A quick re-cap of our 1st Tournament and a special thanks to the families that were able to volunteer and help make the Patriot Cup a success! This tournament showed us the many levels of travel soccer. The speed of the game is much faster than House and even the All-star tournaments that we previously played. We challenged WAGS teams as well as start up travel teams. Overall, I think that we held our own and showed promise for the future. Most teams usually have 1 to 2 great players, noticeable players. Our team is a team of good players. There’s not just 1 or 2 outstanding players, and every player has strengths and weaknesses. Every player has moments of greatness and not so great. This is the game of soccer and they are children having fun. We as coaches will have to pin point the weakness of each child and try to build on their faults. Everybody is different, and as a coach, I am proud of our team! I would like to take another moment to acknowledge some of the outstanding achievements during our tournament:
Game 1, against ODFC (wags) loss 1-0: Meera had maybe one of her best games, stopping nearly every ball. We will have to start counting the shots taken as she really played her heart out with bravery, quickness and good judgment. I did have some coaches tell me that our goalie played very well.
Game 2, against Vienna (ODSL) loss 11-1: The high score somewhat depressing was due more to common mistakes, and lack of experience, rather than just being overpowered. This Vienna team also beat another team 10-1 so that made our loss sit a little better. Claudia hit a goal coming from a handball, the ball was be placed at the 18’ far right corner, the ball found the net over a crowd of heads trying to block the goal. It was clearly a beautiful kick.
Game 3, against Chantilly (Wags) loss 5-1: In the early minutes of this game, there was a hand ball penalty shot at our goal. Meera again made an MVP stop, and with minutes left before half time, she found Madison stepping up from a fullback position, launching a kick that sailed through the air 30 yards into the back of their net. We were up 1-0 at half time. The half time break is becoming a concern for our team as we show a trend, we were slow getting back into the game and gave up 3 goals within 10 minutes. However we did have a lot of runs at their goal, we just couldn’t finish.
Game 4, against Mount Vernon (Wags) tie 1-1: This game was maybe the most exciting! We were able to get some of our players back from vacation and it definitely made a difference. We controlled the ball in their end for at least half the game. Kayla, Kristie and Skyla worked together to bring us our goal coming from a corner kick taken by Skyla, where Kristie (The Hammer) would add the necessary power to the ball to send it pass the goal keeper to the quick-footed Kayla who put the ball into the net. Our team really pressured their goal the entire second half. Meera continued to make big saves, and with 10 minutes left in the game found herself on the ground making another great save. Only this time her arm was stepped on and she had to leave the game due to the injury. Their tying goal came from outside the penalty box with hard shot only minutes from game’s end.
Every player on the team made great efforts and played to the best of their abilities. Many of our players played with bumps, bruises and fever. Great plays were put in by Sarah, Molly, Maddie, Skyla, Claudia, Margaret, Faith, Meera, Madison, Kristie, Kayla, and Sandy. I am sure that your parents were entertained by your great spirit this weekend.
Coach Elliott