Dutch Lions FC U9 Boys Orange @ SC Alliance U9 Boys
Date: Friday 10/5/2012, 6.00 PM
Score halftime: 3-2 Lions
Final score: 5-5
Player of the game: Luke
The U9 Boys Orange of the Dayton Dutch Lions showed 2 faces in their 5th game of the season against SC Alliance out of Sidney. There were moments in the game the Lions totally dominated and outplayed the opponent, but every time the Dutch Lions took a big lead they broke down and allowed the opponent to get back into the game. The lack of finishing the game when they could hurt the Dutch Lions at the end with the game ending in a 5-5 tie.
The Dutch Lions started fabulous. The first 10 minutes the score was 0-3 (goals by Luke, Trace and Mik), but could easily have been 0-6 or 0-7. Every time the Dutch Lions got the ball their offensive efforts ended in a scoring opportunity and when the Lions didn’t have the ball they won it back on the half of the other team. Coach Tommy was happy with the way his team started: “I think Usain Bolt would be jealous of the start we had today. We started so fast and hard and played amazing. These first 10 minutes were so great to watch. Too bad we tripped ourselves after these 10 minutes”. Coach Tommy refers to the the second part of the first half with his last comment. The Dutch Lions stopped playing hard and allowed the opponent to get back in the game. Really easy mistakes were made and instead of finishing the game by scoring 1 or 2 more goals the Dutch Lions gave the opponent the idea they could get something out of this game. Before halftime SC Alliance was able to score 2 goals, resulting in a 2-3 halftime score.
In the second half the Dutch Lions started very hard again and scored 2 goal (by Luke and Eben) really fast in the second half. Great passing, switching the field, run and overlaps totally dominated the game on the lions side. Player of the game, Luke, played a good game a forward. Receiving the ball, looking for an option pass and switching it a lot made his the player of the game on the Lions side. Having a comfortable lead again must have been the sign for the Dutch Lions to shift back a couple of gears. Not defending in the right way on long kicks from the opponent lead to a couple of chances and goals. Passing the ball through the middle by Dutch Lions defenders was the sign for the opponent to pressure and steal the ball, resulting in another goal. Right after the 5-5 the Dutch Lions started to play hard again, but with only 2 minutes to go is was too late to change the score in their favor.
After the game Coach Tommy was calm about the 2 faces the team showed: “I know part of it is the age. Some moments are great and others are quit bad. I am happy with the progress we making. Our good moments are getting way better and longer. It will be the case to keep extending our great phases in the game, but again, they are only 8 or 9. Winning is not the most important thing, even though we want to of course. I’m happy with the overall development of the individual players and the team. Getting more consistent will come with more playing experience and growing up.”
Dutch Lions FC U9 Boys Orange @ BSA Celtic 03 Blue
Date: Friday 10/5/2012, 6.00 PM
Score halftime: 2-1 Lions
Final score: 6-2 Lions
Player of the game: Trace
In their 6th game of the season, the second of this week, the Dayton Dutch Lions U9 Boys Orange beat BSA Celtic 03 Blue at their field. After a halftime score of 3-1 in favor of the Dutch Lions the game finished with a 6-2 score.
The Dutch Lions were on fire again in the beginning of the game. With a couple of minutes the Lions scored 2 goals taking a 2-0 lead. The first goal was scored by Ayden after a good cross from the side by Trace. The second goal was an amazing shot from Trace from pretty far. A little unlucky for the Lions was the goal of the Celtics. A shot that looked like an easy safe was missed by the goalkeeper, making the score 2-1. Coach Tommy was not upset about the goal: “We play with soccer players in the goal. We divide the goalkeeper time even over the players, which means that everybody has to play goalkeeper. If somebody to blame for a goalkeeper mistake it will be me, since I make the decision to put everybody in goal.”
In the second half the Dutch Lions started strong again and were able to play on the half of the Celtics all the time. The Dutch Lions played strong on defense, pressuring the opponent the whole second half when they had possession. It was Trace who scored the third goal for the Dutch Lions. A corner lick from Seth got deflected by a defender and went in the goal. Seth was able to score the 5th goal of the Lions after a long solo from the back. The 6th goal of the Dutch Lions was scored by Alex, who pushed in a rebound after a shot from Trace. In between the Dutch Lions goals BSA was able to score a very nice goal after a good attack from their side. Trace was involved with a lot of the Dutch Lions attacks, but also worked hard on defense. He was always back to help out when needed and with the ball a constant treat for the opponent. Because of this he was chosen as player of the game on the Lions side.
Coach Tommy was a proud coach after the game: “I think we played a good game and showed the lessons of the game on Friday were still fresh in our memory. We didn’t make the same mistake, which shows the development the players and team are going through right now. Even though we never reached the level of our best phase in the Friday, we played overall better today. We were able to be more consistent in the game and never got into any trouble this game.”
Dayton Dutch Lions FC U-9 Girls – Boro Blast
October 6, 2012
Score: 6 – 10 Loss (Half time 4 – 5 )
Player of the day :Sidney
On a early, cold Saturday morning the superstars of the DDL FC U-9 girls played there 6th game against Boro Blast. It was a very exciting game for the parents, girls and coach. The game went up and down and every 5 minutes there was 1 or 2 scored goals. After the last whistle the score was 6-10 for Boro Blast. ‘Pure scoreboard journalism’ coach W. said. I think both team played very good if the score was tie then everybody would be happy with that. Normally when you score 6 goals you will win the game but we didn’t do that this time. After the game coach W. saw a lot of good moves and a lot of good passing. Sometimes the passes get intercepted by the other team and they scored goals.
Next week we play against BSA Celtic and when we score the goals as we did last game and play defense as we did against FC Bellbrook Eagles we will win that game.
Dutch Lions FC U12 Boys Orange – Springfield Thunder Navy 00
Saturday October 6, 10.00 PM
Halftime Score: 1-4
Final Score: 2-8
Player of the Game: Richard
After playing a bad game last weekend the Lions where determined to do a lot better in this weekend’s game.
The Lions started the game very unluckily, being 1 goal behind after 45 seconds with a terrific shot in the top corner, leaving GK Joshua nailed to the ground. Still the Lions stayed confident and focused on playing their game, trying to look for short and fast combinations and creating some good opportunities for Gavin, Sam, Griffin and Richard to score. Taking some risks with the building up and not always being positioned correctly in defense made that the Springfield team scored 3 more goals in the first half. The Lions were able to score one goal with a nice shot from Richard, who was the most dangerous player for the Lions throughout the game, what resulted in him being nominated as player of the game.
With 1-4 at half time and 30 more minutes to go the message from Coach Sid for the second half was clear, keep up the good play and close the gaps in the defense. The Lions did exactly this and were able to score another goal from Richard who got the ball in his own half and was able to use his speed and technique correctly and ended up placing the ball in the far corner scoring one of the best goals of the game. During the remaining of the game it was fairly open with the end result being 2-8 resulting of two more goals from Springfield and two unlucky own goals from the Lions.
Coach Sid “we knew we were facing a strong team today, in my opinion the best team in the league, they play a organized and skillful style of soccer with lots of speed, technique and aggression. I think we played a good game to and I saw some really good combinations out there today, unfortunately it wasn’t enough to make life hard for our opponent. Today, for the first time, we lost because the other team was simply further in their development than we are, but I would like to play them again in a year time or so…”
Game: Dayton Dutch Lions FC Boys U12 -Blue - SC Alliance
Gamedate/time: 10/6, 10:30am
Score: 1 -5(1 -2) Loss
Player of the Game: Matthias
With a decisive win against this same team the last time we played them (7-3), the Lions came out ready to take home more points. With credit to SC Alliance that came out hitting on all cylinders for the whole game, we kept up with the opponents only in the first half. This led to a 5-1 loss.
In the first half the Lions' passes mostly hit their mark. This led to 7 shots on goal with 1 of those going to the back of the net. The opponents however had 14 shots on goal but our defense led by goalie Matthias Dewhurst kept all but 2 of those from scoring. The one goal we scored was a great combination between the long pass from Bobby to Sam who fired a rocket past the goalie. Our weaknesses showed through though. We were caught offsides on 3 occasions and we didn't make the most of the 7 SOGs we had.
The second half we increased our SOGs to 10 for the half but again, none of them went to the back of the net. The opponents also increased their SOGs to 15 with 3 of those slipping in. Our passing seemed somewhat haphazard and after the 3-1, we didn’t had the opportunity to come back in the game.
Game: DDL FC U12 Girls vs. Grand Lake United Bulldogs
Date: Sunday, October 7, 2012 4:00 pm
Result: L 6-3
Players of the Game: Paige and Karah
This was a tough game for the girls. Playing against a very tall and physical team, the girls were caught out of their element. Being a small team, the Lions usually prefer to play a finesse game, but they rose to the occasion and put up a fight. Tackling with more ferocity and consistency than usual, the Lions were able to disrupt the opposition’s attack most of the team. The game started off much closer than the final score appeared, with the Lions starting down 1-0, then scoring twice in a span of five minutes to take a 2-1 lead. The first goal was scored by Karah, and then Autumn added another tally to the Lions’ score sheet. Karah netted another goal later in the game to add to her total. Defensively the girls held strong, with plenty of excellent tackling, marking, and possession from Rachel, Elana, Devyn, Keyda and Robyn. Anchoring the back was Grace, submitting another stellar performance in goal and preventing the score from being much more lopsided. Coach Eric was proud of the girls, saying that “we fought really hard today. Obviously we didn’t get the result we hoped to achieve, but given the size and speed of the other team I think we did really well. I saw many girls go into tackles unafraid, trying and completing moves they learned in practice with success, and basically growing as players. I think it took a team of this physicality to bring out the best in some of us, and we were able to respond to that.”
Offensively the girls were one touch slow on this day. They were able to get themselves into the right positions, but often took one touch too many before looking to shoot or pass. Nonetheless the exhibited better communication than they have in the past, as was evidenced by less confusion when the Lions had the ball. There is always room for improvement in the communication realm, but this was definitely a step forward for the girls. They showed a strong resolve to try and possess the ball despite the physical nature of the game, and were rewarded when they caught the Bulldogs out of position on several occasions. A few good saves by the opposition’s keeper, a few errant shots, and some last-second defense prevented the girls from finding the back of the net more often than they did. Paige was able to successfully hold onto the ball on several occasions in the attacking third, using her moves and body to keep the ball away from the defenders before drawing a foul or finding an open teammate. Karah was able to find herself in open space in various places on the field, and then used her speed to navigate her way towards the goal. As a unit, the girls were able to push up in numbers for the first time in many games.
This game was full of individual battles defensively. Devyn and Elana were often facing an attacker nearly twice their size, and successfully forced them wide or tackled them on many occasions. The girls were much more disciplined this game in the past, reducing the amount of times that they stabbed defensively, and increased their sustained pressure on the ball. The disconnect between the defensive effort and the score stems from transition. Although the girls were able to get numbers up offensively, the transition back to defense was often not as fast as it needed to be, leaving the defense down a player or two. The defensive transition was better than games past, but this team was big enough and fast enough to capitalize on those opportunities. Coach Eric said that “this was another game of growth for the girls, and hopefully they can understand the circumstances that they went up against. We are a young, new team, and there’s a certain learning curve with that. We’re catching up, but we haven’t quite put all the pieces together yet.”
Game: Dayton Dutch Lions FC U13 Girls – Urbana Girls
Date/time: October 7th 2012, 2.30PM
Score: 8-0 (2-0)
Player of the day: TEAM
The U13 Girls got their biggest win of the season today. Urbana girls stayed with us until half time (2-0), but in the second there was no stopping us: 8-0.
The U13 Girls took initiative from the start and had most of the ball possession on the attacking half, but weren’t able to create too many changes. The field was too small and Urbana didn’t give us a lot of space to play in. Our first open change comes in the 25th minute for Emily, but see isn’t able to finish (yet). This change is the start of many changes and a lot of goals. Before half time Hannah scores of a throw in (!!) of Grace and Emily gets 2 more changes and her third change is a goal.
At half coach Patrick, who replaced coach Erik, tells the girls to spread out more and use the wings and also to dribble less and pass the ball faster to the other side to create space and 1 on 1‘s. The words are picked up well and within 2 minutes Gaby gets her first goal of her hattrick: 5-0
In the last 10 minutes the girls get moved around a little and center defender Jenea and goalkeeper Kennedy get to play on top. Cheyenne scores a left footed goal, which made her extremely happy, and both Jenea and Kennedy score a goal to finish of this game with a huge smile for all girls.
Coach Patrick really enjoyed his 1 game as the U13 Girls coach. “It’s a fun group to work with and today they played a good game but most of all they were really affective in front of the goal. Out of 12 changes we scored 8 goals and we didn’t give up 1 shot. It’s also fun that players that normally play defence get the chance to play up and even score a goal. I’ll try to make it to another game and I want to wish the girls luck and fun for the rest of the season.”
Game: Dayton Dutch Lions FC U14 Boys – Warrior U14Boys
Date/time: October 6th 2012, 10.45 AM
Score: 0-3 (0-1)
Player of the day: Dylan, for his absolute will to win
After winning the first game of the season the Dutch Lions FC U14 Boys are still in search for their second win. The Buckeye League is a tough league and especially physically we are having a hard time to keep up with the opponent. Also today we weren’t able to take the win: 0-3
The U14 Boys are having a hard time to translate practice to the games. At practice we pass, move without ball and play nice keep away, but as soon as we go into a game we lack to play it in a pace that’s fast enough to outplay an opponent who, most of the time, bases their game on physic, strength and speed.
The first 25 minutes we played pretty good with the best attack of the game ending with a flick thru with the heel from Alex to Brendan who wasn’t able to shoot with enough strength to beat the goalkeeper. After that period the Warriors picked up the pace and started to play with a lot more energy and physic. Trent had to make 2 nice saves, but overall defence was playing a solid game. That we got scored on in the last minute of the first half was a huge disappointment. A strong corner got headed in and the referee called half time immediately.
At half time the coach made it really clear that a game is not just about nice passing and some heels here and there, but also about passion. During the second half the boys tried, but it wasn’t enough to get the win.
Coach Patrick was disappointed after the game. “I know, and I said it before, we don’t have the tallest team out there but it’s more than just physic. It’s the absolute will to win and make the best of every pass, move, defensive action etc. I got the feeling that the other wants to win more than we do a lot of times and that’s disappointing. It has to come from the heart. Next week we get two more changes to get a win in the Buckeye before Fall season is over, but more important than that I want to see a team with a big heart who tries to play good soccer. Than the win will come for sure!”