Sereno Soccer Classic - Day 3
Sunday, January 18, 2009 at 11:57PM 
Though we didn't play until 1:30PM, I was up and at 'em in the morning to head to the fields to catch the Dallas Solar (TX-N) and Los Angeles FC (CA-S) game. As I had mentioned before, these were the two other teams in the tournament that I would have loved to match up against at some point. A top club in the uber-competitive Dallas youth soccer market, Solar has a rich history of fielding successful teams. LAFC finished undefeated in the Coast Soccer League U12G Elite Silver division and was recently promoted into the Gold division, in solid company now with talent from other SoCal super clubs (Arsenal FC, Eagles, Slammers, So Cal Blues, West Coast FC, and Real So Cal). Both clubs play in extremely competitive leagues and are tested in each and every game they play.
Not only was I interested in seeing the teams play (their athleticism, technique, styles of play, coaching, etc), but I also wanted to scout out competition for potential consolation, semifinal, or final games.
Solar vs LAFC Scouting Report
Dallas Solar
Team Formation 4-4-2
Almost a 3-5-2 at times as center back #20 likes to push forward. Defenders mark man to man tight but leave the center back free.
Danger Players
#26 forward - this girl is like Babes on steroids. Big, strong, lightning quick and fast, powerful, great shot, super technique. We'll have our hands full with her.
#13 center mid - small, technical, and tough. All midfield play is through her.
#20 stopper/holding mid - likes to attack, physical, might get caught out of position
Notes
Two good forwards
Poor goal kicks and GK punts, like to play short of goal kicks
Quick set pieces
Tough, physical team with good technique. Better than Sereno and Cerritos
LAFC
Team Formation 4-4-2
Standard 4-4-2 with sweeper, flat midfield
Danger Players
No one really stood out
GK is good, with good punts
Notes
Like to attack the flanks with wide mids and forwards making diagonal runs into space
Very deep sweeper
Dangerous throw ins in attacking third. Long throw and flicks to middle of the penalty box
Quick set pieces
Better than Cerritos
The game was a good one ending 2-2. Both teams created chances and were dangerous. Set pieces were organized and taken quickly in defending 2/3s of the field.
#26 from Solar is DANGEROUS.
Both teams would provide stiff competition for us.
* * * * *
We stayed in our 4-4-2 formation for our second game vs CRSC Infinity. We're almost in a 3-5-2 as I push Normy, who has really found a home as a central defender/holding mid, up the field as much as possible and have her front attackers often rather than pick up goal side. Leaves us exposed in the back sometimes if a team can counter quickly, but gives us some added strength and technical composure in midfield.
I wasn't very worried about CRSC's attack against us. They had a talented forward #14 who we needed to be conscious of, but I didn't feel their team attack posed a huge threat for us.
The game started out well for us. 6 minutes in, Payt (LM) found Mickey (RiM) in the penalty box with a volley. Mickey shielded the ball with her body and was pulled down by a CRSC defender and we were given a PK. Babes hit a low hard shot to the left of the CRSC GK to give us the 1-0 lead.
14 minutes in, a combination between Dog (LF) and Babes (RF) at the top of the box saw the ball at Babes' feet inside the D. Babes took her defender on to her (Babes) right, and fired home the second goal to double our lead.
CRSC wasn't able to get much of anything going against us. Normy played the CRSC #14 tough, not giving their talented forward the space and time she needed to be dangerous.
We continued to press the attack, but then, in a weird two minutes, we ended up conceding two penalty kicks of our own. The first after we tripped a CRSC midfielder in the box, and the second when a cross hit Normy's hand in our box. Vivi (GK) made a great diving attempt to her right and got a hand on the first low, hard penalty shot, but it wasn't enough to stop the ball from getting past her. #14 hit the second shot into the left side netting of the goal. Nothing Vivi could do about that one.
Frustrating to lose that 2 goal lead, but we weren't playing that well and that was more frustrating.
At halftime, my goal was to keep the girls positive, point out what we could learn from giving up the two goal lead, and encourage them to stay positive and focused. No tactical changes needed, but more encouragement to be confident in their skills, and to look to keep the ball moving and play early and quickly.
We were just flat this afternoon, looked tired and sluggish. Game ended 2-2, though we had a couple dangerous chances to go ahead. I think Cerritos threatened our goal once the entire game, aside from the two penalty kicks.
Maybe the travel day was catching up with us? Maybe it was the 75 degree heat? I thought Sereno was better than Cerritos, and we'd need a better performance tonight.
Even though I thought we gave a sub-par performance, the Cerritos coaches were extremely complimentary about the team after the game. They felt fortunate about the tie, that's for sure. I think people look at MN as an easy bracket game, and we obviously proved those misconceptions wrong. The Cerritos coaches/directors invited us to attend their Memorial Day tournament, claiming that most top clubs from SoCal would be there and we'd fit right in. That was one of the best compliments anyone could have told me. Wonder if the parents would go for another trip? :) Doubt it.
* * * * *
For any interested, here is my thinking prior to our last game against Sereno.
Prior to the tournament, I knew we had a tough group. Likely the toughest overall with 3 quality teams (us, Cerritos, and Sereno). I looked at Group A with Solar and LAFC as the second toughest with two quality teams, though those two teams might be the best in the tournament. Group B looked the weakest of the three.
Looking to make the final game, we would be sitting pretty if we won our group, slated to come against the winner of the weaker Group B. Group A winner was scheduled to play the wildcard (with 3 groups of 4, the group winners and one wildcard would advance to the semis).
Cerritos had beaten Mesa this morning 2-0 so ended with 18 points after three games. Sereno beat Mesa this afternoon 7-0, so both Sereno and us came into the 8PM game this evening tied on 14 points. They were ahead of us on goal differential though.
In Group A, Solar had clinched as group winnner with 25 points. LAFC sat second with 19 and a great shot at the wildcard slot.
In Group B, Canyon PSA (CA-S) won the group with 20 points, and the next two teams who would meet at 8PM under the lights this evening both sat at 8. Even with a 10 point win, neither of these teams could catch LAFC for the wildcard.
So Sereno and us each had 14. A win by either team would win them the group. A 3-3 tie (6 points for both teams) would see both teams through to the semis with Sereno winning the group and us taking the wildcard slot, edging out LAFC with our 20 points to their 19.
If we won our group, LAFC would take the wildcard slot. Since the wildcard came out of Group A, and the Group A winner was scheduled to face the wildcard, the tournament wouldn't have the two teams face off again, so the semifinal schedule would change to Group A winner vs Group C winner, and wildcard vs Group B winner. If we won our group we'd face Solar in the semis.
If we tied 3-3, we'd take the wildcard and face the Group A winner... Solar.
If we lost vs Sereno we'd take 3rd in our group and have a weaker consolation opponent tomorrow. A 1-1 or 2-2 tie and the math wizards would have to go to work determining placement and wildcard winner.
What did I want? Making the final would be great for the ego, but as I said earlier, I wanted to be tested against Solar or LAFC. We could see Solar in the semis and LAFC in the finals (as I'm sure they would get past the Group B winner) if we beat Solar. Dream scenario.
So it came down to tonight's game. Beat Sereno, guarantee another tough opponent, maybe even two tough opponents if we got by the first. Lose, and likely see another Mesa team in the morning. I wanted the win.
* * * * *
I promised the girls that everyone would see playing time and everyone would start a game. It's easy for the girls to read deep into any starting line up so I wanted to ensure that I minimized this issue by spreading the wealth. However, I've coddled teams in the past and plan on doing things a bit differently with this group. I have no problem letting the girls know if they currently fall into a starting 11 in my mind or if they don't. CURRENTLY being the operative word here as Mark's Starting 11 today doesn't mean it's going to be Mark's Starting 11 tomorrow, next week, next summer. I plan on having individual player meetings with players and their parents after this trip, and will be blunt about where I see the players fitting in terms of other players in the group and where players need focus and improvement in order to crack that Starting 11 if they so choose to do so. I will play everybody at least 50% of every game, I will rotate our starting line ups in tournament and in league games. But when it comes down to looking for a result, I will work the rotation in order to put our best 11 at that time on the field at the same time.
I've stressed this weekend that we came down here with 17 players and will win or lose with 17 players. I also know fully well that my success with a team at the Midwest Region II Championships came in large part because we had roster depth and were able to play 17 players without a great loss of continuity and strength when non-starters took the field.
It's easy to play the best 11 and look to get results. The challenge AND the responsibility of competitive youth coaching in tournaments comes from adjusting line ups and rotating players in order to maintain a balance on the field while staying competitive.
I also have another reason for wanting a "Starting 11" on the field at certain times in this event. I need to see how some of Minnesota's best stack up against some of the best from other states. More on this in the wrap up.
Here's our line up against Sereno:
It was a beautiful night. The wind was picking up, favoring one end of the field, and it was slightly cool. Perfect night to be playing. The girls, in their first game under the lights, would have the excitement, energy, and adrenaline to run forever. Hopefully this would be a change from our lethargic afternoon performance. We needed it.
Having scouted Sereno against CRSC yesterday, I know Sereno played a 4-3-3 flat back four, similar to Mesa. They had 3 in the central midfield, and 3 up top with two wide players. Their danger player, #27, was a tank up top in the middle of the field. They liked to play to her with her back to goal, and she would flick or spray the ball wide to the wingers quickly. They also had a tough and talented midfield.
With this in mind, I switched our formation to a 4-3-3, or a 4-2-1-3 to me more precise as you can see above. I felt we struggled to control the central midfield in the afternoon game, and told the girls that is where the game would be won tonight. We needed to key on #27 and she would fall under Normy's immediate responsibility as a central defender. The three up top would, given our limited tactical focus to this point, limit our movement up top, but would also allow us to press the attack and attack the flanks more than we had previously as our wide players would not be expected to track back in defense as much or as often. Confident Sereno could not stop us from tallying at least a goal, I was hoping we could defend well tonight.
I instructed our captains to go against the wind in the first half as it had been steadily increasing this evening. My thoughts were that in another 30 minutes it would even be stronger, giving us more of an advantage in the second half.
Game started out well for us. We knocked the ball around and looked sharp. We controlled the game as the Sereno girls appeared tense.
7 minutes in, a poor goal kick up the middle of the field into the wind from our left side of the goal box, saw the ball drop to Sereno's danger play er #27 about 25 yards out. She cut to the middle of the field and hit a weak shot (with her good foot as she was left-footed) that seemed harmless. However, Em (GK) was a bit slow to react to the ball as it appeared she thought Dog (CD), in front of her about 7 yards after recovering to the middle of the field after her goal kick, was going to clear the ball. Em tried to fall on the ball after she realized Dog wasn't going to touch it, but it squirted under her for the goal. Tough one to give up, but learning points to build off of.
The rest of the half was all Sereno. I knew they were a little nervous about playing us. Some of our girls overheard some of their girls prior to the game talking about being scared to match up aginst us. I could hear their coach yelling, "Now we play our game!" as his girls won the ball back from our kick off and looked to get into a rhythm. They seemed to have 15 players on the field, and I found myself not once, but twice during the remainder of the half actually counting white Sereno shirts on the field to make sure they weren't cheating.
The wind prevented us from clearing our defending third, and our inability to clear our danger area led to more tense and panicked clearance attempts, which led to more pressure, which led to more tension, and on and on. Was it a mistake against a quality team to go against the wind first?
Sereno created at least two more quality chances, one on which we were tremendously fortunate not to have fallen behind by two goals. We couldn't get anything much going in the attack. We lacked the spark we started with, not fighting hard enough for the loose balls and in tackles, allowing Sereno to exert their physical presence on the game. It was one of those games when the halftime whistle couldn't come fast enough. We needed to regroup and I needed to spur the girls on in a group.
We managed to absorb the Sereno attacks for the duration of the half, and I let out a sigh of relief to hear the two, sharp whistle blasts that indicated 30 minutes had finally elapsed.
OK, time to regroup.
I quickly touched on the breakdowns of the goal against us while the it was fresh in the girls' heads. I also illustrated the cycle of panic, again as it was fresh in their heads. I then challenged them to step up and match Sereno's intensity. Sereno was good, but they did not outclass us, they only out worked us in the first half. We were in a battle against a good opponent. In games like this with relatively equally strong teams, it came down to heart, desire, and intensity.
Knowing we could press the wind advantage now, I also reminded the girls that if we penned Sereno in their end for an extended period of time, sometimes to go forward you need to play backwards. This pulls out and spreads apart packed in defenses and creates uncoordinated team movement and space in the danger area. This turned out to be a bit of foreshadowing.
Lastly, we talked about game management. How do we play if we are looking for a result and down a goal? First 15 minutes, we'd play our normal game and try to pull a goal back. If, with 15 minutes left, we were still behind, we need to make some changes. More direct from the back, quicker on restarts, help the other team get the ball into play quicker by chasing down balls kicked off the field of play for Sereno, more riskier man to man in the back as we would push numbers forward. 1-0 or 10-0 did't matter at all at that point.
The only real tactical change I made was to adjust the line up to ensure that our strongest 11 would start and end the half. Dog complained about a sore foot. Dog never complains about being hurt so I knew something was up. She was playing well but lacking her normal sharpness. A tough blow to lose her in this game, but absolutely no need to push a girl into performance either when injured.
We came out much more lively that we had in the first half, and 9 minutes in the girls were rewarded for their increased efforts. The wind, now at our backs, helped set the panic cycle in on Sereno's team as they found it difficult to clear their defensive third. B-Money (RM) found herself with the ball at midfield facing a wall of Sereno players. She turned and played back to Meg (RD), and Meg hammered a ball forward over the top of the advancing Sereno defense. Babes ran onto the ball and, under pressure from a recovering Sereno defender, held that defender off and ripped a shot into the Sereno net from abotu 10 yards away - sometimes to go forward you need to play backwards. Nice when things work out like that.
We continued our dominance in the half, though Sereno did create one terrific chance at our net that forced Vivi into a good save. Bam Bam was terrific in our central mid position, pestering Sereno mids to no end, physical and fiesty. I call Chloe Bam Bam because the kid just knocks people over. She's four foot nothing, but would tackle a fire hydrant if it had a soccer ball. Our defense remained relatively solid, with Cal, Em, Normy, Gizmo, Meg, and Quicksy all playing significant roles to dull the Sereno attack and keep the ball in our opponent's half. Vivi held down our net. Bam Bam, Mickey, Bargsy, Mal, and Payt won the midfield for us, and Babes, B-Money, Phi Phi, and Gia, were tasked with spear heading our attack. It was a real team performance and you could feel something special in the air.
With four minutes left in the match, Babes (Point) found B-Money (RF) with a diagonal ball to the right corner of the field. B-Money beat her marking defender and slotted the ball across the penalty box to Phi Phi (LF). Phi Phi took a good first touch and, falling down as the Sereno defender connected with her, fired home a low shot past the diving Sereno GK to give us the come from behind lead. Phi Phi bounced up like a Weeble, then hit the ground again as she was hog-piled by 10 MTA girls.
The last few minutes were a bit panicked. I realized that I didn't have time to talk to the girls at halftime about what to do in a situation when we were up a goal late in a game, but we held on to the final whistle.
It was a TERRIFIC result for this team, a true team effort. I was so happy for the girls and their effort. We'll get a lot of mileage from this result as it will serve as a constant reminder about our proven ability to work together and come back from a deficit against a very talented team.
The Sereno coach and many of the Sereno parents were very classy after the game, extremely surprised and impressed at the talent from the great white north. Their coach and I both acknowledged that it was for sure a game of two halves, but it was one of the best games Sereno had played and had played in according to him.
Got my wish to see Solar, scheduled bright at early tomorrow morning at 8:30AM. Regardless of the result tomorrow though, I already look at this weekend as a huge success for us.
