The Youth Academy was able to get several games in over the past weekend even as some thunderstorms rolled into the Dayton area. A few matches were cancelled but the games that were played provided the fans and players great entertaining soccer and a positive weekend for the Youth Academy. Below are the game reports from this past weekend's matches.
Dutch Lions FC U12 Boys - BSA Celtic Green
Saturday, September 21st at 9am
Result: Win 5-1
Player of the game: Kofi
The Dutch Lions FC faced off on Saturday morning against BSA Celtic at Sackett-Wright Park. Both of these teams met on the first game of the season and ended with a scoreline of 4-3 and Celtic taking the victory. A highly anticipated match with the Dutch Lions looking to get a better result this game and Celtic team trying to get a 2nd victory over the Lions.
The first half began with the Dutch Lions taking advantage with their attacking style, keeping possession of the ball and slotting dangerous through balls behind the Celtic defense. DDL would finally break the deadlock when young Dutch player Rayan gathered the ball at the top of the box and fired a shot low past the keeper. The Lions wingers would also stay busy with creative runs down the wings delivering great crosses into the box. Kofi would secure the Lions lead going into halftime with a powerful shot that went up and over the keeper.
During the 2nd half, the Lions would keep the pressure up on the Celtic defense. A through ball to the feet of Lochlan put him one on one with the keeper and he confidently dribbled past him and tapped it in for the goal. The Dutch Lions defense also stayed organized and sharp all game, keeping the Celtics limited to only a few scoring opportunities. The Dutch Lions Lions would take the victory 5-1 with a very impressive showing as a team.
Next Match: Saturday, September 28th 10:30am at Community Park #1 .
Dutch Lions U13 Girls - FC Bellbrook Fire U13 girls
Sunday, September 22th at 1:00 pm
Result: Win 4-1 (2-0)
Player of the day: Meera
It was a beautiful Sunday for another match for the Dutch Lions U13 girls. This time against FC Bellbrook a team we played twice already in the pre-season as a friendly game. This was a great improvement from the first time the U13 Girls faced the tough FC Bellbrook Fire team. The girls played really well in both games but this match were able to overcome the tough opponent.
The game was a good test to see how and where they have improved as a team. The girls started very aggressive and had a lot of pressure on the Fire team. This allowed the Lions to play on the offensive side of the field for the first few minutes in the game. Coach Dave stated, “The last practices we worked on our shooting skills, I want the girls to shoot more from outside of the box.” This was well understood, after 4 minutes it was Meera who took a great shot from outside of the box leaving the goalkeeper no chance. After this goal the Lions we’re looking for a second goal, but out of all the chances they created they were not able to put one in the net. Around the 20th minute a great play by the Lions, the ball went very fast from player to player and it was Eva who had the last touch, her shot went hard in the goal for a comfortable 2-0. At half time coach Dave was pleased with the way they scored their goals, but was looking for them to have done more with all of the other opportunities, “we needed to keep the pressure on and look for the space behind the defensive line of the Fire team”.
The second half was again a great one by the Lions. Great plays and this time they were able to keep the ball longer in possession and create a lot of opportunities. Out of all the opportunities it was first Olivia who scored a goal for the 3-0, and later it was Nica who scored on an almost identical way for the 4-0. Both goals came together of good play and the use of our strength and speed. With this result coach Dave was able to switch some players around and in the end give goalkeeper Grace some playing time as a player. Midfield became defenders and defenders became forward players and the development of the knowledge of the game was in full effect. The Fire team kept playing well and working hard for a goal and got the reward from a corner kick giving this game a 4-1 end result.
Coach Dave after the match, “Great game! We created 8 to 9 great opportunities today with good plays. Players seem to get more comfortable on the field and learning to use each other strong points, all players are ready to help out their team mates if necessary. Like I said last week, this makes us a tough team to beat. This week I am looking forward to a great training week and to get us ready for next week game against another strong opponent in the league.”
Next Match: Sunday, September 29th 2:30pm at Kyle Park #2
Dutch Lions FC U14(U15-1) Girls - Urbana Girls 97
Sunday, September 22nd at 2:30pm
Result: Win 6-1
Player of the game: Gabby
The Dutch Lions FC U14 Girls took the field in league play for the first time this past weekend. The girls were very excited and anxious to get the league started and Sunday was a great day for it, along with playing on a great field with the MVS turf.
The first half the Dutch Lions came out right from the start attacking and pressuring. You could see that the girls were ready to be playing in their first match. The training sessions leading up to the match focused on discipline and building a good attack. The Lions created many chances from great play and great passing and finally found the back of the net when Gabby broke through and slotted the ball passed the keeper. The scoreline was 2-0 at halftime after a strong first half from the girls.
Coach Eddie, "At halftime, we were happy with how we played but knew that we could play more disciplined and smarter. I encouraged them to continue with their great pressure and work off the ball but to look for easier solutions. They played a great overall game but the 2nd half was more fun to watch with how we played the game." The 2nd half the Lions would again create chances to score and capitalize on them. The U14 team played a great second half and controlled the pace of the game with smart passing and simple soccer. Many times the Lions even used the Goalkeeper Emma to begin attacks with the defense and on through the midfield. Hannah calmly put away a Penalty Kick and scored on a great build up and cross, Cheyenne had a great shot from distance, and Gabby grabbed another goal in the second half, finishing off the hat-trick. It was a great first match for the U14 Girls to start off the league play in the U15-1 Division.
Next Matches: Saturday, September 28th 1:30pm at Lewisburg #1 and Sunday September 29th at 1:00pm at Miami Valley School Turf.
Dutch Lions U13 Boys Orange - Midfest Soccer Classic Tournament
Saturday, September 21st
Result: Win 7-0 and Win 4-0
Sunday, September 22nd, 2013
Result: Loss 4-0 and Loss 2-1 (Finals)
Finished 2nd Place in the tournament! More detailed report from entire tournament to come!
If you have pictures or video from any of the Dutch Lions Youth Academy matches please send them to your coach!