Region II Championships - Wednesday, June 27

Of Goose Bumps and Fingertips

Suffice it to say that I didn't sleep very well last night.  Between my new roommate's snoring (Mark Cook - our club's Girls Director of Coaching - moved over to our hotel as he was the sole remaining BTFC representative left in Iowa and needed a place to crash) and my excitement for what the day would bring, once I woke to a unusually loud snore at 4:00AM I wasn't able to find dreamland again. 

It gave me some relatively quiet time to reflect upon the last year with this group.  Almost one year ago to the day we faced Internationals (OH-N) in the US Club Soccer U12 Region Finals.  We had many of the same players involved at that point, though some were with us as guest players for that event and not on our official roster.  We fell to Internationals 3-2 in overtime, overcoming a 2 goal first half deficit to reach the extra time period.  The following month, we had tryouts and began our sometimes controversial fall pool training program with 32 kids.  Blue and White teams were finalized in mid-October and we began training in earnest as an official team in November. 

Since August of 2006, this group has had around 175 soccer sessions together.  This includes outdoor training, optional finishing sessions, FIT Training, Video Analysis, indoor training, friendlies, league games, tournament games, and Futsal/Street Soccer sessions.  Before anyone faints due to seeing this number, understand that many days we had FIT Training, Video Analysis, and indoor training back to back to back.  Also, we played multiple games in one day at tournaments. 

The sheer number of touches on the ball alone would have likely been enough to elevate the team above other Minnesota teams at their age group.  Couple this with the fact that 1) all the girls possess above-average athletic ability, and above-average interest, passion, and commitment to the sport, 2) each girl is challenged constantly in our training environments, in our league games and friendlies, and by our tournament selection strength , and 3) the girls are under 24/7 guidance (during soccer activities) by a relatively knowledgeable soccer professional, and now you have a group that can play with anyone in the country on any given day.  This is a huge testament to the Bangu Tsunami club and what it offers to interested families, to the commitment of the parents involved and the trust they put in the soccer leadership, and to the girls themselves for their effort and attitude throughout the year.

* * * * *

I arrived at the fields around 6:20AM... for an 8:00AM game.  Told you I couldn't sleep.  I was also sockless and commando as I hadn't packed for a 6 day stay, but that's probably to much info for anyone, or "TMI" as my girls tell me.  Actually, we had to be on site to sign in as a team at 7:00AM, so I wanted the girls around at 6:50AM.  It was another gorgeous morning, though not as hot as previous days.  We got checked in promptly and headed over to field #4. 

Like the semifinals, this game was held at the James Cownie Soccer Complex.  We had played all three group games at Hidden Valley.  The JC fields were just as nice, though I had heard earlier in the week that they had been a little wet. 

I'm just so impressed with the field conditions down here.  Looked like the girls were playing on carpet.

There is no chance you would find a youth complex with as many fields in such great condition in MN.  Man, what our club could do if we had access to our own facilities on par with either of the complexes down here in Des Moines...

I didn't change our warm-up much.  I do like to vary what I do with the girls as we have so many games in the summer months between league and tournament play, and the same old routine can get old and dry.  However, my thought is that in a situation like we have found ourselves in, in new territory and in the late rounds of a major competition, routine is a good thing.  The girls will take comfort in the routine and it will help them relax under the pressure.

So we began with some Walking Soccer, moved to some shooting/long balls, on to crossing and finishing, finally with some 5v5v5.  There was the same positive vibe in the air and I had a feeling this was going to be our day. 

The rest of the morning is a bit of a blur, but I'll try to recap as best I can.

The game started out well for us.  We pressed the attack and created a handful of dangerous opportunities in the box, though we failed to pull the trigger a few times when I thought we should.  We looked to knock the ball around a bit, but still did what we do best - play direct when we can, find our forwards' feet and in space, attack the flanks, and defend like demons all around the field. 

Internationals GK was solid, making a number of good saves in the first half. 

We nearly took the lead around the 12th minute when Hannah (CD) stepped up to smack a free kick from about 35 yards out against the underside of the crossbar.  The ball ricocheted straight down, bounced off the GK and Millie (LF) came close to reaching the loose ball.  The GK was able to recover and smother the ball at the last instant, but it was a great chance for us.

One of my favorite moments came early in the first half when Millie (RF) did what she does best and took on opposing defenders in their box.  She danced by 2 or 3 of them near the endline to the right side of goal, then was forced back towards the top of the box.  A defender poked the ball away from her straight in the path of Becs (RM).  Millie saw Becs wind up for the strike on goal, eyes wide as teacups as she processed the impending ball to the face.  With cat-like quickness, Millie threw herself face first to the grass, head turned away from the shot, trying her best I'm sure to have her body sink as low as possible into the ground.  The ball whizzed over her head by about a foot.  I was laughing so hard, I can't actually remember if the ball was saved or shot wide.  Glad Millie had sliders on, she may have peed her pants a little there.

My thought was to play everyone during the first half, then gauge who was on and who was off their game and make adjustments from there.  I wanted all the girls to take part in this experience.  Though I feel that our top 11 can play with anyone, I don't think we have an edge over the stronger clubs/teams.  Our advantage comes from the strength of the other 6 girls we have waiting in the wings as there has not been one team that I've seen who can match our overall team strength. 

Scratch and Hannah didn't step off the field from their center back positions, and I rotated Nash, Becs, Sophie, and Maddie as outside backs.  Lily, Macky, and Brownie took shifts in the center of midfield, with Bidi, Jilly, Blondie, Maddie, Getch, and Becs all seeing time out wide.  Ripper, Millie, Sting, and Blondie saw time up front. 

I had been warned by a friend of mine on the Blue Valley Stars Ratpack team (KS), that Internationals had one of the best players in the region on their team.  A #12 who played in the center of midfield.  He was right, she was an amazing player who tore us up.  Athletic and fast and great with the ball.  We tried to key on her and double when we good, but she was difficult for us to handle.

Midway through the first half, #12 received the ball about 30 yards from our goal, dribbled straight up the middle through 4 players on her way to be taken down in the box for a PK.  Internationals had their GK come up to take the kick.  Tori (GK) went the right way and made a good effort, but the shot was too high.

Maybe she was their best shooter, maybe they were a bit cocky, I don't know.  Regardless, I was hoping for a save not only to preserve the 0-0 deadlock, but moreover to see the ensuing scramble and panic as the International GK and defenders rushed back to defend their open goal.  It would have made for a memorable experience, that's for sure!

Internationals were dangerous on the attack, and hit a crossbar of their own after a great finger save by Mudd.  They played a decent offsides trap as well, and we were caught a few times by it.

The half ended 1-0 for the Ohio team.  The girls were down a bit and Mark C and I did our best to keep spirits high.

At the break, we addressed a few key points:

• We would continue to play as is in a 4-4-2 for the first 15 minutes of the second half to try and get the equalizer.  If we could not break through, we would shift to three in the back, pushing numbers forward and stepping up our intensity on getting balls into the danger area.  We would press them all over the field, concentrating on high pressure in their defending third.  This would involve taking some risks in the back down defending numbers, but a 1-0 loss was the same as a 4-0 loss at this point.
• We talked about beating their offsides trap with long diagonals for midfield runners, greedy dribbling forward instead of passing by central mids, and forwards working hard to be aware of their position.
• Lastly, we talked about believing in the girls around them.  We would not get back in this game by one player thinking they had to do everything.  We arrived at this point as a team and we'll leave this place as a team, win or lose.  The girls had proven they could come back from a 2 goal deficit against this very same team last year, and we needed to believe we could battle back now.

The second half started out well again for us.  I had dropped Ripper into the center of midfield to hopefully give us some added aggressiveness there, and pushed Jilly up top (she usually played wide for us). 

We attacked in numbers and defended relentlessly trying to win back possession when lost.  We pressed the Internationals in their end and Macky and Lily (CMs) kept the ball alive in our opponents half countless times with headers off GK punts and goal kicks. 

Macky found herself 1v1 on the GK a few minutes in due to an uncoordinated offsides trap push, but her shot was parried by the closing GK as Macky slid to hit it.

About 12 minutes into the second half, the Internationals doubled their lead off another very skillful piece of dribbling.  We had begun to lose the midfield a bit and our defenders had begun dropping back too far when the Internationals were in our half.  This seemed like a natural tendency as we knew we were facing talented opponents.  However, this allowed the Internationals to spread the field out a bit in depth, leaving too much space in a lateral channel, 20 - 40 yards in front of our goal.  The Internationals were able to draw our center mids out wide a number of times then switch the ball to a central player with miles of space.  We couldn't organize pressure from the center of the field on these girls quick enough, and our opponents had at least 2 dangerous strikes from about 22 yards out.  Their second goal came as a result of this as one of their players, another skillful midfielder #24, received the ball at the top of our box and cut across Scratch (CD) to the inside of the field.

Our defenders had dropped back too far and we did not have a cover player close enough to Scratch, so #24 was able to get of a shot under relatively no pressure.

Tori made a fantastic effort to reach the ball, but it was a high, powerful shot the screamed past her outstretched fingertips. 

Down 2-0 with 25 minutes to play.  Crap. 

This was the first goal this team has given up in the run of play (excluding the PK earlier in the game) in 5 State Cup games and 4 Region II Championship games.  An impressive feat for the girls, but a tough time to have the streak broken.  I heard their coach yelling "Now we put them away!".  I knew if they got their third we'd be toast.  But as I've told the girls on countless occasions, 2-0 is a fragile lead at best.

We changed formation at that point, pushing up our right back into midfield, our right mid up top, shifting our remaining three defenders into the middle, and asking our wide left mid to attack more.  We took some risks playing numbers even in the back, forcing our defenders into a number of man-on-man situations, trusting our athleticism and tenacity to carry us through.

And we pressed on, with the added encouragement from the sidelines about believing we could do it. 

Our GK Tori (I'm going to stop using Mudd as Tori deserves some name recognition) was kept busy but was up to the task.  She forced another tough shot into the crossbar, a save that I heard some of the International parents verbally applauding.  She kept us in the game.

In the 27th minute we finally broke through the Internationals' defense.

Ripper (CM) won the ball in midfield and found Maddie (LM) in space. 

Maddie took a touch, surveyed the field, and sent a fantastic diagonal ball to Jilly (RF) from about midfield. 

Jilly ran the ball down, out pacing Internationals speedy sweeper #40, settled it with a touch,

and fired a low, hard shot into the far side of the goal from about 16 yards out. 

Finally!

I looked down at my watch... 27:36.  Man, nail biter. 

We pressed on and could feel the momentum shift clearly back in our favor. 

Two minutes later, Sophie (LD) went up to try and head the ball out of danger and the ball stuck to her headgear!  Sophie, along with most of the other players on the field, stopped for a second in disbelief, then she started running toward the Internationals' goal.  International players recovered from their astonishment and tried in vain to football tackle Sophie as she weaved closer and closer to their goal.  She was too fast.  I couldn't believe that the ball stayed on her head, but 50 yards later she dove over the goal line to give us the tie!  I knew this head gear would come in handy!

Just kidding.

Five minutes later, we were awarded a throw in deep in Internationals' half.  The ball was somehow sent into the danger area and half cleared on the volley, thanks to a good challenge on the clearing defender by Millie in the box. 

We have talked a lot in the last few weeks about no free clearances for opposing defenders.  Even slight pressure is enough to cause inaccurate clearance attempts.

The ball was cleared to the other side of the goal and dropped to Blondie.  Surrounded by two defenders, she faked a volley with her right foot

that made the closing Internationals defender jump and turn her back

then used an inside of the foot sweep trap to bring the ball down to her left (weak) foot.

Shoot.  That was all I remember thinking. 

She fired the ball at goal with a decent low shot and all I remember seeing was a wall of white shirts in front of her,

then the bulge in the back of the net. 

Goose bumps. 

Unbelievable. 

I still can't grasp it.  The sheer determination and fight on the part of the Bangu girls was astonishing.  And to have two girls not known for the goal scoring ability step up and see us to the tie... amazing. 

Looking back at it now, I wonder if I should have used the momentum to continue to press the attack.  We had it, that was clear, and I could have easily not yelled out any changes and kept going for the final 4 minutes (we had 2 minutes of additional stoppage time added).  However, the girls were tiring, having given everything in the struggle to claw back into the game.  To have Internationals score now would have been absolute heartbreak.

So, I yelled out instructions for the girls to return to their 4-4-2 formation and we closed out the half.

I was so stunned at the break before overtime that I didn't really have much to say to the girls.  I just praised their effort and resolve, their fighting spirit.  I couldn't say much more... they just amaze me.  I did manage to get out that we wanted to continue to play our game in the 2 x 10 minute overtime periods.  Defend well all over the field, stay behind your teammates, believe that you can do it.  Off you go.  Have fun, enjoy the moment.

I'd like to think that the overtime period was all us.  I think I remember having that sense, but to be honest, it's all a blur.  Tori continued her solid play in net, confident and sure handed.

What I do remember is thinking about possible PKs and who I wanted to keep on the field.  I know all the girls can strike PKs, but there are some who are better at this than others.  This is by no means a cut on any of the girls on this team, but some are faster runners, some are better headers, some can dribble better, some can shoot PKs better.  My no-brainers were Millie, Lily, Jilly, and Maddie.  All had demonstrated the ability to put PKs away consistently in training, and Millie, Lily, and Maddie had all made PKs in the NSC Cup Championship game against Wayzata in late May.   

As I was thinking about this, I looked down at my watch towards the end of the second overtime period and saw 9:20.  I looked at the bench and saw Jilly drinking water.  Crap!!!  I called for Jilly to hustle to midfield, not yet knowing who I would have her pull out.  The ball went out of play (we could sub on any stoppage) and I yelled for a sub, instructing Jilly to take out Nash and go play right back.  I began to turn away and then realized that the ref didn't hear me even through both AR's flags were raised.  "SSSuuuuubbbbb!!!!!" I yelled.  No response.  Who was this guy that wouldn't listen to me?  A U13 girl? 

Just as the International player was about to throw the ball in, I whistled... loudly.  I have a fairly piercing whistle, honed to perfection through many years of soccer camp experience.  The ref obviously heard it, stopped the play, and waved Jilly on. 

So, at the final whistle, the 11 players left on the field were Millie, Maddie, Lily, Bidi, Macky, Scratch, Hannah, Sophie, Tori, Jilly, and Ripper.  I had to choose 5 for the PKs, and went with the following players in this order: Millie, Lily, Jilly, Maddie, and Bidi. 

My instructions to them were simple.  Take a deep breath, visualize the shot (see it, do it), believe in yourself, and smile.  This is not life or death.  Regardless of the PK outcome, these girls needed to realize that I was extremely proud of their accomplishments and that they were champions no matter what the end result would be. 

To Tori, my words to her were that I was looking for one big save.  That's it.  Do your best, smile, try and get us one big save.

I had seriously contemplated putting Ripper in net for the shootout.  She was a larger presence in the goal that Tori was, and this was an important psychological factor in these situations.  I have put Ripper in net in two other big tournament events, the 2006 USA Cup semifinals last year, and twice in the 2006 West Des Moines Premier Games to give us PK wins versus CSA Fusion (NE State Cup Champs) in the semis and BVS Ratpack (KS) in the finals.  She is athletic, has strong hands, and quick reflexes.  However, Tori had played a major part in getting us to this point and I didn't want to change the mojo now.

The girls were obviously nervous, Maddie was nearly green.  I thought more than once during our break about changing her out of the first five shooters in our PK line up, but decided to stay the course with my initial decision.

I remember looking around the field to see it lined with people (except behind the goal where the PKs were being held).  It was a beautiful morning, and I had goose bumps.

Internationals shot first, and their GK ran up to take the kick.  Risky.  Not only did she already shoot (Which side should I go to this time?), but also if she missed she might not be as sharp mentally to perform in between the posts.

She stepped up, shot to the same side as she did an hour ago, and...

Tori saved it. 

Unbelievable. 

Great start for us.  Now, our girls don't have the added pressure of being down a goal and trying to tie it. 

Little Millie stepped up to take our first kick. 

Leading off with our U11 player in the Region Championships.  Asking her to set the tone for us with a finish.  Nice.

She hammered the ball against the back left stanchion, putting us up 1-0. 

It was a great shot, but the Internationals GK almost got a hand to it.  Wow, I remember thinking that she's going to be tough to beat.

Internationals scored their second, and Lily was up next for us.

Lily put us back ahead with a sweet inside of the right foot shot into the right side netting. 

The opposing GK didn't make much of an effort to this one as Lily fooled her into thinking that Lily was going left (relative to the shooter).  2-1 Bangu.  The girls sitting at midfield were all jumping around, except for Maddie who was sitting their somber and, IMO, a little out of it.  "Maddie!" I shouted, are you OK?  She nodded.  Crap.  Can I make a change to the shooting order still?  I did't know.

The third shoot for Internationals scored a decent goal to Tori's right that I was a little surprised Tori didn't make a better effort for.  Maybe I was expecting too much. 

Maybe I should have played Ripper.  Maybe I should play Ripper.  Can I even play Ripper now?  Is that legal?

Up stepped Jilly, one of our best PK shooters in all the training we did prior to State Cup and the girls who I was panicked to get on the field at the end of the second overtime period.

Obviously, you can guess what happened.  After the struggle to get her in the game in the closing seconds of the second overtime period, she miss hit her shot and the GK saved the soft effort. 

Maybe I shouldn't have whistled so loudly 10 minutes ago.  2-2 going into the 4th shooter.

Internationals converted their attempt, again on a shot that I thought Tori might get to (she was close).

So up stepped green Maddie.  Greener still as for the first time in this shootout we were "behind". 

As she started her walk to the ball from midfield, I had one more thought of changing the shooter.  It was gone in an instant, and all I yelled out to her was "Maddie!  You can do it.  I believe in you!"  She smiled, and

proceeded to ping the left footed shot home.  3-3.

Internationals scored their fourth (on their final shooter),

 and it was up to Bidi to keep us alive. 

Man, the pressure she must have felt, knowing she needed to score to continue on to extra shooters. 

I remember thinking it was too soft the second it left Bidi's foot and the GK got a GREAT jump to it.

But it was almost perfectly placed and low, just past the GK's fingertips.

Not sure it had enough pace left to hit the back of the net, but they all count when they cross the line!  4-4 after 5. 

Unbelievable.

Now who?  I looked down at the other team's coaches to see them looking towards the huddled masses at midfield in confusion and deep thought.  They had the same struggle.  We've used the girls we thought were best, now what do we do.

I yelled out to ask who was confident from the remaining shooters.  Scratch raised her hand and some the girls were pointing at her.  Ripper wasn't making eye contact, Macky and Sophie were just sitting there pointing, Maddie's face had begun to return to a non-toxic looking shade of normal. 

I had had about an hour's worth of conversation with Scratch this weekend about confidence, most of the talk coming in the parking lot of the Old Country Buffet (love that place!) after our Sunday game against Kentucky.  Ripper, Lily, and Maddie were there as well and we were all trying to talk some sense into the girl.  She didn't think I thought she was a good player and that is why I've thrown her back in the center of our defense.  She thought she was back there because I thought she couldn't play anywhere else.  I tried to tell her otherwise, reminding her that besides our other center back Hannah, Scratch hasn't stepped off the field much in the last month.  Does she think I would show this confidence in a player if I thought they weren't helping the team?  Hello?  Though there was clear proof in pure playing time minutes, Scratch had trouble grasping the thought.  This was not the girl I wanted taking a PK at this point.

I yelled out for Ripper to take the next shot.  She looked at me like "What the heck?!?!  I wasn't even looking at you!"  Ripper has not shown well in training session PKs and says she doesn't like to shoot in games.  She has the skill for it, like all the girls do, but the mental toughness isn't as strong as others in this particular arena.  However, I had confidence in her as a PTP (Prime Time Player) and knew she could do it.

Internationals converted their 6th shot.

This situation sucked.  No matter how I tried to downplay the PK result, no matter how much I praised the girls for even reaching this stage of the event, any one who stepped up to shoot now, with us already being behind and with the possibility of feeling like she lost the game for us with a miss, we devastating.  The results could be positive for sure, especially if Internationals missed their attempt and one of our girls would then have the opportunity to win it for us, but it wasn't setting up like that. 

With words of belief and encouragement again from the coaching staff, knowing she had to score to keep us in it, Ripper took a LONG time walking up to the ball for her shot.

She backed up, set herself, took a deep breath, and...

found the back of the net, again, just out of reach of the GK's fingertips.

Again, the Internationals GK nearly got to with another valiant diving effort, again the shot was close enough to the post (though at a good height to block) to sneak past the outstretched GK's finger tips.  Guess she's not adversely affected by her missed shot.  However, now I'm getting worried.  Their GK had come very close to our last two attempts.  6-6. 

Again I saw the Internationals' coaches pow-wowing about who to choose next.  They asked the girls and all the girls yelled out Megan and pointed to her.  They actually pushed her out of the group towards the coaches and all I saw was this rail thin girl who looked like she was pushed out on stage in a school play and didn't want to be there.  Megan tried to return to the circle of obscurity within the tangle of other Internationals players, but the wall of white jerseys refused her passage into their harbor.

So, Megan trudged up the field towards the PK spot.  Now, I thought.  Come on Tori, this is it. 

Must have been the nerves because Megan hit the ball about as hard as I could have with a Full90 head gear... I think I could read the Adidas wording on it, even from my distance.  Could you blame her?  I'd likely feel the same if I was on the field at that moment.  Tori moved towards the ball, likely thought it was rolling wide as she didn't seem to pounce to it, and watched it hit the inside of the post and roll across the goal line behind her.

Crap.  Did we miss our chance to win it?

All of a sudden, I saw a commotion on the field.  What's going on?!?!  Apparently, the Internationals were making a GK change.  What?  After SuperWoman almost saved the last two shots with terrific efforts.  Holy crap, who are they going to put in now, someone with go-go-gadget arms? 

After a brief delay allowing the International players to swap the GK jersey, Sophie stepped up to take our seventh shot.

 

I can't imagine what the lat few girls were feeling as they walked the 40 yards to the waiting referee. 

Oh man, go-go-gadet arms might get to that.

Yes!!!!  Past the GK's robotic extension arms, inches past the extended fingertips, and into the net!  7-7. 

I looked back up to midfield and everyone was pointing to Scratch.  And she was raising her hand.  She wanted to take the next kick.  Half the battle in situations like this is the confidence to hit the shot, so I nodded my head and she sprang up to the center of the field to await her turn.

An instant later, a little voice in my head screamed that this was an ideal moment to make a GK change of our own, if for nothing else but to freeze the next Internationals shooter - like a time out by the defending team when an opposing field goal kickers about to hit a 15 yard chip shot in sudden death overtime to win the Superbowl.  I yelled back out to midfield and told Ripper to go to goal.  "What the...!?!?!" her look said, then comprehension dawned and her confused look turned to the dreaded I hate you! look.  "Come on girl, you can do it.  We need you!"

Tori was looking at me with the "What the...?!?!" expression as well, but she gave up her gloves without comment. 

Apparently, the GK needed to have a different jersey on than a normal field player, and Tori was wearing a t-shirt and couldn't give it up. 

She yelled over to the sidelines for one of the players to find her bag and get Ripper her long sleeved green GK jersey. 

This took a minute, but the jersey was found and Tori helped Ripper ready herself. 

All in all, it probably took a full 3 minutes for us to proceed with the shootout.  I felt a little bad for the young Internationals player waiting at the PK spot for all this to transpire.  Did I really just try and freeze the nerves of a 13 year old kid?  That didn't feel right for some reason, but to be honest, at that point I was looking out for my own.

The 8th Internationals PK shooter stepped up, struck a hard ball to Ripper's left, and

Ripper made the save. 

Unbelievable.

I looked back to midfield, searching for our potential hero, the girl who could win the game for us, forgotten in the GK excitement of the previous 3 minutes.  And my eyes settled on a tall, lanky girl, surrounded by her excited teammates, all patting her on the back and pushing her towards the penalty area.  Dear Lord, it's up to Scratch. 

At least she has a chance to win it for us.  If the 8th Internationals shooter scored, Scratch would be going up to try and keep the game going.  If she would turn out to miss the potential tying kick, pure disaster to an already self-questioning mind.  But that's not how it happened.  She now had a chance to give us the Regional Championship. 

I would find out later that as she was walking up the field to the penalty spot (scratching her head constantly - so she is named), she was looking over at our sidelines and calling for her mom in a panic. 

It took her a few seconds to set the ball in place as she kept putting the ball down, lifting her hands away from the ball and shaking them nervously before trying to once again reposition the ball. 

I saw her finally set the ball in place then ask the ref a question.  Apparently (again I would find this out later) she was asking the ref if she had time to visualize the shot.  He shook his head and she backed up to strike the ball. 

Silence...

then pure joy as her shot found the back of the net past a diving Internationals GK.

I was already on the field before the ball left Scratches foot.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw the girls on the field race towards Scratch to celebrate.  The girls on the sidelines were not far behind. 

I started walking, then found myself running.  All I remember was a group of girls in front of me in a huge group,

then I jumped on the group as I would have when with the Thunder and we were hog-piling a goal scorer after a huge goal.  For some reason, the 12 and 13 year old girls couldn't support my weight very well, and the pile crashed to the ground. 

Man, I hope I didn't just hurt someone, but no one seemed to care.  Though we only have 17 players on our roster, there were 18 people screaming like little girls in that Des Moines penalty box that morning. 

I remember looking up from the pile of Bangu players to see many of the moms also running onto the field in utter disbelief and sheer happiness.

It was amazing.  In all my nearly 30 years of involvement in this beautiful game, this was hands down the single coolest soccer moment I have ever had.  I get goose bumps just typing it.

Region II Championships - Tuesday, June 26

So I've been wrong from time to time.  It will not be us and Michigan Hawks in the region finals tomorrow morning.  It will be us and Internationals. 

Beautiful morning for a game.  Glad we've drawn the 8AM time slots all week as it was steamy even at 7:30AM.  The girls came to the field excited for the game.  There has just been a great vibe, a great team vibe this entire event.  I'm so proud of all the players on this team.

We warmed up with some Walking Soccer to get the girls loose, then changed up our routine a little bit to get some long distance shooting in for our attacking players.  Some crossing and finishing, some 5v5v5, and we were set to go.

The game was one of contrasting styles.  The BVS Ratpack have quick, technical players and prefer the slower-type build up of short passing.  They would build up out of the back and through midfield, rarely looking to play over the top.  It was fun soccer to watch with some of their quick interplay, but I thought it lacked purpose at times. 

This was in sharp contrast to our more direct play.  It was like Brazil vs England.  I don't think we play "boot ball", though we don't have the technical players that Ratpack does and can't keep the ball under pressure in tight spaces like they can.  I think we are safe in the back, more dangerous on the attack and look to go forward a lot, but the game made me think about player development.  Are we playing for results and not teaching the game?  I'm sure some people see it that way.  More on this later.

We came out and played well.  Apparently, Ratpack's sweeper had a broken angle and has been out for a while.  Meagan Tickle, a girl who had guest played with us during last year's US Club Soccer Regional Finals in Rockford (IL), played back there today.  She is a solid player and I thought it would work well for us if she wasn't up in the attack.  She'd be a tough player to beat on defense, but I'd much prefer to see her 60 yards away from our goal than find her in 20. 

We created a number of dangerous "scrambles" in front of the Ratpack's goal from attacking set pieces (corner kicks and freekicks), as well as had a fantastic shot from Jilly (RF) graze the far post from about 16 yards out.  I didn't think our goal was threatened much, save for a shot early on from outside the box that skipped dangerously and was bobbled out by Mudd for a corner kick.

Having played this team before we had been familiar with some of their set pieces.  I heard them try to run a dummy corner kick play to the top of the "D", but we were ready for it when they wanted to play it.

Around the 30 minute mark (I don't know the exact time as I failed to start my watch in the excitement of the moment) the ref awarded us a freekick about 12 yards from the endline on the right side of the goal.  I was as surprised as the Ratpack coach at the call as I thought their player had the ball and we were going in for a tackle.  I would find out later from the ref that the Ratpack player with the ball had stiff-armed one of our girls off the ball. 

Blondie ripped a ball into the danger area that Getch (LM) narrowly missed getting her head on in the slot runner position.  It was a brave attempt from her as she was the tiniest player on the field.  Macky (CM) fending off a marking defender who was all over her and bent to get her head to the ball.  The header was not a powerful one, but it was low and back where it came from to the near post relative to the free kick service.  Ratpack players tired in vain to slide to it but it rolled in to give us the 1-0 lead heading into halftime.  Another set piece, another header.  There's been a lot of negative talk on the MN blogs about the Full90 headgear.  To these people I say this.  The proof is in the pudding at the younger age groups.  We've scored 6 goals here at Regionals.  Four of them have been off headers from three different players.  It's all about heading technique and the headgear to give the girls the confidence to attack the crosses like they do.  I've never seen any U13 girls team be able to find the success we've found in the air.  Say what you want, this headgear has helped the girls tremendously. 

At halftime, I talked about a few key points:

• We were getting killed in midfield by ball watching and following the ball.  I reminded the girls that when defending a player in possession with the ball, if the ball is played square, your first movement should be back and to the middle of the field.  Lateral movement following the ball allows you (and possibly another teammate moving forward to close down the new threat with the ball) to be beat with a return pass.  See one of our training sessions addressing this topic here.
• We needed good honest defending around the field.  No stupid fouls, no diving in, good communication encouraging girls to tackle when players have provided adequate cover.
• Through balls out of midfield and out of the back needed to be hit to the corner flags, away from the Ratpack sweeper in the middle of the field.  This would draw her out and leave open space to attack in the center of the field.
• They will likely make changes to get numbers forward.  As the game goes on and if the score line stays the same, time is our friend.  No need to sprint to get to the balls out of bounds.  Be smart, take the pace out of the game.
• If we don't let in a goal, we win the game.  Tough individual and team defense all over the field, beginning with our forwards.

We continued to play tough in the second half.  I could tell that the Ratpack came out with more urgency from the get go, but we matched them well.  I think it was a fairly even contest in the second half, though neither team had many great chances at goal.  I think we had the best chance as Bidi (RM) found Becs (RD) on a great overlap run around 30 yards out from goal.  Becs took a good first touch and hammered a ball that I thought the GK deflected off the crossbar.  Becs told me after that the shot wasn't touched by the GK and hit the crossbar directly.  Regardless, it was a nice piece of combination play.

About 15 minutes into the second half, I saw Meagan push up the field into the attack.  Now with three forwards, I asked Hannah (CB) to mark up and leave Scratch (CB) free as more of a sweeper.

We had to absorb some pressure at the end of the game, but ended up on the good side of the scoreboard at the final whistle.  Good game for the girls, great result.

Internationals beat Michigan Hawks in the other semi 2-1, so tomorrow we have a rematch of the US Club Soccer Region Championships from last summer, where as a U12 11v11 team, we faced the same opponents for the title.  Funny, we made the effort to attend the USCS Regionals last summer as U12s in order to best prepare us for this event this year.  We are now facing the same team was saw in the finals last year.  Last July, Internationals went up 2-0 before we clawed our way back to send the game into overtime, eventually falling 3-2 in the extra time period.  A little redemption maybe?  I know this Ohio team is a worthy opponent for a final game.  I wonder if they think the same of us?

I hate wearing dirty socks and am on my last pair of boxer shorts.  I'm off to find a washing machine in the hotel. 

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.

Region II Championships - Sunday, June 24

Though I have yet to reset my hotel room alarm clock to the correct time, I managed to actually set my phone alarm to AM this time, and was up with the sun and off to Starbucks to write.

I don’t know why I refuse to reset my hotel clock.  Maybe too lazy, maybe I enjoy the momentary panic I give myself those moments when I glance at the clock and before I realize that it’s still set nearly two hours ahead... probably the former.

I wanted the girls up and at ‘em relatively early in the morning, so I made plans for them to head back out to the field complex for the 10:00AM U15 Minnesota girls game - Woodbury Inferno vs ELA (IL).   Not only do I still have many friends involved with this team and wanted to go and support them, but also I felt it was a great way to address the inevitable questions that would/did come up about “Why are we going to support a non-Bangu team?”  It was easy to sell this outing however as Hannah’s older sister plays on the Inferno and a number of the Woodbury girls on our team know some of the Woodbury Inferno girls.  Moreover, I wanted to set an example for the girls and the parents in our group that we may battle against other local clubs while in Minnesota, but this event is different. Local battles aside, here we want to cheer for the success of other Minnesota teams, regardless of club affiliation.

The Inferno game started about 10 minutes early, and it was nice to arrive at the field and see that 9 out of the 11 starters for this big game were players who I had had the pleasure of working with when with this group.  It was a blast to see them compete on this regional stage and play well against the Illinois team.  I have told the Bangu girls many times that the “experiments” that I did with this Inferno team when they were 11 and 12 allowed me to come into my current group armed with the knowledge and experience of what it takes to develop committed, young female athletes.   I had told the Inferno girls and their parents on a number of occasions that they were guinea pigs of sorts and I was trying to approach their development with new thoughts and ideas that I do not believe were the norm at the time in Minnesota when dealing with girls at this age group – year round training, looking to travel to top level regional events, playing up an age group, etc.  My current group also knows that they are guinea pigs sometimes in some of the things we do.  It is all a process, working towards being able to place the young Minnesota girls on an even playing field with top teams across the country.  Will we ever get to a point where we are consistently better than top young teams from Chicago, St Louis, Michigan, or the Ohio areas?  Tough to do so as these areas have a head start with numerous higher level coaches in place, professional training and directors of coaching, facilities, large population bases, and a soccer club-like mentality (vs a community club-like mentality) already accepted and expected in many areas.  But we can try.

The Inferno game ended 0-0 and if I would have left at that point, I would have left thinking the Minnesota team was the stronger, more dangerous team on the field.  As it would happen, ELA would eventually pump in 5 goals in the second half… isn’t that just how this game goes?  The Inferno deserved better, and hopefully they’ll bounce back with a good performance tomorrow against another tough Illinois team.

The girls left the complex to head over to play some mini-golf and laser tag and I stayed around to watch our U14 boys at Noon and our U14 girls at 1:30PM. They returned to the complex for our assigned team picture time at 3:20PM and then we were off to hang out a bit, cheer on the MU U13 boys, and warm up for our game.

* * * * *

I could tell from the first 2 minutes that we were truly in for a battle with the Javanon team. They were solid. Athletic, skilled, aggressive, and here to play. We, with me leading the charge, rolled into the game thinking it was going to be more of a cakewalk. The Bangu girls were caught on their heels a bit and struggled to get into a good rhythm. We were under pressure for the first 10 minutes, though we defended well and Mudd was not forced into a tough save.

We eventually began to settle into the play and start creating some chances of our own. The offsides trap was not anywhere to be seen… they must have learned their lesson from yesterday.

Half ended 0-0, and we knew we could play better.  It was a wake up call for all of us.  Though Mudd (GK) had not been forced into any tough saves, she was kept busy. 

The talk at halftime was all about stepping up our intensity and effort.  We knew we were now in a battle and I challenged the girls to rise to the occasion.

Our second half was much better and we for sure were the more dangerous team for the last 35 minutes.  We created some great chances through continued wide play and crosses, but we could not break through. 

30 seconds from time, the 4th official came over and said the center ref had indicated 90 seconds of extra time because of injuries and make up time for the time lost due to substitutions.  We were pressing the attack looking for the game winner and there was a positive feeling as we continued to knock on the door. 

A minute later, Javanon was awarded a throw in right in front of our bench about 25 yards from goal.  I was yelling at Bidi (RM) right in front of my to step up and mark her girl tight, but she remaining back about 4 yards.  The Javanon defender threw the ball at the girl in front of Bidi and the girl flick headed it backwards.  Bidi controlled the ball with her thigh and volleyed a long diagonal ball into the danger area.  The Javanon GK came storming out of her goal to the top of the box as Millie (LF) ran on the ball from the diagonal. 

Millie and the GK had a collision in the first half on a similar ball, with Millie bravely heading the ball on goal and a split second later getting a GK glove to the face was the GK missed punching the ball clear but didn't miss Millie's head.  The header was too weak, but it was a feat just to go for it at that time.

This time, the ball bounced and Millie ran through it, allowing the ball to bounce off her stomach past the Javanon GK.  Millie raced to the ball with two Javanon defenders scrambling to cover the open goal and fired the ball into the back of the net.  I get goose bumps just typing it. 

I looked down at my watch... 35:50.  What a finish.

* * * * *

Chicago Magic tied Mequon 1-1 in somewhat of a surprise result.  So... with a win or a tie tomorrow morning we will advance into the semifinals on Tuesday. 

There is a good vibe in the air with this group.  We are a better overall team than Chicago and we'll get a chance to prove it tomorrow morning.  I can't wait.

Region II Championships - Saturday, June 23

I had spent last night hanging with the parent group until around 11:30PM. For those of you who have dealt with newborns you'll guess that this is WAY past my normal bedtime hour. Man, 10 years ago we be just getting ready to hit the town at this our. Now, I can barely get through Jay Leno's monologue before I'm watching the back of my eye lids. I wouldn't change a thing though as our now 9 month old baby girls Emmri is absolutely precious.

On top of the late bedtime hour, I had also imbibed about 4 beers. I'm a light weight easy date to begin with, and I don't think I've had more than a couple beers in one sitting since... well, since our last out of town trip with this parent group.

Suffice it to say that I wasn't surprised when I rolled over in the morning and saw that I had over slept my phone alarm clock by 90 minutes. 7:38AM?!?!?! Crap! I wanted to be up early, hit the Starbucks down the road to update this site, then be out at the fields to watch the 8AM Minneapolis United boys in their opening match.

I hustled out of bed, skipped the much needed shower, finger-brushed my teeth, threw a bunch of stuff into my backpack, and scrambled down to my car. I haven't moved that fast in years. I was so proud of my early-morning-a-bit-hung-over-from-4-beers efficiency that I paused to look down at my phone to see the sure to be world record time of 4 minutes flat from hotel bed to car. 5:58AM. What the...?!?!?

Then it hit me. Power was out, must have came on in the middle of the night, hotel room alarm clock started at 12:00. Now I know how some poor, unsuspecting guests at the Motel 8's must have felt as, being the practical joker that I am, before checking out of the establishment when on Thunder road trips, I would always either 1) point the shower heads out so that they would spray guests once turned on if not noticed, 2) set the hotel digital alarm clocks for 3AM in the morning - radio setting at the loudest decibel level possible, or 3) set the room clock ahead a few hours.

I sat there and laughed at the situation. Well, at least I'll have plenty of time to write at Starbucks.

By the way, at 6:01AM my phone alarm had still not gone off. I had apparently set it for 6:00PM late last night. Funny.

* * * * *

Our first game was at 9:30AM against the Wisconsin State Cup champs, Mequon Red. I had no idea what to expect from this game. We had faced FC Milwaukee a few years back as U12s and managed to tie them 1-1. FC Milwaukee lost in the Wisconsin semifinals to NEW United, and NEW United fell to Mequon in the finals.

NEW United had traveled to Minnesota last weekend to participate in the All American Girls Tournament (or whatever it is now called) in Blaine last weekend. The team ended up winning the U13 flight and Tobbe, one of the coaches for the Dakota Rev U13 girls, told me that people were claiming this NEW United team would give us a run for our money. I had tried to see them play last weekend, if for anything but to try and give me a gauge of what we might be up against with Mequon, but due to the number of younger teams I was dealing with and the fact that the majority of games in that event were scheduled at the same time, it didn't happen.

I showed up at the field complex at around 7:50AM. With 3 to 4 inches of rain the night before and downed trees and branches along the way to the site, I really didn't know what field conditions to expect. As I walked from the main concession area to the back fields, I noticed that the grass area along the way was wet, but not swamped. This same area was ALWAYS a swamp in the three Aprils when I've been here. And I know we got a ton of rain last night. Good drainage I guess, and the ground was obviously not as saturated as in the early spring months.

The fields were immaculate. I was stunned. Where was the long grass? These looked like golf course fairways. They weren't cut that tight, but that's the impression that I got. And every field was like this. It was absolutely amazing. These were the nicest fields I have ever had the pleasure of coaching a youth game on. MN has maybe two fields like this in the Twin Cities area... the National Sports Center stadium field and the U of M field at ELR Stadium. At this complex in Iowa had 8 or 10. Wow. I would later find out that the same held true at the other host complex for the tournament; super nice fields groomed and cut tight. So much for my long grass sermons to the girls.

Apparently, in preparation for the event, the this Hidden Valley field complex had been closed to the local teams for two weeks to get the fields ready. Someone said the other complex was closed for a month prior to this event.

The girls were super nervous and excited to play, I could tell by their initial warm-up as passes were frantic and inaccurate, and what should have been simple control touches bounced yards away from players as if the players had all decided as a group to forego the supple leather soccer shoes in favor of cement blocks. Better nervous here than in the game, I thought.

We settled in a bit and the rest of the pre game warm up was sharp. Prior to the game, I mentioned a few key things to the players.

• Focus in the things they can control - their sportsmanship, effort, and attitude (see Controlling the SEA)
• What did we do well in our last game vs Coon Rapids? Take players on 1v1 out wide, get to the endline, get crosses or win corner kicks
• We are dangerous on corner kicks
• Believe teammates are going to miss the ball. For defenders, believe that your fellow defender challenging for a ball will miss it and provide cover in case of this event. For attackers, if not able to challenge opposing defenders for a clearance ball, believe these defenders will miss it in order to be ready for a breakaway, and believe defenders/teammates in front of you will miss crosses in order for your to be ready to finish
• No matter what happens in the game, stay positive and behind your teammates

We started in our 4-4-2 formation and got on the board within the first 5 minutes. Bidi (RM) recieved a wide pass about 30 yards out from goal on our right side. She served in a great far post cross to Millie (LF) who seems to have a knack of drifting away from the play sometimes to find space as opposing defenders ball watch. Millie controlled the cross and struck a good shot that sailed over the Mequon GK. Nice start for the girls.

I made substitutions at around the 11 minute mark. I had prepped the girls and the parents in the weeks leading up to this event that this would be the first event in which I would not be able to guarantee equal playing time for all the girls. This is the first event that I've ever felt the pressure to do this with any team I'm been at. The club is looking for results here and I think the expectation for all the teams here is to play the best players you have in order to get the job done. When watching the U13 boys game, I didn't see the Missouri team make one substituion save for replacing an injured player. It's tough for me to get into this mentality as I know how it will impact some of the girls who may not play a lot.

I had started with what I thought was a strong line up and made a decision to balance the playing time in this game. Though I knew I could be proved wrong, my thought coming into this event was that if there would be any games that would likely allow me to keep on with the rotation subbing that I have used with this team up until this point, it would be our first two group games. We'll have to see what happens on Monday and, hopefully, beyond.

We got our second goal around the 25th minute. We were awarded a corner kick and Blondie (RF) served in a cross that, what I thought at the time, was going to be too high and lofted... easy for the GK to make a play. The Mequon GK went to make a challenge for the ball but Bidi (RM) rose to head in at the near post area. The cross was high, but what I loved about it is that we had three girls aggresively attacking the ball in the danger area. The heigth of the service allowed time for the runners to adjust and their aggression paid off.

My goal at halftime was to keep everything as positive as possible. We had played very well in the first half and I made sure the girls knew it. We talked about the next goal being huge… if Mequon scored to make it 2-1, we’d be in for a hard fought rest of the second half. If we scored to go up 3-0, we’d increase our chances of having an easier way the rest of the game. This doesn’t mean that we’d let up though.

I highlighted the good points of the first half, talking about our success when switching the point of attack and looking for continued aggressive play down the flanks. I also reminded the girls to take pride in defending and no matter what we did on the attack in the final 35 minutes, we would win the game if we shut out our opponents.

15 minutes into the second half we put the game out of reach on another set piece. Ripper (CM) skillfully turned her defender about 20 yards out from goal and lasered a low shot to the near post that the Mequon GK kick-saved wide. On the ensuing corner kick, Nash sent a great ball into the far post area that Becs (slot runner) began moving backwards to attempt a head on it. The whole park heard Macky (CM) call Becs off the ball as she attacked the service from the far post runner’s position. Becs stopped and cringed, assuming she was about to get run over by a bulldozer, which she might have, and Macky stormed in and headed the ball low and back where it came from for the goal. I was laughing as I noticed Macky had her Full90 headgear off and clenched in her right hand as she made her run. I’ve told some of the girls who have demonstrated confidence and technique in heading that they can remove their head gear when attacking a corner kick like this, but it was the first time I’d seen anyone take me up on my offer.

Again we capitalized on an attacking corner kick, but it was the little things that made this goal great. The ball into a target player’s feet and Ripper’s great turn at the top of the box, followed by a low hard shot. Nash’s solid technique in the corner kick service and Macky’s communication to call a teammate off the ball when in a better position to attack, and the subsequent textbook header on goal (low and back where it came from to the near post relative to the corner kick placement) were fantastic. This is the stuff that makes coaches smile.

3-0 good guys at the final whistle. Chicago Magic (IL) beat Javanon (KY) 5-0 in the other group game. If we can get by with a solid performance tomorrow afternoon, we have a date with destiny against a team we have never beaten on Monday morning that will likely decide the winner of our group. As I’ve said before here, we’ve lost twice and tied once against the Chicago Magic, a team that I, and the girls feel we are better than. It would be a Cinderella Story for the girls to walk the walk on Monday in an event that makes all events in which we faced this opposition pale in comparison.

* * * * *

I had the girls stick around to watch the Bangu U14 girls play their first game against the KCFC Alliance.  We obviously wanted to support our fellow Bangu girls, but I was also interested in having the girls watch KCFC as they are one of the top teams in the nation at the next older age group.  It would be a good indication of where we strive to be in a year.

Back at the hotel, soccer tennis was in full bloom with many other teams picking up on the idea.  Wonder if I can organize a inter-team soccer tennis tournament?  That would be a lot of fun.  Or, maybe a dance-off between the teams at the hotel.  Something for the kids on different teams to socialize would make the event memorable, regardless of the results on the field.

We ended the day with another picnic and grill out at a near by park.  I walked the girls through some ideas of beating an offsides trap, something that other Bangu coaches had noticed that Javanon tried in vain to use against Chicago Magic.  I hope the Kentucky team stays the course and tries to use this on us as I believe we should be able to finish a couple breakaways… if the girls can pick up on the idea that it shouldn’t be our forwards who try and beat the offsides trap, but rather we want to look for 1) long diagonal balls to our wide mids, who can run onto the pass from an onsides position, or 2) greedy mids who see the offsides push up coming and choose to take the ball on their own.  Through runs from deep (from other central mids) would also work, though we have not worked on this and it would be the toughest “new’ concept to implement at this stage.

I also talked with the girls about a possible formation shift into a 4-5-1.  The idea behind this would be to have one, smart target forward who gives us depth in the attack but who also realizes that their main job is to remain onsides.  We would look to have two holding forwards behind this lone point striker who would look to make the through runs from deeper, and hopefully onsides, positions.

The plan will be to start out in our usually shape (4-4-2) and then look to make adjustments if/when necessary.

It’s hard not to take this game lightly as the Kentucky team was hammered by a team I think we are better than.  I need to remember that at least 4 of the Magic’s goals came on breakaways and coaches said most of the play was actually Javanon’s in between the defensive breakdowns.  I’ve been around enough to know that ANYTHING can happen in this game, and I need to continually remind myself tomorrow that we will likely be in a battle.  It’s hard not to look past them to Monday however.

We’ll see what happens tomorrow.