The Dayton Dutch Lions FC enjoyed a nice weekend of tournament soccer as all academy teams played in the Haunted Classic. Several teams just missed making the finals as all the players gave a spirited effort.
Please see the final ALT Architecture Team of the Week below as well as game reports from the tournament.
GAME REPORTS:
Age/Gender: U10 Boys
Tournament: Haunted Classic | Beavercreek, OH
Players: Ronnie, Elliott, Ben, Jhoan, Kellen, Oliver, Kyle, Zaur, Samir and Jace, Parker & Marshall
Scoring: Samir 1 G & 2 A, Elliott 2 G, Oliver 1 G & 1 A, Jhoan 2 G & 2 A, Kellen 1 A, Jace 4 G & 2 A, Parker 1 G
Record: 2-1-0
The U10B enjoyed the end of season tournament with a great Saturday and a hard fought Sunday as they tried to make the finals. Three players were chosen for Team of the Week honors because of their performance this weekend ~ Jhoan, Samir & Zaur.
The opening match was first for the boys as they played a team for the first time that was similar to them in size and speed. All season this has been a challenge for us as the athleticism partnered with a direct approach of play gives us fits. This advantage was not present and the young lions put their soccer skills on display.
Defensively, the boys maintained their spacing, were able to pass out into the attack and were able to support the offensive push. This led to very few chances for the opponent and the several shots that were attempted were easily saved by Elliott and Ronnie.
Offensively, the lions moved the ball with their short passing, got the ball our wide on the flanks and made several nice passes to open teammates for scoring chances. They converted three of their first five chances as three shots from Samir, Jhoan and Zaur found the back of the net. The first goal for Samir came on a nice counterattack as Jace won a ball at midfield and was able to play Samir into the attacking third. Samir took a couple dribbles and finished into the lower corner. Jhoan's goal was the result of some good passing and his persistence. Elliott made a save and the ball was played up the wing by Kellen. Jhoan got a square pass and dribbled into the penalty area. He beat the first defender, but a second defender tried to clear the ball. Jhoan blocked the clearance and controlled the ball again. He dribbled past a defender and fired his shot into the goal. Zaur's first goal of the season was a beauty. The lions won the ball in the back and were able to find Jace moving outside. He dribbled down the right wing and sent a square pass across the top of the box. Zaur was running onto the ball and hit it perfectly ~ first time ~ past the keeper. It was an excellent goal. The lions never slowed down and won their first game 8-0 as Elliott, Oliver, Jace and Parker added additional goals.
The second match on Saturday was a much slower game as the boys struggled early to put any passes together. They were not talking very much and thus were not moving very much either. Defensively, they were lackadaisical and were not attacking the ball. This led to giving up two very soft goals and trailing 2-0. Right before halftime, the lions got two quick goals back-to-back. The first was a direct kick taken by Jace and the second from Jhoan stealing a ball and knocking in a goal.
After the halftime chat of us not playing soccer the way we are capable of playing, the young lions responded well. Just five minutes after the restart, Elliott scored to put the lions ahead and Jace added another free kick from the right side. The defense played much better and the lions won their second match 4-2.
Sunday's match would determine who would go to the final as both teams entered with identical 2-0-0 records. The lions, for the second match in a row, did not start well and this led to giving up a goal rather quickly. The goal seemed to wake the boys up as they played with greater effort, but could not create the chances needed to score. As they continued to push forward, it made them more open to the counter attack and they lost 5-0.
At the end of the tournament Coach Ric shared with the team, "I am pleased with how we pushed ourselves this weekend. We played hard and had fun. Our guest players added value and it was a very nice tournament for us. I loved taking the boys between games on Saturday letting them feel a bit grown up and being on their own without Mom & Dad. This is a good group of boys and I am so pleased with their progress this fall."
In addition, "Thank you to all of our families as many of you have multiple children, but your support was wonderful and I am blessed to have coached your sons."
Age/Gender: U13 Girls
Tournament: Haunted Classic | Beavercreek, OH
Players: Ava B., Lauren, Alyvia, Marayna, Sara, Hope, Shiloh, Mia, Ava P., Rachel, Adler, Nicole, Kayden, Laura
Record: 0-3-0
This past weekend the U13G participated in the Haunted Classic, one of the largest tournaments in the Midwest with over 600 teams involved. This was the final weekend of play for the girls to conclude a nice fall season. To kick off the tournament, the girls played Friday evening against a local club rival. The girls took control of the match early and had a great deal of possession but were unable to capitalize in the first half. Defensively the Lions were very organized and were able to deal with the direct style of play that the other team was throwing at us. Late in the second half, a questionable PK was awarded to the opponent who scored to make the game 1-0. After this goal, the opposition sat back and make things difficult for us. With as much possession as the Lions maintained, it was a bit disappointing to walk away from this game with a loss.
The second game of the tournament was arguably the best performance the Lions have had all season. During the game, the Lions did an exceptional job of switching the point of attack and were able to attack using all positional units. Defensively, they were relentless to win the ball back after an offensive error and won their individual tackles throughout the entire game. The Lions were unfortunately unable to capitalize as much as we needed on the handful of chances that we created. The opposition on the other hand scored on two of the three shots they had. Coach Bradley told the girls after the game, "Sometimes you just get unlucky. This was our best performance but in soccer the only stat that matters is goals scored. Unfortunately, it just wasn't our day today but if we continue to move the ball like we did and defend as well as we did, we will have great success going forward."
Sunday the girls played their third and final game of the weekend and also the fall season. The Lions found themselves down 2-0 within the first 10 minutes and did well to correct some issues defensively to keep that score heading into halftime. At halftime, coach Bradley challenged the girls to simply win the second half. After some halftime adjustments, the Lions came out with lots of energy and were able to score on a goal set up as a result of some great combination play through our midfield and forwards. Although the Lions came out and played a much better second half, the goals scored by the opposition in the first half were too much to overcome. The Lions had a dominate second half performance, played with great speed and desire. Overall, although the result didn't go our way, the response in the second half is a great building block as we head into our next season.
Coach Bradley commented about the girls efforts this season: "I am extremely proud of the girls. I am proud of what we were able to accomplish over the course of this season and I believe we had significant improvements in several areas of our play. Although we didn't win every game this season, I truly believe the girls play a nice possession style of soccer that will benefit them more moving forward as opposed to the direct style of play that we see from other teams. Each day, the girls worked hard for me and I am honored to be their coach. They constantly remind me that soccer is about having fun and I can see the joy they have when they train and when they play." Coach Bradley also stated, "I want to thank the parents. Your sacrifice and constant support of your daughter is inspiring to me. I cannot thank you enough for how welcome and appreciated you make me feel and the joy that comes from getting to work with your child."
Age/Gender: U13 Boys
Tournament: Haunted Classic | Beavercreek
Players: Daniel, Christian, Tyler, Zane, Asher, Kon, Joseph, Tyson, Akol, Andrew, Levi, Sean and Jackson, Noah, Bobby & Evan
Record: 0-3-0
With the end of the fall season approaching quickly, the U13 boys had busy weekend at the Haunted Classic tournament. The young lions played two games on Saturday and one on Sunday, and took advantage of this opportunity to improve individually and as a team before the last league game.
The first game on Saturday was the toughest of the three matches. The boys had a nice start moving the ball and keeping the opponent away from the defensive areas, but with time that become harder. The other team notched the first goal which opened the game and reduced the young lions confidence. During the second half, the Dutch Lions had a hard time keeping ball possession and stopping the opponent's offensive attempts, mostly due to a high pressure which limited the time and space for the Lions to connect their passing game.
The second game on Saturday had two different halves. During the first period, the young lions had some moments of good soccer where they were able to connect their passing game and keep the ball on the offensive half of the pitch, however without creating many chances to score. The opponents opened the scoring after a counter attack situation, and were able to keep that lead until the half time. During the second half, the young Lions were not able to keep the same organization, which allowed the opposing team more space to play, and that ended up being crucial at the end. Although all the difficulties the young lions never gave up and were rewarded with a goal at the end.
On Sunday, and already knowing that the final was something impossible to reach, the young Lions team played their last game of the tournament. The team started the game with a really nice attitude, they were able to use the space on the wings to create danger and unbalance the opponent defensive line. After that period of more aggressiveness, the young lions weren't able to keep the intensity and the opponent started to be more confortable in the match, opening the score after an individual initiative form the left-winger. At the half time the result was 3-0. After the break the Lions came out again with great energy and a good dynamic but with the time they lost clarity and organization, which ended up being determinant for the final result.
At the end of the tournament coach Bruno had the following to say “In terms of results was a little tough for us, i do believe we were placed in the wrong bracket, looking at the leagues the other teams play. However playing against this type of opponents is a good opportunity for us, to step up our game and improve in different areas. I can't say nothing about the boys attitude, they never gave up and at moments were able to impose their game with character and good dynamic." Continuing, "I'm proud of our energy and attitude, despite all the situations, we never gave up, even playing against teams that play a few divisions higher than us, we tried to impose our game. I'm pretty sure that we have learned from this experience and will come back stronger for the last game of the season next Friday evening at the DOC stadium."
Age/Gender: U14 Boys
Tournament: Haunted Classic | Beavercreek
Players: Braxton; Keaton; Aaron; Noah; Holden; R.J.; Alex; Deng; Connor C.; Gabe; J.R.; Connor B.; Dominic; Evan; Ryan; Josiah; Max
Record: 2-1-0
This weekend all the Dayton Dutch Lions teams were competing at the Haunted Classic, a nice local tournament, with teams from all over the country. For the U14 boys team this competition also represented the last activity of the fall season.
The first game was perhaps the best performance that team presented all season. The boys took control of the match from the beginning. They were very organized defensively with moments of high pressure, removing the options for out opponents to connect their passes. And at the same time very creative with the ball. All the four goals were result of a great collective dynamic, with all the players involved. It was nice to see the team playing with confidence and utilizing the width to create space and stretch the opponent defensive line, with the support of the outside backs.
The second game on Saturday had two distinguished halves. During the first period the Lions team struggled to stop the opposing attack, which took advantage of the long balls to get ahead in the game. At the half time the team have adjusted a few things in terms of defensive position and from that moment on the young lions took control of the match, coming back from a 3-1 from the first half to a 3-3. After equalizing the game they lions had a handful of good chances to revert the score however a lack of accuracy and also luck, kept the game tied until the last minute when the opponent, again, after a long ball scored their fourth goal and clinch the three points.
On Sunday the young boys played their third game of the weekend, and only the right combination of results would qualify the team for the final. The Dutch Lions had again a dominant performance, very focused on defensive playing compact to avoid the long balls behind the defenders back. The young Lions were able to impose their dynamic, once again with good combinations and utilizing the space wisely. At the half time the Dutch Lions team were ahead 2-0. During the second half the opposing team had a good reaction and had a huge chance to reduce the score with a penalty kick, however the goalkeeper, Braxton, had different plans and made a huge save. After that period the team took control of the match, and with naturally scored their third goal.
Unfortunately even though that the team did their job, the result of the other match was not the one we expected, and the team ended up with the same points of the first place but was knock out because of head to head tie breaker.
After the last game coach Bruno had the following to say " I'm really proud and happy for what we have done during the weekend, the boys were head and shoulders above everyone else, we have dominated 90% of the matches, with more and better ball possession, with a positive soccer, more chances, more shots on goal, I truly believe we deserved to be in the final, but this is soccer and sometimes the best team don't win, and that was what happened in the second game. But again, in terms of soccer I couldn't be happier, we had great moments, especially offensively." Concluding," This tournament represents the last activity of the fall season for us, and I believe we demonstrate character, personality and confidence, it was a positive season and I think everyone improved including myself, these guys have challenged me every day to be a better coach, to all of them thanks, you guys were terrific. Let's focus in the next chapter and keep working to come back even stronger next spring."