The winning team, isn't always the best team on the field. Sometimes, the luckiest team wins. So was our team the best team or the luckiest team this weekend? Well the game in question ended in a tie, 0-0.
This was one of the most frustrating games I've watched while my daughter has played on the Breakers 98g. The Breakers owned this game. I'd say 90% of the game was Breaker's possession. However the few fast breaks by the opponents (ECFC Spurs Avalanche), were nerve racking as the 'luckiest' team might convert these opportunities into goals. Thankfully our defense was too strong for them to do much damage, no 'breakaway conversions' this day.
But the question is, why didn't the Breakers come away with a big, fat 'W'? We appeared to be the better team; we had possession for most of the game, possession in fact in our opponent's final third, and peppered numerous shots at their goalie. If it was purely a numbers game, after our 20th shot, the ball should have found the back of the net, but soccer does not follow the same mathematically based laws, it's soccer!
One could look at the shots, a couple were decent saves by the goalie, but most went right where the goalie was standing. Sure the goalie was good at positioning, but the shots weren't into the corners and weren't strong enough to blow past the goalie, no matter how excellent her positioning. We could say the team needs to work on shooting, but I don't think that is all the work needed.
I feel the bigger problem was a lack of creativity. The team has been winning with the same formula, mostly scoring off of through balls, but this team shut our pass through's down. We needed to evolve, to find a new way to penetrate the defense but that didn't happen in this game. This game remained scoreless.
There is always tomorrow, and the Breaker's 'tomorrow' was the following day, Sunday Sept 8th, when they played their first State Cup Tournament game. I only could stay for the first half of this game but the Breakers scored within the first 3 minutes...something shifted (goal scorer- Alyssa Miller, #7). I noticed subtle changes, girls who normally don't pass as much were passing more, girls who pass a little more than they should, were holding the ball and breaking through the defense. My daughter, who normally wants to pass the ball, almost as soon as she settles it, was holding the ball and drawing the opponents toward her, creating better passing channels.
I reluctantly left minutes before the end of the first half. The game ended in a score of 3 - 0, Breakers over East Bay United. (The other two scores came from Paloma Torres and MacKenzie Wessell in the 2nd half).
Thirty minutes later, I was at my older daughter's game, Tide 95g vs Newark Freedom. This was another question of will the best team win? In this case, Newark had possession for most of the game (approx 65%-70%) and on a ball served up from the back (Brittany Hettick #6) sent Alexis Martin through the defense (lucky for us) But with amazing composure in her 1 v 1, Alexis sent the ball just out of reach of the goalie. Alexis scored again when Newark received a call of 'handling' in the box and Tide was awarded a PK. (Another case of 'Lady Luck' I'd say)
Newark managed to recover quick enough to score off a direct kick from the wide, that looped over the Tide's goalie but fell into the net. An equalizer goal came in the last 5 minutes when Newark scored off a cross that bounced around the mouth of the goal until a scrappy Newark player pushed it in. Another tie, 2-2.
Sadly the game ended on a sour, some might say 'unlucky', note when Tide's defensive center back, Murph (Madisen Murphy) was blind-sided by a Newark player. She was knocked so hard to the turf that the players on the bench heard a 'crack'. Worried about her neck and spine, Coach Chris Klein sent her to the hospital in an ambulance. Prior to that Brittany Hettick, the defensive right back, went up for a header, collided with a Newark player who's tooth hit Brittany's skull. Brittany not only received a yellow card for this 50/50 ball, she also had to come off due to bleeding on the field.
Maybe the best team doesn't always win, but if you pay attention, you can always learn. Win, loose or tie, all outcomes can be frustrating in some way, all can be good, but hopefully an evolution comes from each experience. That is why I love soccer.
