MVLA Ice Breakers at SSJ Fury
Saturday, Nov. 8 at Bernal 1
FIELD SETUP @ 8AM
We again have field setup, so please come early to pitch in!
Warmups @ 8:15AM
Kickoff @ 9AM
Wear Blue and bring your Whites.
Directions to field: http://www.delgadosoccer.org/fields?field=220&action=link
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
PRACTICE SCHEDULE UPDATE...
I had no less than 5 girls request Tuesday practice this week, so by player demand, we will again go Tuesday/Thursday this week (our last week of the season). Because of the lack of time we will warmup and just scrimmage on Tuesday and then use Thursday to work on shooting in preparation for our season finale.
Here is the practice schedule for the week of Oct. 27:
Tuesday, Oct. 28 4:45pm till dark
*Thursday, Oct. 30 4:45pm till dark
*Join us at Aqui's on Blossom Hill Rd. after Thursday's practice for our traditional "last practice of the season dinner." I know it's a school night, but tradition is tradition!
Here is the practice schedule for the week of Oct. 27:
Tuesday, Oct. 28 4:45pm till dark
*Thursday, Oct. 30 4:45pm till dark
*Join us at Aqui's on Blossom Hill Rd. after Thursday's practice for our traditional "last practice of the season dinner." I know it's a school night, but tradition is tradition!
Game recap...Oct 25
Fury vs. CV Quicksilver
1-0 W (Caitlyn)
First of all, thanks to everyone for setting up and taking down the goals. Because this was a rescheduled make up game, there were no games before or after ours, so we had the pleasure of doing both.
The Quicksilver is a team that does a lot of the little things well. Their girls are always talking, going to the ball, being aggressive without fouling, etc. But for the most part, our defense didn't give them any room on offense to create any "real" chances as we notch our 2nd shutout of the season (not including D2 Cup). We really pressured the first half and had at least 4-5 great chances before Caitlyn scored the game winner near the end of the first half. Angie got around their left defender and put a great cross to the penalty spot that Caitlyn one timed past the QS goalie. Kelsey and Nicole also had great chances that went right to the goalie.
The Quicksilver were the first team I've seen that played the offsides trap. While it did catch us offsides 4-5 times, it also created 3-4 breakaways, which is the reason it is such a risky tactic. Not only do you need your entire defense to be on the same page timing-wise, but you also hope the referee/linesman catch it. Combined, I feel the risk is greater than the reward and when you have team speed like we do, you are playing with fire. Funny thing is we worked on breakaway shooting on Thursday, but it looks like we need to continue working on it.
In the second half, the QS started to dominate midfield play, but Elle and Kiara still were able to create 3-4 great opportunities that we just missed fired on or the goalie made great saves. But our defense, behind Christina's ball hawking, maintained the shutout and the crucial win.
This win puts us in 5th out of 10 teams, but the QS and Cougers each have 2 games left with each playing a winnable game that would vault them past us. I believe the worst we can finish is 7th, with the loss to MTH and tie against Chivas being 2 games we should have won.
Let's finish strong against the 1st place team next week!
Dan
1-0 W (Caitlyn)
First of all, thanks to everyone for setting up and taking down the goals. Because this was a rescheduled make up game, there were no games before or after ours, so we had the pleasure of doing both.
The Quicksilver is a team that does a lot of the little things well. Their girls are always talking, going to the ball, being aggressive without fouling, etc. But for the most part, our defense didn't give them any room on offense to create any "real" chances as we notch our 2nd shutout of the season (not including D2 Cup). We really pressured the first half and had at least 4-5 great chances before Caitlyn scored the game winner near the end of the first half. Angie got around their left defender and put a great cross to the penalty spot that Caitlyn one timed past the QS goalie. Kelsey and Nicole also had great chances that went right to the goalie.
The Quicksilver were the first team I've seen that played the offsides trap. While it did catch us offsides 4-5 times, it also created 3-4 breakaways, which is the reason it is such a risky tactic. Not only do you need your entire defense to be on the same page timing-wise, but you also hope the referee/linesman catch it. Combined, I feel the risk is greater than the reward and when you have team speed like we do, you are playing with fire. Funny thing is we worked on breakaway shooting on Thursday, but it looks like we need to continue working on it.
In the second half, the QS started to dominate midfield play, but Elle and Kiara still were able to create 3-4 great opportunities that we just missed fired on or the goalie made great saves. But our defense, behind Christina's ball hawking, maintained the shutout and the crucial win.
This win puts us in 5th out of 10 teams, but the QS and Cougers each have 2 games left with each playing a winnable game that would vault them past us. I believe the worst we can finish is 7th, with the loss to MTH and tie against Chivas being 2 games we should have won.
Let's finish strong against the 1st place team next week!
Dan
Friday, October 24, 2008
Game reminder, Saturday, Oct. 25
CV Quicksilver at Fury
8AM field setup; 8:15 warmups; 9am Kickoff
Bernal 1
We need to set up both goals, so please arrive at 8AM to help.
Players: please be at the field at 8AM, dressed and ready to go.
Wear blue and bring your whites.
Parking note: We are asked by the league NOT to park on the street. If you can, park in the school parking lot off of San Ignacio, or park on San Ignacio where there are no houses. Do not park on Oronsay Way as I presume the neighbors will complain.
Map: http://www.delgadosoccer.org/fields?field=220&action=link
Dan
8AM field setup; 8:15 warmups; 9am Kickoff
Bernal 1
We need to set up both goals, so please arrive at 8AM to help.
Players: please be at the field at 8AM, dressed and ready to go.
Wear blue and bring your whites.
Parking note: We are asked by the league NOT to park on the street. If you can, park in the school parking lot off of San Ignacio, or park on San Ignacio where there are no houses. Do not park on Oronsay Way as I presume the neighbors will complain.
Map: http://www.delgadosoccer.org/fields?field=220&action=link
Dan
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Game recap...Oct 18-19
Saturday, Oct. 18 vs. SCCV Wildcats
1-3 (Caitlyn)
Let me start by saying I'm embarrassed that we are inviting teams to play on a field like this when we are playing on opposing fields that are close to immaculate. Bernal Oval is like the field that time (and maintenance) forgot. While it didn't play any outcome on our game, it's just sad that we have to play on such a field. Now I remember why we left the SSJ league to go to the South Bay rec league to start with.
In most of our losses this year, we were simply out hustled. This game was no different. While the first half was actually pretty even, the Wildcats did all the little things right while we did not. From going to the ball, being first to the ball, trapping the ball, making good passes, etc., the Wildcats just seemed to want the game more than we did in the second half. And as usual, any of our mistakes usually end up in our net. After playing a few weeks of nearly flawless soccer, we have shown that it is tough when we make multiple mistakes AND get outhustled.
Sunday, Oct. 19 vs. MTH United
0-1
We had more than our share of chances to win this game but we came up short. In the first half alone we must have missed at least 3-4 golden chances. In the second half, I was confident we were going to score in the last 5 minutes, but the soccer God's were not shining on us today. Losing to the last place team is never good, but fortunately did not hurt us in the standings much. If anything we may drop a place. But with 2 tough games coming up in the next 2 weeks, it was a tough one to let slip away. After beating United in the tournament, while I knew they would be tough, I thought that we would shine on turf with our attacking speed. But we also had to deal with what I thought was the worst refereeing crew we've had this season. We were getting called for some nit picky fouls when our girls were getting mugged with no calls. And the linesman on our side must have made at least 5 wrong calls on throwins. Regardless, we played well enough to win, but we just did not finish our chances. Diana and Caitlyn made a few great saves and Christina, Elle and Kiara used their speed to create numerous chances up front.
I'll take most of the blame for both losses as we had great momentum coming off District Cup but because of 2 games the past 2 weekends, I thought it would good to limit practice to just once a week and I think that took some of the wind (and timing) out of our sails. But with all the logistics of other sports, injuries, lack of daylight, etc., it made sense at the time. And it doesn't get easier with HS soccer starting up.
Let's focus on our 2 remaining practices and our 2 remaining games and finish the season strong!
Dan
1-3 (Caitlyn)
Let me start by saying I'm embarrassed that we are inviting teams to play on a field like this when we are playing on opposing fields that are close to immaculate. Bernal Oval is like the field that time (and maintenance) forgot. While it didn't play any outcome on our game, it's just sad that we have to play on such a field. Now I remember why we left the SSJ league to go to the South Bay rec league to start with.
In most of our losses this year, we were simply out hustled. This game was no different. While the first half was actually pretty even, the Wildcats did all the little things right while we did not. From going to the ball, being first to the ball, trapping the ball, making good passes, etc., the Wildcats just seemed to want the game more than we did in the second half. And as usual, any of our mistakes usually end up in our net. After playing a few weeks of nearly flawless soccer, we have shown that it is tough when we make multiple mistakes AND get outhustled.
Sunday, Oct. 19 vs. MTH United
0-1
We had more than our share of chances to win this game but we came up short. In the first half alone we must have missed at least 3-4 golden chances. In the second half, I was confident we were going to score in the last 5 minutes, but the soccer God's were not shining on us today. Losing to the last place team is never good, but fortunately did not hurt us in the standings much. If anything we may drop a place. But with 2 tough games coming up in the next 2 weeks, it was a tough one to let slip away. After beating United in the tournament, while I knew they would be tough, I thought that we would shine on turf with our attacking speed. But we also had to deal with what I thought was the worst refereeing crew we've had this season. We were getting called for some nit picky fouls when our girls were getting mugged with no calls. And the linesman on our side must have made at least 5 wrong calls on throwins. Regardless, we played well enough to win, but we just did not finish our chances. Diana and Caitlyn made a few great saves and Christina, Elle and Kiara used their speed to create numerous chances up front.
I'll take most of the blame for both losses as we had great momentum coming off District Cup but because of 2 games the past 2 weekends, I thought it would good to limit practice to just once a week and I think that took some of the wind (and timing) out of our sails. But with all the logistics of other sports, injuries, lack of daylight, etc., it made sense at the time. And it doesn't get easier with HS soccer starting up.
Let's focus on our 2 remaining practices and our 2 remaining games and finish the season strong!
Dan
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Hand ball vs. Handling the ball
(This is my effort to get some blogging/commentary from the parents.)
You see it happen a lot. We saw it happen in our game vs. the Sporting on the field of dreams. The referree called 2 penalty kicks, presumably from hand ball infractions. My gripe is that many people, not just referrees, yell "Hand ball! Hand ball!" when a ball hits a player in the hand or arm. Technically, it's not a foul unless a player "deliberately handles the ball." This implies intent. But if a ball hits a players hand/arm and the player had no chance of moving it out of the way, it should not be called. But again, I've seen it called in the World Cup and those are supposed to be the best refs in the world. Other people argue "Well, it hit the player in the hand and gave them an advantage to the ball." Well, the rules don't have an addendum for the result of the undeliberate act. The FIFA rule book clearly states that a foul occurs if a player "handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area)."
The FIFA guidelines for referees goes even further and states the following guidance:
Handling the ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with the ball with his hand or arm. The referee must take the following into consideration:
• the movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand)
• the distance between the opponent and the ball (unexpected ball)
• the position of the hand does not necessarily mean that there is an infringement
• touching the ball with an object held in the hand (clothing, shinguard etc.) counts as an infringement
• hitting the ball with a thrown object (boot, shinguard etc.) counts as an infringement
Ultimately, it's a judgement call for the ref. He/she needs to determine if there was deliberate intent.
Let's take Nicole's handball vs. Sporting, for example (and forgive me if my facts are off, but this is what it looked like from my position 50 yards away). The ball was kicked and it hit Nicole in the hand while her hand was at about her shoulder height. She wasn't trying to block it with her hand, but she could not move her hand out of the way in time even if she wanted to, but the ref blew his whislte for the PK. He should have continued play with no stoppage.
Now let's take a look at the Sporting's handball off of Christina's cross that went over the goalkeeper's head. The defender was on the goal line and she knew she had no room for error. She jumped up and looked to block the ball with her upper torso. Apparently, as she did so, she handled the ball. Because she had plenty of time to move her arm out of harms way, intent is implied. So in this case, not moving your arm out of the way when you had ample time to can be interpreted as "deliberately handling the ball."
From my many years of playing and watching the game, this seems to be the most wrongly interpreted rule in soccer, right up there with the ever confusing (and even more so with the recent rule changes) off sides rules. When I saw it happen countless times in our South Bay league, I was dumbfounded. When I saw it happen at the last World Cup, I was flabbergasted. Even the announcers echoed my sentiment.
I think I'm going to make it my mission to educate the referees of the world to the rule until I'm blue in the face.
So don't let me catch anybody yelling "hand ball" at our games, because as you now know, a "hand ball" is not necessarily "handling the ball."
What do you think?
You see it happen a lot. We saw it happen in our game vs. the Sporting on the field of dreams. The referree called 2 penalty kicks, presumably from hand ball infractions. My gripe is that many people, not just referrees, yell "Hand ball! Hand ball!" when a ball hits a player in the hand or arm. Technically, it's not a foul unless a player "deliberately handles the ball." This implies intent. But if a ball hits a players hand/arm and the player had no chance of moving it out of the way, it should not be called. But again, I've seen it called in the World Cup and those are supposed to be the best refs in the world. Other people argue "Well, it hit the player in the hand and gave them an advantage to the ball." Well, the rules don't have an addendum for the result of the undeliberate act. The FIFA rule book clearly states that a foul occurs if a player "handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area)."
The FIFA guidelines for referees goes even further and states the following guidance:
Handling the ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with the ball with his hand or arm. The referee must take the following into consideration:
• the movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand)
• the distance between the opponent and the ball (unexpected ball)
• the position of the hand does not necessarily mean that there is an infringement
• touching the ball with an object held in the hand (clothing, shinguard etc.) counts as an infringement
• hitting the ball with a thrown object (boot, shinguard etc.) counts as an infringement
Ultimately, it's a judgement call for the ref. He/she needs to determine if there was deliberate intent.
Let's take Nicole's handball vs. Sporting, for example (and forgive me if my facts are off, but this is what it looked like from my position 50 yards away). The ball was kicked and it hit Nicole in the hand while her hand was at about her shoulder height. She wasn't trying to block it with her hand, but she could not move her hand out of the way in time even if she wanted to, but the ref blew his whislte for the PK. He should have continued play with no stoppage.
Now let's take a look at the Sporting's handball off of Christina's cross that went over the goalkeeper's head. The defender was on the goal line and she knew she had no room for error. She jumped up and looked to block the ball with her upper torso. Apparently, as she did so, she handled the ball. Because she had plenty of time to move her arm out of harms way, intent is implied. So in this case, not moving your arm out of the way when you had ample time to can be interpreted as "deliberately handling the ball."
From my many years of playing and watching the game, this seems to be the most wrongly interpreted rule in soccer, right up there with the ever confusing (and even more so with the recent rule changes) off sides rules. When I saw it happen countless times in our South Bay league, I was dumbfounded. When I saw it happen at the last World Cup, I was flabbergasted. Even the announcers echoed my sentiment.
I think I'm going to make it my mission to educate the referees of the world to the rule until I'm blue in the face.
So don't let me catch anybody yelling "hand ball" at our games, because as you now know, a "hand ball" is not necessarily "handling the ball."
What do you think?
Friday, October 17, 2008
Game schedule for Oct 18-19...(2 games)
Saturday, Oct. 18 Santa Cruz Wildcats (4-1) at SSJ Fury (2-2-2)
11am kickoff at Bernal Oval (PLEASE be ready at 10:15am for warmups)
6610 San Ignacio Ave, San Jose, CA 95119
Wear blue shirt*
Map to field: http://www.delgadosoccer.org/fields?field=220&action=link
Sunday, Oct. 19 SSJ Fury (2-2-2) at MTH United (1-5-1)
10:15am kickoff at Smythe Clubhouse (PLEASE be there by 9:30am for warmups)
2195 Cunningham Ave. San Jose, CA 95122
Wear white shirt*
Map to field: http://www.delgadosoccer.org/fields?field=117&action=link
*As always, be sure to bring both jerseys to all games!
See you Saturday!
GO Fury!
11am kickoff at Bernal Oval (PLEASE be ready at 10:15am for warmups)
6610 San Ignacio Ave, San Jose, CA 95119
Wear blue shirt*
Map to field: http://www.delgadosoccer.org/fields?field=220&action=link
Sunday, Oct. 19 SSJ Fury (2-2-2) at MTH United (1-5-1)
10:15am kickoff at Smythe Clubhouse (PLEASE be there by 9:30am for warmups)
2195 Cunningham Ave. San Jose, CA 95122
Wear white shirt*
Map to field: http://www.delgadosoccer.org/fields?field=117&action=link
*As always, be sure to bring both jerseys to all games!
See you Saturday!
GO Fury!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
PRACTICE SCHEDULE...Only 2 practices left!
With the season winding down, daylight becoming scarce, and high school soccer tryouts starting up, I've decided to reduce the number of practices to once a week.
We covered a lot of ground this season at practice and we have all witnessed the results in the past month of games, especially since District Cup.
I doubt we will go undefeated the rest of the way, especially with 2 games left against the 1st and 2nd place teams in the division, but I do expect us to be competitive.
Practice schedule:
Thursday Oct. 23, 4:45 till dark (somewhere between 6:15 and 6:30)
Tuesday Oct. 28, 4:45 till dark
*Thursday Oct. 30, 4:45 till dark (somewhere between 6 and 6:15)
*Let's plan on another trip to Aqui's for our traditional "last practice of the season" dinner on Oct. 30. Feel free to suggest other locations, but Aqui's was quick, had plenty of seating, and a great margarita ;-)
Please convince all the girls to at least try out for their high school soccer teams. The more they play, the better they get, which then makes us better as a team. I know some schools will be much tougher to crack than others, but the tryout experience is invaluable.
We covered a lot of ground this season at practice and we have all witnessed the results in the past month of games, especially since District Cup.
I doubt we will go undefeated the rest of the way, especially with 2 games left against the 1st and 2nd place teams in the division, but I do expect us to be competitive.
Practice schedule:
Thursday Oct. 23, 4:45 till dark (somewhere between 6:15 and 6:30)
Tuesday Oct. 28, 4:45 till dark
*Thursday Oct. 30, 4:45 till dark (somewhere between 6 and 6:15)
*Let's plan on another trip to Aqui's for our traditional "last practice of the season" dinner on Oct. 30. Feel free to suggest other locations, but Aqui's was quick, had plenty of seating, and a great margarita ;-)
Please convince all the girls to at least try out for their high school soccer teams. The more they play, the better they get, which then makes us better as a team. I know some schools will be much tougher to crack than others, but the tryout experience is invaluable.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Important web links...
Here are a few important links you may want to bookmark:
1. Delgado league (Class 3) schedule: http://www.delgadosoccer.org/inquiry.php?fiiShowMatch=0&fiiShowMatch=1&fiiKey=&fiiShowClass=0&fiiClass=Class3&fiiShowTeams=0&fiiShowTeams=1&fiiTeam=SSJ+Fury&fiiTeams=Both&fiiShowDate=0&fiiShowDate=1&fiiStartDate=&fiiEndDate=&fiiShowPlayingLeague=0&fiiPlayingLeague=Delgado&fiiShowTeamId=0&fiiTeamId=&fiiIDS=Both&fiiShowDay=0&fiiShowDay=1&fiiDay=All&fiiShowAgeLevel=0&fiiShowAgeLevel=1&fiiAgeLevel=U15&fiiShowField=0&fiiShowField=1&fiiField=All&fiiShowTime=0&fiiShowTime=1&fiiTime=All&fiiShowBracket=0&fiiShowBracket=1&fiiBracket=All&fiiOrder=Date%2C+Time%2C+Field&fiiShowGender=0&fiiShowGender=1&fiiGender=G&fiiShowSeason=0&fiiSeason=All&action=Show&fiiMax=20
2. Delgado league (Class 3, B division) standings: http://www.delgadosoccer.org/standings.php?action=summary&group=Delgado;Class3;G;U15;B;Fall
3. South San Jose Fury official team web site: http://www.ssjysl.org/teams_single.shtml?team=C3A_1993G
I think the 1st link is the best link to check game times/locations, as the SSJ site (3rd link here) is a little clunky when it comes to updates.
Dan
1. Delgado league (Class 3) schedule: http://www.delgadosoccer.org/inquiry.php?fiiShowMatch=0&fiiShowMatch=1&fiiKey=&fiiShowClass=0&fiiClass=Class3&fiiShowTeams=0&fiiShowTeams=1&fiiTeam=SSJ+Fury&fiiTeams=Both&fiiShowDate=0&fiiShowDate=1&fiiStartDate=&fiiEndDate=&fiiShowPlayingLeague=0&fiiPlayingLeague=Delgado&fiiShowTeamId=0&fiiTeamId=&fiiIDS=Both&fiiShowDay=0&fiiShowDay=1&fiiDay=All&fiiShowAgeLevel=0&fiiShowAgeLevel=1&fiiAgeLevel=U15&fiiShowField=0&fiiShowField=1&fiiField=All&fiiShowTime=0&fiiShowTime=1&fiiTime=All&fiiShowBracket=0&fiiShowBracket=1&fiiBracket=All&fiiOrder=Date%2C+Time%2C+Field&fiiShowGender=0&fiiShowGender=1&fiiGender=G&fiiShowSeason=0&fiiSeason=All&action=Show&fiiMax=20
2. Delgado league (Class 3, B division) standings: http://www.delgadosoccer.org/standings.php?action=summary&group=Delgado;Class3;G;U15;B;Fall
3. South San Jose Fury official team web site: http://www.ssjysl.org/teams_single.shtml?team=C3A_1993G
I think the 1st link is the best link to check game times/locations, as the SSJ site (3rd link here) is a little clunky when it comes to updates.
Dan
Welcome to the SSJ Fury Blog!
I thought this would be a great way to communicate my game recaps. This way you can choose to read or not, although, I don't know why you would want to miss out ;-)
Enjoy!
Dan
Enjoy!
Dan
Game recap...Oct 11-12
Saturday, Oct 11 vs. Santa Clara Sporting
3-2 (Christina, Elle PK, Diana)
First of all, how about that field??? I've never played on grass that nice. To go from that to Bernal on Sunday is about as big a difference as you can get. The Sporting came in with a 3-1 record and took the early lead on a penalty kick when the ball hit Nicole in the hand. Up until then, the play was pretty even, with Sporting getting a few good chances on a series of corner kicks. The wind started kicking up and we strategically took the wind at our backs for the second half. Christina tied the score with a great run down the right wing and a shot from about 20 yards out. Later, Christina again sent a cross into the box that went over the goalies head but a defender was on the line and looked to save a goal. A few seconds later, the ref blows his whistle and gives us a PK. Elle calmly puts the PK away for the 2-1 lead. We then take a 3-1 lead when Diana places a nice shot to the goalies lower left. Sporting comes back with a 2nd goal but the save of the game comes when Caitlyn knocks down a cross in the box, but the Sporting crosses to the far post and Caitlyn scrambles across the goal to deflect the shot off her knee. Everyone contributed in some way to this win and it was well deserved by the girls. I also wanted to point out that there was one girl on the Sporting that gave us trouble in the first half with her speed on our right wing, but Emily shut her down in the 2nd half. Great win considering nobody has scored more than 2 goals against the Sporting until us. Boy, I wish we could play on that field all the time.
Sunday, Oct 12 vs. West Valley Mustangs
2-0 (Diana, Christina)
These early morning games always worry me hoping the girls are awake. The Mustangs were ahead of us in the standings coming in to the game, but with the win, we leap frog them. They were a small team, but were quick and beat us to pretty much 8 out every 10 loose balls. Diana and Caitlyn both had to make a few saves to preserve the shutout. The way the game was going, I thought the game would end 0-0, but Diana crossed a ball that went off one their girls to give us the 1-0 lead. We survived a few scares late in the game before Christina iced it with her second goal of the weekend to give us the 2-0 win.
Great to see the team confidence go up and play improve since District Cup. Thanks to all the parents for the help in setting up the goals this morning and for all the fan support.
NO PRACTICE on Tuesday. See you Thursday at 5pm.
Dan
3-2 (Christina, Elle PK, Diana)
First of all, how about that field??? I've never played on grass that nice. To go from that to Bernal on Sunday is about as big a difference as you can get. The Sporting came in with a 3-1 record and took the early lead on a penalty kick when the ball hit Nicole in the hand. Up until then, the play was pretty even, with Sporting getting a few good chances on a series of corner kicks. The wind started kicking up and we strategically took the wind at our backs for the second half. Christina tied the score with a great run down the right wing and a shot from about 20 yards out. Later, Christina again sent a cross into the box that went over the goalies head but a defender was on the line and looked to save a goal. A few seconds later, the ref blows his whistle and gives us a PK. Elle calmly puts the PK away for the 2-1 lead. We then take a 3-1 lead when Diana places a nice shot to the goalies lower left. Sporting comes back with a 2nd goal but the save of the game comes when Caitlyn knocks down a cross in the box, but the Sporting crosses to the far post and Caitlyn scrambles across the goal to deflect the shot off her knee. Everyone contributed in some way to this win and it was well deserved by the girls. I also wanted to point out that there was one girl on the Sporting that gave us trouble in the first half with her speed on our right wing, but Emily shut her down in the 2nd half. Great win considering nobody has scored more than 2 goals against the Sporting until us. Boy, I wish we could play on that field all the time.
Sunday, Oct 12 vs. West Valley Mustangs
2-0 (Diana, Christina)
These early morning games always worry me hoping the girls are awake. The Mustangs were ahead of us in the standings coming in to the game, but with the win, we leap frog them. They were a small team, but were quick and beat us to pretty much 8 out every 10 loose balls. Diana and Caitlyn both had to make a few saves to preserve the shutout. The way the game was going, I thought the game would end 0-0, but Diana crossed a ball that went off one their girls to give us the 1-0 lead. We survived a few scares late in the game before Christina iced it with her second goal of the weekend to give us the 2-0 win.
Great to see the team confidence go up and play improve since District Cup. Thanks to all the parents for the help in setting up the goals this morning and for all the fan support.
NO PRACTICE on Tuesday. See you Thursday at 5pm.
Dan
District Cup 2008 recap - 2nd place finish!!!!
If you told any of the girls last week that they would be playing Sunday for 1st place, they would have laughed. I'm sure many of the parents would have coughed up a lung, also.
In fact, as we practiced the last 2 weeks leading up to the tournament, many of the girls felt we were going to lose badly (their words exactly). But from the improvement I saw at the last 4-5 practices, I knew we would fare better than that. In fact, I expected us to do well, and I told the girls that. But even I couldn't have predicted doing as well as we did.
I know for a fact that several of the girls think we "suck" as a team with some even mentioning joining other teams. I think this tourney showed we don't suck and that we can be as good as we want to be.
Finishing 2nd out of 8 teams in the Silver bracket is a great accomplishment. I know for a fact that the SASC Radicals practice all year around with little exception and are part of a larger soccer club. The Radicals practice together with their sister club that plays in the A division of Class 3 (I play with their assistant coach). They play indoor and Futsal in the winter and numerous tournaments the rest of the year. So we have nothing to hang our heads about. We gave them a game and if you take away 10 minutes of the 2nd half, we were in a position to win the tournament.
Anyways, here is my brain fried recall of the events of the weekend that was District Cup 2008:
Game 1 vs. WV Cougers
1-0 (Tori w/assist from Elle)
This was a very close game that could have gone either way. We have played this team twice already in league play, both 1-1 ties. They have one girl that has the skill to break down a defender, but we held her in check for most of the game and won the game on a "back of the head" header from Tori off of a great cross from her big Sis. It was enough to hold up for a 1-0 win and a great start to the weekend (except for the 8am start).
Game 2 vs. Santa Clara Sporting
1-0 (Tori, with double assist from Chelsea and Kiara)
Just looking at their regular season results, I thought this was the team to beat in our group. As with all the games, very close and could have gone either way. But we scored what was probably one of our best goals so far as a comp team. Chelsea won possession just on our side of midfield. She quickly fed a thru ball down the wing to Kiara. The Sporting sweeper came out to intercept, but played right into Kiara's trap. Kiara poked the ball around her as the sweeper flew by. The sweeper even tried to clip Kiara as she went by, but Kiara managed to stay on her feet. She then sent a perfect pass to Tori who was all alone at the penalty spot. Tori trapped it, and calmly put a shot to the left of the keeper, who was frozen in her net. Textbook.
Game 3 vs. Mt. Hamilton United
3-1 (Nicole 2, Elle - don't recall the assists on this game, sorry)
A win and we were in the finals. A loss and we could have finished 3rd in the division. You'd think a 2-0 start would give you a better outlook than that, but that's tournament soccer.
Just seconds after the kickoff and Faith sent the ball down the line to Christina. Christina then fed a cross into the box and Nicole put it away off the crossbar and down into the goal for a very quick 1-0 lead. Good back and forth before a failed clearance by us allowed the United to equalize in the 2nd half. A tie would still have put us through in hindsight because the 4 points were enough to put us ahead of Sporting, who then could only tie us with a max point win (3-0) with us holding the head to head tiebreaker. But a 2 goal outburst in the last 5 minutes made the point moot as we finished group play undefeated.
Game 4 vs. SASC Radicals
2-4 (Lauren, Nicole)
This is the team that beat us 3-2 a few weeks back but many of our girls were ill and the Bennett girls were absent. This lead to my personal optimism that we would fare much better on this rematch. However, they had a few solid players that weren't in that first match also. We took a surprising 2-0 lead with 2 scrappy goals by Lauren and Nicole in the first half. The Radicals cut the lead to 1 just minutes before half time on a nice shot from about 25 yards out.
We started the 2nd half with the Bennett/Kiara front line and created no less than 5 great chances that we could not finish. I was certain we would score at least one more goal in the 2nd half the way we were playing. However, a ball that our girls thought was going out of bounds hit the hillside and miraculously stayed in bounds. As we watched, one of their girls kept running and tracked the ball down. She sent a cross from the sideline that went into the upper far corner that Diana had no chance at, even if she were 6-5 tall. Tie game.
At that point, you could see the wind come out of the girls sails. Momentum is a tough thing to turn. This is when you wish you could call a time out to regroup. I told the girls at halftime that the team that wanted it the most will win this game. Well, I guess we know the answer to that one. The Radicals had a very strong midfield that dominated both defensively and offensively once they tied the score.
That goal changed the momentum completely. For the next 10 minutes, it was all Radicals as we just ran out of gas and out of time. Great effort by all and a fantastic 2nd place finish that we can now boast on our team page.
Considering we only have 1 win in our previous 11 or so games going back to Spring, winning 3 in a row this weekend was a stretch to say the least. But as I told the team, we have been so close in all our games. Now that we've shown that we can win, let' see if we can now transfer this to league play and finish the Fall season strong!
Thanks for all the fan support from the parents and we'll see you at practice.
Dan
In fact, as we practiced the last 2 weeks leading up to the tournament, many of the girls felt we were going to lose badly (their words exactly). But from the improvement I saw at the last 4-5 practices, I knew we would fare better than that. In fact, I expected us to do well, and I told the girls that. But even I couldn't have predicted doing as well as we did.
I know for a fact that several of the girls think we "suck" as a team with some even mentioning joining other teams. I think this tourney showed we don't suck and that we can be as good as we want to be.
Finishing 2nd out of 8 teams in the Silver bracket is a great accomplishment. I know for a fact that the SASC Radicals practice all year around with little exception and are part of a larger soccer club. The Radicals practice together with their sister club that plays in the A division of Class 3 (I play with their assistant coach). They play indoor and Futsal in the winter and numerous tournaments the rest of the year. So we have nothing to hang our heads about. We gave them a game and if you take away 10 minutes of the 2nd half, we were in a position to win the tournament.
Anyways, here is my brain fried recall of the events of the weekend that was District Cup 2008:
Game 1 vs. WV Cougers
1-0 (Tori w/assist from Elle)
This was a very close game that could have gone either way. We have played this team twice already in league play, both 1-1 ties. They have one girl that has the skill to break down a defender, but we held her in check for most of the game and won the game on a "back of the head" header from Tori off of a great cross from her big Sis. It was enough to hold up for a 1-0 win and a great start to the weekend (except for the 8am start).
Game 2 vs. Santa Clara Sporting
1-0 (Tori, with double assist from Chelsea and Kiara)
Just looking at their regular season results, I thought this was the team to beat in our group. As with all the games, very close and could have gone either way. But we scored what was probably one of our best goals so far as a comp team. Chelsea won possession just on our side of midfield. She quickly fed a thru ball down the wing to Kiara. The Sporting sweeper came out to intercept, but played right into Kiara's trap. Kiara poked the ball around her as the sweeper flew by. The sweeper even tried to clip Kiara as she went by, but Kiara managed to stay on her feet. She then sent a perfect pass to Tori who was all alone at the penalty spot. Tori trapped it, and calmly put a shot to the left of the keeper, who was frozen in her net. Textbook.
Game 3 vs. Mt. Hamilton United
3-1 (Nicole 2, Elle - don't recall the assists on this game, sorry)
A win and we were in the finals. A loss and we could have finished 3rd in the division. You'd think a 2-0 start would give you a better outlook than that, but that's tournament soccer.
Just seconds after the kickoff and Faith sent the ball down the line to Christina. Christina then fed a cross into the box and Nicole put it away off the crossbar and down into the goal for a very quick 1-0 lead. Good back and forth before a failed clearance by us allowed the United to equalize in the 2nd half. A tie would still have put us through in hindsight because the 4 points were enough to put us ahead of Sporting, who then could only tie us with a max point win (3-0) with us holding the head to head tiebreaker. But a 2 goal outburst in the last 5 minutes made the point moot as we finished group play undefeated.
Game 4 vs. SASC Radicals
2-4 (Lauren, Nicole)
This is the team that beat us 3-2 a few weeks back but many of our girls were ill and the Bennett girls were absent. This lead to my personal optimism that we would fare much better on this rematch. However, they had a few solid players that weren't in that first match also. We took a surprising 2-0 lead with 2 scrappy goals by Lauren and Nicole in the first half. The Radicals cut the lead to 1 just minutes before half time on a nice shot from about 25 yards out.
We started the 2nd half with the Bennett/Kiara front line and created no less than 5 great chances that we could not finish. I was certain we would score at least one more goal in the 2nd half the way we were playing. However, a ball that our girls thought was going out of bounds hit the hillside and miraculously stayed in bounds. As we watched, one of their girls kept running and tracked the ball down. She sent a cross from the sideline that went into the upper far corner that Diana had no chance at, even if she were 6-5 tall. Tie game.
At that point, you could see the wind come out of the girls sails. Momentum is a tough thing to turn. This is when you wish you could call a time out to regroup. I told the girls at halftime that the team that wanted it the most will win this game. Well, I guess we know the answer to that one. The Radicals had a very strong midfield that dominated both defensively and offensively once they tied the score.
That goal changed the momentum completely. For the next 10 minutes, it was all Radicals as we just ran out of gas and out of time. Great effort by all and a fantastic 2nd place finish that we can now boast on our team page.
Considering we only have 1 win in our previous 11 or so games going back to Spring, winning 3 in a row this weekend was a stretch to say the least. But as I told the team, we have been so close in all our games. Now that we've shown that we can win, let' see if we can now transfer this to league play and finish the Fall season strong!
Thanks for all the fan support from the parents and we'll see you at practice.
Dan
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