4/11 Scrimmage vs U15 White

After much work to secure a field we we able to play the 15 Whites this afternoon on the Park High Turf.  This is a huge field so I figured that the 15's would have a huge advantage with their size, speed, and ability to swing the ball from one side of the field to the other.  Going into the game I did not think we would do as well as we had done on Monday against them due to the factors I just mentioned, plus I figured the 15's would have a little extra motivation after the game on Monday.  

We were without Jazzy and Carly today, but had Millie with us.

I was on the field coaching so I don't have any notes from this game so I'm just going to give my abbreviated thoughts about the game.

The 15's controlled the game with their passing and we we struggled to complete passes against them and maintain possession.  However, we had the most dangerous chances of the game through our counter attack.

Gaffer and Jody had break aways in the first half that the 15's goalie made great saves on.  Blitz almost had another break away save for another brave play from their goalie sliding out to the ball right before she arrived, she would have scored.  Kenzie also had a break away from the top of the 18 but her run let her down and her first touch went too far outside.  This was a great teaching moment to show her that if she had started her run just a little wider she would have made her first touch a lot easier because she would have been attacking the goal instead of running straight and trying to receive the ball across her body.

The 15's had 2 free kicks in the first half from dangerous positions but failed to capitalize on the shots.  Besides that, they had a handful of outside shots and crosses but AJ was never really troubled.  

A great thing about this group is that once the ball gets around our 18 yard box we really tighten up and give up very few chances.  This resiliency, and solid goal keeping, allows us to compete against older teams who have the run of play.

The times that we we did have possession of the ball in their half we continued to work on our defenders not allowing their forwards to turn when they received the ball.  It was a huge theme for them today and it continued to improve through the game.

At half time we discussed the importance of our defenders not allowing their forwards to turn and the fact that we needed to keep the ball when we won possession.

We had the wind the second half and the opening 10 minutes of the half we had the control of the game from a possession stand point.  The pressure led to a corner 10 minutes in.  Blitz played in the corner to the top of the 6 on the far side of the goal.  The ball was knocked down and we took a shot that their goalie made another incredible save on the goal line.  The ball squirted out to the top of the 6 where Blitz had charged into and she powered the ball into the back of the net.

After the goal the 15's really took control of the game as our midfield really struggled to win the ball and keep possession when we did win it.  The 15's continued to hit long shots that AJ dealt with but when they began to get to the end line and became more dangerous.  20 minutes in they were able to play the ball to the end line, beat our defender and deliver a cross inside the 6 for a one time finish.

Instead of letting down after getting scored on, the girls were upset with each other for letting it happen.  Then AJ made a joke, we all laughed and began to go about trying to regain the lead.  

The 15's still had a majority of the control in our half, but we were dangerous on the counter and we had another 3 counter attacks that produced really good chances but we just missed on the final pass or our final touch.

The game ended tied 1-1 so we went to a shoot-out.

Sizzle stepped up and made our first shot and they missed over the bar 1-0
Becks made the second and they scored 2-1
Gaffer hit the outside of the post and they scored to tie it 2-2
Bella scored our 4th shot and they matched it 3-3
LK was money on the 5th shot and again they matched it 4-4
Extra Shooters!
Kenzie placed her shot into the corner and so did they 5-5
Jordy hit hers into the upper corner and they scored again 6-6
Lydia hit hers off the inside of the post to score our 7th goal

I was down by the pk spot blowing the whistle for each kick and as their 8th shooter was walking up to shoot I told Kari that she would be our next shooter.  AJ informed me that she wouldn't need to shoot because she was going to save this shot.  I love her confidence.  Their shooter just missed wide and AJ said "I told you that Kari wouldn't need to shoot!"

Final thoughts
The 15's might be the best group for us to play.  (Along with our 14's) They make us work really hard defensively and put us under immense pressure when we have the ball so we struggle to keep possession.  They are more athletic than us in tight spaces so we have to think ahead.  

They controlled the entire game, but we did not give up many dangerous chances.  

The game was pretty physical and neither team backed down from a challenge.

Our counter attack was super effective and we created 6 high quality scoring chances from it.  We do a really good job of committing numbers forward when we get the chance.

We scored on another corner.  It is a good trend to see.

We love shootouts.