Sunday, November 13, 2011

BC 13Nov2011


Northeastern said BC was the best team they had seen, and they looked strong and tall when we saw them on the field for warm-up.  The sun came out and it felt warm!  Julia found us a goalkeeper!  Rachel Funk!

Just before going on the field we soaked in the moment and spoke about how excited we were to play.  BC looked lively, but both teams had plenty of energy and possession.  It looked pretty even in terms of shots.  

In the 27th minute, Natalie made a great cross that Molly rocketed into the upper right corner of the goal.  Late in the half BC's height got the best of us just after Blyth's (what I thought was clean because she got the ball) tackle was whistled for a BC free kick.  1:1

Jenn put a shot over the bar late in the half, then Mila's shot in the 45th minute was solid but easy for BC's skilled goalkeeper to save.  Natalie also got off a shot before the whistle.  

At half-time we spoke about how well we were passing and how we got the ball wide to create good chances.  

We almost got a goal when Julia broke free for a one-on-one with the BC goalkeeper, but her shot was saved.  Rachel made an incredible save in the 50th minute.  A little later, Jenn was all alone in front of the BC goal and put a cross on frame that was saved by the BC GK.  Shelby soonafter put a solid shot on frame that was saved.  

BC took advantage of what might have been our exhaustion from playing two games in two days as they broke through our defense for their second goal in the 67th minute.  Both teams had good chances after that, and Ally almost tied the score in the 78th minute with a great give-an-go breakaway through the BC defense.

Everyone was happy to have played so well against a great team!  Our passing was crisp, our runs were well timed, great diagonal passes and crosses led to great chances for us.  There were many times when we linked half-a-dozen wall passes together!  It was the jogo bonito -- beautiful game!  

The game could have gone either way. We're already looking forward to playing BC in the spring and certainly next fall! 

F: Julia + Bri, Courtney+Natalie
OM: Jenn+Mila, Ginny+Katherine, Laura
CM: Molly+Shelby, Laura+Christine, Emily B
OD: Blythe+Liz, Tessa+Christine
CD: Ally+Annie S, Julia
G: Rachel Funk

Shots 13:11  Saves 4:5

3 BC weak shot saved
4 Julia shot saved
5 BC header saved
8 Jenn shot wide
10 Molly shot wide
17 BC shot saved
20 Rachel prevented BC header
27 Natalie cross to Molly upper right rocket --> 1:0
28 Courtney shot wide
40 BC header --> 1:1
42 Liz prevented a shot, BC corner
44 Jenn shot over
45 Mila shot saved
45 Natalie shot over
47 Julia shot saved
50 BC shot sick save by Rachel
50 BC corner
51 Jenn shot saved
62 Shelby shot saved
65 BC corner, shot over
67 BC got behind our defense --> 1:2
68 BC shot wide, corner, BC shot wide
69 BC corner, header over
75 BC corner
78 Ally breakaway, shot wide
79 Molly shot wide
83 BC free kick wide

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Northeastern 12Nov2011


We looked forward to playing Northeastern because last fall they were fast, physical and pushy!  Today was perfect playing weather -- partly cloudy 10C/50F.  Great parent attendance once again!

Before the game we spoke about quick passes to avoid overly physical contact.  It worked.  You were quick.  Northeastern got frustrated.

We dominated in shots but had trouble getting power on the shots.  We came close to scoring many times.

At half-time we spoke about keeping our quickness but switching the attack from side to side and getting the ball into their third.  That worked, too.  We had most of the possession and almost put one in around the hour mark.  

The ref near our goal whistled Northeastern's shot in the 81st minute offsides, so Chelsea and our defenders stopped playing.  The far ref argued that it was a goal because the whistle was after the shot was made.  Our team photographer, former Dartmouth varsity player Ron Cima '75, found the official position from the US Soccer Federation disallowing a goal after a whistle:  article.

We almost scored on some good last-minute attempts!  The Northeastern coach said we were the best team they had played.  They want to play us in the spring and next fall.  

It was Emily's last game with her sister Liz!  Great that her dad could be here.  

F: Emily N + Courtney, Julia, Jenn
OM: Jenn+Mila, Ginny+Katherine, Natalie+LauraCM: Molly+Julia, Laura+Christine, Emily B
OD: Blythe+Liz, Tessa
CD: Ally+Annie S, Hannah
G: Chelsea

Shots 13:8  Saves 5:5

2 Jenn shot over
9 Liz shot wide
10 Mila shot saved
12 NE shot from distance saved
13 Molly free kick wide
31 Christine corner wide
34 NE shot saved
35,36 Emily N shot saved
40 NE shot over
41 Emily N shot over
43 Emily N shot wide
50 Jenn corner headed over by NE
50 Jenn corner
51 Julia (?) shot saved
55 Chelsea grabs a cross
61 Emily N (?) shot saved, Mila shot wide
62 Emily N shot wide
69 NE shot wide
81 NE whistled offsides, shot upper corner
85 NE shot saved
89 Emily N shot over
90 Jenn corner
90 NE shot wide but saved

Saturday, November 5, 2011

at Harvard 5Nov2011

Bright sunshine, blue sky and 15C/59F on Harvard's turf field -- a pleasant recovery in conditions after last Saturday's snow!  So many parents!  Ally's, Molly's, Katherine's, Courtney's, Julia's, Shelby's mom and Christine's mom al the way from southern CA!  Amazing!


We talked about keeping it simple (making the easy, close passes), being quick with the ball (since it moves faster than players can run), using the full width of the field, and sending the ball diagonally.


Harvard's style-of-play was very in-your-face, physical, chippy.  We had the first corner but they made the first shots of the game.  In the tenth minute Harvard was called for hand-ball, and Emily Niehaus calmly scored, just as she had with Tufts.


Only two minutes later, Molly's free kick was almost saved by Harvard's GK, who couldn't hold onto it.  Mila put in the rebound for our second goal.  


Harvard had several chances at getting close to our goal, but Tessa, Ally, Blythe and Liz shut down all of them.  Harvard did a job on Tessa's lower legs but she played through it.


In the 29th minute Emily N launched a shot from the right side of the field from more than 30m that the Harvard GK touched but couldn't save.


At half-time we talked about making the easy close passes and using more width -- trying to be calmer.  It worked -- in the second half we started to string together more of our passes.  


Two minutes in, Jenn's corner found Molly, who made it 4:0.  Ten minutes later, Harvard returned the favor and scored their only goal on a corner that we couldn't clear.


For the remaining half hour, we dominated possession, getting increasingly calmer and in control.  Harvard made two more shots but they were off target.  We were blessed by players who were happy to switch position in order to give defenders a rest.


The parents all were beaming, and they complimented your playing.  It was good that we were able to do so well under such physical play by Harvard.    


F: Emily N + Courtney, Caroline
OM: Jenn+Mila, Natalie+Katherine
CM: Molly+Julia, Shelby+Christine, Emily B
OD: Blythe+Liz, Christine+Ally
CD: Ally+Tessa, Ginny+Julia
G: Hannah


Shots 6:8  Saves 4:0


6 Mila corner
8 Harvard corner saved off the line by Liz
8 Harvard shot saved by Hannah
10 Harvard called for hand-ball, Emily N Pk --> 1:0
12 Molly free kick bobbled by the GK, Mila got the rebound --> 2:0
15 Emily N shot hit the cross-bar
16 Harvard corner, shot wide
17 Harvard shot wide
19 Emily N shot wide
22 Harvard shot from distance, Hannah save
27 Blythe squashed a Harvard shot
29 Emily N shot from 30+m --> 3:0
35 Harvard shot from distance, Hannah catch
47 Jenn corner --> Molly --> 4:0
49 Mila corner
54,55 Harvard corners
58 Harvard corner --> 4:1
69 Harvard shot wide
78 Harvard shot over

Saturday, October 29, 2011

at BU 29Oct2011

The last time I visited BU's field at Danehy Park in Cambridge, I was coaching U12 or U14's from Needham in the '90s.  The forecast for game time was 5C/40F and 30% chance of few showers.  When we arrived it was just beginning to sprinkle.  


Emily Niehaus, who was in Boston before the game, found that the Red line T was out of service so she had quite an adventure finding us!  The BU team took cabs.  


As we warmed up we found a squishy, bumpy field with a very small fraction of grass.  The ball slid, skidded and bounced unpredictably.  It started to rain heavily.  It felt like we were crossing the Atlantic in a storm.  The ref said we would play 40-minute halves.


Both teams seemed pretty happy to be playing.  Movement kept the players warm.  Being on the sidelines required a lot of extra gear.  When we tried to go up the middle we had a lot of trouble keeping possession, but when we went wide and made diagonal passes we were more successful.  


Both teams had trouble with the field, but we seemed to learn more quickly how to string enough passes together to get close to their net. We dominated in shooting and finally on Jenn's corner in the 30th minute Molly got the rebound from Courntey's attempt on goal.  


At half-time we were about to move to the nearby turf field, but the ref said we should stop playing because the BU GK was shaking and could not feel her hands!


Devoted families battled the weather, too!  Bri's parents, Shelby's dad, Molly's parents,  Courntney's family brought cookies, Katherine's dad took more photos!


The drive home was TENSE, including a near-encounter with a swimming Subaru just ahead of us a little north of Concord!  The snow was very wet and covered the pavement from just north of Concord until we got to Hanover.  We might have averaged 35mph!  Thanks to Emily Niehaus for amazing driving!  We were very happy to be home at 7pm!


F: Emily N + Bri,  Courtney+Caroline
OM: Jenn+Mila, Ginny+Katherine
CM: Molly+Julia, Shelby+Laura
OD: Blythe+Liz, Annie O+Tessa
CD: Ally+Annie
G: Hannah



Shots 7:1 Saves 0:3


8 Molly free kick saved
13 Mila shot wide
16 Emily shot wide
17 BU shot wide
23 Dartmouth corner, shot wide
25 Shelby shot wide
30 Jenn's corner reached Courtney, Molly got the rebound --> 1:0
35 Jenn shot wide
36 Mila shot saved

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Tufts 22Oct2011

We had amazing fan attendance!  Parents -- of Emily N + Liz, Katherine, Ally, Courtney, Emily B, Annie O -- and alumni -- Sarah Rocio, Betsy Dani-Owens, Emily Baumrin, Abbe Sokol + James Cart, Maura Cass -- loved seeing the team play.  The weather was perfect -- 16C/60F and cloudy but not raining.


Tufts came out strong, putting a lot of pressure on us.  They could have scored first, but we had good goalkeeping and some luck when a Tufts shot hit the post.  


We did what we worked on in practice -- made diagonal passes and switched the field.  Molly had two shots on target.  Then Tufts was called for a hand-ball in the box on Mila's cross from a corner kick.  Emily N converted even though the Tufts keeper got a hand on Emily's shot.


At practice we also worked on being in an open space.  After Natalie's shot was saved in the 15th minute, she made a perfect cross to Bri who was in an open space on the left side of the field.  Bri was very composed and her shot easily found the back of the net.


Tufts kept pressing and got behind our defense to score their first goal in the 31st minute.  They capitalized again in the 40th minute, leveling the score.


In the second half, Tufts kept pressing and put another goal in the net, but we kept our composure and continued to hammer their goal with on-target shots from Katherine and Shelby.  In the 85th minute, Annie O's corner found Emily N at the far post, and she put the ball in the back of the net to level the score.  Julia almost gave us the winning goal in the 88th minute.  


Tufts was the first team to out-shoot us in a long time, so we did well to earn a draw.  Several of the fans noted how well we passed and spread out in possession.   


F: Emily N + Bri,  Courtney+Caroline
OM: Jenn+Mila, Natalie+Katherine, Laura+Natalie
CM: Molly+Julia, Natalie+Laura, Christine+Shelby
OD: Blythe+Liz, Annie O+Christine
CD: Ally+Annie, Ginnie+Tessa
G: Dani, Chelsea



Shots 12:13  Saves 6:5


2 Tufts corner
3 Tufts shot saved
4 Molly shot saved
5 Tufts corner
7 Tufts shot hit the post
7 Tufts shot saved, Jenn helped clear
10 Molly shot saved
12 Mila shot wide
12 Mila corner, Tufts hand-ball, EmilyN pk --> 1:0
15 Natalie shot saved
17 Natalie cross to Bri --> 2:0
20 Tufts corner
21 Tufts shot wide
22 Tufts shot saved
31 Tufts got behind our defense --> 2:1
33 Christine free kick to Shelby headed wide
36 Tufts shot, Dani huge save
36 Tufts corner
39 Tufts shot wide
40 Tufts shot --> 2:2
48 Tufts shot wide
52 Tufts shot wide
55,56 Dartmouth corner
65 Tufts shot --> 2:3
71 Katherine shot saved
75  Tufts corner
77 Shelby shot saved
79,80 Chelsea saves on Tufts crosses
82 Tufts shot wide
85 Emily N shot wide
85 Dartmouth corner Annie O to Emily N --> 3:3
87 Chelsea save on Tufts cross
88 Julia shot over

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Williams 15Oct2011

Blustery 14C/57F with a mix of sunshine and a little rain, the great number of family supporters and friends made it a great day to play!


Both sides pressed hard and looked frantic and disorganized at first, but in the 13th minute Mila slotted a perfect ground pass from the right side across the front of the goal for Emily to deposit into the back of the net.


Hannah saved us from a Williams breakaway, coming out bravely with just the right timing.  Shelby took a shot from long range that almost dropped into the net over their keeper, and Jenn's strong and accurate shot at close range from the right side was saved. 


In the second half, we had more success connecting passes.  Mila's perfect diagonal pass provided Emily with an excellent opportunity; although Emily's shot was prevented, Bri was there to put the loose ball into the net.


Later Christine made a perfect diagonal pass from the middle to the right side into a space that Natalie could run to; her shot was saved.


It was impressive that -- even though we were winning -- so many players discussed ideas for how to improve our tactics and that so many players asked for feedback.  It appeared from the sidelines that we can benefit from having more passing options so we can keep the ball and move altogether as a group -- not get stretched out down the field.


F: Emily N + Bri,  Courtney+Caroline
OM: Jenn+Mila, Ginny+Katherine, Laura+Natalie
CM: Molly+Julia, Natalie+Laura, Christine+Shelby
OD: Blythe+Liz, Annie O+Christine
CD: Ally+Annie, Shelby+Tessa, Molly
G: Hannah



Shots 7:5  Saves 3:3


8 Williams shot saved
13 Mila cross to Emily N --> 1:0
18 Williams shot wide
21 Bri shot wide
24 Hannah came out for a save
24 Williams shot wide
33 Dartmouth corner
34 Shelby shot over
38 Williams shot saved
39 Jenn shot saved
51 Dartmouth corner
54 Mila to Emily whose shot was saved, Bri got rebound --> 2:0
58 Williams shot wide
75 Williams corner
76 Natalie shot saved

Sunday, October 9, 2011

at Middlebury 8Oct2011

Under clear blue skies and 20+C/70+F, we played on Middlebury's varsity field for the first time!  We were psyched to see so many family members there -- Emily and Liz's dad Chris, Courtney's family and Mila's relatives from Burlington.


Our starting eleven wasted no time on advice to be quicker and to keep the ball.  We kept the ball in Middlebury's third well, and in only the 5th minute Molly furnished Emily with an easy tap-in goal.


After a substitution-en-masse, our disorganization allowed Middlebury several scoring chances.  We changed our substitutions to be fewer at a time -- for the remainder of the half Middlebury had only one shot -- it hit the post.


At half-time we spoke again about quick, easy more-diagonal passes and attacking and defending as a unit.  We noted that Middlebury often was sending long balls over our defense.  


In the second half, Middlebury stepped up their energy and had three shots -- one that Chelsea (our amazing backup GK) saved, one wide and one that hit the cross-bar.  We defended well and had better possession with 5 shots.  Bri set up Julia's goal in the 53rd minute.


Middlebury's coach praised our team, and we were pleased to play well enough to get such a positive result -- especially since Middlebury played extremely well, too!


Shots 12:8  Saves 2:7


F: Emily N + Bri,  Courtney
OM: Jenn+Mila, Ginny+Katherine, Laura
CM: Molly+Julia, Natalie+Laura, Christine, Hannah
OD: Blythe+Liz, Annie O+Christine
CD: Ally+Annie, Hannah+Tessa
G: Chelsea Estevez


5 Molly to Emily N --> 1:0
6 Emily shot saved, corner
8,9 D corner
10 Middlebury shot saved
11 Middlebury free kick over from 30m
17 Emily shot saved
23,25 Middlebury shot wide
26 D corner
27 Middlebury corner from Tessa clearance
32 Middlebury shot hit the post
37 Julia shot saved
40,41 Emily shot wide
45 Annie S clearance, Middlebury corner
48 Middlebury shot saved
49 Molly shot saved
50 Middlebury corner off Blythe clearance
53 Bri to Julia --> 2:0
54 Annie S clearance, Middlebury corner
62 Emily shot saved
63 Courtney shot saved
64,65 D corners
65 Laura shot saved
78 Middlebury shot wide
84 Middlebury shot off the cross-bar
90 Julia shot over

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Middlebury 28Sep2011


A beautiful day in the 20's C/70's F at Sachem.  We spoke about being quicker and more diagonal with passes and dribbles.  



Middlebury came out fiesty and caught us with one early mistake, putting away the first goal.  We had the most shots and were rewarded by a free kick after a tackle on Caroline in her burst into Middlebury's penalty box.  Molly blasted a shot into the upper left corner, beating their GK.

At half-time we talked about being quicker and better organized in the back.  We reminded ourselves to send passes on a diagonal.  The team suggested subbing every 10 minutes rather than every 15 minutes.

In the second half we improved on our possession and ability to get into their third of the field.  We had six or seven good scoring opportunities while Middlebury was not able to produce any that I noted.  We got much better width and kept the ball in their third most of the time.

Shots 12:3  Saves 1:4

F: Emily N+Julia, Caroline+Courtney

OM: Bri+Mila, Ginny+Jenn, Katherine
CM: Shelby+Laura, Natalie+Molly
OD: Liz N+Christine, Blythe+Annie O
CD: Ally+Annie
G: Dani

4 Julia shot wide
5 Middlebury break away --> 0:1
6 Christine corner
9 Julia shot wide
20 Jenn shot saved
24 Emily N shot saved
30 Caroline won us a free kick, converted by Molly --> 1:1
32 Middlebury shot wide
39 Middlebury shot saved by Dani's dive right
39 Middlebury corner
45 Molly shot wide
50 Emily N shot saved
55 Julia shot wide
56 Dartmouth corner
56 Emily shot over
58 Jenn shot wide
61 Liz N shot saved
73 Caroline shot wide
85 Dartmouth corner over the net

Sunday, September 25, 2011

UMass 25Sep2011

It was a hot 27C/80F, and we had waited after our game with UVM for them to play UMass before we could play UMass.  Our 2nd game of the day started at 3pm.  It felt like a long day since we started at Garipay before 11am.


UMass tied UVM 0:0 before they played us.  I the first half we had 3 shots to their 4 with none of those on target.  At the half we talked about settling the game down and connecting our passes; we did a much better job doing that, but we had one mistake that cost us a goal.


After the goal, we had 7 shots but only one on target.  UMass had one shot over and one hit the cross-bar.  We were the better side but we couldn't find the target, that's all!  Our passing got better, we made more diagonal runs and passes, and there was more action in their half than ours.  Even though we were tired (3 games in two days!) we kept trying to the end.  Afterward we decided *not* to schedule any more Sat-Sun game days!


F: Emily+Courtney, Julia, Caroline, Bri
CM: Molly+Emily Baer, Shelby+Natalie, Laura 
WM: Jenn+Mila, Ginny+Catherine
CD: Ally+Annie S, Hannah
OD: Blythe+Liz, Christine+Annie O
G: Dani

Shots 10:7  Saves 1:1

2 Emily B shot wide
4 Jenn shot wide
11 UMass corner
18 Dani came out to grab a ground ball before UMass could get to it
20 Julia shot wide
23 UMass shot over
27,33,34 Umass shot wide
35 UMass shot into the left side of our goal --> 0:1
38 Jenn shot wide
39 Emily N shot wide
44 UMass hit the upright
45 Caroline shot wide
47 Molly free kick wide
50 Julia shot wide
54 Ally shot saved
56 UMass shot over
59 Ginny shot over

UVM 25Sep2011

Last May, UMass asked to play our team this fall and suggested a round-robin with UVM.  The team's leaders thought it might be possible to play two 60-min games in one day since a lot of players would be available so early in the term.  


We were at Williams yesterday, and we were starting to improve our passes and find each other more often.


The weather was wonderfully warm and clear -- 20's C/70's F.  We were at Garipay (Sachem had a frisbee tournament), which was in good condition.


Molly started off the shooting with 4 shots in ten minutes; Jenn had a shot over the bar.  Twenty minutes went by before UVM had a shot that was easily saved by our wonderful new sub GK Chelsea Estevez '14.  Right after that Christine's corner found Shelby, who made scoring look easy!


In the second 1/2-hour half, UVM stepped up their game, getting 6 of their 8 shots off, one finally making it in to tie the game.  They only had 3 shots on target; we had 6.


By the end of the game, after playing two days in a row, many were thinking we had taken on more games than we should have!  We will keep this in mind next fall!


F: Emily+Courtney, Julia, Caroline, Bri
CM: Molly+Emily Baer, Shelby+Natalie, Laura 
WM: Jenn+Mila, Ginny+Catherine
CD: Ally+Annie S, Hannah
OD: Blythe+Liz, Christine+Annie O
G: Chelsea Estevez '14 sub for Dani

Shots 11:8  Saves 1:4

1,2,7,10 Molly's shots saved
13 Jenn's shot over
19 UVM shot saved by Chelsea
20 Christine's corner converted by Shelby --> 1:0
23 Shelby's shot over
25 UVM shot hit the cross-bar
35 Jenn's shot saved
37 Jenn's shot wide
40 UVM scored --> 1:1
44 Julia's shot wide
44 Christine's corner
48 UVM two corners
50, 51 UVM shot wide
52 Bri's shot wide
58 UVM shot saved by Chelsea

Saturday, September 24, 2011

at Williams 24Sep2011


After a 2.5 hour trip through flood-ravaged southern Vermont, Williams hosted our game on their turf field since their grass fields were damaged by hurricane Irene.  


Both teams worked hard to get the ball, and there was very little shooting because neither team could hold the ball very long.


Williams looked a lot stronger than they have for several years, and the quick bouncy turf surface created challenges for controlling the ball.  


In the first half we tried mostly to go straight up the field with our passes, but after our half-time discussion we did better at keeping the ball, switching the attack, making diagonal passes on the ground.  We even made passes back in order to maintain better possession.

It was beginning to look like a 0:0 draw, but Jenn's tenacity near the Williams box earned a free kick in the last minute of play.  She sent the ball to Molly, whose shot rattled the upright.  Caroline hustled to hit the rebound into the back of the net!  The Williams coach couldn't believe it.  

We improved the most as the game progressed, so it could be argued that we most deserved the WIN!  The new players were amazing, too, with Caroline '15 scoring the goal!

F: Emily+Courtney, Julia, Caroline

CM: Molly+Emily Baer, Shelby+Natalie
WM: Jenn+Mila, Ginny+Catherine
CD: Ally+Annie S, Hannah
OD: Blythe+Liz, Christine+Annie O
G: Dani

Shots 6:3   Saves 1:2

28 Williams shot over the bar from free kick
39 Molly's shot saved
58 Emily N's shot saved
62 Williams shot from a free kick saved by Dani
67 Williams shot wide
78 Caroline and Ginny shots blocked
89 Williams shot over
90 Jenn to Molly whose shot hit the upright, Caroline got the rebound --> 1:0