Vs. Madison, 4-1 Win, Record: 8-0-1
Well, the last time we stepped on Madison's field, we had a chance to win league and we failed to show up. The last thing I said to the girls before the starting whistle blew was a reminder about how it felt to have a goal right there in front of you only to have it taken away. I implored them not to let it happen again. A team motto, as our pre-game chant points out, every day counts regardless of who we have as an opponent in front of us. With a devastating loss so vivid in our memory, we were aware that this game could make or break our season. All it takes is one loss, one bad performance, or one missed opportunity and all that we have worked for could be gone.
Despite the message, our first half was not as I had hoped. We were so-so on the 50/50 balls and our runs were okay, but what really was missing was our execution. We had so many errant passes, unforced errors, poor traps in the first half that the game was "boring". We could not bulid any possession and I think it was because we were trying to be too perfect. I have kind of made a joke about our style of play sometimes saying that we are not a pretty soccer team - we are gutsy, we work hard, we sub a lot, we grind it out. We are working on pretty soccer, but sometimes we just win games because we 'out-gut' other teams.
At halftime, the score was 2-1 and we all knew that we did not really earn a 2-1 lead. It wasn't that Madison had tons of chances. It was just that we weren't putting things together that we needed to to be successful. In the second half, Abbie resorted to only making 3 saves compared to her 6 in the first half. Our defensive spacing was much better thanks to Sam Began and Jordan Lovely in the back. Our midfielders seemed to relax a bit and just play. The second half was dominated entirely by Preble Shawnee. We were called offsides a few times when we scored shortly after and we had hit the post a couple of times, too. Maddie Woodard really dominated the Mohawk defense with her directness, ability to get behind defenders, and high pressure on Madison defenders. We had put two more in the second half to win the game 4-1.
Again, as a tale of two halves, we proved how good of a soccer team we can be for forty minutes. Once this soccer team plays a full 80-minutes, I think we will be very hard to beat. Leaving a field where most of our memories are bitter, our team felt pretty good about where we stand both on the season and in the league. At 8-0-1 on the season we have a start better than any in school history. In our sights, we have a league title, the best school record ever, a potential sectional win in our future, and a lossless season, the Preble Shawnee Arrows have a lot of reasons not to lose focus and maintain our winning ways. We've got a pesky Carlisle team, a rolling Milton Union team, a league nemesis Madison, and our only 'blemish' on the season in Waynesville left on our schedule. We haven't accomplished anything yet. We will measure our accomplishments on October 10th. But, it sure feels good right now. Another nice win, ladies.
80+
Well, the last time we stepped on Madison's field, we had a chance to win league and we failed to show up. The last thing I said to the girls before the starting whistle blew was a reminder about how it felt to have a goal right there in front of you only to have it taken away. I implored them not to let it happen again. A team motto, as our pre-game chant points out, every day counts regardless of who we have as an opponent in front of us. With a devastating loss so vivid in our memory, we were aware that this game could make or break our season. All it takes is one loss, one bad performance, or one missed opportunity and all that we have worked for could be gone.
Despite the message, our first half was not as I had hoped. We were so-so on the 50/50 balls and our runs were okay, but what really was missing was our execution. We had so many errant passes, unforced errors, poor traps in the first half that the game was "boring". We could not bulid any possession and I think it was because we were trying to be too perfect. I have kind of made a joke about our style of play sometimes saying that we are not a pretty soccer team - we are gutsy, we work hard, we sub a lot, we grind it out. We are working on pretty soccer, but sometimes we just win games because we 'out-gut' other teams.
At halftime, the score was 2-1 and we all knew that we did not really earn a 2-1 lead. It wasn't that Madison had tons of chances. It was just that we weren't putting things together that we needed to to be successful. In the second half, Abbie resorted to only making 3 saves compared to her 6 in the first half. Our defensive spacing was much better thanks to Sam Began and Jordan Lovely in the back. Our midfielders seemed to relax a bit and just play. The second half was dominated entirely by Preble Shawnee. We were called offsides a few times when we scored shortly after and we had hit the post a couple of times, too. Maddie Woodard really dominated the Mohawk defense with her directness, ability to get behind defenders, and high pressure on Madison defenders. We had put two more in the second half to win the game 4-1.
Again, as a tale of two halves, we proved how good of a soccer team we can be for forty minutes. Once this soccer team plays a full 80-minutes, I think we will be very hard to beat. Leaving a field where most of our memories are bitter, our team felt pretty good about where we stand both on the season and in the league. At 8-0-1 on the season we have a start better than any in school history. In our sights, we have a league title, the best school record ever, a potential sectional win in our future, and a lossless season, the Preble Shawnee Arrows have a lot of reasons not to lose focus and maintain our winning ways. We've got a pesky Carlisle team, a rolling Milton Union team, a league nemesis Madison, and our only 'blemish' on the season in Waynesville left on our schedule. We haven't accomplished anything yet. We will measure our accomplishments on October 10th. But, it sure feels good right now. Another nice win, ladies.
80+
Vs. Xenia Christian, 2-0 Win, Record: 7-0-1
This was a worrisome game for a couple reasons. In the most recent coaches poll, I voted XC a top ten team. They have played pretty well and even in their losses they had put up respectable scores against some good teams. Also, I knew we were without starting forward Hayley Hall and starting midfielder Sydney Steele. Also, relatively early in the first half Meagan Lindon, another starting inside midfielder was removed from the game due to injury. On top of all that, Preble Shawnee has had a history of playing poorly on Saturday games - just look at this year for example. A few of our worst games this year have come on a Saturday - Eaton and Anna, for example.
I think we were fortunate however. XC came out a bit flat and we scored early. It was typical Maddie Woodard goal. She pressured a defender into a mistake, beat another defender and then chipped the outcoming keeper. This happened in the first 10 minutes of the game. For most of the game it was back and forth, with Shawnee having most of the run of play. XC did put together some dangerous chances in spurts though. For the first time all season, Preble Shawnee defenders were lunging at a ball instead of containing. XC does have a few dangerous, skilled ball handlers and any team that has that will torture you if you lunge. Thankfully, they didn't convert anything because Abbie Lynch again made some nice saves in the goal to keep them off the scoreboard.
We played a better second half, largely because the halftime rant was about containment and we adjusted that part of our game the last forty minutes. We also ran a mark on their table setter, #12, and that seemed to limit their offensive attack. Carlee Jones, Kristina Collins, and Riane Woodard took turns getting at her feet and that made a big difference the second half. We only scored one more time in the second half on a Carlee Jones score, but their opportunites were fewer.
We have, all season been a team of two halves. Play poorly one half and better the second half. If we can learn to play for both halves, I think we will be tough to beat. Good win, ladies, against a quality opponent.
This was a worrisome game for a couple reasons. In the most recent coaches poll, I voted XC a top ten team. They have played pretty well and even in their losses they had put up respectable scores against some good teams. Also, I knew we were without starting forward Hayley Hall and starting midfielder Sydney Steele. Also, relatively early in the first half Meagan Lindon, another starting inside midfielder was removed from the game due to injury. On top of all that, Preble Shawnee has had a history of playing poorly on Saturday games - just look at this year for example. A few of our worst games this year have come on a Saturday - Eaton and Anna, for example.
I think we were fortunate however. XC came out a bit flat and we scored early. It was typical Maddie Woodard goal. She pressured a defender into a mistake, beat another defender and then chipped the outcoming keeper. This happened in the first 10 minutes of the game. For most of the game it was back and forth, with Shawnee having most of the run of play. XC did put together some dangerous chances in spurts though. For the first time all season, Preble Shawnee defenders were lunging at a ball instead of containing. XC does have a few dangerous, skilled ball handlers and any team that has that will torture you if you lunge. Thankfully, they didn't convert anything because Abbie Lynch again made some nice saves in the goal to keep them off the scoreboard.
We played a better second half, largely because the halftime rant was about containment and we adjusted that part of our game the last forty minutes. We also ran a mark on their table setter, #12, and that seemed to limit their offensive attack. Carlee Jones, Kristina Collins, and Riane Woodard took turns getting at her feet and that made a big difference the second half. We only scored one more time in the second half on a Carlee Jones score, but their opportunites were fewer.
We have, all season been a team of two halves. Play poorly one half and better the second half. If we can learn to play for both halves, I think we will be tough to beat. Good win, ladies, against a quality opponent.
Vs. Waynesville, 1-1 Tie, Record: 6-0-1
Wow. There is a lot to talk about in this game. We knew now going in that it appears that Waynesville is our toughest competitor standing between us and our league title goal. This game certainly proved that. I thought the game was played between two very comparable, good teams. The styles were quite different. I thought Waynesville was very direct, looking to score on the counter attack. They had some very nice speed on the outside and they tended to pass twice and play long. We are built differently. We are a little slower, play more possession and build up and less direct, and we focus on spreading defense out with multiple successful passes. It was an interesting contrast of styles.
In the first half, we were certainly working hard and we were moving around a little better than we have shown in recent games. However, our HUGE no-no was again apparent. We were not getting our midfielders to pass a ball out wide. We were playing wide just not in the right part of the field. When we were running our 4-5-1 offensive set, we would whack a ball toward a corner flag and Maddie would run down the field 40 yards in front of our defenders. This drastically reduced our offensive opportunities because Maddie was forced to play 1v4. At half time the focus was on making one or two extra passes to build up possession. Those one or two extra passes before playing down the line would allow our midfielders a chance to get involved in the offense and even out our attacking numbers.
We did this in the second half. It was evident that we were playing much better. Instead of a 60/40 Waynesville half like the first, I felt like we controlled almost the entire second half. Waynesville had two dangerous opportunities in the second half, one of which Abbie Lynch made a great save on and the other one was Waynesville's goal. Their goal came with about 8.5 minutes left in the game. It was heartbreaking, at least for me, because I felt that we had played so well and dominated the second half so much that we were going to get one and get the win. Word is that Waynesville is best when they counter on offense and that is exactly how they scored. They played a nice diagonal ball through and their speed on the outside beat our outside defender down the flank. We failed to rotate over and step to the ball out of the middle and the Spartan player hit a well placed shot in the side netting.
In the second half, we had four or five really dangerous chances but just couldn't put the ball in. One shot glanced off the post and another just minutes later sailed about a ball width wide of the far post. When Waynesville got their goal, I thought that maybe we would self destruct, but our girls hung in there, played even harder than they did all night long and ended up getting a goal with about thirty seconds left on the clock. On a break away, Maddie Woodard was tripped from behind and we were awarded a free kick. The free kick deflected off of a defender, tried to clear by a defender, and Alexis Blanton got in the way of the kick by stepping up into the attacking part of the field. The ball ended up over the back end of the Waynesville defenders and Maddie Woodard stepped up and beat the keeper upper ninety on the back post.
There was some rightful controversy over the goal not being called offsides. So much controversy in fact, that an opposing parent felt the need to email all of the Waynesville parents a video of the non-call goal we scored. I found it interesting that I was on that email list as well! I remember just last year when Preble Shawnee felt slighted by not one, not two, but three blatant non-call penalty kicks. Upon review of our video, those were fouls and none were called. That loss cost us a league title that year. I was privy to a recent video of an offsides call that was not made just last week that led to a game winning goal. On top of that, the same video showed that team earning a penalty kick for a very clean play in the box. This was the game winning goal with just ten minutes to go. My point is, we created far more dangerous opportunities in the second half. We were bound to score. We played a better overall game than Waynesville. If the call was missed, so be it. It's part of the game. I will not eat those words if we end up on the short end of a bad call. I will accept it, because, as a team, we probably could have done more during the game to win despite the bad call.
I am really looking forward to playing Waynesville again. It was a fun game that I enjoyed tremendously. Two evenly matched teams going toe to toe. I'm sure they feel slighted by the call and will do everything in their power to win the next one. We, on the same accord, will do everything in our power to prove that we are a better team without the controversy. It should be a great game to watch and I look forward to being a part of it.
Wow. There is a lot to talk about in this game. We knew now going in that it appears that Waynesville is our toughest competitor standing between us and our league title goal. This game certainly proved that. I thought the game was played between two very comparable, good teams. The styles were quite different. I thought Waynesville was very direct, looking to score on the counter attack. They had some very nice speed on the outside and they tended to pass twice and play long. We are built differently. We are a little slower, play more possession and build up and less direct, and we focus on spreading defense out with multiple successful passes. It was an interesting contrast of styles.
In the first half, we were certainly working hard and we were moving around a little better than we have shown in recent games. However, our HUGE no-no was again apparent. We were not getting our midfielders to pass a ball out wide. We were playing wide just not in the right part of the field. When we were running our 4-5-1 offensive set, we would whack a ball toward a corner flag and Maddie would run down the field 40 yards in front of our defenders. This drastically reduced our offensive opportunities because Maddie was forced to play 1v4. At half time the focus was on making one or two extra passes to build up possession. Those one or two extra passes before playing down the line would allow our midfielders a chance to get involved in the offense and even out our attacking numbers.
We did this in the second half. It was evident that we were playing much better. Instead of a 60/40 Waynesville half like the first, I felt like we controlled almost the entire second half. Waynesville had two dangerous opportunities in the second half, one of which Abbie Lynch made a great save on and the other one was Waynesville's goal. Their goal came with about 8.5 minutes left in the game. It was heartbreaking, at least for me, because I felt that we had played so well and dominated the second half so much that we were going to get one and get the win. Word is that Waynesville is best when they counter on offense and that is exactly how they scored. They played a nice diagonal ball through and their speed on the outside beat our outside defender down the flank. We failed to rotate over and step to the ball out of the middle and the Spartan player hit a well placed shot in the side netting.
In the second half, we had four or five really dangerous chances but just couldn't put the ball in. One shot glanced off the post and another just minutes later sailed about a ball width wide of the far post. When Waynesville got their goal, I thought that maybe we would self destruct, but our girls hung in there, played even harder than they did all night long and ended up getting a goal with about thirty seconds left on the clock. On a break away, Maddie Woodard was tripped from behind and we were awarded a free kick. The free kick deflected off of a defender, tried to clear by a defender, and Alexis Blanton got in the way of the kick by stepping up into the attacking part of the field. The ball ended up over the back end of the Waynesville defenders and Maddie Woodard stepped up and beat the keeper upper ninety on the back post.
There was some rightful controversy over the goal not being called offsides. So much controversy in fact, that an opposing parent felt the need to email all of the Waynesville parents a video of the non-call goal we scored. I found it interesting that I was on that email list as well! I remember just last year when Preble Shawnee felt slighted by not one, not two, but three blatant non-call penalty kicks. Upon review of our video, those were fouls and none were called. That loss cost us a league title that year. I was privy to a recent video of an offsides call that was not made just last week that led to a game winning goal. On top of that, the same video showed that team earning a penalty kick for a very clean play in the box. This was the game winning goal with just ten minutes to go. My point is, we created far more dangerous opportunities in the second half. We were bound to score. We played a better overall game than Waynesville. If the call was missed, so be it. It's part of the game. I will not eat those words if we end up on the short end of a bad call. I will accept it, because, as a team, we probably could have done more during the game to win despite the bad call.
I am really looking forward to playing Waynesville again. It was a fun game that I enjoyed tremendously. Two evenly matched teams going toe to toe. I'm sure they feel slighted by the call and will do everything in their power to win the next one. We, on the same accord, will do everything in our power to prove that we are a better team without the controversy. It should be a great game to watch and I look forward to being a part of it.
Vs. Carlisle, 2-0 Win, Record: 3-0
We won the game and I am pleased with that, but something is missing. It's been two weeks of practice and games and we still are not firing on all cylinders. Fortunately, we played a team tonight that, although hard working, was not an exceptionally skilled soccer team. Carlisle has four or five players who are pretty good, but after that the skill level falls off considerably. For several days leading up to this one, the goal in practice has been to possess and get the ball out wide. This will be the game plan for most of the teams on our schedule. Teams like Carlisle will put strength through the middle and will tend to put weaker players on the outsides of the field. We must be able to get the ball out wide in order to be successful. Think about it... there are at any given time a possibility of seven players in the middle of the field in any system. On the outsides of the field, there may be three maximum and those three tend to be weaker.
We did not do that against Carlisle. We wanted, for whatever reason, to cram things down the middle. Thankfully, our athleticism was enough to secure a 2-0 win and move us to 2-0 in the league.
We won the game and I am pleased with that, but something is missing. It's been two weeks of practice and games and we still are not firing on all cylinders. Fortunately, we played a team tonight that, although hard working, was not an exceptionally skilled soccer team. Carlisle has four or five players who are pretty good, but after that the skill level falls off considerably. For several days leading up to this one, the goal in practice has been to possess and get the ball out wide. This will be the game plan for most of the teams on our schedule. Teams like Carlisle will put strength through the middle and will tend to put weaker players on the outsides of the field. We must be able to get the ball out wide in order to be successful. Think about it... there are at any given time a possibility of seven players in the middle of the field in any system. On the outsides of the field, there may be three maximum and those three tend to be weaker.
We did not do that against Carlisle. We wanted, for whatever reason, to cram things down the middle. Thankfully, our athleticism was enough to secure a 2-0 win and move us to 2-0 in the league.
Vs. Milton Union, 3-2 Win, Record: 2-0
What a thrilling game. I appreciated both teams efforts in this heated game. Very rarely do you experience a game that was as action packed and as intense as that and have very little, if any, dirty or cheap play. I was pleased with both groups that they played the game the way the game was supposed to be played - hard work with an attempt at possession style soccer.
Of all of the games I've coached, this game ranks right up there as far as pure entertainment value. It was played fast and controlled, opportunities to score were plentiful for both teams, and the game was close for pretty much the entire night.
I think I speak for both coaches when I say that no one is real convinced how good their respective teams are tonight. I asked several of the girls if you thought that this game was such a good game because it was two decent teams going toe to toe or two good teams going toe to toe. I only ask this because, honestly, I am not sure either. I think we are better than decent but the feeling this team gives me is so incredibly different than the good teams I've had in the past. Our formation is different, we have an incredibly young midfield, our style of play has changed, and our personnel (1-18) is way different than what I am used to. Maybe it will take a bit of mental adjustment to get a full grasp on how decent, good, or great this team will be. I'm not sure if we'll know the answer to that question for some time. Regardless, we're 2-0 and all we need to worry about is winning the next game.
Milton scored first on a through ball that got behind our defense. Milton struck a powerful shot into the side netting before our defense could recover. We scored later in the first half on a long ball from Hayley Hall to Maddie Woodard. Woodard tracked a defender down and pressured her into a turnover. With a nicely placed ball in the side netting, Maddie scored to make it 1-1. At halftime, I didn't have any real complaints. I thought that maybe we could have challenged more 50/50 balls and we needed to close space down faster in the midfield. Milton had no doubts about striking the ball from 35-40 yards out (and they had several girls who were good at it). The biggest stress was for us to simply execute the things we were trying to do in the first.
In the second half, we started to find a rhythm and were starting to put our passes together a bit better. Maddie Woodard scored fairly early in half two to go up 2-1. This goal was similar in style to the first - Hayley played a through ball behind defenders and Maddie dinked the keeper and ended up with a tap in goal. We score again later in the second half. Meagan Lindon's hard work finally paid off on the stat sheet when she flipped a ball toward the back post that Allison Began ended up tapping in to put us up 3-1. Milton, however, was not done. They worked hard all night long and didn't panic. With about ten minutes to go, Milton hit another shot from about 40 yards out that got over our keepers head. The final 10 minutes ended in an up and down race on the field that saw neither team score. Final, 3-2.
Milton was much better than last year. Their coach told me just before the game that they don't have a dominating player, but they did have eleven good players. That's exactly what I saw, too. Milton fielded eleven solid players that knew the game, worked hard, and could run. As we said to each other earlier, "I think we're pretty good, but I'm not convinced yet." I think Milton is a good team. I think we are a good team. I hope I am right on both accounts, but we need to prove it one game at a time.
Kudos to sophomores Allison Began, Meagan Lindon, and Alexis Blanton for showing how good they can be. Now, I expect that every game. Maddie and Hayley continue to work well together and Maddie's on-field work ethic is as good as I've seen in 15 years. Jordan continues to play very well in the back playing even better than her first solid game of the year. Sydney Steele has now put together two high quality games despite being a bit under the weather (and finally a bit of aggression!!). Freshman Hope Ballinger has been a Godsend in the back helping fill the shoes of two great defenders that graduated last season. Overall, a very solid performance showing that we can win against a quality opponent even though we have lots of improvements to make in the execution department. All in all, we're right where we wanted to be at this point in the season - 2-0 and in control of our destiny. 80+
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Vs. Anna, 2-0 Win, Record: 1-0
For most of the preseason, our focus has been on getting the ball wide and spreading opposing defenses out. For weeks, we have been saying that we will be a very good team as long as we don't "just kick" and don't funnel everything in the middle. I was a little disappointed despite the win because we did exactly those two things we were focusing on not doing. Anna was a team I knew going in was going to stack their solid players through the middle. They did it last year and we played on a field that was very narrow and we couldn't really spread their defense out. We should have won the game last year and we ended up tying them because we could not get the ball out wide. Failing to get the ball wide, allowed their good players to defend our attacks very easily.
We spent much of the game doing the same thing this year. It seemed that, even though our outside mids, specifically Allison Began and Mikayla Wells, and our forward Maddie Woodard, were making themselves available with excellent runs, we were not getting them the ball. If we could have played wider this afternoon, we would have maintained possessions for a huge chunk of the game. Our possession would allow us to keep fresh air in our lungs as well as keeping Anna from developing any sort of attack whatsoever. But, for the majority of the game, we gave the ball back to Anna with many unforced errors and as a result, we were forced to sprint up and down the field. This is NOT our strength.
I know I sound pessimistic, but I see a team that can be very good. We were better than average tonight despite not playing to our strength. So, I am very pleased with that. Without playing our teams best soccer, we still managed to dominate possession, develop more dangerous opportuinites, and control the pace of the game. I am happy with the win over Anna. Anna will be a solid team this year - it is not like we beat a team that won't win a bunch of games. I just know we can be better than what we showed and if we can show our "good side" for each game, there is certainly a double digit win season in store for us.
If we look a little closer at the game, our dominance over Anna probably becomes a little more evident. In the first half, the official's inadevertant whistle cost us a goal that would have made it 2-0 at half. In the second half, the other official blew a whistle too soon, taking our play on advantage away, that resulted in another goal that could have made it 4-0. We had opportunity after opportunity as well to put more goals in the net and we just missed. On the flip side, Anna could only muster four shots, two of which came off of 35-40 yard restarts after a foul. Abbie Lynch had no trouble recording her 1st shutout of the 2013 soccer season. This was largely in part due to the solid performances of Jordan Lovely, Sam Began, and Hope Ballinger in the back. To no real surprise, they played wonderfully.
Also, as expected, forward Maddie Woodard picked up right where she left off last year. She posed a continuous threat to the Anna defense all afternoon long. Hayley Hall, foward, also made her presence known showing the Anna defenders a lot of different looks on offense. The tandem combined for 2 goals and 2 assists, each picking up one of each. It will be exciting to see Maddie play this year. She has continued to get better and this year is no exception.
With the senior forwards up top, a slew of young midfielders who know the game, a returning core of defenders, and the school's best goalkeeper, the Preble Shawnee Arrows seem to be in line for another successful season. This Tuesday we have Milton Union, who is believed by many to be one of the few teams to beat this year in the league. If we can play to our potential, there is no doubt in my mind that we can beat Milton. It won't be an easy game, but with the dynamics of our ENTIRE team and the effort with which we play, there is no reason we can't beat one of the league favorites this Tuesday at Milton. It is definitely a tough first league game match up. It should be a thrilling game to watch in what might end up being a match up between two of the top two or three finishers in the league.
80+
What a thrilling game. I appreciated both teams efforts in this heated game. Very rarely do you experience a game that was as action packed and as intense as that and have very little, if any, dirty or cheap play. I was pleased with both groups that they played the game the way the game was supposed to be played - hard work with an attempt at possession style soccer.
Of all of the games I've coached, this game ranks right up there as far as pure entertainment value. It was played fast and controlled, opportunities to score were plentiful for both teams, and the game was close for pretty much the entire night.
I think I speak for both coaches when I say that no one is real convinced how good their respective teams are tonight. I asked several of the girls if you thought that this game was such a good game because it was two decent teams going toe to toe or two good teams going toe to toe. I only ask this because, honestly, I am not sure either. I think we are better than decent but the feeling this team gives me is so incredibly different than the good teams I've had in the past. Our formation is different, we have an incredibly young midfield, our style of play has changed, and our personnel (1-18) is way different than what I am used to. Maybe it will take a bit of mental adjustment to get a full grasp on how decent, good, or great this team will be. I'm not sure if we'll know the answer to that question for some time. Regardless, we're 2-0 and all we need to worry about is winning the next game.
Milton scored first on a through ball that got behind our defense. Milton struck a powerful shot into the side netting before our defense could recover. We scored later in the first half on a long ball from Hayley Hall to Maddie Woodard. Woodard tracked a defender down and pressured her into a turnover. With a nicely placed ball in the side netting, Maddie scored to make it 1-1. At halftime, I didn't have any real complaints. I thought that maybe we could have challenged more 50/50 balls and we needed to close space down faster in the midfield. Milton had no doubts about striking the ball from 35-40 yards out (and they had several girls who were good at it). The biggest stress was for us to simply execute the things we were trying to do in the first.
In the second half, we started to find a rhythm and were starting to put our passes together a bit better. Maddie Woodard scored fairly early in half two to go up 2-1. This goal was similar in style to the first - Hayley played a through ball behind defenders and Maddie dinked the keeper and ended up with a tap in goal. We score again later in the second half. Meagan Lindon's hard work finally paid off on the stat sheet when she flipped a ball toward the back post that Allison Began ended up tapping in to put us up 3-1. Milton, however, was not done. They worked hard all night long and didn't panic. With about ten minutes to go, Milton hit another shot from about 40 yards out that got over our keepers head. The final 10 minutes ended in an up and down race on the field that saw neither team score. Final, 3-2.
Milton was much better than last year. Their coach told me just before the game that they don't have a dominating player, but they did have eleven good players. That's exactly what I saw, too. Milton fielded eleven solid players that knew the game, worked hard, and could run. As we said to each other earlier, "I think we're pretty good, but I'm not convinced yet." I think Milton is a good team. I think we are a good team. I hope I am right on both accounts, but we need to prove it one game at a time.
Kudos to sophomores Allison Began, Meagan Lindon, and Alexis Blanton for showing how good they can be. Now, I expect that every game. Maddie and Hayley continue to work well together and Maddie's on-field work ethic is as good as I've seen in 15 years. Jordan continues to play very well in the back playing even better than her first solid game of the year. Sydney Steele has now put together two high quality games despite being a bit under the weather (and finally a bit of aggression!!). Freshman Hope Ballinger has been a Godsend in the back helping fill the shoes of two great defenders that graduated last season. Overall, a very solid performance showing that we can win against a quality opponent even though we have lots of improvements to make in the execution department. All in all, we're right where we wanted to be at this point in the season - 2-0 and in control of our destiny. 80+
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Vs. Anna, 2-0 Win, Record: 1-0
For most of the preseason, our focus has been on getting the ball wide and spreading opposing defenses out. For weeks, we have been saying that we will be a very good team as long as we don't "just kick" and don't funnel everything in the middle. I was a little disappointed despite the win because we did exactly those two things we were focusing on not doing. Anna was a team I knew going in was going to stack their solid players through the middle. They did it last year and we played on a field that was very narrow and we couldn't really spread their defense out. We should have won the game last year and we ended up tying them because we could not get the ball out wide. Failing to get the ball wide, allowed their good players to defend our attacks very easily.
We spent much of the game doing the same thing this year. It seemed that, even though our outside mids, specifically Allison Began and Mikayla Wells, and our forward Maddie Woodard, were making themselves available with excellent runs, we were not getting them the ball. If we could have played wider this afternoon, we would have maintained possessions for a huge chunk of the game. Our possession would allow us to keep fresh air in our lungs as well as keeping Anna from developing any sort of attack whatsoever. But, for the majority of the game, we gave the ball back to Anna with many unforced errors and as a result, we were forced to sprint up and down the field. This is NOT our strength.
I know I sound pessimistic, but I see a team that can be very good. We were better than average tonight despite not playing to our strength. So, I am very pleased with that. Without playing our teams best soccer, we still managed to dominate possession, develop more dangerous opportuinites, and control the pace of the game. I am happy with the win over Anna. Anna will be a solid team this year - it is not like we beat a team that won't win a bunch of games. I just know we can be better than what we showed and if we can show our "good side" for each game, there is certainly a double digit win season in store for us.
If we look a little closer at the game, our dominance over Anna probably becomes a little more evident. In the first half, the official's inadevertant whistle cost us a goal that would have made it 2-0 at half. In the second half, the other official blew a whistle too soon, taking our play on advantage away, that resulted in another goal that could have made it 4-0. We had opportunity after opportunity as well to put more goals in the net and we just missed. On the flip side, Anna could only muster four shots, two of which came off of 35-40 yard restarts after a foul. Abbie Lynch had no trouble recording her 1st shutout of the 2013 soccer season. This was largely in part due to the solid performances of Jordan Lovely, Sam Began, and Hope Ballinger in the back. To no real surprise, they played wonderfully.
Also, as expected, forward Maddie Woodard picked up right where she left off last year. She posed a continuous threat to the Anna defense all afternoon long. Hayley Hall, foward, also made her presence known showing the Anna defenders a lot of different looks on offense. The tandem combined for 2 goals and 2 assists, each picking up one of each. It will be exciting to see Maddie play this year. She has continued to get better and this year is no exception.
With the senior forwards up top, a slew of young midfielders who know the game, a returning core of defenders, and the school's best goalkeeper, the Preble Shawnee Arrows seem to be in line for another successful season. This Tuesday we have Milton Union, who is believed by many to be one of the few teams to beat this year in the league. If we can play to our potential, there is no doubt in my mind that we can beat Milton. It won't be an easy game, but with the dynamics of our ENTIRE team and the effort with which we play, there is no reason we can't beat one of the league favorites this Tuesday at Milton. It is definitely a tough first league game match up. It should be a thrilling game to watch in what might end up being a match up between two of the top two or three finishers in the league.
80+
Pre-Season
In the pre-season, we beat Piqua, Perry, Valley View, and West Carrolton. We lost to Miami East and Miamisburg. We also tied Dayton Christian and Newton. Pre-season results really mean nothing. We beat Piqua, which sounds nice, but who knows if they had a full squad? We beat Valley View pretty easily, but they were missing what is likely their four best players. I'm not so sure Perry and WC are all that great to begin with. In the Miami East match, it was our first real game action and we toyed around with several formation. Against a pretty decent Newton team, we tied them at their place 2-2, but we were missing 3-4 starters and were forced to put players out of position. In only the Piqua game, did we have what I anticipated to be our starting line-up. For many of the matches, we were without a very talented forward in Hayley Hall and we were missing our regular starting goalkeeper, Abbie Lynch. I can say that the pre-season was successful not considering our record because we have settled into a new formation, we've found homes for players in specific positions, and a lot of our VERY young team got very meaningful playing time.
A lot is going to be different this year. Our formation is new, our team defensive philosophy has been tweaked, and our substitions strategy has really changed. As different as this team may be from any other I've had, I feel like we will put together a very successful season despite losing twelve senior from a good team last year.
Our anchors this year will be two returning senior defenders. Both Sam Began and Jordan Lovely really help control the back. Abbie Lynch has started the season looking confident in the goal as well. Certainly, she is in line for her best season yet. Up top, we return a great set-up player in Hayley Hall. Shouldering the majority of the offensive load will be senior Maddie Woodard who returns from a very successful junior year campaign. Maddie has improved so much coming into her senior year that it is almost scary thinking about how good she is going to be. Our midfielders are as smart as they have ever been. We lack the up and down players from last year, but what we gain this year will probably, in the end, prove to be our strength. We have 7-9 midfielders who will be moving in and out of a ball game on a regular basis allowing the team to enjoy a midfield with fresh legs. The core of that midfield will be seniors Sydney Steele and Hannah Hurd who are both much improved. Allison Began, Meagan Lindon, Carlee Jones, and Mikayla Wells return to the pitch much stronger than a season ago and will help us get up and down the field. Freshman Riane Woodard and Hope Ballinger will continue to impress in their freshman year.
Our chances for a league title and a sectional win are very realistic. With all of the changes that have gone on in the offseason, I am extrememly impressed with your work and very optimistic about the upcoming season.
In the pre-season, we beat Piqua, Perry, Valley View, and West Carrolton. We lost to Miami East and Miamisburg. We also tied Dayton Christian and Newton. Pre-season results really mean nothing. We beat Piqua, which sounds nice, but who knows if they had a full squad? We beat Valley View pretty easily, but they were missing what is likely their four best players. I'm not so sure Perry and WC are all that great to begin with. In the Miami East match, it was our first real game action and we toyed around with several formation. Against a pretty decent Newton team, we tied them at their place 2-2, but we were missing 3-4 starters and were forced to put players out of position. In only the Piqua game, did we have what I anticipated to be our starting line-up. For many of the matches, we were without a very talented forward in Hayley Hall and we were missing our regular starting goalkeeper, Abbie Lynch. I can say that the pre-season was successful not considering our record because we have settled into a new formation, we've found homes for players in specific positions, and a lot of our VERY young team got very meaningful playing time.
A lot is going to be different this year. Our formation is new, our team defensive philosophy has been tweaked, and our substitions strategy has really changed. As different as this team may be from any other I've had, I feel like we will put together a very successful season despite losing twelve senior from a good team last year.
Our anchors this year will be two returning senior defenders. Both Sam Began and Jordan Lovely really help control the back. Abbie Lynch has started the season looking confident in the goal as well. Certainly, she is in line for her best season yet. Up top, we return a great set-up player in Hayley Hall. Shouldering the majority of the offensive load will be senior Maddie Woodard who returns from a very successful junior year campaign. Maddie has improved so much coming into her senior year that it is almost scary thinking about how good she is going to be. Our midfielders are as smart as they have ever been. We lack the up and down players from last year, but what we gain this year will probably, in the end, prove to be our strength. We have 7-9 midfielders who will be moving in and out of a ball game on a regular basis allowing the team to enjoy a midfield with fresh legs. The core of that midfield will be seniors Sydney Steele and Hannah Hurd who are both much improved. Allison Began, Meagan Lindon, Carlee Jones, and Mikayla Wells return to the pitch much stronger than a season ago and will help us get up and down the field. Freshman Riane Woodard and Hope Ballinger will continue to impress in their freshman year.
Our chances for a league title and a sectional win are very realistic. With all of the changes that have gone on in the offseason, I am extrememly impressed with your work and very optimistic about the upcoming season.