The Dayton Dutch Lions FC had a strong week of performances on the pitch. They showed great improvement and should be proud of their efforts. See below for our ALT Architecture Team of the Week and the game reports.
Game of the Week MVP – Rachel
Game of the Week Highlights Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjYOmLQ-NpM
GAME REPORTS:
Age/Gender: U10 Boys
Location: Kyle Park ~ Tipp City
Players: Ronnie, Elliott, Oliver, Kellen, Kyle, Zaur, Samir and Jhoan
Match Result: 2-2 Draw
Scoring: 12’ Samir (Kellen), 25’ Oliver (Samir)
ALT Player of the Match: Kellen
The young Lions took to the field versus FC Tipp after losing to them just a week earlier 10-1. It was an overcast evening, but the boys were ready to play after a good week of training. This was the first game in some time with the entire roster present.
The boys switched their formation to a 3-3 looking to get the ball out wide to neutralize the
size advantage of the opponent. Defensively, Elliott, Kellen and Jhoan did a very good job of anticipating the attack, keeping good spacing and getting the attack started up the wings. They played very well together and gave goalkeeper, Ronnie, plenty of support. They also were very strong in pushing the DDL attack.
The offense played the best they have all year. They were consistent int their talk, movement and support.pushed up often and pressured in our half of the field. The first 10 minutes of the match was equal as play went from end-to-end. The Lions scored first off a nice feed from Kellen. He won the ball at midfield and dribbled down the flank. His through pass found Samir at the penalty area. Samir took the pass and dribbled by the defender and took a hard shot. The shot eluded the keeper and hit the back of the net. Lions led 1-0. The Lions did not stop as they got a second goal when Samir got a pass from Jhoan and dribbled down the middle of the field. Oliver was on the left side and asked for a square pass. Samir hit him in stride, Oli took a set-up dribble and ripped a shot into the far corner for a 2-0 lead.
The second half the boys seemed to tire a bit with only one substitute and they conceded a couple soft goals for a final score of 2-2.
After the game, Coach Ric shared, “We played a very good game today…probably our best of the season. The new formation helped us stay balanced a bit better and the boys really talked and listened tonight. We gave up a couple weak goals, but I cannot be unhappy with our play. Much improved over our effort a week ago.”
The ALT Player of the Match selected by Coach Ric was Kellen. “Kellen played is best game in an orange uniform tonight. He talked, moved and supported. His passing was good and his defensive effort was outstanding. He shut down players much bigger and stronger than him all game. He should be so pleased with his performance tonight and his progression this season. I am very happy for him. GOOD JOB, KELLEN.”
Age/Gender: U13G
Location: DOC Stadium
Players: Ava B, Lauren, Sara, Alyvia, Hope, Shiloh, Ava P, Rachel, Laura, Nicole & Adler
Result: 2-0 Loss
ALT Player of the Match: Rachel Q
The Lions started the match without any subs and an injury midway through the second half saw the girls a player down for 15 minutes. Despite these circumstances, the girls did well to put up a good fight against a quality opponent.
Defensively, the Lions did well to prevent nearly all of the oppositions attacks. Both goals were conceded as a result of mistakes in possession in the defensive third. Throughout the run of play, the Lions did well to close space and prevent the opposition from successful moving the ball out of that area. Although having only 11 players, the Lions fought hard and were competing for every 50/50 ball.
Offensively, the Lions did well to string passes together but were unable to come up with any real chances in the attacking third. There was a span of about 15 minutes in the second half where the Lions were able to maintain possession in the opponents half and switch the point of attack with ease. When the Lions connected passes and had 2 or 3 player combinations, the opposition really struggled to defend our efforts.
After the game coach Bradley stated: "Although this isn't the result the girls hoped for, as a coach this game was a win for me. The girls finally showed some fight and belief in each other and it showed in the second half. Despite having zero subs and playing down a player, the girls kept fighting for themselves and for each other and it was extremely encouraging to watch. Told the girls that if we played with that intensity all the time, we would be a very difficult team to beat."
The ALT Player of the Match and winner of this week's DDL MVP "Dutchie the Duckie" award was Rachel Q. Coach Bradley said of her performance, “Rachel is always consistent for me. She is always working hard, connecting passes, organizing the backline, but today she was truly special. She played with a lot of confidence and composure. Her ability to lead despite being one of the youngest on the team is what I love as a coach.”
Age/Gender: U13G
Location: DOC Stadium
Players: Ava B, Lauren, Sara, Alyvia, Marayna, Hope, Shiloh, Ava P, Rachel, Laura, Kayden, Nicole & Adler
Result: 3-2 Win
Scoring: Ava P (Nicole), Lauren (Nicole), Ava P
ALT Player of the Match: Ava P
The Lions playing on less than 24 hours rest had one of the most exciting games of the season as they trailed 0-2 with 15 minutes to go, yet came out victorious 3-2 at the final whistle.
Defensively, the Lions were a bit slow and struggled to deal with the oppositions direct play in the early going. After some halftime changes, the Lions really began to battle and remained organized. Again, like the match before, both goals were a result of a breakdown in possession near the defensive third of the field. Sara played well in goal and made some big saves for us throughout the entirety of the game.
Offensively, it was like the Lions turned the attacking switch to "On" for the final 15 minutes. After conceding their second, the Lions responded with a goal of their own shortly after. While everyone played a big role in our attack Ava P had some great goals while Nicole added a pair of assists to lead the Lions to victory. Two of the goals were scored as a result of great build up play. The Lions were able to move the point of attack quickly and complete some quick combinations that allowed our forwards to get in behind for two break aways. The final goal was scored of a fantastic free kick from Ava P.
Coach Bradley spoke about the game: "What a fantastic game. I was worried after conceding the second as the girls started to argue with each other and I honestly thought things were going to fall apart. However, we had some leaders who stepped up and really displayed great resilience. After scoring the first, I could see the momentum shift and after that I had all the confidence that we'd come back to win this game. I was incredibly proud of the way we battled back."
Ava P named ALT Player of the Match after a scoring a brace for the Lions. Coach Bradley stated: "Ava is a ruthless competitor. I see it during every training and it was especially evident in our match today. After conceding the second goal, Ava quite simply took over the game. She scored the first goal to get us back in the game, and finished it off with a beautiful strike on a free kick from about 22 yards out. I hope her performance will give her confidence moving forward."
Age/Gender: U14 Boys
Location: DOC Stadium | West Carrollton
Players: Braxton; Keaton; Aaron; Evan; Holden; R.J.; Alex; Deng; Connor C.; Gabe; J.R.; Max; Connor B.; Dominic; Ryan
Result: 2-1 Loss
Goal(s): Evan
ALT Player of the Match: R.J.
The Dayton Dutch Lions U14 Boys had a busy weekend with two league games. The first of them on Saturday, at West Carrollton, a good challenge where the boys didn't start well, but with the time they were able to found themselves and finish on a good note.
Defensively the Dutch Lions team had good performance. The boys were organized for the most of the time, playing compact with their lines close, reducing the time and space on the ball to the opponent. The two goals conceded, both from medium/long distance were a result of a lack of pressure on the ball carrier, however besides those two situations, no major chances were created, what is a good indicator of the quality of the defensive organization.
On the ball the young Lions had two different halves, especially in terms of energy and pace on their game. In the first period of the match, the team was able build up and move the ball around on their own half of the pitch but they couldn’t connect their game in the offensive third, mostly due to a slow pace and lack of movement off the ball. During the second period of the game, the dynamic was better and the team was finally able to create more danger around the opponents defensive areas, besides the goal, a few more chances were created, but the boys were not able to revert the result.
After the game coach Bruno had the following to say "I really think we could have achieved a different result today, we didn't start the game well, we were moving the ball slowly and very predictable, mainly due a lack of movement off the ball, and then when we finally woke up was already too late." I liked the organization and the way we've tried to build up, but we need to be able to carrier our game to the last third of the field, and be more aggressive on and off the ball. The two goals we conceded today were result of two long shots, easy to avoid with more pressure on the ball." To conclude, "It's was nice to see other coaches recognizing our quality on the build up and praise our process, so far I didn't see any team with better idea of soccer than us, but we need to bring our energy levels up, to be able to combine good performances with the results."
As ALT player of the match Bruno selected R.J. and said ”I've decided to nominate R.J. as ALT player of the match not only for this performance today but for his consistency throughout the season, he has been working well lately and taking more responsibilities on the team."
Age/Gender: U14 Boys
Location: DOC Stadium | West Carrollton
Players: Braxton; Keaton; Aaron; Noah; Holden; R.J.; Alex; Deng; Connor C.; Gabe; J.R.; Max; Connor B.; Dominic; Ryan
Result: 7-0 L
ALT Player of the Match: Aaron
On Sunday, October 1st the Dayton Dutch Lions U14 Boys played their second game of the weekend. A tough match against a team that played very direct based on the speed and physicality of the players up front.
Defensively the Dutch Lions team had a decent performance. The opposing team couldn't find the options to connect their game or play in support mostly due to a good organization and a good space occupation. However the young lions had a rough time to control the physicality and the direct style of soccer from the opponent, which end up being a crucial factor at the end.
On the ball was possible to see moments of really nice soccer, with the team building up from the back with confidence and personality with all the players involved, whenever the young lions tried to keep the ball on the ground, with short passes and playing in support they were able to reach the last third of the pitch easily. It was also positive to see the outside backs getting more active on the offensive process with overlaps and runs of the ball, something that will certainly will happen more natural and consistently.
After the game coach Bruno had the following statement " "We can't deny that it was a tough result, however we as coaches need to have the clarity of analyzing the game and how the things happen, and after a quick reflection it's easy for me to say that the difference today was only and exclusively on the athleticism of the opponents. For that I'm really proud of our boys, even losing we never lost our identity, and we were most of the time able to move the ball around on the ground with quality." Continuing "For me there was clearly two different approaches to the game, one team that wanted to win no matter what, based on long balls, and us that also wanted to win but most important, we wanted to win playing well and learning, and that for me it’s more important than any 3 points at the age of 13 years old."
As ALT player of the match Bruno selected Aaron and said ”I've decided to nominate Aaron as ALT player of the match for the quality he implement on our game as a midfielder, especially during the second half, connecting our game and switching the field sides taking the ball out of the pressure areas."