Dutch Lions U17 Boys vs CU Slam
Date: Sunday 02/03/2013, 6PM
Final score: 1-4 Loss
Player of the game: Kyle
The U17 Boys Dutch Lions came into the match this weekend with high expectations after a good week of training. The boys had several trainings outside on turf and were excited to play on Sunday night but they were unable to turn that energy into a positive result.
The Dutch Lions started the match off slow and were put on their heels early. It did not take long for the opposing team to get on the scoreboard after getting in behind the defense of the Lions. Strong play from the Lion’s defense kept the game 0-1 for the first half of the game. The opposing team grabbed two more goals off of two chances in a matter of 10 minutes, making the game 3-0 with 20 minutes left.
The Dutch Lions were able to capitalize on a set piece opportunity, with Sean playing the free kick into the box, and Jake finishing off the head ball won from Max.
“This was a frustrating game and a tough loss. The boys are starting to show great discipline in our play and really thinking as they play. We played better soccer than the opposition but they had 4 chances, and scored 4 times. Once we start turning this possession and good passing into some scoring chances, we will see games when we score 3-4 goals”, said Coach Eddie Hertsenberg.
The final 15 minutes of the match were controlled by the Dutch Lions. The Lions kept possession of the ball and were able to get deep into the opposing team’s half but were unable to create any real scoring chances. The defense of the opponent played strong and kept the Dutch Lions from getting much in front of their goal. Coach Eddie also said, “We have to do better with getting the ball forward and getting scoring opportunities from our good play. At times today we did great with building up, keeping the ball, and combination play. We are playing better every week and we will be rewarded for it soon.”
The strong play of Kyle M. earned him Player of the Match for this week, playing much of the game at right forward and doing very well with keeping possession of the ball.
The match finished as a 4-1 loss for the U17 boys. Half way through the indoor league they have 1 win and 3 losses. The Lions have a bye next week and will return to their Winter league play on February 17th.
WC United Elite – Dayton Dutch Lions FC U18 Boys
Date: 2/3/2013
Final score: 3-1
Player of the game: Bryan
Our third game at wall 2 wall was a real challenge for the Lions, playing against a team who is ranked #18 in the state. The road to the game was not a good one with losing 4 players because of several reasons, but we we’re able to pick up Max from the U17 team. Playing against a team that plays on a higher level is always good to develop your own game, you have to step up and you know you are going to be challenged. The first 15 minutes of the game we had a lot of trouble getting in to the game, we we’re out played and we’re basically playing most of the time on our own half. After those 15 minutes we we’re down 2-0. It was a real wake up call for us and the coach was afraid we couldn’t bring it today and that we we’re looking at a high score. But the team stepped up and started to pass the ball to each other in a good way and we we’re able to get more control of the game. The defense and midfield started to be better organized and we’re feeding the ball to our forwards more and more giving us opportunities. One of those opportunities was for Jerusa but his 1 on 1 attempt with the goalkeeper went for along the goal. Minutes later another good change after some good combinations, JB was the last one but his shot was saved by the goalkeeper. WC United still played very strong with a lot of pressure on us but most of the time we’re stopped by our defense and goalkeeper. The best change they had was around the 30th minute, we left one player totally open at the second post and when he received the ball he only had to tap it in. But his shot went straight to the post from only a yard away from the goal, this could have been the end of the game. We realized we got another change to get back in the game and we took it. A throw in from Alex got via Jerusa to Zach, he controlled the ball and shot the ball behind the goalkeeper for the 2-1. The last 10 minutes of the game the Lions put a lot of pressure on the WC United trying to score the equalizer, but it was United who had the last saying of the game. Just before the game was over they scored the 3-1.
Coach Dave: Besides the first 15 minutes the team showed we are able to step up to a higher level. I think the organization was good when the other team had possession of the ball, but we need to make better decisions when we have the ball. Even though we lost the game I was very pleased with what I saw and I am looking forward to our next game.
Dutch Lions FC U18 Girls – NKSA Blast
Sunday, February 03, 11.00 AM
Final Score: 0-5
Player of the Game: Anna
The Dutch Lions U18 Girls played their third game of the 2013 indoor season. Playing a very strong opponent the lady Lions knew it was going to be a hard 50 minutes. The Lions where missing Ashley today, but Anna did a great job playing as a center defender next to Courtney. “Anna is doing a great job, always coaching her teammates and never giving up, she still can improve on her positioning in the build up, but I am happy with her performance today” was the reason coach Sid nominated Anna as player of the game, coach Sid continued “The best way for us to get better as a team and as individual soccer players is playing against strong teams, that is exactly what this indoor league provides us, every week will be a challenge for this team with a lot of new players, playing against teams that have been playing together for years. The results don´t matter to me as I am only focusing on the development of my players. We have been working hard on trying to get a good defensive organization together and today again it was proven that mistakes in the build up or positioning will cost us goals at this level. But I am proud of all the girls today, they all worked really hard and I am sure that we will do better every week.” The Lions ended up losing 5-0 but showed some good combinations and staid faithful to their style of play and their beliefs.