First things first. The Schwami was (at least) partially right in his New Year's predictions. Third place here we come.
Second things second. Coach Cookie teaches Barcelona ball possession and it really showed tonite in the girls' much needed 1-0 win over the PSG Gators.
The girls controlled the ball the whole night with beautiful passing. Everyone seemed to play well and play in sync. Here is hope for 2012. Next thing you know the Detroit Lions will be in the playoffs.
Zoe, as she did in the first game against PSG (see post cut and pasted below), controlled midfield. She anticipated well and intercepted long passes and then dished off good ones of her own. The Force backline was superb, too, at midfield as Emmi, Annabelle, Jill and Sophia took balls out of the air with Zoe to keep pressure in the PSG end. Frankly, this was a new look for the Force, a team that has too often hesitated in playing balls out of the air. In the one break the Gators got Annabelle made a superb dash back to turn away the effort.
On offense, Sawyer sent wonderful crosses along in the second part of the second half -- and Christina charged like crazy -- but the Force couldn't turn up a goal. Grace made what looked to be the play of the game, dashing from midfield to the sideline to dump a great pass to Sawyer to lobbed it to Christina but....
The Force had to wait for the second half for the game winner. Jill, acting on muscle memory from Game One (see, again, below) made perhaps the play of the season by dragging the ball into the corner from her left defensive spot before sending a perfect cross to the front of the net. There Rhea had found the ideal spot and finished strong.
In a celebratory mood Coach Cookie finished the postgame discussion in just under 2 minutes.
November 12, PSG
Prince
Hamlet in his first soliloquy:
"O God, God,
How weary, stale, flat,
and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on't, ah fie!
'Tis an unweeded garden
That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in
nature
Possess it merely. That it should come to this!"
Well, it wasn't that demoralizing,
but....
The Force U12 took a 1-0 loss this early AM to an inferior side,
the PSG Gators. The girls were playing shorthanded without the very active
Annabelle and Christina, but this was a team they could have and should have
beaten -- particularly when they need a win so badly.
The team certainly
seems to need to somehow regroup at this point.
The girls played really
well in the first half. Rhea put on an offensive clinic: beating players,
distributing the ball, finding space, etc. When in the game Zoe absolutely
controlled midfield. On the backline the girls did some very nice backpassing
and even switching of the field. Grace had her second excellent game on defense.
Kate came up with a great save off a free kick, extending to her full height to
snag a hard, high bouncing ball.
The second half had its highlights:
Jill was a notable spark on offense; Kate made one great diving save; Grace made
a great run to interrupt a breakaway; and Zoe, in limited time early in the
half, again dominated the middle.
But other than that nothing went
particularly well.
The middle of the field was left all too open and
clearing passes routinely went sailing past defenders who were put back on their
heels. One of these balls skidded too close to Kate for a backpass and a Gator
came up with the easiest goal she will ever get. Offensively, nothing got moving
for the Force and girls struggled, again, to realize game situations. That is,
they seemed unaware that late in the second half they were down 1-0 and needed a
tie.
