The Youth Academy Leagues have officially begun and many teams played their first match of the Fall season this past weekend. The Academy has been training for several weeks now and most teams are competing in friendly matches and league matches. The full match reports from this weekend's Academy matches are below.
Dutch Lions U9 Boys – Miami West Fireballs Red U-9 Boys
Sunday, August 25th at 7:00pm AWAY
Result: Miami West Fireballs Red Win
Player of the game: Brendan (Because of his great moves, dribbles and a wonderful goal)
With four U-8 players, three new players and two returning players the DDL FC U-9 boys played their first MVYSA game of the 2013 fall season. After a good warm up and a pre game talk from coach W. the U-9 boys were ready to play.
During First half it looked like the players were a little nervous and we could see that on the field. The boys tried to build up, tried to pass and many tried to showcase their technical skills but often the ball bounced at their feet and the Lions were not able to keep possession.
At the start of the second you could already see a new team! The young team kept possession, they were putting pressure, they passed the ball around together and they were able to dribble more and beat opposing players 1v1. This better play resulted in a goal and four scoring opportunities which made it possible the team could possibly turn the match around and even win.
Coach Wichert said after the match, "The boys played a very good first game and made a lot of improvement even during this one game already! I think the will keep up the good work".
Next match for the U9 Boys is Saturday, September 7th, AWAY at 1:30pm.
Dutch Lions U10 Boys Orange – CUP Galaxy U10B
Sunday August 25th at 3:30pm HOME
Result: Dutch Lions Win 11-9
On a beautiful and warm Sunday afternoon the U10Boys Orange got to play their first scrimmage of the year.
Thanks to Jack Hermans, assistant coach at the Pro Team, the CUP Galaxy drove from Cincinnati to Bellbrook to play their season opener.
With Seth, Luke, Alex, Mick, Eben and Tracy returning the core of the team was back on the field for the first time since their tournament win at the Creek Classic in the beginning of June. The team was completed by Quinn, Ben and Cedar who joined the team and played their first game for the Dutch Lions.
Right from the start the young guys showed that they were eager to play again. Training is fun, but nothing is more fun than playing a good competitive opponent, rather then your own internal scrimmaging. The game went up and down and both teams had a lot of chances. Some great attacking play, great saves, and some great individual skills made for some really good soccer and entertainment for all who were watching.
The offensive skills from both teams were better than the defensive skills, resulting in a 6-3 halftime score and a 11-9 win for the DDL U10B Orange.
Each of the new players got their first goal for the Dutch Lions with Cedar (3-1), Quinn (5-3) scoring before the half time whistle, along with Ben scoring late in the game (11-8). Trace scored 5 goals and also Luke, Mick and Seth found the back of the net. Eben played both in goal and in defense and Alex had some great passes allowing others to score.
Coach Patrick Bal was very pleased with the game: “This is what youth soccer is all about. Trying the right things, great individual skills and good passes at the right moment. Both teams could have scored even more goals. Also the guys showed some great passing today. For the first game of the year I think the level is already very high. We had great practices so far and I expect that this will continue in the upcoming weeks. It’s a great team to work with and I can’t wait for the next game!”
The first official league match for the U10 Boys is Sunday, September 8th, 5:30pm at HOME.
Dutch Lions U10 Boys Red – CUSA 03 Gold
Saturday, August 24th at 4:30pm AWAY
Result: CUSA 03 Gold Win
Player of the game: Justin
Dutch Lions U10 Boys Blue – BSA Celtic 03 Blue
Sunday, August 25th at 4:00pm AWAY
Result: BSA Celtic 03 Blue Win
Player of the game: Matthew
This weekend was the start of the fall competition. Two new teams who will both act on the same level, and thus will play in the same competition. After some good training sessions it was time for their first games this past weekend.
Both the red and blue team were exited for the first game. After the kickoff it was immediately clear that the boys had to give everything, and that this was very good competition. Unfortunately, both teams were behind already at halftime. After some instructions the second half started and the boys were working very hard. The organization of the positions was better, we made it more difficult for the opponents, and we created some opportunities to score our ourselves. Despite the improvements, both games ended in a loss.
Coach Marco after the games, "It was good to see both teams play their first game, two new teams with new players who still have to get used to each other. I have seen some points we have to work on during the training sessions, but I also saw good things! The players picked up the instructions given at halftime very quickly, so we saw even improvement during the game itself!"
Dutch Lions U12 Girls - Oakwood United 01
Sunday, August 25th, 5:30pm at HOME
Result: Oakwood United 01 Win
Player of the Game: Paige
The Dayton Dutch Lions 02 Girls returned to the field over the weekend to kick-off the 2013 fall season. Anticipation and excitement surrounded the DDL team as they prepare to play in the competitive U12 division and Coach Shane remarked that they are ready for the challenge, "With the amount of returning players we have this season, it's a great opportunity for us to keep improving as a team and try to build on the progression from last season".
On Sunday afternoon, the Dutch Lions played against Oakwood United at Sackett-Wright Park. The girls did a very good job offensively in the first half, connecting many passing and creating a couple great scoring opportunities but were unable to find the back of the net. The physical strength and speed of the Oakwood team allowed them to get in behind the Dutch Lions defense for early goals, which gave them the lead at halftime. In the 2nd half, the Dutch Lions girls were able to get on the scoring sheet with 2 goals from Paige. A couple good moments of possession and then the ball in to Paige's feet inside the 18 yard box allowed her the chance to slot it by the keeper for both goals. Overall, the Dutch Lions girls gave a tremendous effort while showcasing their skills against a more experienced Oakwood team.
The DDL 02 Girls next game will be played on Sunday, September 8th at 2:30pm at HOME vs. the Urbana Girls 01.
Dutch Lions U13 Boys Orange - NWC
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Result: Dutch Lions Win 3-1
Player of the game: Aidan
Dutch Lions U13 Boys Orange - KHSA
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Result: Tie 0-0
Player of the game: James
The Dayton Dutch Lions FC U13 Boys Premier team started their 2013 Buckeye Fall season with back to back games this previous weekend. With a win on Saturday and a tie on Sunday the young lions have 4 points after two games in this strong Buckeye league.
Coach Sid said after the game, “This being a new group of players and the first two games of the season, I was curious to see how the boys would do on the big field and I think they did great. Saturday’s game we dominated possession, created a lot of chances and got a deserved win. Sunday I think we played a strong game defensively and created the better chances but were unable to score. Like I said, overall I am happy with the level of this weekend’s games. I do think it is important for us to increase the speed of play and make smarter decisions with ball and that will be a focus for the next couple of training sessions".
Aidan was selected as player of the game for Saturday, coach Sid said “Aidan is a very smart and hard working player, he got a goal as a holding midfielder and was very dangerous with his diagonal passes”. For Sunday’s game coach Sid selected James, coach Sid said “James is a tall and fast defender, works very hard and was crucial with some good tackles and blocks.”
The Dutch Lions U13 Boys Orange play next on Sunday, September 8th vs Santos in Columbus.
Dutch Lions U13 Girls – FC Tippecanoe U13 girls
Sunday August 25, 2013 at HOME (Miami Valley School)
Result: Tie 0-0
Player of the game: Chloe
Sunday's game was the U13 Girl's first official 11v11 league game and they got a very strong opponent right away in Tippecanoe. It was also the first game at Miami Valley School on the turf field. This year the Miami Valley School and Dutch Lions are working together, all soccer teams from MVS are being coached by a Dutch Lions Academy Professional Youth coach. As a result of this working together the Lions also now have a home in the beautiful MVS turf field for the 11v11 matches. Knowing that they had a great friendly game last Friday the girls we’re ready to go. Again, Tippecanoe is a very strong and fast team so we the Lions struggled a little bit in the first 15 minutes of the game. They were not able to keep the ball in possession and if they had the ball, were forced into making the wrong choices in passing. After those 15 minutes the Lions came together and played very well as a solid team, keeping the lines tight and supporting each other. It was a real battle in the midfield with a lot of 50/50’s, and closer to the half time the Girls started to be the better team winning those 50/50 duels and were then able to create some opportunities in front of the goal. On the other hand, the U13 Girls defense is showing every day more and more improvement and it turned out to be a boring game again for goalkeeper Grace.
Coach Dave said, "At half time we talked about the space we needed to create behind the Tippecanoe’s defensive line, we spoke about how to move when we had the ball to avoid the offside and that we needed to be more creative when we had the ball in our possession. The girls responded well and made those changes making for a very good second half."
The girls picked this coaching up immediately and in the first 3 minutes had 2 great opportunities with a 1 on 1 situation between the goalkeeper and Nica. Luck was not on her side and both times the ball just missed the goal. The girls showed confidence and had control over the game and were playing to win. After a few minutes into the game the coach made the switch by putting left defender Olivia upfront as a left winger. With her speed and aggressive style of play Coach Dave was hoping to create more opportunities. It worked, again there were 2 great moments of play, once it was Nica again and the other time Olivia herself going 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper, but again both girls were unlucky today. Grace had to stay focused in net because with 5 minutes before the final whistle, after a Tippecanoe striker placed a low shot in the far corner. Grace made an excellent save to keep them from scoring. The final minutes the Lions had some moments in front of the Tippecanoe goal with some shots from Eva, Meera and Nica. But after a tough game like today the girls ran out of the strength to put the ball in the net, resulting in a 0-0 tie.
Coach Dave had this to say after the match, "As always, I am very proud of these girls and what they are showing each practice and each game. I expect a lot from them and maybe sometimes a little bit too much, but today they responded and showed they can play with the best and grow into the game turning it into our favor. Today we were unlucky with our finishes but I believe that if we keep training like this, keep our heads up, and work as a team we will get our goals. Our biggest opponent today was the weather and we showed we can beat that as well. Also a big thanks to all the Dutch Lions supporters!".
The Dutch Lions U13 Girls play their next league match Sunday, September 8th, AWAY against the same Tippecanoe team.