Coach's Corner

Game 10 (06/20/10) - UGH! This is not how we planned to wrap up our U14 season and year. It was a blisteringly hot day, and ouyr opponent was far better conditioned then we were. IT showed. They beat us to the ball, and after not long, wore us down. But, I have to carry a lot of pride. The team never gave up and refuised to be blanked. We made some radical adjustments and were fortunate to get one on the board. Ending with a 6-1 loss was tough. At least we lost to the first place flight winner.

Scoring summary:

Goal Score Assist

1 Eric Braun Zack BronsteinPK

Game 9 (06/19/10) - This was a big game, and the boys came and played! Giving up a quick early goal is never a good sign, but the players stuck to their guns and played Strikers soccer to the very end.

Scoring summary:

Goal Score Assist

1 Tristan Dutkowski Cody TravoltaPK

2 Tristan Dutkowski Eric Braun

3 Connor Smith Tristan Dutkowski

Game 8 (06/13/10) - The game in the rain! What a fantastic performance by the boys as a team. The passing was excellent, especially in the late part of the first half. The forwards took more of an active roll in the midfield as asked. The midfield did a great job of hustling, and the defense played great. The opponent scored only 3 minutes in the game, but never saw the net again. Goal keeping was excellent all game, particularly in slippery conditions. We need to play every game like this one!

Scoring summary:

Goal Score Assist

1 Semir Vucetovic PK

2 Semir Vucetovic Tristan Dutkowski

3 Semir Vucetovic Nick Negast

Game 7 (06/12/10) - This was a nice rebound after last weekend's disappointing draw. The Strikers dominated with controlled short passing. They played against the "boot-ball" offensive well by challenging the opposing ball carrier and interfering with the kick. The defense was solid, offering very few opportunities. A well played game, playing "Strikers" soccer like it should be.

Scoring summary:

Goal Score Assist

1 Tristan Dutkowski Nick Negast

2 Tristan Dutkowski Semir Vucetovic

3 Semir Vucetovic PK

Game 6 (06/06/10) - Well, this was a bit of a disappointing draw. We played a good game, against the last place team in the flight. The begining of the game was a good game, with a nil-nil tie at the half. The Strikers were a little flat in the beginning of the second, but then poured it on and scored first. When the Hurricanes took a red card and were forced to play one man down, the Strikers seemed to play down to them. An unfortunate penalty in our own defensive box allowed a PK which Caldwell cashed in on to tie the game. We sure would like to have this one back to try again. But, instead we'll prepare for two weekends of back to back games Saturday/Sunday and do our best with the rest of the season.

Scoring summary:

Goal Score Assist

1 Semir Vucetovic Blair Wagner

Game 5 (05/23/10) - This was a big game against a big opponent. The Strikers played well all game, falling behind 3-1 at the half, but fighting back to tie the game a 4-4 in the second. Unfortunately, the Dover Strikers were just a little too much, and burned us on their throw-ins once too often, scoring the game winning goal with only moments left to play. We will regroup and prepare for a vendence match against these foes later down the stretch!

Scoring summary:

Goal Score Assist

1 Connor Smith Nick Negast

2 Nick Negast Justin Felice

3 Tristan Dutkowski Nick Negast

4 Semir Vucetovic Tristan Dutkowski

Game 4 (05/16/10) - The first half was very strong. Excellent passing, excellent execution. We missed on far too many scoring opportunities. The score should have been better than 2-0 at the half in our favor. But the second half started off very flat. We need to work on our second half midfield and defense as we allowed 3 goals that never should have been allowed. The second half offense was strong, but again, we missed on many scoring opportunities. Tristan's return was welcomed and rewarded with four goals. The first half was excellent. The second was good, not great. We'll work on that. NOTE: I'll take good soccer over poor soccer any day!

Scoring summary:

Goal Score Assist

1 Semir Vucetovic Tristan <- Blair Wagner

2 Tristan Dutkowski Semir Vucetovic

3 Tristan Dutkowski Nick Negast

4 Tristan Dutkowski Nick Negast

5 Tristan Dutkowski Semir Vucetovic

Game 3 (05/09/10) - Now THAT's what I'm talkin' about! Excellent passing execution. Sure, still some mistakes, lost passes, and turn overs. But far minimized and less expensive. Passing was much better and it showed not only on the score board but in how it wore down the opposition. We asked the players to think smarter and to assess our mistakes, and they responded with fantastic execution and brilliance. The midfield really stepped it up. The defense played outstanding as always, and the forwards did a great job of taking advantage of opportunities.

Scoring summary:

Goal Score Assist

1 Semir Vucetovic (no assist)

2 Nick Negast Blair Wagner

3 Blair Wagner Nick Negast

4 Semir Vucetovic Nick Negast

Game 2 (05/02/10) - A much better performance. The midfield passing was much better and much more controlled. Players played positions with more discipline and shut down gap passing lanes. We still did leave the center of field open too often and will work on that. We'll continue to work on our upfield passing. Just as important, the players came with more intensity and played with an urgency that we've lacked in the recent past. this was an improved Strikers team against a weaker opponent that worked in our favor.

Scoring summary:

Goal Score Assist

1 Semir Vucetovic Justin Felice

2 Nick Negast Semir Vucetovic

3 Nick Negast Connor Smith

4 Semir Vucetovic Blair Wagner

Game 1 (04/25/10) - Well, we lost a heart breaker to a darn good team, who (unfortunately) beat us inspite of the fact that they played with only 10 players after receiving a red card in the middle of the first half. We were beaten to the ball far too often, especially on throws and kicks. We were penalized far too often for pushing (some calls rather questionable), and we were beaten soundly in the middle of the field. We will make adjustments, practice, learn from our mistakes, and come out on fire next week. On the positive side, we did have some nice passing upfield, by the defense, midfield, and offense. Blair shot an exciting goal from far out, Nick got a luck break on a long shot that the keeper muffed, and Eric Braun poked in a fantastic cross from Cody off the left wing. On the far negative, we really took our lumps on a pair of PKs that we failed to score on. Phil put in a really nice shot that was engated by a questionable call. The second attempt was stopped. And, Tristan barely went over the crossbar on the second PK. Really, every player played their hearts out. It was a good effort and nothing to be disappointed with. We will learn and be a better team for it.

Scoring summary:

Goal Score Assist

1 Blair Wagner (no assist)

2 Nick Negast (no assist)

3 Eric Braun Cody Travolta

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