Rain Out & More...

Unfortunately, our double-header weekend was rained out, washed away, whatever metaphor you want to use. A weekend of nothing but rain has postponed our schedule deep into November. The rescheduled games are the last weekend before Thanksgiving.

With that change, our third game suddenly was a rematch with the Ajax. They are a very powerful, well coached team that is aggressive on and off the ball. And while we took pounding last game with them (0-9), I was actually looking forward to this match. In our first match, we didn't have our center fullback, Garrett. We also only had 1 sub for the entire game. On Sunday, the team had had a few weeks to come together. Then a surprise, Scotty joined the team. This unexpected addition brought us to a full complement of 12 players. And for the game, 12 players showed.

So with a stronger defense and a forceful sweeper, 4 subs always at hand, and a strong new midfielder, we took to the field hopeful for an improvement. The first half was complete turn around from the previous game. Our defense was very strong, keeping their offense wide. And when then went wide, our wings pressed hard. About 5 minutes in, Ajax took a great shot that got past our goalie. And fluke error on our kickoff gave them another opening to score.

But after that our defense settled in and shut down their offense. While we weren't able to penetrate much in the first half, I was very pleased with the overall improvement in defense.

In the second half, we became far more aggressive and began to attack the ball in the middle third. We were able to keep better possessions, and make some penetrations on free kicks and corners. Although we couldn't get a clean shot off, we definitely had their defense on their heels. While I wasn't keeping strict time on this, I believe we were at least 50/50 with them on possession time in the second half. A breakaway gave them a final goal, but not after some amazing keeping by Henry. Garrett wins the captain's band for our next game with an outstanding performance as sweeper.

So a 0-3 result is still a loss. But I see it as a major improvement, and a sign that this team is ready to make some major strides in the next few games. I'm very proud of these boys for never giving up and always playing hard. Despite the loss, it was a great game.

Upcoming weekend

So we have another double-header weekend coming up. One game against the Lions on Saturday, and one against the Fire Balls on Sunday. We've had a long relationship with the Lions. We always play well, but they always rise up to challenge us. We've won once, lost twice, and tied twice. I look forward to playing this team, because it gives me a good idea about how we are really doing. If we have our key players, it will be a very close game.

While we know several of the players on the Fire Balls, we haven't played them in at least two full seasons. So I don't know how they have developed. This will be an interesting game. I think we'll be competitive. If we play like we did in our last game, we should do okay. What is critical for me is how we are progressing at penetrating the defensive line with inside runs and wrap-arounds. We've worked on that extensively in practice, but never seem to actually get it going in a game. I'll be stressing that again at practice, and for each of the games.

It will be a busy weekend for the team. Let's hope the rain doesn't interfere with the schedule.