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!