us the edge.  We were creative and dangerous on the attack and solid in the back.  I was proud of the girls for their efforts, though we could not find a way to break through.  0-0 at half.

At the break, our main conversation was about handling their #13.  The angle of approach our defenders were taking when closing her down was allowing her to skip by our defenders with quick touches.  I demonstrated a more effective bent angle of approach and reminded then that their primary duty is to DELAY a girl like this as other teammates look to recover and get numbers behind the ball or to double team.  If defenders who close down #13 dive in and get beat, she is off to the races and we are toast.  We wanted to take pride in our individual and team defending, realizing that if we shut the Magic out we would advance. 

The second half was more of an even battle.  The Magic stepped up their game and pressed the attack.  They started knocking the ball around a bit more and had us scrambling in front of goal off two set pieces during the half.

The Magic’s best chance came with about 10 minutes to go.  They were awarded a corner kick that was served in low and hard, and we deflected it out for another corner.  I yelled out to Sting (LF) (who was about 35 yards out during the first corner kick) to go and stand 10 yards in front of the kick taker in an effort to take away the low driven ball.  The Magic coach then yelled out to the defender that was marking Sting to go to the top of the box.  The corner came in, we half cleared it out to… yep, you guessed it... the top of the box, and the defender hammered the ball high off the right post. That was a real fun moment for me.  Not.  I yelled down to the Magic coach something like “Well, I guess I shouldn’t have said anything!”.  He didn’t laugh.  I didn't really much either.

Looking back at things now, I might have made a mistake by not making a tactical shift to defend.  We only needed a tie to advance, so I could have pulled a forward and moved to a 4-5-1.  However, we were defending well as a team and my thought was that any formation shift would add to the girls’ tension on the field and lead to a panicked final half of the half.  Moreover, we were attacking and creating chances.  One goal and we'd likely put this team away.

Three minutes from time, as Magic were pressing forward for the winner, we cleared our zone and found Jilly (RF) at midfield for the counter.  She played the ball semi-square to Bidi (RM) who received the ball about 40 yards out from goal, on the right side of the field close to our bench.  I yelled out encouragement for Bidi to be confident and take her on, and this time (unlike yesterday to set up the goal against Javanon), she obliged.  Bidi has a great stop and go move that defenders have a hard time dealing with, even if they know its coming.  This was evident here as Bidi used the move three times in a row over the 20 to 25 yards. Her last move gave her a yard on the marking defender and Bidi served in a fantastic 30 yard service to the far post.  Maddie (LM) had followed up the play and came running in to head the ball home.  Goose bumps again, just from typing it!  Unbelievable goal.

The game ended without incident and we move on to the semis tomorrow.  Blue Valley Stars Ratpack (KS) won their group by defeating the CSA Fusion (NE) 1-0, so we will face them tomorrow at 8:00AM.  Michigan Hawks (MI) and Internationals (OH) qualified by winning their respective pools, so the final four teams are set.

We’ve seen the Ratpack 3 times.  They’ve beaten us twice and we beat them in PKs once – all on the 8v8 field.  They have a number of skilled players and will be a tough opponent.  As one of the premier clubs in the KC area, I know they’ve likely bolstered their roster since then.  I know we now field a far stronger team than we did when we faced them in the past and I know our girls are ready to give it their all.  I just have a feeling that we will see the Hawks in the finals on Wednesday.  I could be wrong of course, but you never know.

As I mentioned to the girls after the game, everything from here on out is gravy.  We achieved one of our stretch goals, to advance out of group play at Regionals, and the girls have a lot to be proud of.  I’m not saying we’re coming out to lose or tie the game tomorrow.  Far from it.  I want the team to play on Wednesday morning in the finals.  However, win or lose, they have given a memorable account of themselves on this stage.

Hope I'm updating this site from an Iowa Starbucks tomorrow.