NSC Cup Bangu Rev Day 2

Game #3 vs Dakota Gold
Our first game today was against Dakota Gold.  This is a team that we might see at Regionals so I was very interested to see them this weekend.

We were going against the wind in the first half but we were moving the ball better today as the girls were becoming used to playing with each other.  There were some times when we played very good.

The only real issue with the first half was the reffing.  They had assigned a very young girl to be our center and it was obvious that she was in over her head.  The game was not that difficult but every time, I mean every single time, she blew the whistle she pointed that it was Dakota Gold's free kick.  This happened a couple of times when we had the ball, got fouled, nothing bad but a foul, the Dakota Gold girls would set up for the free kick against them as we were setting up to take the kick and she would point the other way. 

At half time Nels talked with the girls and I went and talked to the ref saying that I would talk to our parents about not saying anything when she blew the whistle and I let her know that she had pointed the wrong way on a couple of calls.  No big deal, just try to call it even.  I then went over and talked to our parents about just letting all the calls go.  No reason to get upset.  We know things are not going our way but yelling about it will only make you not enjoy the game as much.

We had the wind in the second half and continued to play some really good soccer.  10 minutes in we won a corner and Ricky put in a great ball just in front of the goal that Gaffer challenged their keeper for and the ball ended up in the back of the net.  It is exactly the type of corner that we want to create confusion in front of the other teams' goal.

We had some more chances during the game but were unable to convert anything.  The 1-0 win meant that we would advance out of our group and we would play Rochester in the afternoon.

MVP's
Ricky for her play at Center Defense and good free kicks
AJ for her play in goal
Kaity, Dakota Rev, for her play at defense

Quarter Final vs Rochester
I have never seen this Rochester team but they are coached by a guy who played club ball with Mark and from what I heard they were going to be pretty decent.  It turned out that they had a couple of very nice players including #9 who was a danger player in the midfield for them.  If we won this game we would get to play the U13's again tomorrow in the Semi Final which would be the kind of game we need to prep for Regionals.

We finally had no wind for the first time all spring and we started off the game playing our best soccer of the weekend.  We were really moving the ball well and it was fun to watch.  As we continued to play well though, we started to relax a little too much when the ball was around our box and it caught up to us 15 minutes in when a ball was bouncing around at the top of our box and we did not go to the ball with any real urgency.  When we got there we took a lazy touch that went right to a Rochester girl who hammered the ball into the side netting.  A great shot by her.  A good reminder for us that we need to keep moving quickly when the ball is around our box.

Despite a number of decent chances we didn't get on the board until Jordy dribbled through 4 players, went in on a break away and had a large portion of the net to shoot at.  But instead of placing the ball she went for power and luckily for us she connected on the shot and it went right through the goalies legs and into the net. 

Not a whole lot to say at half time.  The girls were playing well.  The only point we made was to keep the ball moving quickly when it is around our box.  It was a silly goal for us to give away since we were in possession of the ball.

The second half saw more good attacking play from us and we were really starting to find our outside defenders.  10 minutes into the half we had the ball down in the corner and played the ball to Bella who was just inside the top of the box.  As she received the ball she faked a shot with her right foot, beating her defender, and then placed the ball low into the near post with her left foot for the game winning goal.

It was a fun game this afternoon and we all were looking forward to seeing the U13's again tomorrow morning in the semi final.

Two days down, no injuries and we played some pretty good soccer today.  Great weekend so far:)

MVP's
Bella for her hard work and goal
Jordy for her goal and dribbling
LK for her play at Center Defense