LISA Full Field Tournament Wrap Up

Hope everyone enjoyed their games this weekend - you all played very well!

Between the Storm and Hornets we won two, tied one and lost one - not a bad record overall- but I'm sure everyone who played in the tie vs Gorge and the loss to Lakehill will wonder how we didn't win both of those games :-( However this tournament was more about continuing to learn and adjust to the 11-a-side game, and on that score I thought we did very well.

In our first game against Lakehill it took a while for us to get going, but I thought we dominated possession for large parts of the game and moved the ball quite well. I felt their winning goal came against the run of play and goes to show that you cant switch-off at any time, but to your credit you kept plugging and we had some great chances to level the score near the end. Positives from the Lakehill game include our ball movement, running into space, and desire. On the flip-side, this game showed how important it is to make the most of your goalscoring opportunities, on being first to the ball, and in keeping the correct defensive positioning when we don't have possession of the ball. I think we've had enough of late goals being scored against us - I know I have!

Take away the last five minutes of the Bays United game and I think everyone would agree that was the best we've played for a long while. We were all over them and some of our attacking play in this game was fantastic, particularly in the second half when the ball seemed permanently in their end. I also thought our defenders and midfield did a great job shutting down their attack, that is up until those last five minutes when we seemed near panic stations after their penalty shot goal followed by a shot cleared off the line (great hustle Leah!).

It was nice to score some goals and I thought each of them was different. Brooke G's was a well taken shot from distance after good passing from Olivia and Brooke E; Kristina's was more of an individual effort, getting into the box and the zig-zagging her way past defenders and placing the ball wide of the goalie, and Marissa's was what I refer to as a poacher's goal - being in the right place and right time to put away a rebound. We could have, and should have, scored more - no names mentioned - but lets hope you're just saving the goals for the GH Jamboree in two weeks time.

Positives from this game include some great passing and movement, excellent awareness and patience in attack, some great crosses into the box, and good decision making. There wasn't too much negative from this game, but i did notice we often seemed in a rush to pass when the better option was to dribble. Also, our defenders need to move up the field to support our midfielders (when we have the ball) and to ensure we get to through-balls (when we don't).

No practice this week but we'll work on getting a game or practice for next Tuesday. Stay tuned.

Gordon Head Jamboree Game Schedule

Here are our game times for the Gordon Head Jamboree:

• Gordon Head Bulldogs - Friday April 11, 5:45pm @ Lambrick Park School Field
  
• Comox Valley Crimson Crush - Saturday April 12, 1:30pm @ Braefoot #3
• Lakehill Reds - Saturday April 12, 5:15pm @ Lambrick Park Field Hockey
• North Shore Renegades - Sunday April 13, 1:30 @ Reynolds School Field #2
  

USS Spring League Team

Thanks to everyone who returned their Spring league registration forms. League play begins April 14 and the game schedule should be released next week.

Here is our squad of twelve players: Brooke E, Emma S, Leah R, Leanne B, Lily H, Madeline L, Margaret M, Marissa D, Mia B, Nicole A, Paige M, Shannara E.

LISA Tournament Teams

Teams for the game four games this weekend:

SATURDAY
U12S Hornets vs. Gorge (2pm @ Beckwith): Annabel T, Ashley M, Brooke G, Emma S, Erin S, Jenessa J, Leah R, Lily H, Lista S, Madeline L, Madison R, Mara M, Megan E, Nicole A, Shannara E

U12S Hornets vs. Sooke (4pm @ Adam Kerr): Annabel T, Ashley M, Jenessa J, Kristina W-S, Lista S, Madeline L, Madison R, Margaret M, Morgan D, Nicole A, Olivia S, Paige M, Shannara E

SUNDAY
U12G Storm vs. Lakehill (10am @ Beckwith): Brooke E, Brooke G, Emma S, Kristina W-S, Leah R, Lily H, Margaret M, Mara M, Marissa D, Megan E, Mia B, Olivia S, Paige M, Rachel J

U12G Storm vs. Bays United (Noon @ Beckwith): Annabel T, Brooke E, Brooke G, Emma S, Kristina W-S, Leah R, Lily H, Margaret M, Mara M, Marissa D, Mia B, Morgan D, Olivia S, Paige M, Rachel J

World Cups Festival

My thanks to Monique's dad for snapping this picture following a action-packed finale between Scotland (Paige, Olivia & Margaret) and New Zealand (Lily and Emma). In the end only a goal separated two evenly-matched teams - with Paige scoring for Scotland and Lily notching the winner for the "Swans". There was lots to talk about after the game, especially a handball incident in the first-half!

In other final games Canada (Madeline) edged South Korea (Brooke G) 3-1 and Argentina (Rachel, Leah, Mara, and Morgan) defeated Nigeria 2-0.

For more snapshots from the weekend tournament please visit the Lakehill Reds blogspot

USS Spring League Update

A reminder that I need your registration forms (and cheques) for the USS Spring League.

Registration deadline is fast approaching and so far only the following players have returned their forms: Emma S, Leah R, Lily H, Madeline L, Nicole A, Paige M and Shannara E.

We're only carrying twelve players on the team so don't wait too long or you could miss out!

LISA Full Field Tournament - Game Schedule

LISA has announced the game schedule for the eleven-a-side tournament set for March 29/30.

Both of our games are on the Sunday at Beckwith Park - 10am vs. Lakehill and Noon vs Bays United Szwender.

Meanwhile the U12 Silver "Hornets" have games on the Saturday, 2pm @ Beckwith Park vs. Gorge United and 4pm @ Prospect Lake School vs Sooke. I expect that the Hornets will need a couple of Storm players for both games so if you're interested let me know.

Another Exciting Indoor Game

Another keenly contested "friendly" game between Lakehill and ourselves ended 3-2 for our hosts.

It took us a while to find our passing game, but in the end I was very pleased with the way we took our two goals as well as some of our decision-making. When we kept play simple, for instance by playing back to our goalie when facing goal, we made it easier on ourselves and we moved the ball quite well. Our movement off-the-ball was also pretty good, but I didn't think we used the width of the playing surface as much as we could have. Some of that was down to the excellent job Lakehill did pressuring and containing our play.

My thanks again to the Lakehill crew (Rob, Will and Tim) in allowing us the opportunity to get one final indoor game in before season's end. I;m sure we'll be seeing many of them before March ends.

Lakehill at Oak Bay Recreation Centre

A reminder that our game Saturday at Oak Bay Rec kicks-off at 1:30pm.

Make sure to wear your uniform and bring your turf boots if you've got 'em.

Season's End

Well girls, congratulations on a fantastic "league" season! No the "season" isn't over Margaret - don't worry we have plenty of tournaments to look forward to - but after our game last weekend I thought it was the appropriate moment to recognize your achievements this year.

Going into U12 Gold, there were questions about how competitive we might be against the larger clubs and especially those teams that had more experience playing in LISA leagues. I think you answered those questions emphatically! You played with heart, enthusiasm and smarts and I know every one of you is a far better player than you were in August. Perhaps most importantly you learned to play and behave as a team and each one of you should take a great deal of pride from that.

So on behalf of Rob, Willie and myself, well done and keep up the good work!

So where too from here?

First-off we have World Cups festival Mar 22-24. A number of you have signed-up for the WCF so you already know that it's a wonderful opportunity to play with friends from other U12 teams ( as well as EMS and WCA). Next year we'll even have turf to play on instead of the beach we've come to know and love!

Next up after that is the Full Field Tournament on Mar 29-30. I don't have a game schedule as yet, but we're sure to play some very talented teams no matter who we draw.

And to end the 2007-08 season we have the Gordon Head Jamboree on Apr 11-13. This should be quite the tournament and it will be nice to play in warmer weather (touch wood). We also need to plan our wind-up for that weekend so give me your ideas.

Then the cycle begins all over again with Spring League and World Cups Academy teams.

USS Spring League Registration

I handed-out the Spring League registration forms at practice Tuesday. If you did not receive one please let me know at our game Saturday and I'll get you one. Once you've completed the forms please return them to me along with your cheque and I will drop them off with the USS organizers. We're carrying twelve players and it's first come first serve.

And please start thinking about what colour uniform you would like as we'll need to advise the organizers next week. As you may recall last year we played in sky blue and black, but I'm thinking silver or gold might be a good choice this season. Remember to check last year's uniform sizes before you register.

I hope everyone playing with the World Cups Academy Team or DDC Development Teams will still be able to attend the majority games. Not sure when DDC is practicing - but it looks like WCA is going Wednesday evenings. USS games are Monday-Thursday, 6-8pm, so hopefully there wont be too many conflicts.

Peninsula Game this Saturday

Haven't had confirmation from Peninsula as yet, but I think we can safely assume our game Saturday is 11am @ Blue Heron Park Field #2 (the same one we played last time).

This will be our final Super 8's game so let's bring our "A" game and finish the season off with some style.