Another season…we are headed to success…OR NOT?

Player of the match: Ethan, for keeping us in the game all the first half!

Goal scorer(s): Dylan

Hysterical of the game: I fell over a huge defender, and they laughed. I laughed with them and they were silent…BURN!!!

1st Half

This was a good team. In fact, there is a stat that says we tied a team that was beaten by this team 0-11! SO we didn't expect a close matchup...

But to our surprise, we were on top of the ball. Though the other team had control over the field for way more time than we did, looking on the bright side of things, we had a good defensive strategy: we just stayed patient. For this season, we will be coached by coach Josh, who is filling in for coach Calum also in the Monday and Wednesday practices, making him the second coach for this team. Our opponent had a habit of making a huge cross from the center of the field to the right wing, who was pretty speedy. He would zoom by our left defense, and on to face me in the center, he usually would pass the ball inside and I would have to recover and ask for help, and sometimes he took me on...much to my joy, he was not very slick with his skills and he always lost. This team passed the ball astoundingly, and had a couple give and goes that cost us two goals late in the first half. Once, I made a pass to Josh in the center, and he got it up field to Jack, who then passed back to Amir...Amir was so close to the goal, but he is left-footed, so he just couldn't get it off SO CLOSE!

The game was back and forth, usually we were on the defensive side of the ball. Thankfully, we were only rarely facing our own goal, which was a big plus for facing a team like this. The half ended with the score at 0-2. 

At halftime, coach Josh said, "We need to just hold them off, and control the ball better. Having close touches is key when in tight spaces such as the middle to attacking third, as this team is fast and furious. One mistake by the goal and we are losing by a goal. Keep the score low." He went on to explain some combinations that would be efficient against a good team like this, and explained details offensively and defensively. LET'S GO! 

2nd Half

To win against a team like this, you have to be patient and not jump into attacks. This is what we did (most of the time...), and therefore we kept it close during the second half. Though they must have gotten this in their heads too, and got angry and they scored twice very soon after a nice combination behind the defensive line. Towards the beginning of the first half, I was put in the center-middle, and I think I was pretty efficient in stealing the ball and moving it up field. Josh also does a great job doing this. The rest of the game dragged on slightly, not boring, just slow. The team was obviously not at this league's level and had a skill in passing that I had only seen in various teams I played once or twice in the classic league on Evolution. Surf played well, and we won many battles in the middle against slow (and very large!) center-midfielders. They popped in another goal after a miscommunication when Dylan played center back. Later, though, Dylan popped in A GOAL to take away the additional point that Vaqueros (our opponent) may have earned had we not scored. This was an assist of Amir's, and from Amir was a pass from me! I stole it from a center midfielder...NOW LET'S STOP BACKING UP WHAT HAPPENED AND FINISH THE SUMMARY!

The temperature was about 40 degrees, so it was CHILLY! The game ended at the score of:

1-5, Surf lost

Come back for another week of both leagues next week, where we will be facing a well-known team that is rivals with Evolution: SOLAR!

Written by Simno