The Dutch Lions had a full week as all teams were in action with Sunday being a fun "DDL FC Tailgaiting" party for the three games scheduled. Much fun was had and the teams competed in every match. See below for our ALT Architecture Team of the Week and the game reports.
Game of the Week MVP – Samir
Game of the Week Highlights Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr5Amirqmaw
Game of the Week MVP – Evan
Game of the Week Highlights Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rdYrBBB00Y
GAME REPORTS:
Age/Gender: U13 Girls
Location: DOC Stadium - West Carrolton High School
Players: Ava B., Lauren, Sara, Alyvia, Marayna, Hope, Shiloh, Mia, Ava P., Rachel, Laura,Kayden, Nicole, Adler
Result: 3-1 Loss
Goal: Nichole
ALT Player of the Match: Nicole
Defensively, the Lions were exceptional in the first have and Mia made several saves in goal to keep the game scoreless going into halftime. In the second half, the opposition was able to score three quick goals, however after some changes, the Lions did well to prevent any further attacks. Some new players were introduced to the back line and did well to win their individual challenges.
After conceding the third goal, the Lions truly turned things around and began to put serious pressure on the opposition. The Lions scored a great team goal with a dangerous ball played in behind to a player who then served in a great cross for an easy finish. When able to move the ball side to side, the Lions found great success.
Coach Bradley shared, "After going down 3-0, it would have been easy for the girls to stop competing. However, they began to truly fight for each other, something I haven't seen much of this year, and were able to do really well in the closing 20 minutes. Several players found themselves in unfamiliar positions and did well in these areas. Although it wasn't the result we wanted, as a coach there are several positive things to take away from this game."
Nicole was selected as the ALT Player of the Match. Coach Bradley stated, "Nicole was our goal scorer today and also played a significant role in many of our most dangerous attacks. I see Nicole developing each day and her awareness and decision making is incredible for her age."
Age/Gender: U14 Boys
Location: DOC Stadium | West Carrollton
Players: Braxton; Keaton; Aaron; Holden; R.J.; Noah; Alex; Deng; Connor C.; Gabe; J.R.; Max; Connor B.; Josiah; Evan; Dominic; Ryan & Christian (Promoted U13 Boys)
Result: 2-1 W
Goal(s): Aaron; Gabe
ALT Player of the Match: Josiah
After a period without games, the U14 boys team were back to action with their league games. Saturday, they presented themselves in their usual 4:3:3 formation, with one holding midfielder.
Defensively, the Dutch Lions team had a solid performance, well organized and compact. The boys were able to use the space wisely controlling the opponent movements to build up and limiting their game on the last third of the pitch. Besides the set pieces situations the opposing team didn't create much danger for our defense, however a few times the team seemed to lost their focus, something that could have been determinant at the end.
On the ball, the Lions team did not play the best of their games. However they had the control of it for the most part of the time, with the exception made to the moments of less focus that we mention before. The boys weren't able to keep possession and play in support as much as they normally do, they were looking for the vertical pass to often, but there's was no space. During the second half was possible see moments of good soccer, including the second goal, scored after a nice combination of passes.
After the game, Coach Bruno had the following to say, “I think today we didn't play as we normally do, especially during the first half, during that period we couldn't find the right options to build up, keep the ball possession or create much danger in the last third of the field. During the second half we finally found ourselves and controlled the game better, but yet not in a consistent basis." Continuing, " We did also some good things, and the second goal we scored was a great example of it, we were able to complete a nice sequence of passes, switching the field and positioning ourselves in good areas to finish, thanks to a nice movement off the ball. Now we just need to keep working, so we can be more consistent and confident, and I'm sure these moments will happen more often."
As ALT player of the match, Bruno selected Josiah and said, "I've decided to nominate Josiah as ALT player of the match for his consistency and his work rate during the match. He was important on the defensive process keeping the team balanced and always an option to connect our game, positioning himself in supporting positions consistently.”
Age/Gender: U10 Boys - DDL Game of the Week
Location: DOC Grass Field | West Carrollton
Players: Elliot, Oliver, Zaur, Jhoan, Kyle, Kellen, Samir, Tanner & Parker
Result: 9-0 Loss
ALT Player of the Match: Samir
The young Lions were coming back after a 12 day lay-off and in the opening few minutes looked a bit rusty. The weather was a bit a cold and rainy and the opponent was physically much bigger than us. We have seen teams with bigger players before, but every guy was a head taller than our boys.
As the game progressed, the home team was playing with an all-out effort, fighting for every ball and working for each other. Regardless of the score, they played hard the entire match.
Coach Ric shares, "I don't know how you can ever say that you are happy with a 9-0 loss, but I was happy with how our boys played....their attitiude and effort was excellent and their execution was good. They played soccer in the way we have trained them ~ passing to each other, moving to open space, asking for the ball and working for each other. We got beat by a team that was bigger, faster and stronger who played direct - kick it down the field and out run us."
"The good news is that we played soccer. Once, we put five passes together and it was five intended passes for each other. That is what I want to see. They are becoming soccer players and I was very proud of their work.
Samir was selected as the ALT Player of the Match by Coach Ric. He said, "Samir was all over the field, making runs into open space, taking opponents on with the dribble and making strong passes. His soccer IQ was on full display against a very tough opponent and he competed today."
Age/Gender: U13 Boys
Location: Old River Grass Fields | Oakwood
Players: Andrew, Christian, Daniel, Tyler, Zane, Asher, Kon, Akol, Joseph, Tyson, Ethan and Deaton
Result: 1-1 Forfeit Win
The U13 Boys won the match via forfeit with the score tied 1-1. The game was called as the opposing team's Coach was given a red card early in the second half and did not have an assistant to continue coaching the game.
Age/Gender: U15 Boys
Location: DOC Stadium | West Carrollton
Players: Justin; Keaton; Aaron; Holden; Owen; R.J.; Noah; Gradey; Alex; Deng; Connor C.; Gabe; Collin; Max; Braxton; Josiah; Ryan; Dominic
Result: 8-0 Loss
ALT Player of the Match: Collin
This week, the Dutch Lions U15 boys team played two matches, the first of them on Saturday at DOC Stadium - West Carrollton. A tough match, where despite the result, the boys gave a good response in terms of collective organization.
Defensively the game had two completely different halves. During the first period of the match the boys were very organized and focused, reducing the spaces and pressuring the ball carrier effectively. The second half was slightly different; the team lost composure in terms of collective organization, giving our opponent too much time on the ball, this combined with some individual mistakes in the first stage of build up, were the main reasons for the dilated score at the end.
On the ball the young Lions had, for the majority of the match, the right intention to play. The team with a very positive approach throughout the match, with a good dynamic, utilizing the entire width wisely, and with confidence building up their game from the back consistently with short combinations and constant movement off the ball. However, the Lions team failed to create enough chances in the last third of the field, and the ones they have created, were not able to materialize it in goals.
After the game coach Bruno had the following say “Well as everyone could see, there was two main differences between the two team, the first one was the size and about that we can't do nothing, and the second one was the style of play, and for that I'm really proud of my boys, while our opponent played based on athleticism and vertical balls, we played based on positive possession, moving the ball around with a clear idea of what we wanted. It's true that we have conceded few goals just because of that, playing in support from the back, but I'm the only responsible for those goals, because that's the way I want them to play rather than kick the ball up and hoping for something to happen. Obviously we could have done some things better but I would not trade the way we played for the win, right now it comes out as a tough result but in the future we will be compensated for this learning process."
As ALT Player of the match coach, Bruno selected Collin and said, "Today Collin had a tremendous performance as a Goalkeeper, not only because of the handful of saves he did, but also for his positioning keeping the team defensively compact and being an option when the team needed to create space, and take the ball out of the pressure zones.”
Age/Gender: U15 Boys ~ DDL FC Game of the Week
Location: DOC Stadium | West Carrollton
Players: Justin; Keaton; Aaron; Holden; Owen; R.J.; Noah; Gradey; Alex; Deng; Connor C.; Gabe; Collin; Max; Connor B.; Josiah; Evan; Dominic
Result: 2-0 L
ALT Player of the Match: Evan
On Sunday, the Dutch Lions U15 boys team played their second game of the weekend, a good challenge for the young Lions team, who have presented moments of good soccer.
The boys had a pleasant performance defensively, they were able to keep a good organization throughout the entire match, which combined with good pressure, reduced significantly the chances to the opposing team connect their passing game or keep possession of the ball. However the opposing team ended up scoring twice after two individual initiatives of their striker. Yet it was positive to see the boys increasing a little their aggressiveness level to recover the ball, in comparison with the day before.
Offensively the boys were able to play the ball from the back with confidence and a good collective dynamic, involving all the players in the process, including the defenders and the goalkeeper. It was nice to see the players looking to play in support and switching the field sides often to create space. A few chances were created but a lack of assertiveness in the last decision stopped the team to find the back of the net.
After the game coach Bruno shared “this group did a tremendous job here today, in my opinion we played well, with confidence and clear ideas about what to do during the different moments of the match, which revels that the work during the past weeks is starting to produce effects. We had a nice ball possession, good build up and moments of really good soccer. A coach should be proud when he sees the team perform what he idealized, and in that stand point I'm happy, obviously there's still a lot of work to be done, some of the mistakes we have committed here today are not new for us, and we need to fix that urgently. We also need to be more efficient in the last moment to capitalize the chances we are creating, sometimes it's a matter of decision making other times a better execution, but that's something we will be hitting during the next training sessions. I believe we have reasons to be happy with our improvement, and I’m sure that with time and hard work those things will be even more visible."
As ALT Player of the match coach, Bruno selected Evan and said, "Evan was the team's "engine" today, very focused and aggressive on defense recovering the ball numerous times and at the same time thoughtful on the ball connecting our sectors. His work rate was terrific today."