This past weekend the Dayton Dutch Lions FC High School teams kicked of their spring season. The u18 Boys and U15 Girls registered wins, the U17 Girls tied and the U15 Boys came short by one goal.
Full game reports:
Age/Gender: U15 Girls
Location / League: DOC Stadium / Buckeye Premier 1
Result: 3-0 W
Players: Grace T.; Grace Z; Sarah; Morgan; Meera; Emily; Paige; Peyton; Ashley; Kayla; Anna; Veronica; Mollie; Grace P.
Goal(s): Emily / Kayla / Veronica
Player of the game: Emily
Defensively the Dutch Lions girls have presented a very solid and consistent performance. Very organized since the initial whistle with a great collective commitment, each one of the players showed a perfect knowledge about their roles and responsibilities, they had a clearly idea of what to do when the team doesn't had the ball individually and as a team, presenting a great organization. The transition movement was also very effective with a quick reaction, reorganizing the lines on the pitch and pressuring the ball carrier.
On the ball the girls had a pleasant attitude, trying to build up from the back several times using the short combinations. The possession game was also something very positive, the young ladies kept a good dynamic throughout the game, with a constant movement providing the ball carrier different passing multiple options. Besides that, the team utilized well the space (depth and width) to create danger several times through counter attack situations.
After the game coach Lopes had the following statement "Today was the first game of the Spring season and I'm pretty satisfied from what I’ve saw here, the girls had a great performance, very thoughtful on the ball with personality and confidence to put inside the pitch the ideas we have been practicing throughout the winter. On the ball I think the improvement is visible, the team shows more maturity and conscience to control the game moments. Without the ball the organization was great, the girls were very committed to each other, keeping a constant balance the entire match." Concluding" Today Emily was nominated as player of the match, besides the goal scored, she was absolutely crucial on our organization, always available to be the connection bond with her constant movement when the team had the ball possession, and keeping the balanced on defense with her great positioning."
Age/Gender: U15 Boys
Location / League: DOC Stadium / Buckeye Elite 2
Result: 1-0 L
Players: Kyler, Todd, Aaron B., Jonathan H., Caden, AJ, Dylan, Stephen, Caleb, Jonathan C., Kevin, Richard, Alex.
Player of the game: Jonathan H.
Defensively the team appeared to be well organized, was aggressive on the ball and had a solid performance. No real chances where created by the opponents and the center backs and goalkeeper dealt well with the direct style of soccer today's opposition chose to play.
In attack the young lions showed great confidence in the build up, connecting good passes to reach the final third of the field but once they got there they struggled to create chances. Besides a few long shots only one scoring chance was created that the defender cleared from the goal line.
After the game coach Sid said, "We tried to do the right things on the ball and get everyone involved in offense but we lacked creativity and speed up top and this resulted in a lack of opportunities for us to score. The goal conceded is a mistake from us in our build up and we have to learn from that mistake. The fair result today would have been a 0-0 as both teams didn't produce many opportunities but I have to congratulate our opponent as they got the 3 points."
As player of the game coach Sid nominated Jonathan H. as player of the game because of his leadership and work rate in the backline.
Age/Gender: U17 Girls
Location / League: DOC Stadium / Buckeye Premier 2
Result: 0-0
Players: Brooke, MiKayla, Kaitlen, Mollie, Grace Z., Maddie, Hannah, Bekah, Natalie, Zoe, Autumn, Haley, Grace P., Veronica
Player of the game: Maddie
The Lions opened their Spring season on Saturday with a hard fought battle against CSA Elite. As the game progressed and nerves were settled, the ladies began to string together passes to create several dangerous scoring opportunities. Unfortunately, they were not able to capitalize on any of these chances. The aggressive and high pressure style of play did not seem to phase the Lions as they matched their physicality levels and remained composed and compact defensively.
After the match Coach Katie had the following to say “Although we were not able to finish on any of our opportunities, I enjoyed seeing the ladies build their attack. I can sense that we are hungry in our attacking third and I feel that goals will come as we gain composure and more game experience”. Coach Katie concluded with “Today, I think we demonstrated that we have the right intentions and I am pleased with the overall effort and intensity of play. I am excited to see how we will grow through Spring season”.
Coach Katie has nominated Maddie as the player of the game. Maddie’s strength on the ball and ability to find the feet of her teammates were key in building the opportunities that we saw today.
Age/Gender: U18 Boys
Location/League: DOC Stadium / Buckeye Elite 1
Result: 2-1 W
Players: Trent; Drew; Triston; Marien; Micah; Cody; Makay; Matthew; Alex; Britton; Bradley; Collin; Declan; Tanner; Scott; Tony
Goal(s): Micah / Matthew
Player of the game: Drew
On defense the team had a good performance, the boys presented a great organization, very focused and committed with each other and to the team ideas. The Dutch Lions showed a good sense of the space tightening the field as a block and shifting over according to the ball position, reducing this way the space and time for our opponent build up their game comfortably. Was also very positive see the defense line coordinated moving together catching the opponents several times in offside position. The Midfielders played an important role, connecting the team and keeping the balance throughout the match. The team was also more aggressive when compared to the last couple of games, with moments of really good pressure, recovering the ball high on the field.
Offensively the young lads were able to create a good amount of scoring chances, with moments of good soccer and a clearly idea of what to do the entire match. The team was able to realize and understand the game moments and alternate the styles of play between possession and counter attack often, showing more maturity and confidence. Was good to see how the boys worked together on the field, with constant movement creating a good dynamic and multiple options to connect your game in a solid and balanced way. The team was able to take advantage of the space in the flanks to stretch the opponent defense and unbalance their organization with a good positioning of the wingers and support of the outside backs with some overlaps.
After the game coach Bruno has the following to say, "After a long and tough winter is good to be outside again, the indoor season was a great help on our growing as a team and a important contribution to assimilate the ideas and our game philosophy. I'm happy for this first game, of course, we've committed a couple of mistakes here and there but overall the win is unquestionable, the boys controlled the game and all his moments, in a thoughtful and positive way, moving the ball around with confidence and creativity. We do need to be more pragmatic and effective in the last moment finishing better the goal scoring opportunities that the team have created." to conclude coach Bruno said" today we had a couple of players in a great moment but Drew stood out, he was absolutely amazing on the back line, very focused the entire match with numerous anticipations and covering his teammates"