Line Up |
Accolades |
Friendly |
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Season Review |
So what happened? Well, we went 9-2 and then 0-3 but there was no lack of effort at the end. None of our losses were by more than 2 goals, so we were a very
competitve team this year. Since taking the reins in '07, the 9-5 record is only second to the 2007 team who finished 9-4. However, this team leads the scoring
during the same time frame with an outstanding 54 goals (58 incl playoffs). Most other years we would likely have won the cup or at least been the number one seed.
Unfortunately, there was great parity in the league this year and although the number 5 team (S.K.) struggled early they came on strong at the end. So any one of
five teams could have won the cup. NYMA sealed their second title in a row, beating #1 seed Wooster (3-1). Wooster was the only team that we could not figure out
a way to beat. Injuries played their part and we lost Armand and Eric to serious injuries early in the season at NYMA (broken wrist) and at Marvelwood (ruptured elbow)
respectively. Home field was not an advantage as we struggled to beat weaker teams or repeat great road victories. In addition, bickering, whining and general
disharmony threatened to derail our season on several occasions. Hopefully, with the season over, we can all reflect on this and make sure that in anything we
do in the future that this is never repeated. The most important thing when playing a game is to have fun and that was not always the case this year. As sports awards
rolled around both coaches spent HOURS mulling over the recipients and the award types. We even pulled A.D. Charlie in twice to give his opinions as he attended
several home games.
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HPB Scrim |
We got splatted by a small team that were superior passers and fitter than we were. There
were bright spots but it did outline the areas we needed to work on. Trapping, Passing, Fitness and
Marking. Tristan majestically swept a corner kick in for Toby to headbutt in the ol' onion bag.
He also added a goal to his assist on a sprint bearing down on goal and Armand added a goal
too (TF assist). Anyway not too much to say but we move on and keep working hard. Hall was the smooth inspired
performer on the day proving he could be a valuable defender for the VARSITY SQUAD and the varsity
squad ONLY!
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DARROW 4-2 |
Conditions: Warm and sunny. HT 2-0 |
MARVWD 2-4 |
Overcast and windy at times. HT 0-2 |
at nyma 3-2 |
The conditions were sunny and warm. HT 2-1 |
at marv 6-4 |
Weather: Warm and Sunny & buggy!. HT 2-1. Boys played a clean first half and were unlucky not to go in 2 up.
Tom played a gem in goal although the 4 goals against suggest otherwise....they shouldn't! A number of guys had
good outings and even more had solid contrbutions to this great win. We led 5-1 with 25 minutes to go and thus it
should have been and was at one point much easier. Toby got 2 goals, Tristan 2 goals and Songer got 2. But despite the 4
goals conceeded the defense did very well and but for a 15 minute period near the end of the game they
only conceeded one amazing free kick just before the half. It was really tough to select the S.I.P but Song'ers opening goal
was a long sprint and cool finish but even bigger was his closing goal. He worked down the left and seemingly had nothing,
before working the ball passed a couple of players and scoring a somewhat bizaare goal that TOTALLY deflated the Marvelwood
team and sideline. It was a much needed slammed door as we leaked 3 goals and almost gave up the win. On a very sad note,
Eric broke his elbow when he landed wrong. Eric has been such a positive and enthusiastic player this fall he will be missed
on the field. |
at fca |
CANCELLED
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STM KING 6-4 |
Weather: Unseasonably warm with 100% sunshine. HT 4-3. A difficult game
against a team better than their record. The message all week was not to be
complacent. So that makes a 2 goal win an AWESOME result. Storm King came ready to play but we proved ready for the challenge.
Tristan hit the cross bar early on and Toby had a few chances as well. In the 16th minute Toby did a some fluid moves past the
defense and put one by the goalie. Storm King countered in the 18th minute and in the 28th minute went ahead with a beautifully
placed free kick. The boys fought back with the help of the defense and Tristan put a fluky one by the goalie in the 33rd minute.
The ball popped out to him just outside the 18 and he proved why it's good at times to just blast it at the goal. The goalie got
a hand to it but couldn't prevent it from going in. JSONG hit Toby with a pass, he did his magic and scored.
Less than a minute later Toby scored again in a solo effort. They scored another of a cross in the 43rd minuted to round out the
scoring in the first half. Definitely no shortage of goals in this one.
The second half started strong with JSONG finishing a cross from Toby. Storm King brought it back to within one in the 60th minute.
It was tight for awhile with a lot of nearby chances for both teams. Finally in the 82nd minute we clinched the game with a solid PK
by Toby smacked head level at the goalie but with too much pace to be saved.
There was great passing all around really showing the work everyone put in at practice the days before. The one-two passes up the line were too well orchastrated for Storm King to defend. The long balls
were awesome to watch and it really highlighted the speed of Toby and JSONG. The defense did a great job of working together to control
the back-line during a hetic game. Ben filled his role solidly as sweeper preventing a number of shots. Miles was a force stopping one
of their speedy players and heading out a free kick from his place in the wall. Charlie and Hall did well making key stops throughout the
game. Jacob was strong in the middle as usual using his big foot for some desperately needed clearances towards the end.
It was great to see Bobby back in action even if it was for short spurts. His foot skills, defense and passing have been missed.
Lisandro was great again always fighting for the ball. Tristan and Max controlled the midfield with their hustle, foot skills and passing
while also making sure to lend a hand on the defensive side. Calvin and Frank were great jumping in at the ready wherever they were needed.
JSONG stood out to the opposing coach for his hustle and his sportsmanship. Great game guys this was a true team effort!
WNEPSSA All Star nominee: #14 JSONG |
at stm king 5-3 |
Weather: Overcast/sunny 60 degrees. HT 1-1. We got very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very
very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very
very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very
very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very
very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very
very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very
very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very
lucky in the 1st half. Totally out played and thanks to some last ditch clearances (Miles), saves (Tom), blocks (Ben), poor finishing and
just amazing luck we were not several down at the half. Storm King were awarded a penalty (to level it) and it was the least they deserved from a half they dominated.
We did have three or four good chances but they had like twice that number. The second half began poorly with a goal to Storm King and
there was definitely a feel of here we go. Tristan asked to leave the field n the 55 minute and played no further part after looking sharp down the right
flank and having some nice link up play with Song'er. Song'er was right up for the game again and looked excellent (2 assists, some real
smart thinking mans passes and just loadsa energy, sometimes too much when we needed to waste time!). Toby bailed us out with
his usual 4 goal exhibition against the Stormers who are probably fed up with him by now although curiously they didn't change tactics and
man mark him out of the game with their best player. Ben, Miles, Hall and Charlie really held things together from the 50th minute only
conceeding one goal from there. Lisandro had his usual physical but intelligent game playing the easy ball and going for any loose ball offered.
The three subs came in 15 minutes into the second half and credit to Frank, Owen and Calvin the performance got even better and the team did not miss a beat.
The Smooth Inspired Performer was talked about several days earlier by Sasha saying, "you gotta see him in the game, its totally different when
he's in to when he's not". She wasn't lying I saw the impeccable touch, the cool head, the easy pass, safe with the ball and I was a believer. The SIP for the game
was #31 who is putting his stamp on a center midfield spot for next season. Max played another vital game linking up on offense and scoring
a beauty (deft touch chip in off the post) as well as protecting the back four when called upon.
|
WOOST 1-3 |
HT 1-1. Weather: Overcast coolish but humid. We played a poor game. No single person was to blame. A few players played well but before we pat ourselves on the back
we dropped to 3rd in the HVAL. Unable to string more than 2 passess together put a lot of stress on the defense and eventually after 2 games of the same challenges
it wasn't enough to overcome. It's not all doom and gloom as we can play much better but it is about passing and grinding the other team down with good strategy.
Although there was a lot of effort put in today it was with everyone pulling in separate directions. A tough loss when
it was probably the poorest team performance of the season. The only
goal came when Song'er unselfishly passed to Toby to calmly give Oakwood the lead with a nicely sidefooted goal in the corner. Bobby looked the real deal again
and made the game look so simple...again....
|
FRMAN 3-5 |
Conditions:Sunny but windy. HT 3-2. Going in, the goal was all about the performance and for 65 minutes we did that. Some heads dropped at the end but we acheived
what we came in to do. Leading 3-0 at one point the ref gave a curious pk when Max had both arms inwards and crossed against his body. Then their #7 allstar dribbled
through 3 or 4 players and calmly slotted home. In the second half another pk was given, from a long distance it was not clear why it was given and it is still
not clear why it was given. At 3-3 we were still in the game and perhaps need more mental toughness. Yes, it was disappointing but if we are to do something title wise
this year we may need to come from behind as Forman did in the 2008 Cup Final that we had in the bag. Anyway, it's important whatever the score is, to keep
passing the ball and to avoid dribbling too much thinking "I can" not "we can". Our goals came 4', 5' and 22' with Bobby and Tristan twice setting up Toby for
a hatrick. The coaching staff were impressed with the effort, courageous play and the passing game. In addition, we were struck by Owen's willingness to get stuck in,
put a boot in and trek from ML alll the way to FB or even MR on one occasion to make sure runners were marked on the resulting throw in. He also played simple ball
when he won it back for Oakwood.
PDS in two days time and we have laid a foundation of how we must play if we
want to overcome this tricky rival. Throw out their league position it means nothing.
|
PDS 6-1 |
Weather: Sunny w/ a mild nothernly wind. HT:3-0. 6 minutes in Max set up Toby for the opener. In a tense affair we had to wait for the second but Tristan
sent a peach of a through ball to JSong in the 39th minute that he finished. Then Tristan again set up the next goal with Toby scoring our third in the 43rd
minute. HT talk was interesting and
centered on mental toughness, passing the ball with patience and hitting them on the break as we did not need to force the game. Coming out of HT we started
as we meant to continue with a 15+ pass combo that frustrated PDS and looked pretty darn cool. Tristan scored the fourth goal in the 55th minute on an assist from Toby
that pretty much broke the PDS resolve. Even so it was important to burn clock and keep going, Lisandro jumped in with a huge assist for Toby in the 62nd minute
he made sure the statistian heard about it and it was a great moment. Tristan jumped in with his third assist, Toby scored his 4th goal and the game was over
in the 65th minute. PDS scored a conscellation goal 7 minutes from time but it was Tristans day with 3 assists and a score. Brent the PDS coach said
"Tristan was unstoppable" and hence earned the WNEPSSA nomination. PDS played hard and are a good young team but today they ran into the wrong Oakwood team.
We passed the ball and we were unselfish, but to be fair if we play open, expansive, attractive football we can beat anyone on the day. All the lads played a dandy,
Ben played great at the back (making several last ditch tackles to save the day) along with the other 3 defenders. In addition, he took one for the team before
being released to go forward when the game was safe.
Tom was solid in goal and he made a few critical saves before things were said and done.
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at dar 6-2 |
HT 3-0. Conditions: Overcast and cold. Good business-like performance from the lads. We got off a cold bus ready to play. My arm was like -9 degrees after
having the window open for the last 12 miles to wake everyone up. Within 8 mins we were up 2-0 from goals from JSong and Toby (assist from Tristan & JSong).
At the 28 minute mark Tristan set up Songer for his second. Coming out of HT we knew the next goal would be huge and we talked about slowing the game down and
hitting them on the break. In the 52nd minute number 4 came off Tristan's third assist and a Toby finish. Both players reversed roles and Tristan hit an absolute
peach from 20 yds out nestling it in the top right hand corner. Keeper got a paw to it but it almost took his glove off! In the 75th minute Jacob launched a
free kick into their box from the half and Miles scored his first goal of the season adeptly chipping an on coming keeper. Darrow got two throw away goals in
the 70th and 90th minute that were too little too late. It was difficult to say who had the better day between Songer and Tristan as they both looked extremely
sharp, hence, the dual S.I.P's. It was a good game to avoid a dog fight and get every one a run out. The team passed well and should be pleased with another good
performance and great result.
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FCA 3-1 |
Conditions: Overcast & Cold. HT 2-1 |
at pds 7-2 |
Mon 10/ 28 from 10/7 Postponed. Conditions: Sun & cloud and warmish.HT 4-0 |
NYMA 1-2 |
Weather: Sunny, warm but a chill in the air. HT:1-2 |
at woo 1-3 |
Conditions overcast and sunny. HT 1-2. |
QF |
Conditions:Sunny but chilly. HT: 2-4
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SF |
PLAYOFFS Wed 11/6 KO tba
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