The awful Labor Day weekend weather (and Midland Fusion 00) finally caught up with the Force U12 girls. Fortunate scheduling had the girls in the comfortable AC of Ultimate soccer Friday evening and, today, when the humidity was even more oppressive, the girls were set to go at 7PM after the worst of the sun and steam had past. But Midland's consistent pressure landed a single goal early in the second half and the overcast sky -- so welcome at the start of the game -- turned to lightning and the Force walked away 0-1-1 in the tournament heading into Sunday.
There were some offensive highlights. Lauren chased down an errand Midland pass on the wing and lobbed a perfect lead past to always moving Christina. Annabelle let a Midland forward slip past at midfield but with a determined dash caught up and stripped the ball just at the edge of the box.
It says something, though, when most of the other highlights came from Force defensive moves against the 7 or 8 corner kicks they allowed in the abbreviated contest. Living up to her name, Grace effortlessly headed a dangerous corner away. And Sophia, playing disciplined soccer, held to her far post position and saved what looked like a sure goal.
Early tomorrow morning -- in what looks to be much cooler weather -- the girls take on a big Waza team at West Hills.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Force Invitational Game 1
Ties, many say, are like kissing your sister. But that is not entirely true. Some ties -- like the 0-0
Force U12 Purple opener in The Force Invitational against Farmington Fusion 99 -- feel pretty good.
Playing up in the 13y division, and on an indoor 11 v. 11 field (that is, one exactly measured to regulation length and width), the girls found themselves with their backs against their own net for most of the first half. Force clearing passes got jammed up at midfield and, at some point, ten minutes or so in, they just started clearing rather than passing, and they could not get themselves into the Fusion half of the field. Fortunately, the Fusion weren't able to put together much offense in or around the 18. Emmi courageously stepped in front of one hard shot. And Kate, who controlled the field brilliantly during all this pressure, dove on a rolling ball that could have been popped in.
There were some other bright spots. Jill played tough at midfield. Zoe sent some balls deep and was fouled herself just outside the box toward the end of the half. Annabelle's wicked strike almost found the back of the net.
The Force managed to turn things around a bit in the second half. Christina and Sawyer played hard up front and Sophia and Emmi made big plays consistently on the backline. The ball gradually shifted into the Fusion half of the field. The momentum shifted enough so that in the last few minutes the Force changed formations to go for the win (skip the sister), putting two forwards up front. There were several spirited runs -- runs that led to one dangerous counterattack in front of Kate -- but no goals.
Game two is tomorrow nite outside at West Hills.
Force U12 Purple opener in The Force Invitational against Farmington Fusion 99 -- feel pretty good.
Playing up in the 13y division, and on an indoor 11 v. 11 field (that is, one exactly measured to regulation length and width), the girls found themselves with their backs against their own net for most of the first half. Force clearing passes got jammed up at midfield and, at some point, ten minutes or so in, they just started clearing rather than passing, and they could not get themselves into the Fusion half of the field. Fortunately, the Fusion weren't able to put together much offense in or around the 18. Emmi courageously stepped in front of one hard shot. And Kate, who controlled the field brilliantly during all this pressure, dove on a rolling ball that could have been popped in.
There were some other bright spots. Jill played tough at midfield. Zoe sent some balls deep and was fouled herself just outside the box toward the end of the half. Annabelle's wicked strike almost found the back of the net.
The Force managed to turn things around a bit in the second half. Christina and Sawyer played hard up front and Sophia and Emmi made big plays consistently on the backline. The ball gradually shifted into the Fusion half of the field. The momentum shifted enough so that in the last few minutes the Force changed formations to go for the win (skip the sister), putting two forwards up front. There were several spirited runs -- runs that led to one dangerous counterattack in front of Kate -- but no goals.
Game two is tomorrow nite outside at West Hills.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Force Golf Outing
http://forcefc.org/forcefc/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=1vsi7lM__UI%3d&tabid=38
This is a lot of fun. I have gone the last 2 years.
This is a lot of fun. I have gone the last 2 years.
Fall schedule
U12 Girls Fall Game Schedule
Date Time Team Location
Sat 9/10 TBD vs LCSC Independence Park, Canton
TBD @ Jags Green Independence Park, Canton
Sat 9/17 6.00pm vs Jags Green West Hills
Sat 9/24 12.00pm @ Jags White ITC Sports Park, Novi
Sat 10/1 5.00pm @ TNT Kenneth Hope, Lansing
Sun 10/9 9.00am vs TNT West Hills
Sat 10/15 3.00pm @ Canton Black Independence Park, Canton
Sun 10/16 5.30pm vs Jags White West Hills
Sat 10/22 Playoffs – games could be scheduled throughout the day
Sun 10/23 Playoffs – games could be scheduled throughout the day, if we win Saturday
Monday, August 29, 2011
Force Invitational Tournament
Labor Day Weekend tournament scheduled (allows plenty of time for golf!)
Friday 9/2
7:00 PM game Ultimate Field 3 arrive by 6:15 wear BLACK Farmington Fusion 99
Saturday 9/3
7:10 PM game West Hills Field 3 arrive by 6:25 wear BLACK Midland Fusion 00
Sunday 9/4
7:20 AM game West Hills Field 4 arrive by 6:45 wear BLACK WAZA Genessee 00
12:40 Division Playoff West Hills Field 4
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Pikefest 2011
The Force U12 Girls Purple team opened their fall 2011 season in Indianapolis, Indiana. The girls finished their first 11 v. 11 tournament (playing "up" in a U13 division) at 1-1-1. Please take a look at the game write-up, check out the spectacular photos by Pam (link below), and consider posting a comment.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1AZMmTdu3bsnOA&eid=118">Click
The tournament opened for the Force Saturday AM on a bright, sunny day as they took on the Fusion Navy-X U13 team. The girls applied tremendous pressure early on as Christina, Rhea, and Sawyer put together nice combination passes up front leading to seemingly continuous runs. The Fusion goalie stayed busy most of the first half -- and the Force front line surprisingly found themselves gasping for breath trying to keep up with their own offensive ingenuity.
The dam finally burst when Zoe stepped up from her defensive mid spot and provided Sawyer with a perfect pass that the Force "target" drilled into the upper corner. The Fusion mounted a bit of a comeback late in the first half as parents -- tired from a 5 hour drive the night before, confused by more stretches of mini-malls then most had ever seen, and unused to 35 minute halves -- sweated for a whistle.
Zoe's generosity revved up the scoring early in the second half when she set up Lauren (who was electric for most of the weekend) for a great strike. Kyra came next in line for a present from game one's "Zoe Claus." This third goal put the game out of reach and both teams went into a bit of lull in the hot sun of Hoosier corn fields.
Good passing is contagious, however, and Lauren delivered a great ball to Sawyer who finished the game where she started it: by jamming the ball into the back of the net.
The Force offense looked less spectacular after lunch against eventual tourney champ Zionsville Youth Soccer 99. The Force looked weary and had to contend with a physically imposing squad. Annabelle, often overmatched by 4 or more inches and 20 pounds, turned away Zionsville's repeated runs down the right side. But one too many shots from that angle came Kate's way and the Force went down 1-0 early in the second half. A brilliant, individual effort by a Zionsville forward put the game away 2-0 and ended the Force's bid for the tournament championship game.
A good dinner and rare moment of leniency by taskmaster Coach Cookie ("you can go in the pool for 30 minutes") didn't seem to help much. Sunday's 8AM game found many parents underdressed for the chilly morning. (All world Team Manager Alice Currier had thought of pretty much everything to help a rather hapless group of parents through the weekend, but she forgot to remind them to bring sweaters! When Alice doesn't provide Force parents direction it is very much like watching a 6 v 6 side without a midfield; when the texts come regularly from her we look like Barcelona.)
The girls, like their parents on the sidelines, struggled on the pitch. The bigger, stronger defenders from Carmel FC99 kept the Force at midfield most of the first half. Mighty mite Jill, however, taking a turn in the middle of the field, held tough. And early in the second half she delivered a terrific lead pass to Sawyer who had been artfully hovering onside on the Force side of the field. The weekend's leading goalscorer raced past Carmel's long-legged defenders to snag the ball for a breakaway. She peeked up at just the right movement to see the Carmel keeper step up and give up the right side of the goal. In doing so she topped the ball a bit and didn't hit it cleanly but, having picked the right spot before the strike, found the corner of the net just as Tournament officials decided to release a set of blue (purple?) and white balloons.
Force pressure turned up a few corner kicks and it looked for a while as if the girls might knock in the second goal. But the Force took a penalty in the last 8 minutes. The ensuing shot put the ball near the goal and set up a scrum in front. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.
Overall, though, a wonderful weekend -- and a great preview for next weekend's Force Invitational Tournament!
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1AZMmTdu3bsnOA&eid=118">Click
The tournament opened for the Force Saturday AM on a bright, sunny day as they took on the Fusion Navy-X U13 team. The girls applied tremendous pressure early on as Christina, Rhea, and Sawyer put together nice combination passes up front leading to seemingly continuous runs. The Fusion goalie stayed busy most of the first half -- and the Force front line surprisingly found themselves gasping for breath trying to keep up with their own offensive ingenuity.
The dam finally burst when Zoe stepped up from her defensive mid spot and provided Sawyer with a perfect pass that the Force "target" drilled into the upper corner. The Fusion mounted a bit of a comeback late in the first half as parents -- tired from a 5 hour drive the night before, confused by more stretches of mini-malls then most had ever seen, and unused to 35 minute halves -- sweated for a whistle.
Zoe's generosity revved up the scoring early in the second half when she set up Lauren (who was electric for most of the weekend) for a great strike. Kyra came next in line for a present from game one's "Zoe Claus." This third goal put the game out of reach and both teams went into a bit of lull in the hot sun of Hoosier corn fields.
Good passing is contagious, however, and Lauren delivered a great ball to Sawyer who finished the game where she started it: by jamming the ball into the back of the net.
The Force offense looked less spectacular after lunch against eventual tourney champ Zionsville Youth Soccer 99. The Force looked weary and had to contend with a physically imposing squad. Annabelle, often overmatched by 4 or more inches and 20 pounds, turned away Zionsville's repeated runs down the right side. But one too many shots from that angle came Kate's way and the Force went down 1-0 early in the second half. A brilliant, individual effort by a Zionsville forward put the game away 2-0 and ended the Force's bid for the tournament championship game.
A good dinner and rare moment of leniency by taskmaster Coach Cookie ("you can go in the pool for 30 minutes") didn't seem to help much. Sunday's 8AM game found many parents underdressed for the chilly morning. (All world Team Manager Alice Currier had thought of pretty much everything to help a rather hapless group of parents through the weekend, but she forgot to remind them to bring sweaters! When Alice doesn't provide Force parents direction it is very much like watching a 6 v 6 side without a midfield; when the texts come regularly from her we look like Barcelona.)
The girls, like their parents on the sidelines, struggled on the pitch. The bigger, stronger defenders from Carmel FC99 kept the Force at midfield most of the first half. Mighty mite Jill, however, taking a turn in the middle of the field, held tough. And early in the second half she delivered a terrific lead pass to Sawyer who had been artfully hovering onside on the Force side of the field. The weekend's leading goalscorer raced past Carmel's long-legged defenders to snag the ball for a breakaway. She peeked up at just the right movement to see the Carmel keeper step up and give up the right side of the goal. In doing so she topped the ball a bit and didn't hit it cleanly but, having picked the right spot before the strike, found the corner of the net just as Tournament officials decided to release a set of blue (purple?) and white balloons.
Force pressure turned up a few corner kicks and it looked for a while as if the girls might knock in the second goal. But the Force took a penalty in the last 8 minutes. The ensuing shot put the ball near the goal and set up a scrum in front. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.
Overall, though, a wonderful weekend -- and a great preview for next weekend's Force Invitational Tournament!
Monday, August 1, 2011
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