Spring 2010 Game 5 Photos

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4/24/10 Game Recap (2-0 Win)

Katrina clears the ball

The Devils kept up their winning ways on Sunday on the peninsula, by steaming to a 2-0 win over the Menlo Park Strikers. The Strikers were a technically sound team that challenged the Devils with a nice mix of offensive pressure and sound defense.

Playing in what has arguably been the warmest day of the season thus far, the Devils had to deal with a fast Strikers team that used its quickness to create several offensive chances early. Things would get interesting for the Devils once they warmed up the offense themselves.

Marlene missed on a pretty chance in the 14th minute, hammering a shot off the crossbar after Audrey sent a perfect cross from the left side. The shot didn’t go in, but it set the tone for what would be a very nice stretch of offensive chances.

She would send another lofting shot from 40 feet that the Strikers keeper was forced to snare above her head 5 minutes later. Audrey would follow that up by ripping a shot from the left side in the 29th minute that hit the keeper in the chest.

Marlene would finally crack the Strikers defense by depositing a rebound after Akayla sent a corner kick into the box from the right side. Grace chipped the ball off a defender that landed right on Marlene's boot for the laser shot.

The Strikers almost countered two minutes later when a breakaway was deftly defended by Karsyn from the keeper position. She would challenge the shooter by racing out to the 8 yard mark and deflecting a shot off the break. The rebound kicked out to the middle of the box where a follow up shot sailed just wide of the right post.

Christene mixes it up

Marlene made it 2-0 in the 49th min after a wild sequence that started with another corner kick that sailed past the goal mouth. Audrey retrieved the ball from the far side then sent a pass to the box where it pin-balled over three players before landing on Marlene drilled home the goal.

Akayla would loft a ball into the box three minutes later that Marlene put her head on for a pretty scoring chance. The Strikers keeper snagged the head-ball shot in front of the goal line to keep the score at 2-0.

Game Positives—

Rotation: The girls did a nice job of rotating to a variety of positions. The heat and short bench required more positional rotation than usual. Christene played in three positions throughout the game, showing off her ability to play all over the field.

Attitude: The demeanor at half time was very confident. These kids enjoy playing the game.

Fitness: The fitness level of the team is exceptionally high right now. All those mile runs in school are paying dividends on the field right now.

Support: The cheering section was incredible!


Areas of Improvement—

Adjusting to the Opposition: We had a difficult time adjusting to the skill level of the Strikers early in the game. The girls were flustered a bit by the speed of the opposition, which forced them to move away from the game they’re used to paying.

Rattled a Bit: The girls panicked a little on first time clears because of the pressure being applied by the Strikers. They settled down over time, but have to trust their skills.

Spring 2010 Game 4 Photos

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4/17/10 Game Recap (5-0 Win)

Courtney bags her 4th goal

The Devils made it three wins in a row on Saturday afternoon, with a resounding 5-0 victory over the SCC Breakers in beautiful Aptos CA . The scoring barrage was led by Courtney, who set a team record with four goals in a regular season league game.

All ten field players put on a passing display in the first half, controlling the ball throughout the first 30 minutes of play. Much of that time was spent in the offensive zone, pressing the Breakers with continuous pressure near the box.

Part of that was attributed to the backline play, which prevented any penetration into the Devils zone. Ruhi played her typical outstanding game, sweeping anything that made its way past Karsyn, Lindsay or Jess Jess.

Ruhi sweeps the ball clear

The midfielders dominated the middle by continuously feeding balls up the lanes for offensive chances. Grace would preview the offensive fireworks with a 30-foot shot at the 5 minute mark that seemed to test how the Breakers would defend against the Devils attack. E played her best game of the season and Katrina continued to frustrate opposing defenders with her footwork in tight quarters.

Courtney would open the game’s scoring by burying a 16-foot shot from the right side of the box after E pushed the ball to Marlene near the semi circle from the right side. With her back tot eh goal, Marlene received the pass, pivoted to her left and sent a diagonal pass to the right side of the box where Courtney finished it off.

E played her strongest game of the season

E would setup the next goal 2 minutes later from the left side with a lofting ball from 40 feet out. Marlene redirected the pass with a beautiful head-ball that hit the back of the net for the 2-0 lead.

Starting in goal, Kelly touched the ball two times in the first half and never faced a serious threat. Christene and Ruhi made the defensive plays of the half by snuffing out possible drives. Ruhi eliminated one chance with a slide tackle and Christene turned on the jets to run down a potential strike from the left side just before the half-time whistle.

The score was only 2-0 at halftime, so the Devils anticipated a push by the opposition to start the second half. The Breakers did exactly that, forcing the issue, by driving the ball deep into the Devils zone. Lindsay picked up the keeper responsibilities in the half and immediately snared a Breakers shot to preserve the shutout.

Jess Jess shuts down the opposition

Courtney would push the Devils lead to 3-0 at the 44 min mark. Kelly took a long cross and cut across the grain before feeding the ball to Marlene who sent a 15-foot pass across the top of the box. Courtney gathered it in and snapped a shot that sailed just under the crossbar.

She would complete the hat-trick in the 52nd minute. Carrying the ball up the right side, the striker ripped another shot that sailed over the goaltender’s outstretched hands for the 4-0 lead.

Audrey helped ice the game by sending a crossing pass from the left side with 5 minutes to play. The ball floated over the keeper and two defenders before landing on Courtney’s boot. She lunged for the ball, striking it before it hit the ground, stretching the back of the net with the shot.

Game Positives—-

Offensive Prowess: There was no doubt that the girls are clicking in the offensive zone right now. They’re reading each other like a veteran team, anticipating what each other is going to do and reacting accordingly. The team has converted a hat-trick in the last three games…by three different players.

Foot Skills: It’s no surprise that all the juggling the girls do is starting to pay dividends. Several lofting passes, followed by controlled touches doesn’t just happen. The girls are employing much of these foot skills into real game situations, and their control of the ball is starting to pay dividends.

Silent but Deadly: They say that great defenders are the ones you never hear about. A defender’s name usually comes up when they get beat. Our backline doesn’t get the accolades that the goal scorers do, so it’s important to call out the fact that they’ve been flat out shutting down every team they’ve played this season. No two girls have the same playing style, but as a unit they are a force to be reckoned with.


Development Areas--

Quicker Releases: With success can come the opportunity to forget about basic fundamentals. The girls can get caught in the moment and forget to take advantage of the things that make them successful. One of those strengths is great ball movement. Holding the ball, especially on rushes with numerical superiority is something the girls need to evaluate as the play is evolving.

Spring 2010 Game 3 Photos

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4/10/10 Game Recap (4-0 Win)

Marlene had a monster game

With storm clouds brewing over Sunnyvale Soccer Complex on Saturday the Devils squared off against an undermanned Alpine Bobcats team for the first time The clouds held back, but the Devils stormed to a 4-0 win on the strength of a hat-trick by Marlene and solid defense.

The girls got off to a hot start, pushing the ball into the Bobcat’s zone at the opening kick-off and pressed the issue early. The Devils would strike shortly thereafter. Marlene deposited a deflection off a corner kick in the 3rd minute. Courtney sent the corner into the box where it was partially cleared to Marlene who ripped a 15 foot shot, deflecting it off the Alpine keeper and into the goal.

Kelly narrowly missed on a chance three minutes later, drilling a shot through the left side where the keeper had to make a diving stop. That was just a taste of what was to come. Marlene put another shot wide of the right post a minute later, then Grace uncorked a shot from the top of the box that just missed wide right at the 13 min mark.

Audrey knocks a ball down

Marlene would zero in on her second goal of the afternoon in the 19th minute, tucking a shot just inside the left post for the 2-0 lead. The Devils had held the ball in the offensive zone for a good 5 minutes, in part from the outstanding play in the middle. Grace, Kelly, E, and Katrina kept the Bobcats from generating much offensive momentum by keeping the ball from the midline.

When it did get through, Ruhi, Karsyn, Lindsay, Christene and Jess Jess swept things back into the offensive zone.

The Bobcat’s best chance came right before half time, but Veriche knocked down a shot attempt from her keeper position and grabbed the loose ball for one of two saves on the afternoon.

Ruhi keeps the backline clear

The Devils were awarded a penalty shot 30 second into the 2nd half for a handball in the box. The Alpine keeper would preserve the 2-0 score by snaring Marlene’s shot to the right side.

Courtney would add to the shot parade, just missing on a shot from the right corner of the box in the 42nd minute. Getting a stint at the right mid position, Veriche sent a pretty cross a minute later that Audrey one timed but the keeper got back to grab the shot.

Marlene would make it 3-0 in the 47th minute on a wild sequence. Courtney pushed the ball across the box from right to left, before Audrey put a shot on goal that clanked off the left post. The ball would find its way to Marlene, who drilled home the shot from point blank range.

Celebrating Grace's goal

The Devils would find more iron three minutes later, when Courtey bounced another shot off a post, this time from the right side.

Grace would cap the scoring in the 53rd minute by taking advantage of a tired Bobcats defense. The midfielder carried the ball right down the center of the field, splitting two defenders before ripping an 18 foot shot that hit the twine.

Game Positives—

Celebrate!

Ball control: The girls continue to improve their small ball skills every game. The highlight of the afternoon was play where Marlene put four touches on the ball in a row…without letting it hit the ground.

Head balls: The girls employed back passes from a head ball, which is something that was worked on during Thursday’s practice. Using it as a new weapon in their repertoire, the Devils generated at least two chances on goal with the move.

4/3/10 Game Recap (3-1 Win)

The Devils played their second game of the spring season on Saturday and turned in a strong performance against the visiting FC Milpitas MXG at the Sunnyvale Soccer Complex. The Devils scored a pair of goals in the first half, then traded tallies in the second half to take a 3-1 decision against the MXG.

The team got off to a strong start, scoring in the game’s first minute of play. Audrey punched home the first of her three goals on a 10 foot shot from point blank range. Courtney carried a through ball up the right side before sending a pass through the box. Marlene looked to be the intended target of the pass, but the ball skipped under her left foot. With the feed coming from the right side, the keeper and majority of the defense shifted over to cover the near side, leaving Audrey all alone for the easy deposit.

Katrina would setup the next goal n the 18th minute by side stepping a defender along the right sideline, then sending a through ball up the line. Once again, Courtney gathered the ball and sent a pass into the box where Audrey collected it and pumped home the 12 footer.

Courtney would get a chance to score herself a minute later by carrying the ball to the right corner of the box and drilling a shot that the Milpitas keeper was forced to glove.

Milpitas would make a push right before half time, forcing the play deep in the Devils zone. Jess Jess made a nice stop on a 29 foot shot that came from the left side right before the whistle.

The MXG would carry that momentum into the second half, and would cut the lead to 2-1 with a goal in the 32nd minute. Two Milpitas forwards executed a nice give-and-go that crossed up the Devils backliners.

Sensing a shift in the momentum of the game, Milpitas pressed the matter with a shot that sailed wide left four minutes later.

With only a lone substitute, the Devils were forced to juggle a short bench and have players stay on the field for longer durations than has been the norm. Milpitas utilized speedy forwards on the corners, but the midfielder did a great job of taking care of their defensive assignments first.

Akayla played most of the game at mid, which helped us control the middle of the field.

Kelly did a great job of playing at both mid and left defense in order to counter the speed of the MXG forward. Christene also saw time on the backline in order to deal with the MXG’s team speed. Both did a great job of suppressing the MXG offense.

Audrey converted the hat trick at the 40 minute mark when the Milpitas keeper misplayed a ball thinking it was a back pass. Rather than handling the ball, she tried to clear it but it landed right on Audrey's boot for the easy put back. In her defense, the keeper took the safe route on a play that could have resulted in a close range free-kick. I was the right decision, but it ended in the Devils favor.

The Devils almost scored a minute later on a shot from Akayla at the top of the box, but the Milpitas keeper grabbed the ball in traffic to deny the chance.

Christene would turn back a 15 foot shot from her keeper position with a nice kick save at the 43 min mark.

That’s as close as Milpitas would get, as the Devils defense would buckle down and prevent the ball from entering their end for the remainder of the game. Ruhi continued her stellar play at sweeper, clearing several balls with exceptional timing.

Game Positives—

Air Balls: One of the focuses in practice this weeks was utilizing wedge traps. The girls employed this technique several times in the game on balls they were forced to handle in the air. Headballs were something the girls improve on constantly, and they used them with great effectiveness on Saturday. They often would utilize head balls to simply control the ball in tight, which allowed them to retain possession of the ball.

Short Game: The use of short range passing and ball handling was superb. The girls controlled much of the tempo of the game, because they were able to retain possession of the ball. We’re starting to see more advanced ball handling skills, which is very encouraging.

2nd Defender: The girls have been working on the correct positioning for the second defender. We have seen improvement on doubling back quickly to become second defender as the first defender steps to the ball.

Moving to the Ball: The girls learned the benefit of quickly moving to steal the ball from the feet of the opposition in the season't first game. They struggled against it in the first game, but used it to their advantage this game. This was especially true for Grace at center mid and for the forwards in dropping back to win the ball.

Development Areas—

Corner Kicks: We finally played on the appropriate sized field for this age group, which meant the corners were closer to the goal. Corner kicks fell short or were off mark. The girls generated plenty of corner chances, but didn't take advantage of those opportunities.

Releases: We will focus more attention on getting quicker shots off, especially from distance, in order to capitalize on ball control.