8 DDL teams participated in the 2015 FALL DL CUP and 4 teams made the final. 2 teams ended up winning their bracket. Congratulations to coach Paulo's U12Boys and coach Michiel's U14 Boys for winning the DL CUP and for coach Bruno's U12 Girls and coach Paulo's U9 Girls for making the final.
TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT
Congratulations to all Dutch Lions players selected for our Team of the Tournament! Jake (U12 Boys), has been nominated as the player of the tournament for his outstanding positioning on the field, work ethic on offense/defense, and scored important goals for the team in the DDL Cup.
GAME REPORTS
Dayton Dutch Lions FC U9 Girls
Tournament record: 2 W -2 W -0 L
Player of the tournament: Dani
The Dutch Lions U9 Girls participated this weekend at the Dutch Lions Fall Cup in a good weekend of soccer, finishing the Tournament the 2nd place.
The girls played their 1st tournament game, against Crew SC East. The girls didn’t begin the game well, with some mistakes that allowed the opposing team to create dangerous situations and opportunities to score, but with the course of the game they improved and had a good performance and at the half time, the young girls were leading the board by 1-0.
After the half time break, the girls were surprised with the opponents scoring an early goal, but they kept their determination and scored their second goal through a great counter attack. Despite the 2 goals scored, the girls created a lot of good chances that could have increased the final score, but the game ended with a 2-1 win for the lions.
At the 2nd game of the Tournament, the girls faced off against TFA Gold. It was a very balanced game, especially in the first half with both team creating chances to score.
During the 2nd half, the Dutch lions girls showed more ambition and determination than the opponents, creating numerous opportunities to score, but were not effective at finishing and scored the only goal late in the game with 1 minute before the final whistle, to break the tie, ending the game with a 1-0 win for the Dutch lions girls.
On the 2nd Tournament day, after 2 wins and a spot already secured in the final, the girls faced off against Barcelona United, a team that also had secured their spot in the final.
It was a tough game for the young girls, they pushed themselves and worked and at the half-time they were down, 3-1. The girls continued with the same attitude at the 2nd half, but they had a difficult task against the stronger Barcelona’s attack, conceding a few more goals and ended the game with the Dutch lions loss.
3 hours after, the young lions were back to the field, this time to play the Final, playing against the Barcelona United.
The girls started the game motivated with good attitude, but were surprised by 2 early goals that change the course of the game and made their task even more difficult. At the half time brerak, the girls were losing by 3-0, and despite all the effort, the girls conceded 4 more goals, ending the tournament in 2nd place as runner.
Coach Paulo said after the game “I’m very pound of these young girls. They worked hard and played very well as a team. They are committed and are always motivated and achieving 2nd place is a good reward for all the their effort”.
Coach Paulo nominated Dani as a player of the Tournament due to their positive attitude and determination during all the games, and was determined to help and support her teammates with good recovery runs and individual initiatives.
Dayton Dutch Lions FC U11 Girls
Tournament record: 1 W -1 L -1 T
Player of the tournament: Ava
The Dutch Lions U11 Girls played this weekend at the Dutch Lions Fall Cup. The girls played their 1st tournament game, against NWC, where the opponents took the lead with an early goal scored at the 1st minute. At half time, the lions were down 1-0 and started the 2nd half playing with a lot attitude, good combinations and passes, creating a couple of good chances to score but were ineffective at finishing. With 5 minutes to the end of the game, the opponents scored the 2nd goal, ending the game with a 2-0 lost as an end result.
At the 2nd game of the Tournament, the girls faced off against Blast FC U11 Red in a good and balanced game with both teams showing good organization. The Lions had a good team performance, showed determination on the individual duels, and supporting each other with quick defensive transitions and several covers that allowed numerous ball recoveries reducing the chances for the opposing team score or create dangerous situations.
The Dutch Lions goals were scored by Aly (penalty kick) in the 1st half and Lauren in the 2nd half in an individual run, finished the play with a great goal. Despite the girls effort, the game ended with a 2-2 tie.
On the 2nd Tournament day, the Girls played their 3rd game against Lewisburg Lady Thunder, where the girls showed some individual skills and good moments of soccer with good combination play and the girls were very effective at finishing.
The Lions scored an early goal in the 5th minute by Ava, followed by 2 more goals in the 1st half scored by Marayna (19th minute) and Aliana (24th minute).
At the 2nd half, the girls started the game even more motivated and scored 4 more goal by Ava at 4th minute by penalty kick, Hope (14th and 24th), and Layne (23rd minute) and ended the game with a 7-0 win for the Dutch Lions.
Coach Paulo said after the game “The girls played very well this Tournament. They played 3 games with great attitude, always playing with the same identity, regardless of the scores and the opponent, demonstrating that they continue to be motivated and are on the right track to improve as a team and also to become better soccer players’.
Player of the Tournament was Ava. “Overall, the girls had a good performance in the 3 games played, but I have to admit that Ava had an important role this weekend keeping the balance between our attack and defense, determination, positive attitude, and proving to be effective at finishing”.
Dayton Dutch Lions FC U11 Boys
Tournament Record: 1 W – 2 L – 0 T
Player of the Tournament: Connor
The Dutch Lions U11 Boys participated in the DDL Cup last weekend to conclude the fall season. The Lions improved tremendously throughout the tournament and finished with 1 win, 2 losses, and 0 ties and a positive showing at the DDL Cup.
The first game the Lions faced off against WCSA Boys in a tough match-up to kick off the tournament. Offensively, the Lions did not created many scoring opportunities due to the high pressure of the WCSA. Success came for the Lions after they increased their speed of play and were more aggressive on the ball to keep ball possession. Defensively, the Lions were able to get numbers behind the ball in the defensive half but missed out a numerous challenges due to diving in and not containing the WCSA attacking players.
The next game featured the DDL U11 boys vs. the Enon Knights in the 2nd game of the DDL Cup. Offensively, the Lions were much more effective in the attacking half as the ball tempo increased and the movement off the ball improved. Defensively, the Lions were sharp the whole game and maintained the defensive organization. Defenders had good starting positions, communicated well, and improved on their 1v1 challenges.
To conclude the weekend, the Lions faced off against the top team in the U11 division and would put up a strong fight against the Kolping Legion. Offensively, the Lions wingers were dangerous up the flanks and posed a threat to Kolping defense on numerous occasions. Defensively, the Lions had some good moments but a solid individual performance from a Kolping attacker made the difference in the game.
Coach Shane had this to say, “A great way for us to end the fall season, the boys should be proud of their accomplishments and how they have improved! Looking forward to the winter/spring season and continued development of these young players.
Coach Shane nominated Connor as the player of the game for his leadership on the field and his work ethic on defense/offense.
Dayton Dutch Lions FC U12 Girls
Tournament record: 1 W – 2 T – 1 L
Player of the tournament: Emma
This weekend, the Dutch Lions FC hosted the DDL cup in a great weekend of soccer. All the academy teams were present including the U12 girl’s team. The young ladies started the competition with a early Saturday game against the Urbana Girls team, a tough match where the team presented a great defensive organization, very committed to each other, even under pressure the young girls never lost their focus. Offensively, the team had most of their chances through counter attack, taking advantage of the space and creativity of our offensive line. After the final whistle the Lions achieved their first 3 points with a 1-0 victory.
On the second game of the day the girls faced the Colerain Premier team. Defensively the team had a solid performance, very organized, playing compact with all the players involved in the process. It was good to see the team reaction after losing the ball, with some moments of high pressure reducing the space near to our goal. Offensively the team played well very in their creativity, with great moments of soccer moving the ball on the ground. Indeed a lot of goal scoring opportunities were created, unfortunately a lack of serenity and accuracy in that last moment dictated the 0-0 at the end.
Sunday the team played their third game of the tournament facing the BSA Celtic team. A close match where the young ladies knew that a positive result would give them a spot in the final. Without the ball, the girls once again, played a solid game, despite the goal conceded in a long ball, the young ladies showed a great organization and discipline. Offensively the team had a great performance, showing confidence with the ball, looking for the short passing game as the main option to move up on the field and to create danger. However the highlight of the game was the equalizer that ensured us a spot at the final. It was a perfect combination, with a precise cross back, and a great finishing from the opposite winger, absolutely brilliant.
With one win and two ties, the Lions clinched a spot in the final, where they faced the Urbana Girls team that finished first in the group. The girls had a great first half; very focused and compact on defense, even under pressure they never lost the focus, waiting for the right moments to counter attack, which resulted the 1-0 at the half time. During the second period, the opposite team played really aggressive forcing some mistakes on our defensive half of the field. However the girls never gave up, showing a terrific character and personality to play the game until the last minute.
After the last game, coach Bruno has the following to say about the tournament: "This was a great way to finish the season for these girls, they work really hard throughout the season, and made important strides as a team. Our defense was really solid and organized, and offensively the team created their own identity based in short combinations trying to build up their game from the back. The goal that we scored this morning against the Celtics is proof of that identity." Concluding "Today we lost the final but the future is bright for this great group of girls, I can't be more pleased for all that we accomplished together, and I'm sure that if we keep working hard as we do, we will have these kind of moments often"
After a tournament is always tough to distinguish somebody individually, however Emma was nominated as player of the tournament for all her offensive work, besides the goals scored, she was always a danger for the opposite defenders.
Dayton Dutch Lions FC U12 Boys
Tournament record: 2-1-1
Player of the tournament: Jake
The Dutch Lions U12 Boys participated this past weekend at the Dutch Lions Fall Cup and became champions showing great attitude, sportsmanship, and moments of good soccer.
The boys played their 1st tournament game, against Crew SC Gold, a strong and aggressive opponent, and didn’t start well, with mistakes exploited by the opponents that were crucial for the end result. Despite the effort creating chances to score and shots on goal, the only Dutch lions goal was scored at the second half by Aaron, ended the game with a 4-1 lost for the lions.
At the 2nd game of the Tournament, the boys faced off against FOSC BU12 White, in a well-played game with both teams fighting for the victory. The lions had good ball possession, trying to build their attack consciously, with good field occupation, and combinations creating many chances to score and a lot of shots on goal. For the dangerous situations and chances created during whole game, the lions deserved better luck, and ended the game with a 2-2 tie with the goals scored by Connor and Jake.
On the 2nd Tournament day, the Lions faced off against Kings Hammer in a game dominated for the lions, where they had moments of good soccer using the width and depth to build the attack and finishing several combination plays with good crosses into the box. The lions goals were scored by Jake and Aaron, ended the game with a 2-0 victory for the Dutch Lions.
With 1 win, 1 loss, and 1 tie, the lions finished 1st in the group and qualified for the final.
At the Final game, the Lions faced again the Crew SC Gold, team whom had lost to in the 1st game, with opportunities back and forth.
This time, the lions started the game more focused, with good positioning, aggressive on the ball, with good support and covers, and were effective ball possession that created many chances to score. The lions scored 2 goals by Conner in an individual running, at the first half, and Mason in a beautiful goal with his weak foot.
The opponent scored one goal, but was not sufficient and the Lions won the game with 2-1 as an end result.
Coach Paulo said after the game “It is a great weekend for these boys. They have been working hard, as a team, and we played 4 games with a good level of soccer. They were aggressive without ball and very assertive with ball, keeping our identity, and I couldn’t t be more proud of it, and I’m proud of all my players”.
Jake was nominated as a player of the Tournament due to his exemplary positioning, offensive and defensive, aggressiveness without ball, and recovery runs and the important goals we scored.
Dayton Dutch Lions FC U13 Boys
Record: 2-1-0
Player of the Tournament: Simon
To finish the 2015 Fall season the U13 boys participated in the DL CUP. The goal was to finish the season with a spot in the final but that wasn't ment to be.
The young lions showed total domination in 2 of their 3 group games, winning by 8-0 and 9-0. The third game, against a agressive Botkins team that ended up winning the tournament, was a good soccer lesson for this talented group of players. Despite the dominance in possession and some good chances the Lions ended up losing this game 3-2.
Coach Sid after the game "I think we approached this game with a little to much confidence and that hurt us. Botkins came at us with nothing to lose and work rate will always beat talent, until talent starts working. Nothing against Botkins, that deserved the 3 points, but I hope this was a valid lesson for us and that in the future we approach these games with more seriousness and we realize that no game is the same and that games are won on the field, standings or previous encounters don't matter."
A lot of players had good performances but Simon was the most consistent this weekend. That consistency earned him the nomination of player of the Tournament.
Dayton Dutch Lions FC U14 Girls
Results: 0-3-0
Player of the Tournament: Ashley
The Dutch Lions U14 Girls competed in the DDL Cup as they gave a strong effort against some top level U14 Girls teams. The Lions ended winless on the weekend but has some great moments of soccer to finish the fall season.
The Lions first game was against Cincinnati United Brazil in a fasted pace high-energy match-up. Offensively, the Lions put forth a great work ethic and forced a number of turnovers that resulted in goal scoring opportunities. The Lions also did well utilizing the space and were successful switching the field to change the point of attack. Defensively, the Lions maintained a compact unit, which made it difficult for the United attack to break down. The back-line was also aggressive in their tackles and they were strong in the 1v1 challenges.
The 2nd game of the DDL Cup featured the DDL U14 Girls vs. Freedom U14 Girls. Offensively, the Lions had a great start to game provided early pressure on the Freedom defense. The Lions moved the ball quickly and played some great through balls to the on rushing attackers. Defensively, the Lions positioned themselves well and did an excellent job providing cover against the Freedom’s speedy attack.
The final game of the weekend included the DDL U14 Girls against the eventual tournament champions, the Valley View Blackhawks. Offensively, the Lions worked hard to keep possession of the ball. The Lions striker was a key player as she held the ball up in the attacking half and switched the field on numerous occasions. Defensively, the Lions were organized throughout the game but in some moments had difficult time matching up against the physical Valley View attack.
Coach Shane was quoted, “I am very proud of how the girls preformed this tournament. We have improved tremendously since the beginning of the season and sometimes it is hard to see from the outside perspective of players/parents when the results are not wins. The way we are creating scoring opportunities and the confidence we exert in our attacking play shows the potential and quality we have on this team. I am impressed with how strong and organized we are defensively and I have seen continued progression with our defense individually and as a team. Now we start preparing for the winter/spring and I am very happy to continue working with this great group of girls!
Coach Shane nominated Ashley as the player of the tournament for an excellent performance in the attacking half. She was strong in ball possession, created multiple scoring opportunities for her team, and was always in the correct position on the field.
Dayton Dutch Lions FC U14 Boys
Tournament Record: 4 W- 0 L – 0 T
Players of the Tournament: Josh and Griffin
The first game the boys won easily 5-0 from Kings Hammer Soccer Academy. Good passes, good goals and hard work resulted in a nice score. Alfonso scored the first goal, Griffin scored 3 times and the 5-0 was scored by Steven who played as a striker this game. The defenders and our goalie didn’t concede any goal because of their hard work.
The second game was a little bit harder. Springfield Thunder was our opponent. The goals were scored by Griffin, Steven, and Caden V. We started good and after a few minutes we scored our first goal. Steven doubled the score for the Dutch Lions; 2-0! After that we conceded a goal, but because of Caden his goal we still got the 3 points and we qualified ourselves for the final!
The next day, the boys played their third game. It was going to be the same team as we faced in the final, the Summit Academy. Both teams started very well and the Summit Academy got a penalty kick. Cameron saw the ball hit the post and because of that miss and it was still 0-0. A few minutes later they scored and it was 1-0. Griffin scored for the Lions and both teams reached half time with a 1-1 score. In the second half after a good pass of Josh, it was Alfonso who scored the winning goal for the DDL.
In the afternoon the Dutch Lions played the final on the Turf field at DOC Stadium. They were facing the same team as in the morning; Summit Academy. So the Lions knew it was going to be a hard game! Both teams started good and aggressive but the Dutch Lions had a lot of ball possession. But, it was the S.A. that scored the first goal. Griffin scored the 1-1 and so as in the first game, both teams reached the half time with a 1-1 score. In the second half the boys conceded a goal, 2-1. After a great rush on the right side of the field, Josh scored the 2-2. Both teams had to go in overtime. In the very last minute of this exciting game it was Josh who scored the winning goal, 3-2!!
Coach Michiel was very happy after the game and the team deserved the win. Players of the tournament according to coach Michiel, “Everybody played a good tournament and worked very hard. Josh and Griffin were very important with assists and goal, so those two players deserved to be the players of the tournament.
“I think we won the tournament because we played aggressive and we really wanted to win. The coach,the team, and parents deserved this win after their improvement during the season and their great 3rd place in the league.
