The U12 played on field 12 at 12:10. We were playing our second match of the season with Qwest Rebellion whom we beat last Sunday in a hard fought 2 to 1 game. It was definitely windy with the wind blowing south to north on the south/north field. We broke tradition and I asked Alex to go against the wind the first half. Qwest won the toss, chose the wind and gave us the ball. Game on.

The boys seem to like the noon-ish kickoffs and play at a higher tempo in the first half. Against the wind, was not an issue with quick passing and sending the play wide. Alex found the goal on a great shot from wide right and put us up 1 to 0 in the 2nd minute of play. Lolo got on the end of cross in the 4th and made it 2 to 0. On kickoff, Qwest took it down the field and made it 2 to 1. The game fell into a rhythm after that goal and we started moving the ball really well. Using both flanks we had a good run of possession. Alex scored his 2nd goal in the 12th minute. And once again, Qwest, jumped right back in and scored to make the game close at 3 to 2. On our kickoff, we took the ball down and Hunter scored a really nice left footed shot moving across the box and hitting the inside of the far post. Then Alex down the right again to finish his hat trick. in the 17th Lolo scored his second followed a minute later by another goal from Hunter. Qwest scored in the 23rd and we went in at half with the score 7 to 3, against the wind. 305 had 13 first half shots to Qwest 6 shots.

In the second half, I was moving players around and the changes broke the game up a bit. The boys were a litte flat and we couldn’t find the same rhythm as we had in the first half. Riley came in and on his first touch, scored our 8th of the game. That would be all the scoring in the second half and the game ended up at 8 to 3. In the second half 305 had 8 shots to Qwest 3 shots.

No one took any pictures so none to upload.

It was another beautiful weekend. U11 had a 9:30 am kickoff on Field 11 at RSC. The wind was out of the south so blowing across the east – west field. When we played Manchester last spring they beat us 5 to 1, so we knew we had another tough game on our hands.

The boys started off a little sluggish, but doing a good job of moving the ball around. We weren’t pressuring the ball in the middle of the pitch as much as we normally do and this would give them some control of the middle. On the flanks we were making good 1-2′s down the wing and sending the ball to the flag. Normally we are strong right, today we were tearing up the left. In the 14th, we were beat up the middle and the usual stick a foot in let the striker through for a 1 on 1 and a goal for Manchester. Two minutes later, Riley tied us up with a goal from one of our short corners. Then in the 18th, Manchester scored again on another sloppy defensive effort. In the last minute of the half, we got an indirect kick which Riley quickly took, sending Nick to the touchline where he got off a cross/shot that hit under the crossbar, appeared to bounce in and then Max knocked into the goal to tie the game. But the goal was called offsides and we went into half down 1 to 2. 305 had 8 shots to Manchester’s 3 shots.

In the second half we gave up a goal in the second minute to go down 1 to 3. In the 5th minute, one of the players caught the ball in the area and we were awarded a pk. Trey took the kick and perfectly sent it to the left corner. We were back in it 2 to 3. In the 15th minute, we were awarded another penalty kick for a slide tackle from behind in the box. Riley put his into the same spot as Trey and we were tied at 3 each. In the 18th, we once again played poorly defensively and gave up a 4th goal. We had several chances to tie the game, but just could not get one more goal to fall. In the 2nd half 305 had 10 shots to Manchester’s 9 shots – so a pretty exciting second half.

A draw would have been a fair result as both teams worked hard and had some good chances. We gave up 2 really soft goals and also got 2 pk’s. Compared to last spring’s result, this was a great accomplishment by the U11 boys.

It was another beautiful fall day. Temperatures in the mid 70′s and bluebird skies. We were back to RSC on field 12 for a 3:10 start. A squad of 10, playing 8 v 8, Andrew, Colby, Nick, Landon, Trey, Jesus, Rily, Max, Logan and Ryan. Blackfire is a good team that is well coached with good technical and tactical skills. We had a good game with them already once this season and everyone knew this would be another well played match.

And the game did not disappoint. Both teams worked hard, pressuring the ball all over the park. Every ball was challenged and possession was dependent on good touch, good passes and good movement/runs. Blackfire scored first with a nice goal in the 13th minute. Our boys kept working and in the 27th, after a good run of possession, Landon made a run down the left and got a great pass in to Jesus just outside the box. Jesus was able to get a good first touch, beat his defender and get a great shot off to tie the game going into the half. 1 to 1 at half was a fair score and both teams were in it. 305 had 11 shots in the first half to Blackfire’s 7.

In the second half, the boys came out strong and worked our kick off all the way to goal. A couple of good chances and then in the 5th minute, Riley broke through and beat the goalie to put us up 2 to 1. Both teams battled but possession started going our way. With the good pressure, we were generating chances. in the 18th, Jesus took a nice feed from Riley and finished to put us up 3 to 1. The next 12 minutes were wide open, but the boys never stopped pressuring the ball. Blackfire worked hard to find that second goal, but the boys continued to challenge every ball. At the final whistle, the 3 to 1 score held with 305 having 9 second half shots to Blackfire’s 3 shots.

It was a great way to end a good weekend of soccer. These boys really work well together and I am impressed with the way they bring what we work on during the week to the game. But even more so, I am very pleased with their work ethic and doing what is best for the team, first. No I, no me. Just 60 minutes of good soccer. This was a team win – Thanks, boys.

After a noon game at RSC, U12 headed to WMSL for a 4:10 kickoff. What a gorgeous fall day for soccer. Too bad the fields at WMSL are in such poor shape. Field 5 was just some clumps of grass and barren dirt. The boys were playing in low gear most of the first half, but were maintaining good possession. Our first touch and passes were off but we were regaining the ball quickly and giving ourselves a chance to keep the ball. Riley made a nice move to beat the defender into the box and then got off a shot to beat the  goalie and put us up 1 to 0. Qwest had a fast break in the 21st minute and beat our last man to go 1 on 1 with Ian and put in a good shot. In the last 10 minutes of the half, things were starting to come together and we were really moving the ball well. Dyln had a great run down the left and got off a terrific shot across the  goal which Lolo ran onto far post and buried into the back of the net. We were up 2 to 1 at half. 305 had 6 shots in the first half to Qwests 4 shots.

In the second half, both teams seemed to be not playing 100%. I believe Qwest also played earlier in the day. Our boys dominated possession and had plenty of chances, but our shots went everywhere except into the net. At the end of the game, the score stood at 2 to 1. In the 2nd half, 305 had 15 shots to Qwest’s 2 shots. The center official ran a great game and other than the really poor field, a 2 to 1 win on a such a beautiful day to play was oustanding. Two big wins today for U12 and the season is looking up. Well done, boys.

U12 was set for a 12:10 kickoff on field 11 at RSC. U12 had lost the opening game at Ray Pec and the boys were ready to go. The boys started off with some good possession but just could not get their shots by the Ray Pec goalie. Ray Pec took the lead in the 14th minute. In the 23rd, Hunter found the net to tie things up 1 to 1. We went in at half level, but feeling like we should have scored a couple more. 305 had 13 shots in the first half to Ray Pec’s 5.

In the second half, it was game on as Trenton had a fabulous finish off a second shot on the near post. The surge was on and we had several good chances with Joaquin knocking in an assist from Lolo. The boys continued to dominate possession and in the 19th Hunter got his second of the game. 3 minutes later, Lalo finished an amazing run and putting a blast into the back of the net. Ray Pec scored in the 28th to end the scoring. 305 had 14 shots in the second half to Ray Pec’s 4 shots. The boys played much better as a team vs the opening game and worked the ball well down both flanks. The team is coming along and showing some good character and team play.

It was a chilly fall morning when we got to RSC at 8:15 with the temperature in the low 40′s and the field white with frost. The sun burned off the frost and the temperature rose to setup a perfect morning for soccer.

The boys were in a great mood and jumped off to a good start. Trey scored in the 3rd minute and two minutes later Riley scored. We had plenty of chances throughout the half with some good possession. The boys were pressuring the ball well all over the park and we were moving the ball down the sides, to the touchline and back in. In the 24th, Trey scored his 2nd goal to put us up 3 to 0. That would be the halftime score with 305 taking 12 shots on goal to Fire’s 4.

In the second half, the boys went right back to work with Riley scoring in the 6th minute. Two minutes later, Trey completed his hat trick to put us up 5 to 0. In the 15th, Landon had a run from the back with Jesus assisting and Landon finished the run with the ball into the back of the net. In the final minute of the game, Andrew completed the scoring with a nice shot on a run into the box. 305 had 12 shots in the 2nd  half to Fire’s 4 shots. 305 was called offsides 10 times in the game.

It was really a good game for U11 who is on a great run. With big wins over Parma and Blackfire recently and this convincing win, the  boys are really playing well. Trey scored his first hat trick and is rolling along as the U11 leading scorer. The boys have continued to work hard in training and bring their best effort to the matches.

U11 had an afternoon game at LSSA field 16 against Blackfire. The weather was gorgeous and for LSSA, there was just a slight breeze. The boys were in a great mood and we had a really good warmup. For the first 10 minutes of the game it was pretty much all 305. We were moving the ball well and had several really good opportunities to score. We continued to dominate the half and had the majority of possession. We ended the half tied 0 to 0 with 305 having 11 shots in the first half to Blackfire’s 8 shots.

In the second half, the boys came out continuing where they had left off in the first half. We were doing well pushing the ball wide and were creating a lot of opportunities. Trey charged the goal and had a brilliant shot over the goalies head to put us up 1 to 0 in the 4th minute of the 2nd half. In the 10th minute, another defensive mixup let Blackfire score a soft goal. We continue to work on getting good position defensively (Delay, Deny, Dispossess) but we still find ourselves sticking our foot in on occassions. Getting better, though.

In the 23rd, Trey once again cut back in from the right side and blasted in another goal, putting us up 2 to 1. The game was wide open for the remaining 5-6 minutes and both teams had some good chances. The game got pretty physical, but the boys hung in to take the win. In the 2nd half, 305 had 13 shots to Blackfire’s 8 shots. Another great win in the last two weekends. U11 has a great team spirit all around and every player worked hard and gave their all while on the pitch. Nice work, boys.

What a beautiful Missouri Fall Day. U12 was on field 11 for a 10:50 start. Last time we were on this field was last Sunday with U11 in the pouring down rain. It was another one of those days where strangely some players were hanging their heads and just not wanting to get into the spirt of the beautiful game. This team could easily be 3 and 0 but instead are now 1 and 2. In the end we lost 5 to4. There were several opportunities to pull ahead but it just wasn’t going to be our day.

After 3 years of a good run, it seems the boys sometimes expect to just walk on the field and good play will just happen. Those days are over. Now it is all about work ethic and good attitudes. Neither of these are dominant in this team at this time. One of the great things about youth sports is the opportunity to learn and grow from children into adults. We have 5 games left in the season to learn some of these lessons. I am optimistic we can work through this.

The final was set for 1:15 on Field 12. Futura Ultra’s has turned their tournament around with 2 big wins overKC Select and Fury FC. Futura is well coached and has some really good players so I knew they would show up ready to play. The u12 boys had been starting off strong all tournament so I was optimistic they would continue to show the same quality. Instead, we started off really flat and just could not get anything going. Futura was pressuring well and giving us a lot of trouble on our defensive third. Their 21 was beating us all over the field. We got a lucky break in the 12th minute with a penalty kick and Hunter put us up 1 to 0. In the 18th, Futura tied things up 1 to 1 and then in the 23rd, went ahead 1 to 2. We came in at half time with our heads down feeling sorry for ourselves. It is amazing to me how such a talented group of boys that had played so well all tournament, were suddenlty hanging their heads just because they were down a goal in the final. We really have to work in this. I pulled out the Sir Alex Hairdryer and tried to do some attitude adjustment. Being down 2 to 1 is not the end of the world and we just needed a quick goal to get back into the game.

In the second half we kicked off, had some great passes, Trenton put a nice ball through to Hunter and Hunter finished to tie the game 2 to 2. Less than a minute and we were back in it. Well done! Futura was not going to let us walk away that easy and both teams battled hard all over the pitch. We got our lineup figured out, started controlling #21 and got our possession time up. Things were looking better. In the 13th minute, Alex made another run out wide to the touchline and got a nice  ball in to Hunter who finished perfectly to put us up 3 to 2. Still 12 minutes to go in the game so lots of time. Andrew was playing goalie in the 2nd half and that really helped us have more options on the field. We stuck to our 2-3-2 as I wanted us to attack all the way until the end. The boys were able to hold on and win the Tournament in the Woods U12 final 3 to 2 against a very tough Futura team. An excellent second half from our  boys. I think we all learned a lot.

The U12 game followed immediately after the U11  game but over on field 12. It was still raining pretty hard  but maybe not the downpour U11 had just played in. thanks to everyone that got the other top setup over on Field 12 and for getting the boys warmed up. The success for any team is dependent on the parents and with two teams playing together in the same tournament, everyone really helped out and make things run smoothly.

The U12 boys were having a good tournament and were doing a good job executing what we had worked on in training. Pressuring the ball, moving the  ball out wide. Passes to the corner, crosses in, switching the field. Even distribution from the back was better. Unfortunately in this game, KC Select was not out to give us much competition, playing back and giving us the run of the field. Hunter started off the scoring with a goal in the first minute. He then scored in the 7th, 9th, and 12 minute, putting us up 4 to 0. We were working the ball around the field well and I was glad to see the team play. Lolo scored the 5th goal of the half on a run of play that saw us have 4 1 touches in a row. We went into half up 5 to 0 with 15 shots to KC Select’s 2 shots.

Throughout the game we did quite a lot of subbing since we were going to be in the final. Matthew also made his first tournament appearance in goal. In the second half, Riley started off the scoring with a goal in the 14th minute. Lolo scored his second of the game in the 16th. Trenton scored off a really nice finish in the 18th. Hunter added two more in the 20th and 22nd and Dylan once again wrapped the scoring up with anothe blast off the left wing, in the 24th. 305 had 15 shots in the second half and KC Select had 3 shots.