After last spring season the Dutch Lions FC 96 girls moved up 2 divisions. After they ended in the middle of standings on the Premier 2 division some people must have been surprised to see the Dutch Lions in the Buckeye Elite division. Before the game Coach Tommy explained his decision:
Before the game Coach Tommy explained his decision: " I truly believe we were by far the best soccer team in that Premier 2 division, but not the best football team. Because of that we got out powered a couple of times, to put it in a nice way, without any protection of the referee's. I felt the biggest meanest team won because the referee's allowed everything. Every game we played I felt we were a much better soccer team than the other team. We were a totally new team and the style of play was new for most of the girls as well. We made some mistakes in the back and missed some easy finishes, but I always taught we were the better team. To be able to improve ourselves I felt we needed to look for a division in which the teams try to play soccer, not football with their feet. Playing these better teams, like Lady Warrior today, forces us to be on top of our game. It allows us to play soccer, try to keep possession and defend in our positions. This is what we need to make the next step in our development."
Dutch Lions FC G96 @ Lady Warrior Elite
Sunday, March 10, 9.00 AM
Halftime score: 2-1 Lady Warrior
Final score: 4-3 Dutch Lions Win
Players of the game: Rachel (2 goals and 1 assist) and Lauren M (2 assist and 1 goal)
The Lions started the game with some more possession than the Lady Warriors, but the game was pretty even in the first couple of minutes. Both teams were trying to find a good game mojo and worked hard. After about 7 minutes the first goal of the game was scored. A Lady Warrior player was able to cross it and the Dutch Lions defense watched the ball bounce by, towards the far post. The girl from Lady Warrior at the far post did not hesitate and scored with a nice shot to the corner. It seemed like the start signal for the Lions to go full speed forward. After the goal the Lions got most of the possession and got very close to the equalizer twice. First Rachel was able to get a shot from a corner kick, but hit the cross bar. Minutes later Lauren M made a great run and got a perfect thru ball. Her shot was good, but the Lady Warrior goalkeeper made an amazing save.The ball ended up right in front of the goal for a rebound, but not a single Lions player was there to kick it in. Halfway the first half the Lions made a massive mistake in the back. While having possession and not being pressured the Lions defender passed the ball right into the feet of the Lady Warrior forward. She went 1v1 with the Dutch Lions goalkeeper and scored the 2-0. Right after this goal Coach Tommy changed the Lions formation. A defender left the field and an extra forward was put in. Coach Tommy's point of view: "I know it might sounds strange, but I was not too worried about them scoring again. They did not get close to our goal in that phase of the game. Their goal was just all on us. It doesn't matter how many defenders we put in if we give it away like that. I know it was somewhat of a risk, but I felt I needed to give my team a signal. This game was not over and were going to do whatever it took to get back in there." It did not take long before the Lions were able to use that extra forward. The attack ended up with a perfect thru ball from Rachel to Lauren M. This time there was more space and she was able to go around the goalkeeper. She scored the 2-1 and the Lions were back in the game. The Lions went back to their usual formation and in the remainder of the first half the Lions stayed the team with more possession. This did not lead to really big scoring opportunities though.
The second half barely started or the Dutch Lions tied up the game. After a great dribble down the side, passing some defenders, Lauren M was able to cross the ball in front of the goal. Rachel was right where she should be and was able to give the ball the final push. This quick goal elevated the Lions, getting back from 2-0 down. Not that much later, about 10 minutes into the second half the Dutch Lions took the lead, for the first time in the game. A corner kick by Katie M was perfectly placed on the head of Katie S. A good header towards the far post was to powerful for the Lady Warrior defense. Right after the goal the image on the field changed somewhat. Lady Warrior pushed forward more, but did not create any opportunities to score.Out of the blue Lady Warrior was able to score the equalizer. A free kick was scored directly into the goal, where nobody expected it to be a foul in the first place. Coach Tommy did not want to talk about that: "please stop it, the refs did a great job today. They kept it short on both sides and yes I am pretty sure we did not make a foul when they got that kick. We probably got some free balls the other team disputed. You win some you lose some, that's all part of the game. I was already very happy they kept it a soccer game". With about 15 minutes left the game was totally tied up. The Lady Lions got most of the possession back and tried to go forward again. This looked somewhat harder than the rest of the game, maybe because the players got somewhat tired. The intentions of the Lions did get rewarded. It was Rachel again who scored after Lauren M send he in a 1v1 with the goalkeeper. Rachel was forced a little to the outside by the Lady Warrior Defense, but her shot was an absolute rocket into the far corner, leaving the Lady Warrior no chance of saving it. In the final minutes Lady Warrior tried to force a tie, and they did get 1 opportunity in the end to tie up the game. Luckily for the Lions Lexi, not the tallest girl on the team, was very alert and headed the ball away on a cross before a Lady Warrior player was even able to shoot or head it towards the Dutch Lions goal. When the referee called the end of the game the Lions won with 4-3!
After the game not a single Lions fan could hide their smile. Coach Tommy was very happy with the result: "Am I happy with this result? Of course! I am ecstatic with the result. After being 2-0 down, winning with 4-3! I believe we played well today. We still made too many mistakes but in the end of the game our positive attacking attitude won the game for us. I am very happy the girls never gave up. At halftime we talked about being aggressive in front of the goal. We were not aggressive in front of both goals, because of that we did not score on 2 occasions and got scored on twice in the first half. The second half the Girls showed they understood exactly what to do in front of the goal. As I said before the game, these game force us to be the best we can be. It forces us to develop. Today showed we belong at this level. It is up to us to take that next step in our development, all the right circumstances are here to improve as individual players and as a team."