05 October 2008
Crush Grab a Win In Dublin!
10/11/08 19:18 Filed in: Games
The Crush traveled to
Dublin to play the Cyclones of Dublin today and
managed to come away with a 2-1 win. It was a
beautiful sunny day without a cloud in the sky,
albeit a little breezy and a tad on the chilly side.
In other words, it was perfect soccer weather. The
Crush started out the game a little flat and didn’t
seem to hustle too much. The defense
uncharacteristically gave up a goal midway through
the first half, thus falling behind 1-0. Late in the
first half, Korah Rose showed great determination and
fought through a number of Dublin defenders in order
to get the Crush their first goal of the game.
Despite the game being tied, due to the perceived “flatness”, I felt I needed to fire up the girls. For the first time in my soccer coaching career, I tried a half time motivational speech in an attempt to get the Crush to hustle and aggressively go after the ball. Maybe I just want to believe that the speech worked, but it seemed to me that the girls came out in the second half with more intensity and hustle. Due to Hannah Skrentny being able to play the all-important stopper position, I was able to put our most athletic player, Judy Kang, at the center mid position, in order to allow her a better chance at getting a goal. Actually, right before the second half started, I told Judy I wanted to see her get two goals. We all knew it was just a matter of time before Judy got a goal, and she picked a great time to do it. Korah Rose brought the ball up near the goal and one of the Dublin defenders accidentally centered the ball, which Judy pounced on and kicked it right past the goalie for the Crush’s second goal of the game. As it turned out, we only needed that one extra goal, so I’ll give Judy a little slack for not getting that second goal. :) Way to go Judy!
After getting the 2-1 lead, the Crush really picked up their defense and never gave the Dublin team any clear shots at goal. Once again, Adrienne Lampo played goalie the entire game and played very well, not to mention she had some really nice punts. It is obvious that Adrienne has been working on that part of her game. Unlike last week, Adrienne played goalie the entire game not because of a sore leg, but because we needed her ability at that position and Caitlin Weber was not ready to play due to a gum infection that she’s fighting. I certainly hope that I can get Adrienne out in the field these next couple of games. Her hustle play is definitely infectious.
This week, we had another ball to the face, this time it was Makena Woon. Makena had a good game prior to her injury, showing good hustle throughout. She was one of the few girls that did not need any motivational speech to get her running, as she’s always playing hard.
Anchoring the defense was Jeanina Farmer and Emma Young, who both had some really nice clears just when we needed them. Dawn Ye was placed in defense for the first time this year and I think I now have another option back there. Dawn hustled hard and was fearless, which is exactly what you want in a defender. As you all have probably noticed, I put my toughest girls back in defense and they have done a great job as a unit. I know defenders don’t necessarily get all the accolades that the scorers get, but as far as I’m concerned, they are the most important part of any team. If you’ve got a good defense, you’ll have a chance to win every game.
All in all, I was very proud of our girls. They really came out and played well in that second half and it resulted in probably the most gratifying win of the season. This brings the Crush to a very impressive record so far of 4-1 and they have only allowed a total of 4 goals in those 5 games. Good job Crush!
Patch Distribution:
Victory patch: The entire Crush team
Goal patch: Korah Rose, Judy Kang
Assist patch: unknown? (for Judy’s goal)
Blood Patch: Makena Woon
Defender of the game patch: Jeanina Farmer & Emma Young
Hustle patch: Makena Woon
Star of the game: Hannah Skrentny
Despite the game being tied, due to the perceived “flatness”, I felt I needed to fire up the girls. For the first time in my soccer coaching career, I tried a half time motivational speech in an attempt to get the Crush to hustle and aggressively go after the ball. Maybe I just want to believe that the speech worked, but it seemed to me that the girls came out in the second half with more intensity and hustle. Due to Hannah Skrentny being able to play the all-important stopper position, I was able to put our most athletic player, Judy Kang, at the center mid position, in order to allow her a better chance at getting a goal. Actually, right before the second half started, I told Judy I wanted to see her get two goals. We all knew it was just a matter of time before Judy got a goal, and she picked a great time to do it. Korah Rose brought the ball up near the goal and one of the Dublin defenders accidentally centered the ball, which Judy pounced on and kicked it right past the goalie for the Crush’s second goal of the game. As it turned out, we only needed that one extra goal, so I’ll give Judy a little slack for not getting that second goal. :) Way to go Judy!
After getting the 2-1 lead, the Crush really picked up their defense and never gave the Dublin team any clear shots at goal. Once again, Adrienne Lampo played goalie the entire game and played very well, not to mention she had some really nice punts. It is obvious that Adrienne has been working on that part of her game. Unlike last week, Adrienne played goalie the entire game not because of a sore leg, but because we needed her ability at that position and Caitlin Weber was not ready to play due to a gum infection that she’s fighting. I certainly hope that I can get Adrienne out in the field these next couple of games. Her hustle play is definitely infectious.
This week, we had another ball to the face, this time it was Makena Woon. Makena had a good game prior to her injury, showing good hustle throughout. She was one of the few girls that did not need any motivational speech to get her running, as she’s always playing hard.
Anchoring the defense was Jeanina Farmer and Emma Young, who both had some really nice clears just when we needed them. Dawn Ye was placed in defense for the first time this year and I think I now have another option back there. Dawn hustled hard and was fearless, which is exactly what you want in a defender. As you all have probably noticed, I put my toughest girls back in defense and they have done a great job as a unit. I know defenders don’t necessarily get all the accolades that the scorers get, but as far as I’m concerned, they are the most important part of any team. If you’ve got a good defense, you’ll have a chance to win every game.
All in all, I was very proud of our girls. They really came out and played well in that second half and it resulted in probably the most gratifying win of the season. This brings the Crush to a very impressive record so far of 4-1 and they have only allowed a total of 4 goals in those 5 games. Good job Crush!
Patch Distribution:
Victory patch: The entire Crush team
Goal patch: Korah Rose, Judy Kang
Assist patch: unknown? (for Judy’s goal)
Blood Patch: Makena Woon
Defender of the game patch: Jeanina Farmer & Emma Young
Hustle patch: Makena Woon
Star of the game: Hannah Skrentny
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