This weekend the last couple of games from our 2016 Fall season where played. With some reschedules due to cancellations some of our teams had a very busy weekend.
HOPE SPRINGS WELLNESS CENTER TEAM OF THE WEEK
GAME REPORTS
Team: U12 Boys
Location: MSA/DDL Complex/Urbana University
Players: Andrew, Jack, Tyler, Zane, Christian, Robert, Dalton, Sean S, Asher, Sean C, Wyatt, Daniel
Result: L 3/1/6-0/4-0
Hope Spring Player of the Game: Asher/Christian
The Dayton Dutch Lions FC concluded their Fall 2016 with 3 games versus Southstars and Champaign Dynamo.
In the first game, the Lions faced off against Southstars. Defensively, the Lions had a slow start to the game and ended up conceding a few early goals to the speedy opponent. The Lion’s defense would eventually settle into the game and would become stronger as the game went on as they matched the opponent’s intensity and aggressiveness in the defensive half. Offensively, the Lions utilized quick counter attacks to create overloads on the wings and capitalize on those moments with shots on goal and crosses into the box. A goal for the Lions would come from a beautiful run up the wing from Dalton and he would square the ball off nicely to his onrushing teammate who finished the play with a powerful shot past the keeper.
The Lions kicked off a home/away fixture against Champaign Dynamo. Offensively, the Lions had difficulties getting momentum in ball possession due to the strength and speed of the opponent. The Lions did a much better job using the width and depth of the field by finding the feet of striker and distributing the ball out to the wings. Defensively, the Lions played their best half of soccer during the first half of the second game on Sunday. The team defended well in a compact shape and were aggressive in their tackles to recover the ball. The Lions put up a fight but would end up dropping both games to the division leaders.
Coach Shane stated after the game, “As the season comes to a close, I am very proud of progress this team has made this season! The boys have worked extremely hard throughout the fall and these past few games we have definitely seen some glimpses of the potential this team has. Looking forward to seeing this team continue to develop and improve this winter/spring!
Coach Shane nominated Christian and Asher as the Hope Springs Players of the Game. Asher’s work ethic on a off the ball, continues to improve each game, and has a great attitude. Christian leads by example and puts in a tremendous effort to cover his teammates throughout the field.
Team: U13 Boys
Location: West Carrollton DOC
Result: W 8-0 / L 1-0
Players: Braxton, Holden, R.J, Max, Connor C., Keaton, Josiah, Aaron, Noah, Ryan R., Ryan C., Dominic, Connor B., J.R. George, Christian (U12)
Goal(s): Noah; Aaron (2); Connor B. (4); Ryan R.
Hope Springs Player of the game: Connor B. / Connor C.
On Saturday’s game, the boys showed a good collective performance and finished the game with a clean sheet. The defensive line was well coordinated and very communicative with the center backs showing signs of leadership with constant communication amongst the team.
Offensively, the game started at a slower pace but the Lions were able to adjust and began to accelerate the pace of the game, being more dominant and very efficient on capitalizing the chances created. In today’s game, we were able to see some beautiful goals and good combination plays.
On Sunday’s game, the boys faced a strong opponent and it was a good test for the Lions. They had to work hard to contain and slow down the opponent’s attacks, which was well managed at the half time with 0-0 at the scoreboard. Despite the good passing from the 1st half, the Lions didn’t start the 2nd half well and conceded an early game that was crucial for the end result, ending this game with a 1-0 loss for the Lions.
Offensively, during the first half the boys did some good passing but didn’t create many goal scoring opportunities. The lions were able to revert the situation especially after conceding the goal, were they showed a very determined and willingness to score the equalizing goal, but were unable to score the game tying goal.
Coach Paulo said after the game “This weekend, we played our last two games in our League and finish with a win and a loss. On the 1st game, we created several goal-scoring opportunities and we were able to capitalize on those chances, which is a big improvement from earlier games this season. In the 2nd game, we didn’t have many chances, but we did a good job on defense, which I was very happy with because it shows that we are not just a team that scores goals, but also a team that has improved and become quite solid in the defensive process”. Continuing coach Paulo said, “As I stated previously, I have no doubt that it was a great season. We are playing good soccer, we accomplished our goals, and I’m very proud to coach this amazing group.”
After the game, Coach Paulo nominated Connor B. as the Hope Springs Player of the Game for his “Outstanding performance with 4 goals scored and a very positive work rate” and Connor C> for his “ Good positioning and defensive work rate, effective marking and providing the balance between the offence and defense”.
Team: U14 Girls
Location: DOC Stadium | West Carrollton
Result: 1-0 L
Players: Ashley; Nicole; Audrey; Alexis; Emma; Milan; Kira; Brooke; Camlyn; Kaitlyn; Hannah; Maddie; Ilana; Erin; Alicia & Nicole S.; Hope; Ava P. (U12 Girls team)
Hope Springs Player of the game: Erin
Defensively, the Dutch Lions girls’ team had two distinct periods. In the first half of the game, the young girls weren't able to hold the ball long enough up front that made them spend the majority of that period of time inside of their own half of the field. During second half, the young Dutch Lions were more efficient with a good organization, compact, removing the space, and the options for the opposing team to connect their passes, forcing them to play more direct where the Lions goalkeeper had a tremendous impact coming off the line.
Offensively, the young ladies had a positive performance especially during the second half of the match and after a less inspired first period. They showed the right intention to play and were able to find the options to connect their game, mostly due to a more effective movement around the ball carrier. It was also very positive to see the girls building up from the back with a good collective dynamic and showing confidence. However, all the efforts were not enough to create much danger or goal situations to revert the score.
After the game, Coach Bruno had the following statement "Honestly speaking I didn't like our first half, I think we were not moving enough with and without the ball. At the half time, we fixed some details and the girls did a great job. I really liked the dynamic we presented during the second half, much more energetic and thoughtful on the ball and the girls were able to present us with moments of good combinations. Unfortunately, we couldn’t create many chances to score, which ended up being crucial at the end. On defense, I liked the discipline and the organization, we just need to be a little bit more aggressive into the individual duels." To conclude " We have been working hard for 3 months and I really believe all the girls improved individually and as a team, being more conscious of their roles and tasks with and without the ball."
As the Hope Springs player of the match coach Bruno nominated Erin and said ”Erin was tremendous today as goalkeeper. Either coming off the line with determination or parrying the balls away, she kept the team on the game until the last minute. This performance is the result of her hard work, attitude, and willingness to learn since day one.
Team: U14 Girls
Location: DOC Stadium | West Carrollton
Result: 3-0 W
Players: Ashley; Nicole; Audrey; Alexis; Emma; Milan; Kira; Brooke; Camlyn; Kaitlyn; Hannah; Maddie; Ilana; Erin; Morgan; Alicia & Nicole S.; Hope; Ava P. (U12 Girls team)
Goal(s): Brooke; Emma (2)
Hope Springs Player of the game: Milan
Defensively, the Dutch Lions team presented a solid performance in today’s game. They were organized for the majority of the game, compact with a good space occupation, and with moments of good pressure, which reduced the space and time on the ball for the opposing team. It was nice to see how the girls reacted after losing the ball possession with quick defensive transitions recovering on the field and finding their defensive shape quickly to avoid the counter attacks. All the situations mentioned before combined with a great teamwork were the base to a clean sheet to conclude the game.
Offensively, the young Lions had a really positive and dominant performance. The girls brought the right energy controlling the game from the very beginning. The team was able to move the ball on the field with a good dynamic, mostly because of an constant movement providing multiple options to the ball carrier, which allowed the girls to connect their passing game and build up from the back several times. It was also important see how they utilized the entire space, width, and especially the depth to create danger after precise through balls. Besides the three goals, the young girls were able to create a few more good situations to increase the score but more important than that was to see how they've create those situations, with all the players involved on the offensive process.
After the game coach Bruno had the following statement "after three months together, we played the last game of the fall season. It’s a sweet and sour moment, sweet because we finished the season with a very good note, sour because the time passed very quickly. Today more than talking about the game itself, I think it's necessary to recognize how the girls fought throughout the season, of course like every other team with ups and downs, but they never stopped believing on our ideas, week after week they worked really hard to improve. Like I use to tell them every game or practice it's an opportunity, an opportunity to get better and to learn, especially at this age." Continuing" for me as coach, it was pleasure once again work with these young ladies and trying to help them as much as I could, to be a better player today than they were yesterday." To conclude" I want to thank all the girls for all the great moments and memories we've created, I'm now undoubtedly a better / well prepared coach than I was before because of you"
As the Hope Springs player of the match coach Bruno nominated Milan and said ”I've decided to nominate Milan not just because of her good performance here today but mainly for her consistency throughout the season. Combined with that comes her tremendous attitude, always available to help the team and support her teammates.”
Team: U15 Boys
Blue
Location: West Carrollton DOC
Result: W 1-0/W 3-0
Players: Collin, Owen R., Jason, Dominic C., Dimitar, Ethan, Dominic M., Dominic S., Nikolas, Justin, Julian, Enrico, TJ, Mick, Gradey.
Goal(s): Julian, Dominic S. (2), Dominic M.
Hope Springs Player of the game: Ethan/Dominic S.
The first game, the Lions faced off against Dublin United. Offensively, the Lions began the game with a high intensity from the first whistle. Attackers were able to recover the ball high on the field and with 1 or 2 passes they were in position for a cross into the box or a shot on goal. It was not until the 2nd half when the Lions were able to get the go-ahead goal after a fantastic individual run by Julian as he used his strength and speed that created space for him in front of goal and he powered a shot past the keeper. Defensively, the Lions put in a tremendous effort to preserve the lead a tight competitive game. The Lions defense would hold firm and secured the shutout victory over Dublin.
Coach Shane nominated Ethan as the Hope Springs Player of the Game for his continued improvement throughout the season, work ethic on the field, and leads by example.
On Sunday, the Lions played a rescheduled game versus Metro FC. Offensively, the Lions started the game very confident with the ball and efficient in ball possession with quick passing and combinations creating several attacking situations with through balls to the winger or striker. The boys had a couple of good shots on goal and several times were very close to finding the back of the net to add more numbers on the scoreboard.
Defensively, the boys were organized and disciplined in their positions and were able to keep the good organization through the game. However, in a few moments was some lack of communication and sluggishness on the defensive line at the moment to move up on the field, situation that was fixed with the course of the game. Positive attitude and teamwork didn’t allowed the opponent to create many goal scoring opportunities.
After the game, Coach Paulo nominated as the Hope Springs Player of the Game: Dominic S. for “good dynamic with the ball and field vision, and also for the 2 goals scored”.