Thursday, April 09, 2009
Game #3: 7-5 victory over Longshots
No game report other than I heard this was the score and that Armin was back in town!
Game #2: 5-8 loss to Clockwork (formerly Munchenbox/Survey)
Comments from team manager David E:
Game #2: 5-8 loss to Clockwork.
We were up briefly 1-0 before defending champs Clockwork (they wore new orange jerseys) started to click, feeding the ball up to their cherry picker who sometimes shot but more often fed to overlapping midfielders, overlapping on both sides. I think we were down 5-1 at half and at one point early in the second half we were down 7-1.
The mercy rule might have slowed them down a bit, but last session they beat the Turbans 16-5 (that's a min of 6 goals in mercy rule), and they beat Vanderbilt 15-2 (at least 8 mercy rule goals). So, a 7-1 lead doesn't mean they slow down.
Without our first or second goalies (Lael resting his knee), Robert played solid first half goalie and Geoff played solid second half goalie, making many excellent saves after they went up 7-1. It also helped that they missed a couple of open goals.
Having said all that, the story of the night was our comeback during the final 15 minutes. We started getting goals off rebounds left and right, closing the gap to 8-5. I overheard the next team getting ready to play saying that, "this blue team has been playing great, they were down 7-1".
Can't say enough about a team fighting back from 7-1 to making it close with a few minutes left. It would have been amazing to come back to one goal down with a minute left, and we had some good chances to cut it to 8-6. Regardless of the final score, that second half showed a team with incredible fight and determination. I'm looking forward to another chance at those guys in the playoffs with a full team including Kevin, Frank, PV and Lael.
Game #2: 5-8 loss to Clockwork.
We were up briefly 1-0 before defending champs Clockwork (they wore new orange jerseys) started to click, feeding the ball up to their cherry picker who sometimes shot but more often fed to overlapping midfielders, overlapping on both sides. I think we were down 5-1 at half and at one point early in the second half we were down 7-1.
The mercy rule might have slowed them down a bit, but last session they beat the Turbans 16-5 (that's a min of 6 goals in mercy rule), and they beat Vanderbilt 15-2 (at least 8 mercy rule goals). So, a 7-1 lead doesn't mean they slow down.
Without our first or second goalies (Lael resting his knee), Robert played solid first half goalie and Geoff played solid second half goalie, making many excellent saves after they went up 7-1. It also helped that they missed a couple of open goals.
Having said all that, the story of the night was our comeback during the final 15 minutes. We started getting goals off rebounds left and right, closing the gap to 8-5. I overheard the next team getting ready to play saying that, "this blue team has been playing great, they were down 7-1".
Can't say enough about a team fighting back from 7-1 to making it close with a few minutes left. It would have been amazing to come back to one goal down with a minute left, and we had some good chances to cut it to 8-6. Regardless of the final score, that second half showed a team with incredible fight and determination. I'm looking forward to another chance at those guys in the playoffs with a full team including Kevin, Frank, PV and Lael.
Session 65 Game #1 - Revenge! tapped back in (3-1 over TapouT)
Comments from team manager David E:
Game #1: 3-1 win over TapouT.
This breaks our 2 game losing streak (both 2-1 losses to TapouT).
We had 5 subs tonight, with help from guest player Ralf, and TapouT showed with just 1 sub.
We were up 1-0 for most of the first half. Tied 1-1 at half, even though we were clearly out playing them and out hustling them.
We went up 2-1 early in the 2nd half, and killed a 2 player 2 min penalty (3 players against their 5 on the field), then went up 3-1 and continued to outplay them for 3-1 final.
Lots of near misses, including a mid field rocket from Seamus, shot over the head of the goalie and dipped just enough to hit the top crossbar, bounced down against the goalie’s back and almost rolled in.
Game #1: 3-1 win over TapouT.
This breaks our 2 game losing streak (both 2-1 losses to TapouT).
We had 5 subs tonight, with help from guest player Ralf, and TapouT showed with just 1 sub.
We were up 1-0 for most of the first half. Tied 1-1 at half, even though we were clearly out playing them and out hustling them.
We went up 2-1 early in the 2nd half, and killed a 2 player 2 min penalty (3 players against their 5 on the field), then went up 3-1 and continued to outplay them for 3-1 final.
Lots of near misses, including a mid field rocket from Seamus, shot over the head of the goalie and dipped just enough to hit the top crossbar, bounced down against the goalie’s back and almost rolled in.
Playoffs: déjà vu: tapped out again
Different day, same team, same results, 2-1 loss to TapouT.
If I am recalling this correctly, same half-time score, down 2-0. There were of course many things that were not the same:
-with 10 min left, Geoff gave a beautiful ball to Robert down the left wing (Robert is left footed), and they pushed Robert down before he got a shot off, resulting in a 2 min penalty. We unfortunately did not convert this 2 min penalty and were still down 2-0 with 8 min left
-we shut them down almost completely the 2nd half, as they tried to protect a 2-0 and 2-1 lead
-Lael was in goal and he pushed up a lot during the final 10 min, taking a few shots from mid-field (the ½ line), helped create plenty of opportunities, in exchange for one huge give-me for the other team that they did not convert. Actually, after the game we were trying to count how many shots they had in the 2nd half … maybe 5 total shots/opportunities for them, compared to 20 or more for us (if you count passes off the wall that their goalie had to come out and block)
I had one very good opportunity with my back to their goalie and no defenders around, but I didn’t know their goalie was on my back until after the game when somebody told me, and I don’t think I even got a shot off. I had a couple of other good chances, and I am guessing just about every player had at least one good opportunity for a shot.
I’ll let our loan goal scorer or assister describe how we cut it to 2-1. I don’t remember how many minutes were left, but I do recall that at this point it felt like we were surely going to tie it and then win.
What I can describe is their 2nd goal, which I was on the field for. It was a dot kick for them, with the basic play of a feed to the right for a right footer shot. I was at first a 1-man wall, and they took this shot while we were trying to add a 2nd player to the wall. The shot was a right footer from their best player, to the upper right corner. It was a perfect shot, not likely blockable unless we block it with the wall or other defenders.
I don’t recall exactly why they got the dot kick, but I think it was one of the 2 or 3 times I tried clearing the ball from the defensive 1/3 and ended up passing to their team instead of clearing the ball. Not sure exactly that their dot kick was related to one of the times I did not clear the ball, but I know I cleared the ball at least twice with a kick on the ground instead of up and out, and down the middle instead of down the wall. So, I am noting this as an item I need to work on in the off season, clearing that ball up and out and to the wall instead of down the middle.
We seriously might get an “off season”, as I was told that the next game is probably March 19th (not the 12th). That’s a nice long break, with plenty of time to consider things we could do differently.
If I am invited back as manager for next session, one thing I’ll do differently is shorter game summaries. I get lots of advice from players during the game, which is good, but it is better for all if you’ll make comments to all (not just to me) over email after the game. Also, it would be great to hear about the goals from those who scored or made the assists.
Final sentence from me is that it was a fantastic session for this team in transition, adding a few new players, kicking butt up until these final 2 games against TapouT, and I look forward to us improving our offense output as we further gel next session.
David
Session 64 Workdaze Team Manager
If I am recalling this correctly, same half-time score, down 2-0. There were of course many things that were not the same:
-with 10 min left, Geoff gave a beautiful ball to Robert down the left wing (Robert is left footed), and they pushed Robert down before he got a shot off, resulting in a 2 min penalty. We unfortunately did not convert this 2 min penalty and were still down 2-0 with 8 min left
-we shut them down almost completely the 2nd half, as they tried to protect a 2-0 and 2-1 lead
-Lael was in goal and he pushed up a lot during the final 10 min, taking a few shots from mid-field (the ½ line), helped create plenty of opportunities, in exchange for one huge give-me for the other team that they did not convert. Actually, after the game we were trying to count how many shots they had in the 2nd half … maybe 5 total shots/opportunities for them, compared to 20 or more for us (if you count passes off the wall that their goalie had to come out and block)
I had one very good opportunity with my back to their goalie and no defenders around, but I didn’t know their goalie was on my back until after the game when somebody told me, and I don’t think I even got a shot off. I had a couple of other good chances, and I am guessing just about every player had at least one good opportunity for a shot.
I’ll let our loan goal scorer or assister describe how we cut it to 2-1. I don’t remember how many minutes were left, but I do recall that at this point it felt like we were surely going to tie it and then win.
What I can describe is their 2nd goal, which I was on the field for. It was a dot kick for them, with the basic play of a feed to the right for a right footer shot. I was at first a 1-man wall, and they took this shot while we were trying to add a 2nd player to the wall. The shot was a right footer from their best player, to the upper right corner. It was a perfect shot, not likely blockable unless we block it with the wall or other defenders.
I don’t recall exactly why they got the dot kick, but I think it was one of the 2 or 3 times I tried clearing the ball from the defensive 1/3 and ended up passing to their team instead of clearing the ball. Not sure exactly that their dot kick was related to one of the times I did not clear the ball, but I know I cleared the ball at least twice with a kick on the ground instead of up and out, and down the middle instead of down the wall. So, I am noting this as an item I need to work on in the off season, clearing that ball up and out and to the wall instead of down the middle.
We seriously might get an “off season”, as I was told that the next game is probably March 19th (not the 12th). That’s a nice long break, with plenty of time to consider things we could do differently.
If I am invited back as manager for next session, one thing I’ll do differently is shorter game summaries. I get lots of advice from players during the game, which is good, but it is better for all if you’ll make comments to all (not just to me) over email after the game. Also, it would be great to hear about the goals from those who scored or made the assists.
Final sentence from me is that it was a fantastic session for this team in transition, adding a few new players, kicking butt up until these final 2 games against TapouT, and I look forward to us improving our offense output as we further gel next session.
David
Session 64 Workdaze Team Manager
Game #8: 2-1 loss to TapouT
Comments from team manager David E.:
Down 2-0 at half, and finally got a goal with something like 3 min left in the game … but, couldn’t get a goal in the end to tie it.
We started with 4 subs, and they had just 1 sub, a 2nd sub arrived for them after half time. With just 1 sub, they started out be spreading out and passing the ball around, trying to not spend their energy. Surprisingly, it worked well against us. We had some chances, but not nearly as many as they had. They outplayed us in the first half. If it wasn’t for Kevin’s saves and some overall good defense by Seamus, PV, Chuao and Lael, they could easily have been up 3-0 at half. They had a couple of 3v2 going against us that Kevin or a defender stopped.
We played them even or outplayed them a bit the second half, but couldn’t get goals, other than the 1 shot by Atilla with a few min left.
As for who will finish in 4th place, I was wrong about D4 having more total goals than TapouT before this game. Below is the stats before today’s games. D4 has to score at least 5 goals against Vanderbilt, or else D4 will finish in 4th. Either way, we finished in 1st place and play the 4th place team. If we play TapouT in the playoffs on Monday, we did a good job tonight luring them into a false sense of security, and once our key players return from Dublin, TapouT won’t know what hit them.
Down 2-0 at half, and finally got a goal with something like 3 min left in the game … but, couldn’t get a goal in the end to tie it.
We started with 4 subs, and they had just 1 sub, a 2nd sub arrived for them after half time. With just 1 sub, they started out be spreading out and passing the ball around, trying to not spend their energy. Surprisingly, it worked well against us. We had some chances, but not nearly as many as they had. They outplayed us in the first half. If it wasn’t for Kevin’s saves and some overall good defense by Seamus, PV, Chuao and Lael, they could easily have been up 3-0 at half. They had a couple of 3v2 going against us that Kevin or a defender stopped.
We played them even or outplayed them a bit the second half, but couldn’t get goals, other than the 1 shot by Atilla with a few min left.
As for who will finish in 4th place, I was wrong about D4 having more total goals than TapouT before this game. Below is the stats before today’s games. D4 has to score at least 5 goals against Vanderbilt, or else D4 will finish in 4th. Either way, we finished in 1st place and play the 4th place team. If we play TapouT in the playoffs on Monday, we did a good job tonight luring them into a false sense of security, and once our key players return from Dublin, TapouT won’t know what hit them.
Game #7: 1st place, by inches (4-3 victory over D4)
Comments from team manager David E.:
I don't recall if it was 1-1 or if we were up 2-1 at half. regardless, we were up 4-1 with something like 12 min left. and, the subject of this email of course gives it away, we beat D4! we are guaranteed first place, and are 1 game away from an undefeated season.
we were missing just a few players, and they were missing their top scorer, and i think they started the game with only a couple of subs. by the end, they seemed to have plenty of players, or at least did not noticeably slow down at all down the stretch. on our side, however, i think plenty of us were tiring out (mentioned by some at half time that we were running too much and not going to be able to keep up that same level of running and chasing them).
i'll let the goal scorers and assisters describe what happened on their goals. The goals were scored by Dan (in the first 3 min), then Robert, Robert again, and Saeed with the game winning goal.
final score 4-3. In the subject line i say just "by inches" because in the final 90 seconds we had an uncalled hand ball in front of our goal, they had a shot to the upper corner that missed by about 6 inches, another shot (or two) that Kevin saved. Their most dangerous shot hit the upper left bar and rebounded across the goal (actually, probably 1/2 an inch to the right and it would have been in the net off the rebound).
there were plenty of great plays and great players today, so i don't want to single out anybody in particular, like Roberts great shot or Kevin's great saves ?
the other predictable but interesting aspect of this game was the number of 2 min penalties. i think they had 4 total and we had only 1(?) 3 of their 4 overlapped and was late in the game after we had already scored our 4 goals (with the score 4-1 or 4-2).
to save you from doing the math, at one point we were up 4 players to their 2 players (if you count goalies, it was 5 players to 3 players). we did not score during this huge opportunity, which i am chalking up as a coaching mistake, but not worth discussing unless we end up playing D4 again in the finals ... a win is a win, and this was a huge one for us. Overall, if it wasn't for the final 3 min when they almost tied the game, I would say that we outplayed them, or at least played them even and did a good job of taking advantage of opportunities created by their uncharacteristic defensive sloppy play. Our hustle and constant pressure surely played a huge role in creating these opportunities.
btw, this snaps a 4 game losing streak to D4 dating back to July! congrats all on breaking this streak, playing a great game tonight, playing great all season, and claiming 1st place finish.
I don't recall if it was 1-1 or if we were up 2-1 at half. regardless, we were up 4-1 with something like 12 min left. and, the subject of this email of course gives it away, we beat D4! we are guaranteed first place, and are 1 game away from an undefeated season.
we were missing just a few players, and they were missing their top scorer, and i think they started the game with only a couple of subs. by the end, they seemed to have plenty of players, or at least did not noticeably slow down at all down the stretch. on our side, however, i think plenty of us were tiring out (mentioned by some at half time that we were running too much and not going to be able to keep up that same level of running and chasing them).
i'll let the goal scorers and assisters describe what happened on their goals. The goals were scored by Dan (in the first 3 min), then Robert, Robert again, and Saeed with the game winning goal.
final score 4-3. In the subject line i say just "by inches" because in the final 90 seconds we had an uncalled hand ball in front of our goal, they had a shot to the upper corner that missed by about 6 inches, another shot (or two) that Kevin saved. Their most dangerous shot hit the upper left bar and rebounded across the goal (actually, probably 1/2 an inch to the right and it would have been in the net off the rebound).
there were plenty of great plays and great players today, so i don't want to single out anybody in particular, like Roberts great shot or Kevin's great saves ?
the other predictable but interesting aspect of this game was the number of 2 min penalties. i think they had 4 total and we had only 1(?) 3 of their 4 overlapped and was late in the game after we had already scored our 4 goals (with the score 4-1 or 4-2).
to save you from doing the math, at one point we were up 4 players to their 2 players (if you count goalies, it was 5 players to 3 players). we did not score during this huge opportunity, which i am chalking up as a coaching mistake, but not worth discussing unless we end up playing D4 again in the finals ... a win is a win, and this was a huge one for us. Overall, if it wasn't for the final 3 min when they almost tied the game, I would say that we outplayed them, or at least played them even and did a good job of taking advantage of opportunities created by their uncharacteristic defensive sloppy play. Our hustle and constant pressure surely played a huge role in creating these opportunities.
btw, this snaps a 4 game losing streak to D4 dating back to July! congrats all on breaking this streak, playing a great game tonight, playing great all season, and claiming 1st place finish.
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