Dutch Lions U9 Boys – BLS Eagles II
Saturday, February 8th, 2014
Result: L
Player of the Game: Brandon
From a tactics standpoint, this is one of the best games that the Lions have played to date. The boys used their skills and passing to get around and through the other team on many occasions. As is typical though, they ran up against a bigger and stronger team, and every gain was met with a big boot putting the ball back in the Lions' defensive end. Despite facing a larger team, the boys never gave up and continued pressing forward, finding the back of the net halfway through the game.
Coach Eric enjoyed the game, saying that "we had a much better defensive effort this game. We kept our marks better, but against a faster and stronger team, there's only so much that we can do. We moved the ball well and did a good job of finding each other with open passes. We continue to get better with each game, which is all I can ask."
Dutch Lions U10 Boys Orange – Middletown Rogue
Sunday, February 9st, 2014
Player of the game: Ben
The U10 Boys Orange played their second game in the U11 indoor league at Kingdom last Sunday. After playing a good first game and a 5-3 win, the boys started this game pretty good as well. They tried to play the passing game and made some good combinations, but after a while they started to dribble too much and didn't play as a team anymore. Therefore the opponent was able to intercept some balls and scored the opening goal of the game. With a good breakaway it was Jack who could score the equalizer. The young lions worked really hard and were looking for the winning goal but did it too much individually instead of as a team.
Middletown Rogue scored their second goal of the game after 30 minutes and was leading the game again. Ben got the U10 Boys back in the game by scoring a nice free kick, but the lions were not able to score the winning goal in the remaining time.
Coach Marco: 'All the players in this team do have their individually skills, but it's very hard to win a game all by yourself. If the boys combine their individual skills with playing as a team and passing the ball around they will create way more changes and score more goals. And I know this is possible with the quality we have in this team!'
Dutch Lions U10 Boys Blue – Riesinger Blue
Saturday, February 8th, 2014
Result: 3-0 L
Player of the game: Miguel
The U10 Boys Blue played their 4th game of the indoor season, and it was definitely their best game so far! The young lions dominated the whole game by building up from the back, passing the ball around, and created some really good changes. Also defensively they played a really good game by giving more pressure on the ball than in the previous games and helping each other out all the time.
Although the U10 Boys were dominating the whole game, they were unlucky with the finishing touch and were unable to score their well deserved goal.
'It is good to see the boys improve every game they play', said coach Marco after the game. 'If you compare the first indoor game with this game you can really see they are making big steps, even in this short timeframe. I'm looking forward to see them play in the next game, and if they keep improving like they do right now, also the results will get better and better!'
Dutch Lions U11 Boys – Waynesville White
Date: Sunday, February 9th , 2014
Result: W 10 - 4
Player of the game: Nicolas
The Dutch Lions U11 Boys played their 3 game of the Kingdom Sportscenter and looked to extend their winning streak against Waynesville White. The Lions were able to capitalize on many scoring opportunities and secured the victory 10-4.
The Lions did a great job defending as a team and attacking in numbers. Waynesville white was frustrated by a solid Lions defense and were put under pressure from an explosive Dutch Lions attack.
Coach Shane was satisfied with his teams performance, “ The boys played great today, I thought it was their best game so far. We attacked in numbers and defended well as a team and it made it difficult for our opponent. It was a well deserved team victory today and I am proud of the boys.”
Coach Shane nominated Nicolas as the player of the game and had this to say, “ He had a great game offensively for us today. Nicolas used his size and strength and scored a couple nice goals and also set up many scoring chances for his teammates.''
Dutch Lions U12 Boys - Waynesville
Date: Sunday, February 9, 2014
Result: L 3-7
Player of the game: Clyde & Ryan
The game started and I was happy to see that everybody was awake and motivated, players were moving around and try to be available for their teammates.
It was a good start what resulted in a 1-0 lead. Also after the goal we tried to keep passing the ball around and find Ryan in the center of the field. He had a lot of freedom to receive the ball and start an attack.
Later in the game we were getting a little bit tired, Ryan wasn’t able anymore to be that connecting player, and you saw that Waynesville was grabbing that chance. 10 bad minutes followed, also 6 goals from Waynesville.
After these 10 minutes we took control again and started to force a comeback, but we weren’t lucky in finishing and their goalkeeper had the morning of his life. He deserves a big compliment for a lot of saves.
So in the end I think we did not deserve the win, because all though we were the better team. Those 10 minutes you saw our weakness in the defense what costs us 6 goals. If we are not lucky with the goal scoring, we still have to show some mentality with defending and the will to get that ball.
It was hard to pick out one player as ‘Player of the Game’, because one player did well defending and the other player was with attacking very well. So that’s why coach Nicky picked two players: ''Ryan and Clyde, because Ryan was the leader and creator of almost all our attacks and Clyde showed the right will and mentality to defend the goal and get the ball''
Dutch Lions U13 Boys Blue – Waynesville
Friday, February 7th, 2014
Result: 10-1 W
Player of the game: Aaron
Exciting, that's the word to describe this game. It was an almost perfect game for the really young lions team, who played this game with some young guest players. With good defensive work of Xander, Aaron, Cameron and Evan, the midfield ruled by Gage and Dagan, and the forwards Cedar and Rayan, it was the best game so far by the U13 Boys Blue teams.
With the one combination ever better than the other the boys dominated the whole game, and it was enjoyable for everyone and a great example for all the Dutch Lions teams and spectators of how to play a game in the Dutch Lions style.
'It was one of the best games I have ever seen of a Dutch Lions Academy team', said coach Marco after the game. I enjoyed coaching this really young team today. 'It was good to see the young guest players implement in this team, and playing a really good game against boys a few years older. They played as a real team, and by passing the ball around, creating space for their self and their teammates and scoring some really good goals, I am really happy as a coach.'
Dutch Lions U13 Boys Blue – Waynesville MS Spartans
Sunday, February 9th, 2014
Result: 4-2 L
Player of the game: Bobby
'David vs Goliath', that it how you can describe this game. The players of the Dutch Lions U13 Boys played a pretty good game, but had difficulty with the tall players of the opponent. By making some good combinations and movement without the ball they were able to create some really good changes, but the young lions were not precise or fast enough in the finishing pass or decision they made. Therefore they missed some great opportunities of scoring more goals, something the opponent didn't forget to do.
'I'm pretty satisfied with the way the team played today,' said coach Marco after the game. 'We played our own style, but had some trouble with the style of play and the tall players of the opponent. If we outplayed the 3 versus 2 situations better we could have scored some more goals, and with a better transition from offense to defense we could have prevented some goals. Some good learning points for the next games!'
Dutch Lions U10 Girls - KSC-Duffy (blue)
Date: Sunday, February 7th, 2014
Result: L
Player of the game: Milan
This was a tough game for our girls, the other team played a style different from what we play. It took us a while to adjust to this. We did a good job of receiving the ball and looking up for our teammates.
Morgan started strong for us in goal with some nice saves, Milan took her place and turned away all but one and then Camlyn held down the fort at the end of the game stopping all that she could. Nina was able to get our attack going by taking her space and looking to shoot when she could. Overall it was a tough game when all the other team does is to kick it long to players that were waiting up by our goalie for the ball. The girls did their best and can't wait to see what the next game holds for them.
Coach Alex nominated Milan for player of the game. "Milan did her best in every position she was put in. She was so calm on the ball that she was able to receive the ball and switch the field. Also in goal she stopped all the shots that came her way but one."
Dutch Lions U12 Girls – KSC Purple
Date: Monday, February 10th , 2014
Result: L 4-1
Player of the game: Sarah
The Dutch Lion U12 girls played their 3rd game at Kingdom Sportscenter against KSC Purple. A competitive match up between both teams and KSC Purple were able to secure the victory with a couple late goals and the Lions suffered their first loss of the season.
KSC Purple began the game with a lot of energy and it put the Dutch Lions defense under a lot of pressure. It was tough for the Lions to keep possession of the ball which resulted in many scoring opportunities for KSC. Coach Shane was disappointed in the lost, “It was not our best game today, I think our lack of energy made it tough and I know we are a much better team than what we showed today. With a solid week of training, I am certain we will have a better performance next game.”
Coach Shane nominated Sarah as the player of the game and had this to say about her, “ Sarah worked hard in the midfield today and helped our attack but also did a great amount of defensive work.
Dutch Lions U13 Girls – Metro U12 Rapids
Date: Sunday, February 9th, 2014
Result: W 2-0
Player of the game: Grace T.
The game was a battle throughout with each team having their chances.
Our defenders did their best to thwart the other teams attack which proved to work well as we were able to capture a shutout. Our team had many chances and ultimately we were able to capitalize on two of them.
The team is working on some little things to make ourselves better. We talk about playing big and putting ourselves in a position to win the ball. Peyton, who may be our smallest member, has shown the ability to play the biggest by constantly putting herself in a position to win balls the other team tries to play. Olivia had a great day playing every position asked from her. She was a solid player when in the back, and a composed player while in the midfield. ''We found a way to keep working towards the goal even when our shots did not go in. It gets frustrating when you keep attacking and nothing goes in, but the girls stayed calm and kept working.''
Coach Alex nominated Grace T. as the player of the game and had the following to say about her performance. ''Grace T. was key to helping this team achieve a shutout. Her smart decisions of when to come out of the box or not were much better this game. She also was super aggressive when the ball was in her box and was able to deflect numerous chances the other team had.''
Dutch Lions U14 Girls – CUSA 00 Blue
Date: Sunday, February 9thth, 2014
Result: W 9-2
Player of the game: Gabby
The game started slow and it took us a few minutes to find our footing, but when we did we were able to erupt for nine goals. This was the best all-around team effort so far. It started in the back with Emma making some key saves early on to give our team the momentum. This effort was carried through to the defense where they were able to put constant pressure on the other team. Grace was a beast in the back. To round out our best game there were great through passes that we were able to connect on. Emily's decision making on the ball was great and it accounted for at least two assist.
Coach Alex nominated Gabby as the player of the game and had the following to say about her performance, ''Gabby's presence up top and her ability to finish was the game changer for us. She was able to put herself in a position that best benefited her and the team. In result she had a season high six goals this game.''