Nike Classic Cup Finals

I was very excited to have both teams make it to the finals of the tournament and felt that it was a testament to the talent and hard work of the entire age group to be able to accomplish this feat.  The Whites were going to have a rematch against Carole Stream and the Blues would be playing a Grove Utd (#35 RII) team that was comprised of girls coming together from different teams in Illinois and Missouri. 

The only issue with having both teams make it to the finals was that both of the finals were at the same time.  I had talked with the tournament directors last night and after both teams advanced to see if there was any way that we could switch one of the times but there was nothing they could do.  Luckily Phil was going to be able to help out and coach the White team and the games were going to be played on fields that were side by side.

The fields were set up in a way that the team benches were on opposite sides of the field from each other.  I had talked with the tournament director and he said that there would be no issue for us to have the teams on the same side of the field so I could work with both groups during the final as long as the other coach agreed to it.

I didn’t think this would be an issue as I approached the Carole Stream coach and told him our predicament of having two teams in the finals at the same time.  Their coach took a second, looked up to the sky and said 

CS Coach: Umm yeah, I don’t think we are going to be able to switch sides.
Me: Really?  Why?  What is the difference between this side and that side?  You can have the benches on the other side of the field.
CS Coach: Umm I forgot my sunglasses and I don’t want to look into the sun all game.
Me:  You wont be facing the sun.  The sun is behind the goal.
CS Coach: Nah, I don’t want to look into the sun.
Me:  You can have my sunglasses.
CS Coach:  My assistant forgot his and would need a pair as well.
Me:  That is your excuse?  
CS Coach:  Yep

I left the conversation dumbfounded and angry thinking what a jerk this guy was.

I hadn’t liked this guy the first time we had played them and now I was really mad at him.  I was super upset that I wouldn’t be able to coach both teams during the game because of this.

I went over and talked with the girls on the White team.  Phil had been on our bench during the last game and I explained a bunch of the things that I was looking for to him during that game and I had already given him the line up and possible substitutions.

The Whites started the game at a disadvantage with only having an hour and fifteen minutes between their final group game and this game.  While, on the other hand, Carole Stream was fresh after not having played yet today, finishing their round robin games on Friday and Saturday.  

While the Blues waited for their referees the Whites game started started about 10 minutes before we got going.  Carole Stream got off to an early start scoring in the 4th minute and controlled the early portion of the game with their energy.  

Darn.  That was not the start that I was hoping.  I hoped the girls would be able to shake it off.

Thanks to solid goal keeping from Erika, the girls were able to shake off the slow start.  Ten minutes in, the girls found their legs and began to carry the play.  Sarah scored off of an LP corner to tie the game and all the girls on the Blues bench cheered wildly for them.  

While not ideal it was going to be fun having both games going on at the same time and both teams cheering for each other.

Just before half time Mack put the us ahead on a PK and more cheers erupted from the Blues bench.

The first half of the Blues game was exciting as well.  Two minutes into the game Gaffer flicked on a long ball to Kari that went into the Grove Utd box.  I thought that she had no chance to get to the ball, but she sprinted after it.  Their goalie hesitated coming out as Kari closed in, but at the last second, their goalie went all out for the ball and dove to collect the ball right before Kari got a touch.  The girls crashed very hard into each other and Kari was shaken up and had to be helped off the field.  Despite bruised ribs she would go back into the game and play very well.  

While we were playing well, our midfielders were struggling to hold onto the ball in the first half because every time they received a pass they would try to turn up field with it. Just like in the game against LF Utd, we needed to learn that if we were not already turned up field to lay the ball off to someone who was.  Both teams had a couple of chances in the first half but there were no goals.

At half time I talked to the girls about not turning into pressure.  I knew that if our mids could do a better job of keeping the ball, that eventually we would break through.

At half time our ref also told us that if the game remained tied after regulation we would go straight to a shoot out.  This information was nice to hear because in the second half of the White team’s game, Carole Stream tied up the game.

As soon as I heard this happen I wrote down the order that I wanted the shooters on the White team to go in and had it sent over to Phil.

As my messenger was on his way over, with 10 minutes left in their game, Hannah scored the game winner off of a through ball from Mack.  Huge cheers erupted from our bench as we watched the girls celebrate.  Sprout was able to add an insurance goal with 5 minutes left after she stole the ball, nut megged a defender and beat the keeper.

When the final whistle blew the Whites ran out and celebrated their 4-2 triumph.  They then shook hands and rushed over to our sideline.  We still had about 15 minutes left and the score was tied 0-0.  Our mids were doing a much better job in the second half of keeping the ball and we were really starting to tire Grove Utd out.

Before the game Bella had asked me if she would get to move up and play somewhere else besides center defense in this game.  I had told her I would get her up for some of the game but I couldn’t promise how much time I would be able to give her since her and Lydia were working so well together in the center of our defense.  

At the 10 minute mark of the second half I switched Jazzy into center defense and moved Bella up to attacking mid.  Bella did a great job in the midfield winning balls, making passes, and beating players 1v1.  I always tell the girls that if they ask to play a certain position they better have some ideas of what they are going to do when they are put where they want and Bella was doing this.

At the 47 minute mark Bella played a great through ball to Sizzle.  Grove Utd’s goalie came out to close down the angle.  Sizzle remained calm and took a touch by the keeper and slotted the ball into the empty net to give us the lead.  We had a loud cheer from all the girls from the White team who had joined us on our side line.

A couple of minutes later we were awarded a free kick by the left side line about 35 yards out from the goal.  With the distance that the ball was from goal, everyone was expecting Lydia to cross the ball in far post.  But instead of crossing the ball, she laced a shot to the upper corner.  It was an incredible strike.  Both powerful and accurate.  

We were able to continue to press the play for the rest of the game and we did not give up any chances as the game wound down.  It was a nice improvement from the Sockers game.  I was really happy that both groups had continued to attack after they gained the lead with under ten minutes left.  It is the attitude that I want all our teams to have.  

When the final whistle blew all the girls cheered from both teams and we went up to the pavilion for the awards ceremony.

As with everything else with this tournament, the awards ceremony is well done.  They have music and announce the teams over the loud speakers so everyone in the complex can hear.  The announcer asked if he had deja vu after the Blue team’s presentation when he read that another MTA team had also won in the same age group.

It was a great way to wrap up an memorable fall season with the girls.

Nike Classic Cup Round 3

U13 Blue vs Darrien Dynamo

We knew that we had to win this game by a score of 5-0 to advance to the finals.  It was a little bit of pressure to know that we couldn’t give up a single goal and needed to score at least 5 to advance, but we knew that if we stayed focused during the entire game that we should not have any problems achieving this score.

The game started out well when Becks scored 1 minute into the game of of a shot from outside the box that took a funny hop before the ball reached the goalie and ended up in the back of the net.  Three minutes later we scored again when Bella (LD) made some good moves to get down the sideline and passed the ball to Carly (LF).  Carly flicked the ball onto Sizzle (LF) on the far side of the goal and she tapped the ball into the empty net.  It was a nice team goal.

The girls were very confident after scoring twice in the first 4 minutes and that is when our concentration lapsed.  After the kickoff we won the ball and played it back to one of our center defenders.  She was a little too lackadaisical with the ball and she attempted to play a flat square pass to our other center defender just outside our box.  The Darrien forward stole the soft pass and went in on a break away and I think I stopped breathing for a moment.  But, as usual, AJ came up with a huge save to keep the shutout that we needed.  It is great to have a goalie that can win games for us.  All of the girls were immediately reminded of what happened to Eclipse last year and how momentary lapses of concentration can ruin a lot of hard work.

13 minutes in Carly won a PK when she was taken down in the box and Becks converted her second PK of the weekend.  At the 30 minute mark Kari set up Jordy for us to take a 4-0 lead into the half time break.

At half time we talked about the need to stay focussed and to keep moving the ball around quickly in the back.  Darrien was only able to get into our half when our defenders made a poor pass due to either a lack of technique on their part or a lack of movement by our forwards and mids to get open.  

We wanted to score the 5th and final goal quickly so we wouldn’t be pressing at the end of the game and open ourselves up to a counter attack and after a couple of good chances we were able to put the game away.  Stokes made a move in the midfield and played the ball to Blitz who beat another defender and set up Kenzi who was streaking down towards the endline.  Kenzi crossed the ball diagonally back and it hit off one of their defenders and went into the net.

Instead of sitting on the lead we continued to press the play and made it our goal to keep the ball in the attacking half.  We were able to get the girls into lots of different positions and the game ended up 5-0 putting us in the final.

U13 White vs Spartan FC

Just like the Blues, the Whites scored in the first minute.  The scoring continued early and often en route to a 9-0 victory.  The girls played really well and had lots of fun.  This result placed the White team into the final.

Nike Classic Cup Round 2

  Blue vs LF Utd #15 RII

This was another game that I was looking forward to since LF was another very good team.  We had played them last spring and beaten them 3-2 in a very close game with an exciting finish.  Details Here  They had one dangerous forward and they played very well as a team.  I knew that they would be hard to break down defensively.  

The entire game was really even.  We had one really good stretch of play that started with Bella (CD) nutmegging one of their players with her pass from the corner of our box to the outside of the field.  You could see her setting up the meg and our U13 boys team was right there on the sideline that the pass went to.  As the pass was completed they started cheering wildly.  We were then able to string together about 8 passes in a row going all over the field.  A minute later we were able to do the same thing.  It was really exciting to see the girls realize how well they can move the ball when they are playing well.

Both teams had a couple of very good chances but both their goalie and AJ came up with a couple of big saves and the game ended tied 0-0.  This result left us in control of our destiny going into the final game.

White vs Windy City Pride 42

The girls were excited to play an 8:30pm game under the lights for their final game of the day.  Right away in the game Windy City showed that they had some skill on the ball and they possessed the ball pretty well against us.  For the first ten minutes they were all over us.  After about ten minutes our mids and defenders really picked things up and began to play really well defensively and the game began to become more of a back and forth battle.  Both teams had a couple of chances in the first half but nothing went in.

At half time we talked about the same things that we had gone over at half time of the first game.  We really needed to win the 50/50 balls and then use our skill to keep possession of the ball.  

The second half started and it was like we were a completely different team.  We dominated everything and we only let Windy City out of their half a couple of times in the entire half.  Everyone was playing well but we weren't able to put anything up on the scoreboard.  

With ten minutes left Ricky (CD) played a long ball that bounced just outside of their box.  Hannah rushed onto the ball and as it was bouncing up inside the box, Windy Cities goalie decided late to come charging out.  Hannah got her head to the ball a second before the goalie got her hand their and the keepers follow through completely took Hannah out with a solid punch to the nose.  Unintentional from the goalie, painful for Hannah, and a PK for us.

Sprout stepped up to take the penalty but her shot missed wide.  Still tied 0-0 in a game that we needed to win if we wanted any shot of making it to the championship.  About a minute after the PK I told LP (CD) to go up to forward and we were going to play with 3 defense, 3 mids, and 4 forwards and go for the win.  Our mids and defense had been doing such a great job with winning all the long balls I felt confident that the extra forward would give us that little extra that we needed to score the goal.

Just as LP was moving up Ricky played another ball through to Hannah, this time on the ground, and Hannah took a touch and was able to dribble wide of the goalie, avoiding another punch in the nose, and slot the ball into the empty net.  Nice finish.

The girls were able to keep the pressure on Windy City for the rest of the half and we finished with a 1-0 victory.

After an exciting day at the fields (9am-10pm straight) between all the teams I was ready to get back and have a nice steak at Shula's Steak House in our hotel to celebrate.

Nike Classic Cup: White Game 1 vs Carole Stream

First game of the tournament for the White team happened to be at the other complex which was only 1 mile from the main complex.  Problem was that my U11 game finished just 15 minutes before the start of this game.  So to travel this one mile I would have to immediately grab my stuff after the handshake, rush to the fence behind the fields, pull out my James Bond moves to hop the fence in order to get from the U11 game at the back of the main complex to my get-away car waiting for me on the deserted road behind the complex and rush over to the other fields.  

I had a good driver in Papa Sizzle and he was able to get me to the field just as the girls were doing their cheer and getting ready to take the field.   Luckily Phil, our U11 Boys coach, was able to warm up the girls and he had my starting line up all ready to go as I ran up right as we kicked the ball off.

Our opponents were big and they loved to hammer the ball down the field as soon as they came into contact with it.  We came out and started well and we were able to put together a couple passes at times and we hit the woodwork twice off shots by Sprout and Miller but we were unable to score.  Carole Stream was able to create some chances because we struggled to win the air balls and keep a consistent pressure on them because each time we lost the ball they would hammer the ball back at us.  With about ten minutes left Carole Stream was putting pressure on us and they were able to cross and finish to take the lead 1-0 going into half time.  

I was a little annoyed that they had taken the lead because the entire half I kept hearing their english coach yell over and over how skilled his team was after each time they would boot the ball down the field to no one in particular.  It was like listening to the parent who yells “Great Kick!” every time a kid boots the ball down the field to the other team but put into words that sounded like “Oh what a superbly deft ball!  Incredible skill to drop it in there!”  I couldn’t blame him for any negativity towards his girls so that was good, but I kept thinking that there was a reason why England missed out on the Euros last year.  

At half time we talked about the need to win the air balls and tackles so we could keep the ball in their end.  Along with that we needed to value having possession of the ball since we knew what would happen every time we lost it.

The second half started and we played great.  The midfielders and defenders won every long ball and we did a good job of keeping the ball.  Ten minutes in Hannah finished off a break away to tie the score.  We had a number of other good chances during the rest of the half but we were unable to get the winner and the score finished tied 1-1.

Nike Classic Cup: Blue Game 1 vs Sockers #18 Nation

  Game 1: U13 Blue vs Chicago Sockers CUP #18 Nation 

This was the game that I had been looking forward to the most.  The Sockers won the Illinois State Cup last year and they will have a good chance of winning it again this year so it would be a good test to see where we stood.  Ideally I would have liked to play them for our last round robin game, after we had gotten two games together as a team, but instead we would get to see how good we could be in our very first game.

All of the fields had had field turf installed since last fall when we had been here and that was going to play to our advantage for two main reasons: 1) because we train on turf 2 out of every 3 trainings so we are used to it.  2) We are fast.  I'd put our fastest 10th fastest player up against the fastest players on a majority of teams and be very confident.

The game started out quick for us.  In the third minute we scored the kind of goal that we can score because of our skill and speed.  The ball started in the midfield and LK (CM) played Gaffer (CF) on a diagonal run to the top of the box.  Sizzle (RF) was overlapping Gaffer as she moved closer to the box and Gaffer played her through to the edge of the 6 yard box.  Sizzle then hit a 1 touch cross to Kari (LF) who had made a 50 yard run from the far side in the midfield and Kari hit the ball one touch into the back of the net.  4 passes covering 70 yards in probably less than 8 seconds.

12 minutes after that we scored again when Jazzy (LD) took a quick throw in, deep in the Socker's end that Gaffer ran onto and volleyed first time into the near upper corner.  The quick throw and the first time shot caught the Socker's out of position and quick action by the girls made them pay.

After the goal I subbed in the girls who were on the bench and I had hoped that they would be able to get the 3rd and 4th goals to finish off the game.  Instead what happened was the Socker's picked themselves up and started to use their 3 very dangerous forwards.  2 minutes after the subs went in we got caught diving in on their center forward at the top of our bo, she dribbled by us and finished her shot to bring the score to 2-1.  

Ten minutes after that goal the Socker's scored a controversial goal when they tried to play their left forward through and the linesman put up his flag for offsides.  Jazzy intercepted the pass so the center ref waved his linesman off.  The problem was that as we intercepted the ball, the girl who was offsides tackled Jazzy before she had even taken her second touch.  Clearly no advantage.  The offsides girl then played a quick through ball to their center forward and she finished within two touches.  I brought the ref over and asked him why he waved his assistant off and he didn't really give me an answer.  Oh well, it is the first game of the tournament and we might have him again so I decided not to make a big deal about it.  

Half time came with the score tied 2-2 in a really exciting game.  We talked about how we had scored our first goal with the quick passing over long distance so we could use our speed.  We also talked about how fast both teams were so there was not a lot of time on the ball.  The main thing that I wanted the girls to take out of this tournament offensively, and a key component for the year, is; 

If you are not facing up field pass the ball within 2-3 seconds of receiving it.  If you are facing up field, then you can dribble.  

We kept getting in trouble when we would try to turn our defenders in the midfield area and we would lose it 3 out of every 4 times.  A big part of this is that we are checking back to the ball in a straight line instead of at angles so this will be something that we work on a lot over the winter.

We also talked about making sure we finish the game when we have our chances.  Being up 2-0 we could have ended the game with the 3rd goal.  We need to be hungry to get to the 3 and four goal advantage.  Never settle with being up one or two goals.  Going along with this theme, I challenged the girls saying that if you are a sub you need to make sure our level of play rises when you step on the field.  We went from 2-0 up with all the momentum and close to blowing the game wide open, to tied 2-2 with the Socker's having the momentum.  While you are on the bench you need to study what is happening out on the field and be ready to have a positive impact.

The 2nd half started and we got off to a quick start again.  Kenzie had blazed down the right side into the box and as she cut inside her defender tripped her up.  The ref didn't hesitate as he blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot.  (At that point I was very happy that I hadn't made a big deal about their offsides goal from before.)

Becks stepped up and hit the PK hard and low into the back of the net to give us the lead again.  We were playing well now and had the momentum back.  Ten minutes after that goal Kenzie went down the right side again, beat 2 defenders and laid the ball back to Beck's on top of the box.  Beck's received the ball with a defender rushing at her.  She faked a shot, went by that defender and slotted the ball into the lower left corner to give us a 2 goal lead again.  

At this point I put on our subs for this half (not the same subs as the first half as I mixed things around a little bit at half time) and the subs came on and continued to carry the level of play.  It was good that they had taken to the challenge.  With about ten minutes left the Socker's stepped up their level of play and the game became a back and forth affair with both teams using their speed to create chances.

With 5 minutes left the Socker's won a corner kick and scored off a nice one time finish to bring the score to 4-3.  A minute after that AJ went down after a collision with one of their forwards getting a foot to the braces.  (This was the 5th stoppage of the game for hard tackles/challenges from both teams.  Never good for kids to get injured, but no one from either team was backing down from any of the challenges so minor things happen.  No one was injured for more than a minute.)

We were able to keep them away from our goal for the last couple of minutes and the game finished 4-3 in our favor.

The game was very exciting to watch and I was glad that we were able to come away with the victory today.