For the last game of the MSPSP league season we faced the Troy Alliance...a co-champion from last year's league and winner of several pre-season tournaments. But we finally had our full roster available. In a pre-warmup discussion, we made it a priority to focus our efforts and properly prepare for the game. I also told the players to end this season like they started it...in control and with a "W". They did not disappoint.
The team came out from the opening whistle pressing the Alliance players back into their own half of the field while out-possessing them by keeping the ball on the ground and playing to feet and open spaces. For the game, the Warriors outshot Troy 18-2, with 11 shots in the first half alone. Things were a little frustrating to start as we racked up a number of shots...with no goals to show for them. Hannah Huff broke things open with a 20 yard strike from center to give us our first goal.
In the second half, the Alliance came out strong (as I coached the team they would) and made a couple of good attempts on our net. Katie Ging was subbed in at forward after playing the first half as the keeper...and the team keeper proceded to nail a low driven ball at the Troy net that resulted in our second goal. It quieted the Troy comeback to say the least. Erin Castillo weathered the attempted comeback by Troy as the keeper in the second half and played excellently.
Emily Loza pursued a ball all the way to the Troy endline, pulled it back, and sent a beautiful arcing cutback pass back into the six yard box. Kara Birrell was there to receive and made a very creative play on the ball - curling it up and over the keepers head and into the net with her back to the net. It was a good way to put a cap on the game and the outdoor season.
The defense, led by Kelsey Beach, denied all attempts by the Troy team to penetrate. Aimee Jackson, Emily Mayer, Faith Lieder, Lisa Zaffina, and Shellie Marentette cleared early in our own defensive third...but played the ball under control in the midfield as directed. They filled space and shaped their defensive line based on what the game was showing them. The maturity of this group was impressive.
The midfield contracted and expanded as needed, and played wide and long as the game developed. Jessica Cook had an impressive outing, battling for every ball and setting up several opportunities. Similarly, Emily Loza, Hannah Rhoades, and Erin Castillo all added strength on the outsides...playing the touchline and switch/flighted ball well. Emily Rozin and Hannah Huff owned the middle of the field allowing very little penetration while setting up a lot of our wide play and strikes from the middle.
As we played most of the game in a 4-4-2 shape to counteract Troy's midfield, our forwards had their work cut out for them as they had to work to avoid being stranded. To be most effective they would have to play within the width of the frame of the net and allow the midfield to wrap around them to develop the attack. For the most part that is how things evolved...but we have a very fast set of strikers in the grouping of Shelby Watts, Meggy McConkey, Andrea Dumais, Alyssa Bolling, and Kara Birrell, so it is tough for the midfield to catch up to them. A few well-placed chips and splits and the strikers found themselves in a couple of breakaways...which unfortunately were not finished. The forwards did combine very well with each other and set up some very good opportunities.
This was probably the most well-played game of the season for the team. We were able to make use of all of our weapons, stuck to the game plan, and executed when it really mattered. They made it look easy against a very good opponent. We need to carry this effort into our indoor and training season...and ultimately into their high school seasons.
The team ended the outdoor season 5-2-2, with only 2 goals separating us from the top team in the division. It was a competitive division with the top 4 teams being separated by one point between each. Officially, we had the most potent offense with 24 goals in the league and the second most effective defense giving up only 9 goals in 9 games. Every game, every goal, and every play ultimately matters in the MSPSP season...as we found out once again this year.
Congratulations on a solid season.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
MSPSP League Game #8 vs. Clarkston Shadows (Loss 1-0)
An extremely competitive and exciting game between cross town rivals is one way to describe this contest. Another way is to say this game is the reason they make heart medication. Once again, injuries and absences factored into the final result...but we definitely had our share of opportunities.
We took the offensive from the first whistle and played extremely good possession soccer for the first 10-15 minutes. The passing game set up several good runs and two very good scoring chances in the early minutes of the game. Everyone played with extra intensity due to the familiarity with the opponent. In particular, Andrea Dumais who is a Clarkston HS student, played a great game and gave the Clarkston defense a lot to contend with. Shelby Watts and Alyssa Bolling played aggressively in the midfield and in the attacking third, as well as Emily Rozin who had a tough assignment all afternoon with Clarkston's star midfielder.
After a few fruitless attempts on net, the momentum began to swing over to Clarkston as they mounted the attack. Their strikers up top displayed a lot of speed and good ball control. Our defense still contained them all afternoon with the exception of one run on the outside where the striker took the inside track and struck on net for the only goal of the game.
Katie Ging made some exciting saves during this period to keep us in the game, but even as we pressed the attack...we could not find the back of the net. Panic in front of the net and failure to force the opposing keeper to do the hard work cost us this game.
We took the offensive from the first whistle and played extremely good possession soccer for the first 10-15 minutes. The passing game set up several good runs and two very good scoring chances in the early minutes of the game. Everyone played with extra intensity due to the familiarity with the opponent. In particular, Andrea Dumais who is a Clarkston HS student, played a great game and gave the Clarkston defense a lot to contend with. Shelby Watts and Alyssa Bolling played aggressively in the midfield and in the attacking third, as well as Emily Rozin who had a tough assignment all afternoon with Clarkston's star midfielder.
After a few fruitless attempts on net, the momentum began to swing over to Clarkston as they mounted the attack. Their strikers up top displayed a lot of speed and good ball control. Our defense still contained them all afternoon with the exception of one run on the outside where the striker took the inside track and struck on net for the only goal of the game.
Katie Ging made some exciting saves during this period to keep us in the game, but even as we pressed the attack...we could not find the back of the net. Panic in front of the net and failure to force the opposing keeper to do the hard work cost us this game.
MSPSP League Game # 7 vs. Michigan Gators (Loss 3-2)
At this point in the season, this game was between the #1 and #2 teams in the division. Unfortunately, we came into this game with a series of unfortunate injuries and absences, half of which happened to be in the defense. We made several adjustments to bolster the defense while balancing the midfield and strikers. We had several individual standouts in the game, but just never seemed to click as a team on this cold gameday.
Alyssa Bolling aided the defense and played an extremely physical game on both ends. She added a goal off a well placed corner kick from Hannah Rhoades to give us the first lead. Shelby Watts made a good run into the attacking third and got dumped in the 18 yard box. Moments later, Hannah Huff would finish a penalty kick to give us our 2nd and last goal of the game. Kelsey Beach anchored the defense as we were forced to play a little more lean than normal under certain circumstances. Emily Loza played a physical game forcing several turnovers on the outside lane, while Hannah Rhoades contributed several flighted balls into the attacking third including one that rebounded off the crossbar and missed being a goal by mere inches.
Our main issue in this game came from the Gators star striker. Basically placing herself with the last defenders and waiting for thru-ball passes. The Gators only managed about 35% possession time with fewer than half the shots on goal as us...but they converted 3 of them into goals. It was a very competitive game overall...but definitely one we could have won. Tied 2-2, we got caught in transition between our 3-4-3 formation (to push for goal) and converting back to our 4-3-3 formation (to defend/balance). The Gators striker took the ball with a defender on her heels and finished one on us with minutes left in the game.
Alyssa Bolling aided the defense and played an extremely physical game on both ends. She added a goal off a well placed corner kick from Hannah Rhoades to give us the first lead. Shelby Watts made a good run into the attacking third and got dumped in the 18 yard box. Moments later, Hannah Huff would finish a penalty kick to give us our 2nd and last goal of the game. Kelsey Beach anchored the defense as we were forced to play a little more lean than normal under certain circumstances. Emily Loza played a physical game forcing several turnovers on the outside lane, while Hannah Rhoades contributed several flighted balls into the attacking third including one that rebounded off the crossbar and missed being a goal by mere inches.
Our main issue in this game came from the Gators star striker. Basically placing herself with the last defenders and waiting for thru-ball passes. The Gators only managed about 35% possession time with fewer than half the shots on goal as us...but they converted 3 of them into goals. It was a very competitive game overall...but definitely one we could have won. Tied 2-2, we got caught in transition between our 3-4-3 formation (to push for goal) and converting back to our 4-3-3 formation (to defend/balance). The Gators striker took the ball with a defender on her heels and finished one on us with minutes left in the game.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Change to Clarkston Game
We have a change to the 10/25 game versus Clarkston:
MSPSL Classic 2 League Game #8
Sunday October 25, 2009 @ 5:00pm vs. Clarkston Shadows away (Clintonwood)
It is now being played at 5pm due to daylight concerns.
MSPSL Classic 2 League Game #8
Sunday October 25, 2009 @ 5:00pm vs. Clarkston Shadows away (Clintonwood)
It is now being played at 5pm due to daylight concerns.
MSPSP League Game #6 vs. NMSC Lightning (Win 4-0)
We played this team 6 short weeks ago in the Midland Invitational tournament, with the result being a 1-1 tie. This is a solid team that has always been on par with us in all of our competitions.
As this new contest opened up, we spent the first five minutes settling down and giving NMSC a number of chances on goal. We made some early adjustments to move players around and account for missing players. After these tense moments passed and we settled into a possession game once more...things changed.
The next 75 minutes belonged to us, spanning the remainder of the first half and the entire second half. NMSC played hard throughout the contest and displayed a high level of skill...but they could not match our possession and finishing ability. Huff and Rozin continued to build on their central midfield play and setup some great possession and scoring opportunities. For the contest, we had 12 shots on goal...with 4 of them in the back of the net. We also had 4 corner kicks...the last one almost put in by Lisa Zaffina who struck the goalpost with her header attempt.
About 10 minutes into the contest, Shelby Watts broke the scoring deadlock by firing a shot on goal unassisted that had some wicked topspin on it. The goalkeeper actually got to the ball, but the topspin on the ball caused it to walk right up her body and into the goal. Not especially pretty, but it counted all the same.
Hannah Rhoades set up the second goal of the contest by utilizing her ball skills and beating first one, and then a second, defender on the ground. A nicely passed central ball put it at the foot of Shelby Watts right up the middle. A second later we were up 2-0 courtesy of Shelby's finish.
We went to the half 2-0. We had already seen dangerous midfield shots from Hannah Huff, Hannah Rhoades, and Emily Loza. Erin Castillo and Jessica Cook worked well on the field to maintain possession and challenge NMSC players. The strikers were working hard with Shelby's runs and goals, and also Meggy McConkey beating players up top to set up some good scoring opportunities. Kara Birrell excelled at offensive possession, keeping the ball on the field and setting up a number of central pass/run combinations with her teammates.
In the second half, Meggy McConkey turned up the heat on NMSC and worked herself deep into the attacking third several times. One of these runs with the ball put her on the far side of the net, where she turned and fired a great cross clear across the goal mouth...right to a waiting Shelby Watts who finished it for her third goal. Our final goal was setup by a series of passes deep in the NMSC attacking third, ending with a back support pass from Shelby to a running Emily Loza who nailed the ball for her first MSPSP League goal of the season. In the second half, Katie Ging was subbed in goal by Erin Castillo. Both Katie and Erin played great and allowed us to post the shutout. Katie got some playtime at forward and struck a ball that just missed the crossbar.
Our possession game was great and was finally capped by an equally impressive finishing game. The entire team was on the same page as far as possession, even utilizing the goalkeeper on a number of situations, and really working well together.
On the defensive end of the ball, we had a number of adjustments that had to be made early in the game. Aimee Jackson and Faith Lieder were both out for this game, so Lisa Zaffina was moved to central defender with Kelsey Beach. The rest of the defensive unit was Emily Mayer and Shellie Marantette. These four ladies played the entire 80 minutes and did a super job. They held their shape well, pushed players as the situation presented itself, shutdown runs, and even hustled to break up a couple of breakaways that NMSC worked themselves into. Kelsey provided great leadership to the unit and worked with Lisa, who had not played defense in quite a while. They worked things out in the back, and Lisa had a great game as a result. It actually added a dimension to our set plays (free kicks and corner kicks), as we could push Lisa in for a finish as the other three held the defensive space. I was very impressed by the play of the defensive unit during this game.
We are two-thirds of the way done with our MSPSP league schedule. We are currently the division leaders. We have three critical games ahead of us: Michigan Gators, Clarkston, and Troy. In each game, we will be the target and must be prepared to execute at the level we played on Sunday...or better. We are getting things together and peaking at the right time. Stay focused, practice hard, and play even harder.
Next game is Sunday 10/11 in Lenox township versus the 2nd place Michigan Gators.
As this new contest opened up, we spent the first five minutes settling down and giving NMSC a number of chances on goal. We made some early adjustments to move players around and account for missing players. After these tense moments passed and we settled into a possession game once more...things changed.
The next 75 minutes belonged to us, spanning the remainder of the first half and the entire second half. NMSC played hard throughout the contest and displayed a high level of skill...but they could not match our possession and finishing ability. Huff and Rozin continued to build on their central midfield play and setup some great possession and scoring opportunities. For the contest, we had 12 shots on goal...with 4 of them in the back of the net. We also had 4 corner kicks...the last one almost put in by Lisa Zaffina who struck the goalpost with her header attempt.
About 10 minutes into the contest, Shelby Watts broke the scoring deadlock by firing a shot on goal unassisted that had some wicked topspin on it. The goalkeeper actually got to the ball, but the topspin on the ball caused it to walk right up her body and into the goal. Not especially pretty, but it counted all the same.
Hannah Rhoades set up the second goal of the contest by utilizing her ball skills and beating first one, and then a second, defender on the ground. A nicely passed central ball put it at the foot of Shelby Watts right up the middle. A second later we were up 2-0 courtesy of Shelby's finish.
We went to the half 2-0. We had already seen dangerous midfield shots from Hannah Huff, Hannah Rhoades, and Emily Loza. Erin Castillo and Jessica Cook worked well on the field to maintain possession and challenge NMSC players. The strikers were working hard with Shelby's runs and goals, and also Meggy McConkey beating players up top to set up some good scoring opportunities. Kara Birrell excelled at offensive possession, keeping the ball on the field and setting up a number of central pass/run combinations with her teammates.
In the second half, Meggy McConkey turned up the heat on NMSC and worked herself deep into the attacking third several times. One of these runs with the ball put her on the far side of the net, where she turned and fired a great cross clear across the goal mouth...right to a waiting Shelby Watts who finished it for her third goal. Our final goal was setup by a series of passes deep in the NMSC attacking third, ending with a back support pass from Shelby to a running Emily Loza who nailed the ball for her first MSPSP League goal of the season. In the second half, Katie Ging was subbed in goal by Erin Castillo. Both Katie and Erin played great and allowed us to post the shutout. Katie got some playtime at forward and struck a ball that just missed the crossbar.
Our possession game was great and was finally capped by an equally impressive finishing game. The entire team was on the same page as far as possession, even utilizing the goalkeeper on a number of situations, and really working well together.
On the defensive end of the ball, we had a number of adjustments that had to be made early in the game. Aimee Jackson and Faith Lieder were both out for this game, so Lisa Zaffina was moved to central defender with Kelsey Beach. The rest of the defensive unit was Emily Mayer and Shellie Marantette. These four ladies played the entire 80 minutes and did a super job. They held their shape well, pushed players as the situation presented itself, shutdown runs, and even hustled to break up a couple of breakaways that NMSC worked themselves into. Kelsey provided great leadership to the unit and worked with Lisa, who had not played defense in quite a while. They worked things out in the back, and Lisa had a great game as a result. It actually added a dimension to our set plays (free kicks and corner kicks), as we could push Lisa in for a finish as the other three held the defensive space. I was very impressed by the play of the defensive unit during this game.
We are two-thirds of the way done with our MSPSP league schedule. We are currently the division leaders. We have three critical games ahead of us: Michigan Gators, Clarkston, and Troy. In each game, we will be the target and must be prepared to execute at the level we played on Sunday...or better. We are getting things together and peaking at the right time. Stay focused, practice hard, and play even harder.
Next game is Sunday 10/11 in Lenox township versus the 2nd place Michigan Gators.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
MSPSP League Game #5 vs. Michigan Sting (Tie 1-1)
This was a cold night that saw the availability of daylight quickly evaporate. The fact that our referees showed up 20 minutes late did not help either, especially since we were forced to call the game 10 minutes early. It is what it is. This game now places us more than halfway done with our MSPSP fall league schedule (game #5 of 9). At this point, we are the first place team in our division with a 2 point lead over the Michigan Gators. We still have a lot of tough games ahead of us, but we are positioned well to compete for the title. Our division is very close...with a number of ties occurring throughout (7 in the month of September).
The game stats: 14 shots on goal, versus 7 against. 4 corner kicks for us, versus 0 against us. 60-70% possession.
Bottomline: we walked away with a tie (1-1).
We definitely improved in the area of possession and accuracy of simple passing options. I saw a lot better focus on getting heads up and finding players. We used the central midfield a lot more effectively than in past games. The Michigan Sting tended to play a long ball game, and I was happy to see that we did not really get sucked into that. We kept the ball on the ground and played possession. Hannah Huff and Emily Rozin worked very hard to control the midfield and set the wide and central attack options up. Their work in the center of the field was a good example of how we should be setting up the attack.
So...what happened? Simply, we lacked a coordinated attack. We possessed well, but there was no urgency in the attacking third to finish on the net until the last 10-15 minutes of the game. We had isolated individual efforts that were notable (Meggy, Shelby, Hannah Rhoades, etc) throughout the game. But not until the last 10-15 minutes of the game did the whole team decide to attack the net as a team. The result of that coordinated attack was a goal by Shelby (off a nice centering pass from Kara), 3 corner kick opportunities, forced the Sting to play 6 defenders in the back, and at least 6 shots on net. The urgency we showed in the last 10-15 minutes of this game is the level of intensity and coordination that we need to be displaying from the beginning of every game. We made adjustments (converting to 3-5-2 to flood the midfield) but the real issue was one of urgency and desire to score.
We had a rare turnover in our own defensive third that resulted in a goal by the Sting, allowing them to score on one of their few opportunities. We worked through a slight breakdown in shape and spacing in the defense...that we will attribute to the cold weather conditions slowing down our adjustements. Basically, the defense needs to ensure that we start compact in our shape and force plays to the outside or funnel into other defenders to help.
We will be concentrating on the finishing and combination aspects that should follow the build up of possession in the next few training sessions. We should see our efforts to possess the ball followed up by dangerous strikes on net, otherwise we are just playing a big game of keep-away.
The game stats: 14 shots on goal, versus 7 against. 4 corner kicks for us, versus 0 against us. 60-70% possession.
Bottomline: we walked away with a tie (1-1).
We definitely improved in the area of possession and accuracy of simple passing options. I saw a lot better focus on getting heads up and finding players. We used the central midfield a lot more effectively than in past games. The Michigan Sting tended to play a long ball game, and I was happy to see that we did not really get sucked into that. We kept the ball on the ground and played possession. Hannah Huff and Emily Rozin worked very hard to control the midfield and set the wide and central attack options up. Their work in the center of the field was a good example of how we should be setting up the attack.
So...what happened? Simply, we lacked a coordinated attack. We possessed well, but there was no urgency in the attacking third to finish on the net until the last 10-15 minutes of the game. We had isolated individual efforts that were notable (Meggy, Shelby, Hannah Rhoades, etc) throughout the game. But not until the last 10-15 minutes of the game did the whole team decide to attack the net as a team. The result of that coordinated attack was a goal by Shelby (off a nice centering pass from Kara), 3 corner kick opportunities, forced the Sting to play 6 defenders in the back, and at least 6 shots on net. The urgency we showed in the last 10-15 minutes of this game is the level of intensity and coordination that we need to be displaying from the beginning of every game. We made adjustments (converting to 3-5-2 to flood the midfield) but the real issue was one of urgency and desire to score.
We had a rare turnover in our own defensive third that resulted in a goal by the Sting, allowing them to score on one of their few opportunities. We worked through a slight breakdown in shape and spacing in the defense...that we will attribute to the cold weather conditions slowing down our adjustements. Basically, the defense needs to ensure that we start compact in our shape and force plays to the outside or funnel into other defenders to help.
We will be concentrating on the finishing and combination aspects that should follow the build up of possession in the next few training sessions. We should see our efforts to possess the ball followed up by dangerous strikes on net, otherwise we are just playing a big game of keep-away.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
MSPSP League Game #4 vs. Huron Valley Lightning (Win 1-0)
Awesome job Katie! Shut-out, stopped PK, solid play all night long!
Before I describe this game, I wanted to recognize Katie for her outstanding performance tonight...worthy of upfront recognition. Katie had an answer for everything Huron Valley threw at her (and even the things the officials tossed her way). Good job.
A very frustrating game to say the least. We played very well in the first half...almost too well it would seem. 11 shots on goal with 5 of them being 1-on-1 with the keeper or quality shots. While the HV goalkeeper (a former Warrior) played well, we made her look better by putting shots right to her or by missing open net opportunities after we had beat the defense and the keeper in some instances. Control of simple passing options hurt from time to time, but there were solid stretches of good ball control and well set up strikes on net. Unbelievably, we went to the half 0-0.
We decided to unbalance the HV defense and concentrate on sewing up the middle of the field (which is where HV had set up the few counterstrikes they put together on us). We switched to a 4-2-4 formation putting a big emphasis on outnumbering the defense and consolidating the midfield with the outside defenders forming their shape (by pushing a player on the strong side) to fill in for the wide midfielder. We ran this formation for about 10 minutes and then worked back into the 4-3-3 when we saw them drop a forward back into the defensive midfield spot to try and counter the number of attacking players. In the midst of them switching again to adjust, Shelby Watts made a great run into the box with the ball unassisted and struck on net. The goalkeeper actually saved the first attempt, but Shelby stayed with the attack and put the rebound in.
This was an aggressive and physical game on both sides. In and of itself, that is fine. We can handle a rougher game...and even tend to like it. Huron Valley was getting desparate to score a goal and we were conversely stepping up to prevent that. However, the official starting calling a tight game...but mainly against us (in my opinion). Even though HV racked up an impressive number of yellow cards (2), it paled in comparison to the obvious focus he was placing on us (3 yellow cards and 1 red). He also awarded an unusually high number of free kicks, corner kicks, and even a PK for what most at this level would consider incidental contact. I want to thank everyone for keeping their cool (as much as possible) and gritting it out. It was getting way too predictable. I did stay after the game and have a very lengthy discussion with the officials. While I am not sure how much of my feedback got through, I do plan to let the state know about how this game was called.
Lesson learned from this game relating to officals for the players. When you are on the field, you are a player not a referee. You are encouraged to question calls in a respectful manner when you do not understand...but do not get emotional or talk back to the referee. In this case, this main official considers that unsporting behavior and it continued to color his calls against us for most of the night. You have to continue to play hard, but when we have the lead...settle down, focus on possession and controlling the clock. Don't do anything to put the fate of the game in the official's hands. Even incidental contact becomes a penalty when the focus is on you (especially certain players that he can point out by number). HV was awarded a PK on a defensive battle in the far end of the 18 yard box for exactly this issue. As stated previously however, Katie had the answer to this PK in the form of a punch over the crossbar (yay).
This game saw the return of Meggy McConkey to the line-up for those that having been following her progress. We are glad to have Meggy back from her injury. The rest did her well and she looks game fit once again.
We will close out our September schedule this Wednesday against the Michigan Sting, and look to finish the second half of the season in October in similar statistical fashion as the first half.
Go Warriors!
Before I describe this game, I wanted to recognize Katie for her outstanding performance tonight...worthy of upfront recognition. Katie had an answer for everything Huron Valley threw at her (and even the things the officials tossed her way). Good job.
A very frustrating game to say the least. We played very well in the first half...almost too well it would seem. 11 shots on goal with 5 of them being 1-on-1 with the keeper or quality shots. While the HV goalkeeper (a former Warrior) played well, we made her look better by putting shots right to her or by missing open net opportunities after we had beat the defense and the keeper in some instances. Control of simple passing options hurt from time to time, but there were solid stretches of good ball control and well set up strikes on net. Unbelievably, we went to the half 0-0.
We decided to unbalance the HV defense and concentrate on sewing up the middle of the field (which is where HV had set up the few counterstrikes they put together on us). We switched to a 4-2-4 formation putting a big emphasis on outnumbering the defense and consolidating the midfield with the outside defenders forming their shape (by pushing a player on the strong side) to fill in for the wide midfielder. We ran this formation for about 10 minutes and then worked back into the 4-3-3 when we saw them drop a forward back into the defensive midfield spot to try and counter the number of attacking players. In the midst of them switching again to adjust, Shelby Watts made a great run into the box with the ball unassisted and struck on net. The goalkeeper actually saved the first attempt, but Shelby stayed with the attack and put the rebound in.
This was an aggressive and physical game on both sides. In and of itself, that is fine. We can handle a rougher game...and even tend to like it. Huron Valley was getting desparate to score a goal and we were conversely stepping up to prevent that. However, the official starting calling a tight game...but mainly against us (in my opinion). Even though HV racked up an impressive number of yellow cards (2), it paled in comparison to the obvious focus he was placing on us (3 yellow cards and 1 red). He also awarded an unusually high number of free kicks, corner kicks, and even a PK for what most at this level would consider incidental contact. I want to thank everyone for keeping their cool (as much as possible) and gritting it out. It was getting way too predictable. I did stay after the game and have a very lengthy discussion with the officials. While I am not sure how much of my feedback got through, I do plan to let the state know about how this game was called.
Lesson learned from this game relating to officals for the players. When you are on the field, you are a player not a referee. You are encouraged to question calls in a respectful manner when you do not understand...but do not get emotional or talk back to the referee. In this case, this main official considers that unsporting behavior and it continued to color his calls against us for most of the night. You have to continue to play hard, but when we have the lead...settle down, focus on possession and controlling the clock. Don't do anything to put the fate of the game in the official's hands. Even incidental contact becomes a penalty when the focus is on you (especially certain players that he can point out by number). HV was awarded a PK on a defensive battle in the far end of the 18 yard box for exactly this issue. As stated previously however, Katie had the answer to this PK in the form of a punch over the crossbar (yay).
This game saw the return of Meggy McConkey to the line-up for those that having been following her progress. We are glad to have Meggy back from her injury. The rest did her well and she looks game fit once again.
We will close out our September schedule this Wednesday against the Michigan Sting, and look to finish the second half of the season in October in similar statistical fashion as the first half.
Go Warriors!
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