Dutch Lions FC U12 Boys Orange @ Boro United
Monday, February 25, 7.45 PM
Final score: 5-2 Dutch Lions Win
Player of the game: Gaven
Coach Sid was not feeling well when the Dutch Lions U12 Boys Orange played their league game in the Kingdom League against Boro United. Coach Tommy was able to step in and saw the U12 Boys win with 5-2.
The game started with 2 teams who has a very different strategy. The Dutch Lions tried to keep the ball on the ground and looks for short passes, while Boro United choice to use the long ball to their forwards. In the beginning of the game the Lions were able to control the ball well and they almost always found an open player before they were even pressured. Finding the open player lead to some scoring opportunities and the first couple of goals. Richard was dangerous as always on top, but the player around him did a nice job getting the ball to him. Gaven and Ben both assisted Richard on the first goals of the game. Gaven played a good game as attacking mid, distributing the ball and looking for a lot of switched. He also scored a goal himself, making him the player of the game on the Lions side. While the more offensive players showed their skills, the defenders were able to stop almost any breakaway from the opponent. After stopping the break away they were able to control the ball and find an open player up the field.
Towards the end of the game the Lions got a little tired and they were not able to keep up the pressure. This allowed Boro United to launch some long passes to their forwards, who were able to get some shots on goal. Boro United was able to score 2 goals before the Lions scored the last goal of the game, the 5-2. After the game Coach Tommy was impressed by the play of the U12 Boys Orange. "I have coached this teams occasionally last year when stepping in for other coaches. I always liked the players on this team, but I have not seen them play this well. I was very happily surprised by their passing and positioning. They were a lot stronger than the opponent and in my opinion completely deserved the win today. I think Coach Sid would have been very proud about the way the boys played today".
Dutch Lions FC U12 Boys Blue @ Knuckleheads
Wednesday, February 27, 7.45 PM
Final score: 5-3 Dutch Lions FC Win
Player of the game:
No Game Report received
Game: DDL FC U12 boys red vs. Spartan Soccer
Date: March 1st, 2013
Score: L 7-1
Player of the game: TJ
The Dayton Dutch Lions (1-1-3) played their sixth game of the season on Friday night against Spartan soccer (2-0-3). The Lions were looking for redemption after a loss last week and the Spartan soccer team was trying keep momentum with another win. An important game for both teams cause a victory for either side would move their teams up a few spots in the kicker division standings. On a very slow night at Kingdom Sportscenter, due to a late kick-off at 8:30pm, Coach Shane and his team were anxious to take the field “ We have the opportunity to challenge ourselves against another tough and older opponent. With the spring season less than a month away, these difficult games will only make us better.”
The Dutch Lions started the the game with a lot of energy and outplayed the Spartan soccer for the first part of the game. The highlight of the fast start came when the Dutch Lions were able to score a goal and take the lead in the early part of the match. A deflection in the Lions attacking half, found the ball at the feet of TJ who calmly placed his shot low and passed the keeper for the opening goal. Offensively, the Lions did a excellent job passing the ball and creating many scoring chances, unfortunately the Dutch Lions were not able score again after some fantastic saves from the Spartan Soccer keeper. On the defensive side, the Lions endured a very physical game. A lot of no-calls by the ref seemed to benefit the stronger spartan team. The Lions gave up a majority of their goals from counter-attacks and rebounds off of shots. In the end, a very entertaining game did not match the final scoreline.
Coach Shane had this to say “ It was a difficult match as we expected. The fact that we created so many scoring opportunities, it could have been a completely different game if we were able to finish our chances. The Spartan Soccer team played a lot smarter than us today, they did a really good job passing and shooting off the walls and we could not adjust to their indoor playing style.” The Dutch Lions next game is a double header next Friday night at Kingdom Sportscenter starting at 7:00pm.
DDL FC U12 Girls vs. Boro Blue
Date: March 2, 2013
Result: Loss
Player of the Game: Devyn
Although the score didn’t reflect it, this was another game that the girls played very well in. Playing a team that was twice their size and a year or two older than most of the Lions, the girls put their skills on display. Despite the size and speed disadvantage, the Lions were able to pass their way out of trouble on many occasions, finding an open midfielder and the striker. This was one of the Lions better games of team defense, but unfortunately the strength of the other team nullified any advantage that the girls created by getting numbers back. Coach Eric said “we knew coming into this game that the girls would be placed at a significant disadvantage from the opening whistle, but they put forth a great effort and a winning mentality of never giving up. I’m proud of how well the girls played, and the coach of the other team complimented our effort and complimenting the girls on their passing abilities.”
The Lions were unable to find the goal this game, but it certainly wasn’t for a lack of effort. The girls were able to successfully move the ball up the field on numerous occasions and generate a shot. Unfortunately the shots either went just wide or were saved by the goalie. The transition from defense to offense was quick on most possessions, with the girls finding the open player and pressing up the field in a timely manner. They were often able to have numbers up in the attacking half for a short bit, but all it took was one missed touch for the ball to be sent flying back down to the defensive half. Coach Eric was pleased, saying that “I’m extremely glad that we stuck to our game plan throughout the game, and didn’t resort to playing kick and run. It’s easy to fall into that habit when the game isn’t going your way, but seeing the girls stay with it was great. The girls deserved a better result than this given how well we played, but it shows what we will be able to do when we get the size and speed to match the other team.”
DDL FC U13 Girls vs. Boro Attack Blue
Date: February 25, 2013
Result: W 8-6
Player of the Game: Emily
This was an extremely back and forth game for both teams. Any time either team seemed to pull ahead or gain momentum, the other team would claw right back and change the game. On the back of a stellar 5 goal effort from Emily, the Lions were able to pull ahead in the final minutes of the game. The Lions showed a great team mentality, always pulling for each other whenever someone felt down or was beaten off the dribble. Coach Eric was extremely pleased with the girls’ effort, saying that “we really did well to keep fighting during every minute of the game. We transitioned from attack to defense better than we have in the past, and we continued to counterattack in an effective manner. The girls were able to find the open player at the top of the box on numerous occasions, and we were able to keep our shots from distance on frame. It led to many long range goals that were very pretty to see.”
The Lions had many opportunities in the attacking half to score, and they made the most of them. The girls passed very well around the box, probing to find an opening and pulling the ball back out and switching it if the opening wasn’t found. They did not have to force shots on goal or play long ball to create opportunities. Defensively the Lions did well, pulling together and covering for each other. The other team had several strong forwards, but the defensive backs were able to tackle, contain, or force bad shots for most of the game. The midfielders transitioned well, providing support defensively and also giving the backs and goalie an outlet when the ball was won. Overall Coach Eric thought that “this was one of the more complete games we played, in terms of playing solidly at both ends of the field. This was the first really high scoring game that we have played, so to see the girls score plenty and not beat themselves up when they were scored on was great, I’m really proud of our effort.”
Dutch Lions FC U15 Boys - Dutch Lions FC U14 Boys
Sunday, March 3, 7.00 PM
Final score: 3-0 Dutch Lions FC U15 Boys Win
Player of the game:
No Game Report received
Dutch Lions FC U14 Boys @ Dutch Lions FC U15 Boys
Sunday, March 3, 7.00 PM
Final score: 3-0 Dutch Lions FC U15 Boys Win
Player of the game:
No Game Report received
Dutch Lions FC U14/15 Girls @ WC Storm
Sunday, March 3, 1.00 PM
Final score: 2-0 WC Storm win
Player of the game:
No Game Report received
Dutch Lions FC G96 @ TUMFC U18 Rockets
Sunday, March 3, 8.00 AM
Final score: 4-1 Dutch Lions Win
Player of the game: Lauren M
The Dutch Lions FC G96 came of a weak game last week and were determined to show their best side in their last Wall2Wall indoor game. In a game against TUMFC Rockets the Dutch Lions did not only dominate, they also showed great improvement in the aspects of the game they lacked last week. After a great start of the game the Lions controlled the whole game and eventually won with 4-1.
The game started with the Lions going full speed forward. Pressuring the opponent and looking for opportunities to take an early lead. After a foul right outside the box around the 7th minute Rachel was able to score the first Lions goal directly from the free kick. Only a couple of minutes later Lauren was able to give a nice through ball to Rachel, who was able to score her second goal of the game. Meanwhile Katie M hit the post and Lauren was very close scoring the rebound from that shot. Halfway the first half of the game the Lions got scored on after they lost the ball around their own 18 yard box. Coach Tommy was not happy with the goal scored on the Lions: "This game more than in the previous games in the league we took too many risks in the back. Our defenders should not be trying to turn the ball on their attackers, but just pass the ball back to the goalkeeper or to the outside. Besides these risks our defense did play a very strong game though. We didn't give up any scoring opportunities except for that goal."
After TUMFC got their goal the Lions went for a final push, halfway the game. It was first Rachel who completed their hattrick after beating the defender in a 1v1 and having a good shot from just inside the box. Lexi was able to cross the ball minutes after Rachels goal to the far post. Lauren M was at the backdoor to give the ball the final kick and score the 4-1. After the Dutch Lions scored the 4-1 the game somewhat died, with the Lions having full control, but no real urge to take risks. They finished the game with lots of possession and some dangerous attacks, but no more goals.
After the game Coach Tommy was in a better mood than last week: "I know, I might have been hard on them last week. But I still think we deserved it. This week we showed exactly what I meant last week. If we are all out there, focussed and ready to play, we have an amazing team. Today we dominated, were aggressive in front of the goal, were able to pass the ball, switched the field and I can go on for quite some time. I love playing against good teams which allows us to measure ourselves with them. Next week we start with our first game in the Buckeye Elite division. If we play like today we will be ready for that game for sure!"
Dutch Lions FC U17 Boys @ TFA Mix
Sunday, March 3, 12.00 PM
Final score: 1-4 TFA Win
Player of the game:
No Game Report received
Dutch Lions FC U18 Boys @ CU Saints U17
Sunday, March 3, 2.00 PM
Final score:
Player of the game:
No Game Report received
Dutch Lions FC U18 Girls – CUP Black
Sunday, March 03, 11.00 AM
Final Score: 0-1
Player of the Game: Courtney
The U18 girls played their 5th indoor game of the 2013 winter season. Despite the hard work and the good compact and organized defending the Lions lost by one goal. Missing Ryen and Laura, the team had one sub and knew before hand it was going to be a tough game. Under constant pressure and without creating any big scoring opportunity the Lions ended up playing the whole game in defense. Coach Sid after the game “today proved that as long as we keep the gaps closed in the back and play compact and organized as a defense the score will stay 0-0 or 0-1 for a long time, one chance to score is than enough to tie or even win the game. And I am satisfied with the way we defended. I do believe that we have to do a lot better when we are in ball possession… Today I saw a little too much kick ball from the defenders, especially with set pieces. I think a lack of creativity and position sense from the midfielders was a big reason for this. I am also not satisfied with the fact that we had zero shots on goal. Even playing against a strong team and playing a lot of defense, our forwards have to always lure for that one opportunity and some of them, today, where pretty much invisible during the entire game. Our defense played a strong game today and there wasn’t one that did better than the others, but I think Courtney had a very strong game today, with some good tackles, great positioning and finding some good passes to the midfield”.