OLYMPIAN

ORACLE

September 16, 2000

The  forwards, Jamie, Sarah, Nora and Erikka,  for their part continued to press the attack and  had a number of shots on goal.  But the Green and Yellow  fought back effectively in the first quarter.   The Green and Yellow defense thwarted each of the Olympians' attacks and had several counterattacks of their own.  However, these were capably handled by the backs, Casey and Amanda,   Jordan in the sweeper position and Simone in goal.

The Olympians first big break came early in the second half when what looked to be a sure Green and Yellow goal was blocked at the last second by Juliette.  After that, the Olympian offense really picked up the pace. Sarah and

Jamie led several scoring attacks, moving the ball into the penalty area before either shooting or passing to a fellow Olympian.  The rest of the forwards and midfielders also got into the act.  Colette and Devon, among others,  each had shots on goal.  However, it was Erikka who got the first goal with an assist from Nora.   The favor was returned several minutes later when Nora scored off an assist from Erikka.  As the first half wound down the Olympians found themselves on top 2-0.

In the second half, the Olympians didn't let up and continued their aggressive style of   play.  Strikers Jamie and Simone, with assistance from Emily and Juliette in the midfield were ruthless with continuing shots on goal.  Their efforts were rewarded about midway through the third quarter when Simone got off a lofting shot that sailed over the keeper's head and into the upper right hand corner of the goal.   This was shortly followed by a nice goal from midfielder Tiffany.  After that though,  the Green and Yellow defense successfully fought back a number of Olympian challenges.  The Green and Yellow offense even mounted several counterattacks, each of which was skillfully handled by backs Amanda and Casey, and by Sarah and Jordan, who took turns in the second half playing back and keeper.  However, with just a minute or so left in the game, an errant throw by the Green and Yellow keeper landed right at the legs of Juliette, who managed to kick the ball into the net for the Olympians fifth and final goal.

Play of the Day

There were a lot of great plays in Saturday's game.  In addition to the five goals scored and great defensive play by Casey, Jordan and Amanda, the play of the day goes to Juliette for her fantastic save early in the second quarter.  With our keeper and the defense out of position, a Green andYellow player kicked the ball towards an open net.  Juliette ran across the field and was able to deflect the ball just before it crossed the goal line.  The play prevented the Green and Yellow from scoring first and completely changed the tempo of the game.  Without that save and the physiological lift it gave the Olympians, the game and its outcome could have been quite different. 

Coaches' Commentary

As nice as the win was, nicer still was the fine individual and team play exhibited by every Olympian.  Everyone played aggressively, always trying (and usually succeeding) to beat the opponents to the ball.  Everyone also tcommunicated, calling out to teammates for passes.  This team effort can also be seen by the fact that our five goals were scored by five different players.

There were also some nice individual efforts;  Colette when under pressure had a nice pass to Emily;  Jamie had a nice steal from a Green and Yellow player; Sarah had a nice long solo run with the ball from the midfield line all the way to the goal; Emily and Jordan each had a couple of nice tackles and won the ball;  Casey made a smart play on defense, kicking the ball out of bounds to stop a Green and Yellow breakaway; and Jordan when pressured made a nice pass back to her fellow defender Casey. 

One thing, however, that we should be mindful of in future games is using space more effectively.  On several occasions there was a tendency for players to bunch together rather than spreading out more openly on the field..  Remember, the more we're spread out, the more difficult it'll be for our opponents to defend against us.

A question was asked last week when an instep lofting kick should be used.  It has two primary purposes.  The first is as a long pass.  Because the ball goes in the air, the grass doesn't slow it up and it can go farther.  It's also used on goal kicks and on offense, to pass the ball over the heads of the defenders.  The second use is as a shot on goal, as Simone demonstrated this past week.  A well placed lofted ball will go over the keeper's head and be unstoppable.

By the way ,it did not go unnoticed by your coaches how just about everyone showed up for last week's game with her shirt tucked in.  Not only did you guys play terrific soccer, you looked great doing it!

Lastly, a special thanks to Simone, Sarah and Jordan for their fine efforts in goal.