On to the Finals, 6-1!!!

The next to the last game of the season turned in to a route as the Force rolled past Canton Celtic White 6-1 to win the semi-final of Divsion 2 U13Y and the right to take on the Novi Jags White tomorrow AM.

The game was never really in doubt. Canton had to play early in the day (a 4-2 win over Waza) and in 90 degree heat the effort showed. Canton came out flat footed and the Force -- well shaded by Rocsteady's Dad's tents -- looked strong. Stasia had several runs down the left side and some nice combinations with Grace. Emmi, who has just been playing incredibly well, stepped in and up and made plays early on to give some backline push to the offense.

Still, it seemed to take a while for the first goal. Lauren sent a wonderful cross from the right side that flew by the keeper. Sawyer hustled it down near the far side line and returned the favor. Jazzy, always well positioned in front, was the beneficiary. 1-0.

Minutes later  Stasia and Lauren applied terrific pressure, keeping the ball in front of the keeper and Jazzy, again, finished with a nice crossover step. 2-0

There were some intervening minutes while Zoe danced beautifully with the ball, in and out of the box, looking for opening. Her skill in close quarters is really getting striking -- but no goals.

Emmi's Herculean throw-in led to goal 3. Kyra took it artfully off her leg and found superstiker Sawyer. 3-0.

Then we had what is known in soccer parlance as an oopsie. Rockstar, in a rare moment of human frailty, lost a 1-1 battle with a quietly skilled and quick Canton forward. 3-1.

In the second half, however, things were all Force, even though Canton came out with some surprising energy (the Force turned from their ball possession game to rely on skill alone and this created some problems).

Kyra brilliantly snagged one out of the air and sent a pretty pass to Jazzy for Kyra's second assist and Jazzy's hat trick. This goal was sharp, just inside the far post. 4-1.

Superstriker took advantage of the golden five minutes to get a break, gracefully settle the ball, and score. 5-1.

Rockstar wasn't satisfied, however. Getting a rare chance at forward she held the midfield line well and sprinted past the Canton defenders when the ball popped lose. Running at full tilt, ponytail flying and eyes blazing, this blogger got ready for a full on blast. But she saw the keeper come way out to try to force a mistake and provided one of the prettiest dekes this side of Pavel Datsyuk.

6-1.

The rest of the evening was spent watching the Novi Jaguars Green 01  lose in a shoot-out to the Novi Jaguars White 00. This was some show.

New 850K soccer pitch at Gitmo!

Solving the problem of field conditions

http://www.city-soccer.org/ny-rooftop/http://www.city-soccer.org/ny-rooftop/

Click on the link above for a remarkable NYC (Harlem) story on roof top soccer.

Playoff preview

Canton Celtic White has beaten Waza Blue twice this season by more than a goal so one can reasonably expect that they will pull out the quarterfinal game to meet the Force in the semis Saturday evening. So: here is my report from our game against Canton Celtic White. We played them without Rocksteady and with MSH hurt.

 

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Canton, 0-0, April 28

Game one of the first spring match day turned out to be a 0-0 tie against Canton. The morning was overcast and very cold. But the turf at West Bloomfield was firm and big. Force parents dispersed across the stadium to get different vantage points. Annabelle's mom and dad went as far as to choose opposite sides of the field. Now there, we can say, are dedicated spotters.

Grace's mom did her job, getting there early and handing over cash to the referee.

The girls?

They played well, even without a still injured MSH (who got a few minutes) and rock solid defender Jill. Backline running mates Emmi, Annabelle, Sophie, Sophia stepped up big to fill the gap -- as did Grace, shuttling back and forth from midfield to defender. Indeed, the one serious opportunity the Force gave up in the first half found Grace artfully dashing back to catch a breakaway forward and oh so deftly nudging her, Nick Lidstrom like, to avoid the penalty but still throw off the shot just enough for Kate to make (for Kate, not a regular goalie) a routine save. Grace would make a comparable subtle, but brilliant, play late in the game, preventing a corner and then clearing under tight pressure.

The backline's willingness to step up and apply pressure in the second half created some opportunities for the Force. But it also exposed the girls to counterattack. The Force answer here was rather simple: "Annabelle." She stopped two attacks and chased down Canton's biggest offensive threat when the ball took a tough hop against the Force.

When Annabelle wasn't there Rhea tracked back from midfield to save another opportunity. At points, Rhea seemed to be all over the field. How does she get there? The stride is so fluid it doesn't look fast. But there she is at the ball. And when on the ball there she is turning, effortlessly, distributing the pass. In contrast, Zoe is also all over the ball at midfield but seems to have sped up, accelerating sideline to sideline (she must be looking forward to spring basketball). When the backline steps us and plays well like today you see the advantage. Zoe is able to find her way to the offensive end and create problems for the opponent.

The Force could have pulled this one out. They had the edge. Lauren, Rhea and Sawyer put together some nice combinations. But things never clicked inside the final third of the field.

What is a pleasure to watch, both as parent and customer, is the way in which the girls have grasped many aspects of soccer. Ball control, changing the point of attack, making angled runs. This is fun.

Alice's last update for 2011-2012 season!

 [I will bring the ice packs -- see you Sunday!]

Hello Soccer Parents,

The playoffs have been official posted, please see the schedule below.

Saturday Game

6:30 game time please arrive by 5:45 Field 1, wear WHITE, (bring Black). We will play the winner of the 12:30 game.

You will need your parking pass to get into Lyon Oaks Park for free.  If you need to make another copy you can from the MSDSL Website on the home page.

Lyon Oaks County Park 52221 Pontiac Trail, Wixom 48393.  South side of Pontiac Trail, west of Wixom Rd, fields are located near dog park.

Sunday Game-If we win

11:30 game time, please arrive by 10:45 Field 1, wear WHITE, (bring Black).

at, June 9, 2012
GAME#		Time	Home		Away	Location
			Quarterfinal
2000 QF1		12:30 pm	Canton Celtic 00 White	vs	Waza FC 00 Blue	Lyon Oaks County Park field 2
			Semifinal
2001 SF1		6:30 pm	Force FC 00 Purple	vs	Winner Quarterfinal #1	Lyon Oaks County Park field 1
2002 SF2		6:30 pm	Michigan Jaguars 00 White	vs	Michigan Jaguars 01 Green	Lyon Oaks County Park field 2
Sun, June 10, 2012
GAME#		Time	Home		Away	Location
			Championship
2003		11:30 am	Semi-Final #1 Winner	vs	Semi-Final #2 Winner	Lyon Oaks County Park field 1

1-0, Force tops Waza in regular season finale

After the game Rocksteady's mom said appreciatively to Rhea, who was bruised and bleeding from the lower lip, you "still look pretty."

Certainly.

But to the Waza players Rhea must have seemed more like Cerberus, the 3 - headed dog who, in Greek mythology, guards the underworld by guarding the river Styx.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ4zgcRpUQ8

In the first five minutes Rhea took a nasty blow that cut her badly and stunned her. Fortunately, the players and Coach Cookie caught it and got the ref to blow the play dead (another note for Refs on player safety).

This was the first distinct image of Rhea's head that Waza might remember.

The second would be the image of her Tomas Muller like header -- the first of the year, I think, for the Force. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS2x4LeHn8EHaving re-entered the game in the second half after some oral surgery (free of  charge, I think), Rhea took a beautiful, soft cross from MSH (herself still playing through pain) and jammed the ball down at the Waza keeper's feet.

This goal seemed to come very late. The Force did not dominate play, but they certainly had the edge. Grace and Stasia both made great plays, but ended up sending goals over the cross bar. Jazzy's deceptive skills created early opportunities. Sawyer sent a few just past the post. Until Rhea's header it seemed the Force might be heading for their second straight 0-0 tie.

Even after that the game did not seem completely in Force hands. The ref found his whistle in the last five minutes, awarding Waza a free kick 18 feet outside the box that Waza moved to 10 feet outside box.

Rhea, Cerberus like, stuck her head in for a third time and knocked away what could have been a difficult shot for Kate.

The Force played hard, but this was ragged. They won because they are better soccer players, not because of their control passing game. Rockstar and Rocksteady worked hard on the back line -- as usual -- but the game really didn't call for their superlative efforts. In brief, it looked like the last regular season game of a long, long season.

Rhea's bloody mouth created a full image. With Sophie on the sideline in a sling and even Cookie brandishing a finger cast the Force really looked a bit beat up. All World needed ice packs back. Great individual efforts came through pressure and pain. Zoe struggled with a sore leg to tie up midfield and send balls into the corner. But she labored to make the extra step she normally might. And while MSH had a season highlight assist, she is still rehabbing her injured foot, playing herself back into shape. Emmi took a two hander in the lower back that forced her off the field, having defended hard the whole game. And Sawyer gamely hung in there after getting knocked hard to the ground (in fairness to the official, she got that call). Soon after, fleet footed Kyra went flying. Sophia battled (literally and figuratively) wonderfully all afternoon with an athletic Waza forward who did some damage against the Force in their last meeting.

Lauren played seemingly possessed, gasping for breath as she moved from play to play at midfield. The first half was certainly her's.Kudos to her for coming up with this kind of intensity at this point in the season.

The only other thing that seemed fresh were Kate's new orange, goalie gloves that work the same as the old ones. They catch most everything.

Kate's Dad wasn't sure where they came from, but Father's Day is coming up.

Next week: the playoffs. The Force seem now in first place of the 2nd Division U13Y (the Pacesetters now out). The most likely scenario. They play the winner of a Novi Jags Green 01/Waza match up Saturday evening, June 10.

June 3 Standings

		Pts	GP	W	T	L	GF	GA	GD
1.	Grand Rapids Crew Juniors 00 Gold	21	7	7	0	0	35	2	33
2.	Canton Celtic 00 Black	15	7	5	0	2	17	14	3
3.	Pacesetter Premier 00 Red (league only)	10	8	3	1	4	13	12	1
4.	Michigan Jaguars 00 Green	7	6	2	1	3	7	10	-3
5.	LCSC 00 Meteors	5	8	1	2	5	4	15	-11
6.	TNT Dynamite 00 Red	3	6	1	0	5	5	28	-23
Under 13 Y Girls Division 2		Pts	GP	W	T	L	GF	GA	GD
1.	Pacesetter Premier 00 Black (league only	22	8	7	1	0	30	2	28
2.	Force FC 00 Purple	14	8	4	2	2	18	7	11
3.	Michigan Jaguars 00 White	12	8	3	3	2	14	11	3
4.	Canton Celtic 00 White	11	8	3	2	3	15	15	0
5.	Michigan Jaguars 01 Green	10	7	3	1	3	10	15	-5
6.	Waza FC 00 Blue	7	8	2	1	5	8	13	-5
7.	LCSC 00 Meteors Blue (league only)	0	7	0	0	7	3	35	-32