Kudos to Sodium Defense

After taking a closer look at the standing [and reading a couple emails, thanks!] I noticed an interesting fact; Sodium has allowed fewer goals than any other team in the Premier Gold Division. As a matter of fact, that statement holds true if you take a look at last year too. [There was a Washington team with a few less but they weren't in our bracket]
So, with that said, I have to congratulate Taylor Coon, Erika Cook, Lexi Frey and "Stone Cold" Camille Fairbairn for their exceptional play and outstanding defense this fall. I must also add, they couldn't have shined so bright without the mid-fielders playing phenomenally.

I have to include the the series of pictures below to illustrate what happens when an opposing forward gets a little to close to the goal. Editors note: No whistle on this play.






Taylor and Camille double-team Hadley.









"Oh no you don't!" Here, have
an elbow.













'Crunch time' in front of the net!









Another victim of the feared
and fearless E*A*T defense!

Sodium secures 2nd place by beating FC...again

The Sodium girls hit the field Saturday with confidence, determination and attitude against neighborhood rivals FC Portland Platinum. For the second time in fall league play the lady warriors pounded a much improved FC club 3-0. Platinum, just coming off an impressive win over LOSC, was just no match for the Sodium firepower.
Katherine Kramer started things off with a first half rocket off the head of a FC defender! First half ended 1-0 with Sodiums relentless pressure beginning to wear the Platinum team down. The second half was domination as the lady warriors had settled into a confident Sodium Style of play that has proved to the downfall of many a team. After a hand ball in the box, MAC Kearney [a member of the feared 180's!] lined up the PK, eyed the keeper as if to plainly say; 'Never' and rocketed the shot passed her for a Sodium 2-0 lead! The FC girls were just no match late in the game as the Sodium conditioning took over. Shot after shot. The pressure proving to be too much to handle. Later in the half, as if to emphasize an earlier blog post about Sodium needing to boost their killer instinct, Emmy Owens would not be denied as she split the defense in route to ripping the back of the net for a 3-0 Sodium win and securing the second place spot in the league bracket.

I know I don't often get a chance to mention everyone in the blog and for those who have gotten little 'ink' I apologize. I am going to try to get photos of everyone posted [with captions] of the last 3 games over the period between now and OPL. Keep looking, your bound to see yourself!

Great job ladies. You had a great fall league and we are all very proud of you!

With heads held high, the loyal Sodium fans yell: GO SODIUM!

FC Portland notes

As I listening to my iPod this morning, Back In Black came on and I realized that this was going to be one of the very few games I am going to miss this season. :(
I wanted to leave you guys with some insight. Given this is our last fall league game it shouldn't diminish its importance. Rush has 2 games left and we can't catch them for first place. LOSC has 1 game left. If we both win, we will retain second spot. FC is in 4th place with no chance for first but, with 2 games left, could overtake LOSC for third. That scenario would mean they would have to beat Sodium. Not happening the way we are playing.
Let's take a look back. The 2007 fall league found Sodium in 5th place out of 8 with 17 total points. In 2006 Sodium finished 7th out of 8 and had 15 points. We have a chance this year to almost double the point total of the last 2 years and finish a very strong second place. You've come a long way in 2 years lady warriors, something to be proud of.
So, that brings me to today. A match against your friends and arch rivals. Last time we met it was a 3-0 Sodium victory. Since then FC has beaten LOSC, a major boost to their egos. They are not going to be as easily pushed over this time around. We will need to attack them as we have in the past. Relentless pressure, big physical defense and ball control at mid-field. All Sodium traits other teams can't ignore. Who will be the hero's today? The 180's? The defense? Our steadfast mid-field? Whichever team wants it more will be victorious today.
The last 2 years Sodium has ended the fall league play with a defeat and a tie. Lets break the string today. Lets go out with a sound victory. Lets go out on top this year Sodium. For the last time this fall season the lady warriors will take the field. One last time to give 100%. One last time to leave it all on the field, to call on your sisters to cover your back. They won't let you down.
Remember what it took to get here Sodium. Remember the sacrifices, the hard work, the extra effort. You have become a premier team in a very short time and today you get the pleasure of taking the field and showing everyone what you do best.
Now lets go out there and kick some FC booty! Lets have some fun, SODIUM STYLE!

I will be there in spirit.

From somewhere South on I-5, I will be yelling: GO SODIUM!

4 game wrap up

Sorry Sodium fans for taking so long to catch you up on the league play, been busier than a one legged man in a butt kick'n contest so I will do my best now. I will post pictures later this week from all the games but for now, a recap will have to do. I will start with a little editorial then game summaries. So, pull up a chair, grab a diet coke and enjoy!

From the sidelines
The lady warriors really elevated their game over the past few weeks. They handled an always tough Keizer team, put away Strikers with ease, tied a very physical Rush and also tied a very beatable Arsenal team.

The good, bad and ugly.

Good - I think this years team knows how to win. The defense plays with confidence, the mids can handle pretty much any situation and we have many combinations to throw at opposing defenses at the forward spots. Any of of which have proved they can score. The passing and communication are getting better and thus are starting to create more chances to score. When we are down we don't loose our cool. We maintain control, create chances and score.
Bad & Ugly - Not really much to say here except that we lack the killer instinct. I have seen in the past months a Sodium that, when we have a lead, starts playing 'not to lose' instead of playing 'to win'. Let me elaborate. Let's say we are playing Oregon Rush. We score in the first half. We begin the second half and start playing a little tentative, like we are suddenly defensive minded instead of attacking [like the first half]. This gives Rush more opportunities to score and of course, they do, to tie the game. Another example is Keizer. We were up 2-0 in the second half and started to play tentative. Not attacking as hard as we could, not winning as many 50/50's, not being as aggressive. Suddenly Keizer scores. Now it's 2-1 and I can sense a little panic creeping in. The playing the latter part of the second half was all in our end. When the final whistle blew Keizer was about to line up a corner kick. A dangerous place to be.
What to do about it? - Coming from a coaches standpoint the lady warriors haven't quite developed their 'Killer Instinct' yet. That; "Smell blood and go for the throat" attitude. When you score on a team, the most demoralizing thing you can do to them is score again quickly. You don't want to let them back in the contest buy them controlling the ball in your end. If you score, you create that moment of doubt in their minds and from a competitive standpoint, you want to exploit that to the fullest, and the best way to do that is to pound their goal.
Let me explain it differently. In the sport of boxing you have two athletes competing. If one lands a couple good punches, wobbles his opponent, and feels he has won the round, he doesn't just sit back and wait for the bell. If he does that, his opponent might land a couple punches of his own and turn the momentum. No, instead, if he wobbles his opponent, he attacks him with everything he has so he can exploit the fact his opponent is weak and possibly knock him out and end the fight right there.

That, lady warriors, is what I'm talking about. On the field, if you score and know the other team's confidence is shaken, you have got to attack that much harder! Don't be satisfied if we have a 1-0 or 2-0 lead. You should want a 4, 5 or 6-0 lead! You can't sit back and wait for time to run out. In field sports, soccer especially, time can turn into your enemy very quickly, and you always want the clock on your side. You have got to develop the drive to dominate. When I was playing varsity football my goal was to have the guy I was playing across leave the field crying. If I accomplished that, I won. [regardless of the score] That meant I totally dominated him, I owned him and he knew it. He didn't want to stay in for another play.
Another example - Remember the Mia Hamm quote; "You can't just beat a team, you have to leave a lasting impression in their minds so they never want to see you again". Do you think she is talking about playing soft with a 2-0 lead? NO WAY! She is talking about running the score to 5, 6 or 7-0. We let Keizer back in so they think they can play with us. We let Arsenal think they can compete.
Do you think FC Portland was OK with a 1-0 lead over LOSC? Or do you think they smelled the fear coming from Extreme and jumped all over them to deliver a 3-0 whooping?
The truth is, we need to dominate, or we will be dominated. We have the skills, we have the players, we have the talent to deliver on this task. We have the mental toughness, we just need that killer instinct to put teams away. We can do it, I've seen it first hand. We know this Sodium team can and will do great things.
You have the heart of lions and the determination of soldiers. You are lady warriors, you are Sodium.

OK, I'll pull the coach/motivational speaker hat off and get to some facts & stats.
I'll start from the most recent and work back.

10/19 vs. ESUFC Arsenal
What was viewed to be a easy win, the much improved Arsenal team came out fired up. As the second half came underway the Arsenal team scored on a defensive miscue to take a surprising 1-0 lead. As any great team will do, Sodium remained patient and focused. Within minutes Laura Camp fed a perfect lead pass to Hannah Lautenbach streaking in from the right side. The goalie committed and Hannah launched a perfect shot over her head, off the far post and into the net! To put a little exclamation on it, Sodium actually had two players IN the net waiting for the ball!!
After that, smelling a little blood, Sodium began to pick apart the Arsenal defense. From the sidelines it was great to watch the calculated way Sodium would move the ball up from defense, to mid to Emmy Owens in the center. Patiently Emmy would dissect the situation and find an outside forward or take herself. In the last 5 minutes of the game Sodium out shot the ESUFC team 5-1. The final whistle blew and contest ended 1-1.

10/18 vs OR Rush 95G Nike
When Sodium takes on the "Beast from the East" it is always a barn burner! On fields that were 100 times better than last year Sodium knew it was in for a battle. An early team breakfast followed by a walk to the fields and a pep talk from Tom fueled the lady warriors for the showdown at high-noon. At just before the half Taylor Moscoe, who had an outstanding game, beat the defender and was streaking down the right side. Alertly she spotted Emmy Owens flashing in the 6-yard box. Taylor fed Emmy a perfect cross which she ripped passed the Rush goalie for a 1-0 Sodium lead!
Play continued to be physical as, after a Rush free kick, Camille Fairbairn was clearing a goal kick but had to dodge two downed Rush players in the 18-yard box! With just minutes left Rush was awarded a corner kick. A mosh pit ensued and the ball was booted past a diving Camille to tie the score at 1's. The clock ran out as Sodium was pushing towards the goal.

10/12 vs WSM Strikers
Sodium has never had an issue with the last place Strikers and today was no different. Sodium dominated the play the entire game. The first goal came, after 4 or 5 headers in front of the WSM goal box, when MAC Kearney decided she'd had enough and headed the ball in the goal! MAC has proven to be an exciting player for the lady warriors this year and has had several outstanding performances. Later in the second half Laura Camp had penetrated into the right side of the 18-yard box. She loaded up and fired a rocket that careened off an unsuspecting Defenders back and into the goal for the 2-0 win! On a side note, Hannah Lautenbach stepped up to play keeper as Camille Fairbairn moved to forward. Hannah provided us all with a few exciting moments! Way to go Hannah!

10/11 vs Keizer Hotshots
Traveling to Keizer always proves to be an adventure. The often overlooked Hotshots are one of those teams that can play giant killer. Of course, that didn't happen today. Even though the Hotshots are big, aggressive and physical, the conditioning of the Sodium team proved to be the difference. This year Sodium finds all kinds of different ways to score. The first came on a Laura Camp free kick that found Hannah Lautenbach 'posting up' strong in the 6-yard box to fire a bullet passed the Hotshot keeper. The second score came off a Lexi Frey corner kick that rocketed in! Lexi has proved to be a force from the corner this season. A late rush produced a Keizer score but it proved too little too late as the final whistle blew giving Sodium the 2-1 edge.

Again, sorry for the late updates and I will post pictures by the end of the week.

From a stool at the Niblick & Greenes we shout: GO SODIUM!

Weekend Split for Sodium

Last weekend ended in a split as Sodium handed the Eugene Magic a 2-0 beating while being on the receiving end in Sunday's match against LOSC. The lady warriors fought hard but Extreme proved to be the better team on that day handing Sodium their second loss in league play 2-0.
On a brighter note Coach Tom sent out a great reassuring email to the team to "Keep the Faith" noting that, at this point, this years Sodium squad has scored more goals than last years team had! Impressive to say the least!

Some highlights!



After several headers MAC Kearney finds Elianna Beard for the go-ahead goal against Eugene!











Laura Camp delivers a goal from a 25-yard free kick to put the Lady Warriors up 2-0!
















The E*A*T'em up defense shows their stuff as Taylor Coon shuts down a Eugene forward.
















Lexi Frey on the attack against Eugene.










Camille Fairbairn 'airs-one-out' from the goal box against LOSC.










Emmy Owens splits the Extreme defenders on her way to the goal.










Jadyn McMillan giving her all as she "Crashes the Box" against the LOSC keeper.


















Erika Cook clears the ball as she has proven to be a vital part of the feared E*A*T defense.

Lights Out!

Today is the day lady warriors, we face our biggest rival LOSC. It's time we went into their house and took one from them.
I know the defense will be fired up. Taylor Coon knows she needs to stop their center forward. One-on-one, body-on-body. You think she's fired up knowing Lexi and Erika have her back? She already has her uniform on.
It's time we bring it up a notch. Mids need to win one more 50/50, forwards need to take one more shot, or sprint to goal one step faster.
We can't let LOSC think they can beat or tie us every time. It's time Sodium earned some respect. This rivalry has been cultivating for years, it didn't just start in 2007 and it didn't just start with soccer. But today, in a few short hours, it's time put their Lights Out! I'm talking about giving it one more than you thought you could. Run a little faster chasing a ball, giving just a little more to stop a LOSC player from getting around you. Throwing the ball a little further on the throw in. No reserves today lady warriors, nothing left, 100%, it's time we take one from Extreme. Sodium, you can beat any team in our league. You've proved it to us, your loyal fans, to the rest of the teams in league, and now, today, it's time we prove it to LOSC. It's time to show them what the new Sodium Style is all about. The time is now to rise up and kick a little Extreme booty, to take one from them in their own house. This game today is for sole possession of FIRST PLACE in the Premier Gold Division. Let's knock LOSC out of that spot today!

Your back lady warriors, BACK IN BLACK! Who's going to be the hero's today? The defense? The 180's? The Mids? It's all for one and one for all today Sodium!

If it is to be, it's up to me.


From the fancy schmansy Lakeridge Stadium the Sodium faithful scream: GO SODIUM!

Something new for the blog.

In conjunction with the Sodium paparazzi [aka Wade & Dan] I am going to start posting action shots along with the editorial. I am going to try to balance it out where I get forwards, mids and defense. If I don't get everyone please be patient, this is a work in progress and I will try to get everyone in. Thanks and with that, I post the following;

Katherine Kramer ripping the net against Arsenal! A 17 2/3 yard shot!










The result of a perfect Lexi Frey corner kick! GOOAALL!











Marisa Reid puts the finishing touches on an outstanding break-a-way!









Elianna Beard heads the ball past the FC goalie for a 2-0 Sodium lead!










My apologies go to MAC Kearney who scored the final goal against FC Saturday. We'll get you next time! Keep up the great hustle!

GO SODIUM!