Hi Aztec Parents,
It’s currently Friday 5am in Barcelona and I’ve been awake for a couple hours thanks to jet lag. Some Aztec thoughts that are keeping me up: a) I need to finish this recap and b) I need to finish this recap…
If you haven’t already caught on, my favorite thing to do is coach and my favorite time of the week are those 60 minutes we get to come together. I also enjoy writing these recaps because it's my way of reliving it all over again and there's soemthing to be said about taking time to focus and reflect on everything. It helps me to gain perspective and appreciate and learn from the experiences and I do think there needs to be a some proper perspective about our first 3 weeks of the season.
A week ago I had the opportunity to watch the boys scrimmage the silver B team on their training day with Andres. I posted on some pics on the Aztecs Facebook page (www.facebook.com/mustangaztecs). I told the boys the next day at practice that the team I saw against the silver B is exactly the team I’m hoping to see every time out. If you don’t know, our boys beat the silver B team 2-1… again! It’s this team I saw as a spectator I’m hoping to see more of as August turns to September.
We ended our first month of soccer with mixed results in the standings that belie how well I think we’ve actually played in the 3 weeks we’ve had on the field together as a team, 2 weekends as a full team, and I could argue we haven't even seen our full team yet with Graham missing pretty much all of the 2nd weekend and Will Garrigan spraining his ankle in our first game in San Ramon and missing the subsequent games to follow, plus Dhilan missing our semifinal on Sunday. Seeing those 2 impactful players on the bench during the semifinal unable to play had me wondering how different the outcome against North Marin could have been if... but no excuses. Even with players missing we have talent most bronze teams don't have. For that I'm especially grateful.
Looking back on the first 3 weekends, we were competitive in every game and our defense has shown itself to be the backbone of the team with many players contributing to the effort and none more than Spencer Biles who has picked up from last season exactly where he left off. Spencer has demonstrated an ability that far exceeds the bronze level to go along with a precocious approach to the game that borders on what I would expect from a professional athlete. It needs to be said that we are extremely lucky to have him on our side!
On the flipside, this first month has helped us coaches to identify where we need the most work:
- Spacing-players are getting too bunched and not holding their position or moving into space when needed to help a teammate
- Passing-we see it in glimpses but it’s not where the coaches and I would like it to be
- Scoring-most of this is just discipline on how to finish (I prefer composure and accuracy over power) but as a team the lack of any shooting threat from the perimeter has been a bit baffling. I was joking with one of the players a few weeks that we need to find a power button as a lot of the shots from 15+ feet have been what my wife diplomatically referred to as “friendly”.
Overall, the effort has mostly been there though I will admit the last game of the San Ramon tournament was more than a bit frustrating. It was a semifinal game against a solid all-around team from North Marin but also a very beatable team. Outside of the defense, the boys really struggled to put together any plays from the midfield on to generate attacks in the offensive 1/3. It was a very flat showing overall but despite that we were in the game. At a point midway in the 2nd half we broke through the North Marin defense for a breakaway against their goalie. It was our best scoring chance of the game but apparently it just wasn’t meant to be on this day.
North Marin would get a second goal to give them some breathing room with 8 minutes remaining in the game. The end result would be a 2-0 loss that had me wishing for a lot more team play and better energy. I think as a team we all felt the disappointment, players to coaches and probably even the parents. It was one of those games I dread afterwards because in my opinion we left so much on the table, including the opportunity to advance to the championship game for the 2nd weekend in a row. Instant regret and a different feeling from the previous weekend in Redwood City where the boys left everything on the field and despite the loss in OT, I felt they could walk off the field proud knowing they gave their best.
Another part of that disappointment on Sunday in San Ramon is because we saw just the day before how well the boys can play when down a goal, or even with a player down, in a must-win game.
Our first opponent on Saturday morning was Diablo AC Milan and they had a solid collection of athletic kids including one player (#14) who liked he could play for 2005 gold team. He was that good. In fact, I would watch AC Milan’s 1:30pm game vs our 2nd Saturday opponent, Livermore Gold, and #14 had a hat trick against them in the 1st half until sitting most of the 2nd half of that game in an eventual 5-2 win. Against us this player would stand out but our defense led by Spencer and Graham would keep him in check for the majority of the game.
That morning I had noticed the boys seemed a little bit lethargic during warmups and pre-game I reminded them they would play like how they practiced so I urged them to pick up the intensity to start the game. Unfortunately, I was a bit too prophetic. Seemingly half asleep, it took AC Milan only a couple minutes to score on an easy combination pass through our own penalty box. Giving up that goal seemed to wake the boys up though and gave them a sense of urgency. The momentum of the game shifted from there.
In the previous weeks weekend recap I had hinted about another position change forthcoming for Judd Phillips since he had proved himself capable of exceeding every challenge presented to him regardless of the position. So with the offensive struggling to score in the first two weekends I decided to move Judd up top since he had shown a predilection to move up on offensive even when he was playing a defensive position. This move paid immediate dividends in game 1. Working with Ryan Razeghi on the front line, Judd made an immediate impact in our offensive attacks helping to put AC Milan consistently on their heels. With Razeghi running on through balls with the determination and fury we love to see, we got a glimpse of AC Milan’s weakness which was their backline.
Collin Jewett earned a rare assist from the keeper position when his long punt through the midfield would take a fortuitous bounce to Razeghi who blew past the defense for a one on one with the AC Milan goalie to tie the game at 1-1. It was a quick counterattack play that caught the defense playing too far up the field which is one of the reasons I like Collin taking his punts as quickly as possible instead of waiting the full 6 seconds a referee typically allows a goalkeeper to hold the ball. Nice job Collin and for Ryan Razeghi it was his first of what I’m sure will be many goals this season.
The game would go back and forth and at halftime we’d be down 2-1 but the boys would start the 2nd half with a bang led by Jordan Vu and Nate Cheney. After an AC Milan turnover in the midfield from the 2nd half kickoff Nate would lead Jordan with a pass down the left flank allowing Jordan to run after the ball which Jordan then took it deep into AC Milan’s defensive territory. Looking up to find an open teammate before making his pass, Jordan found Gavin Andrade in the middle who then collected the pass and turned to feed an open Judd Phillips in the penalty box. It was quality soccer. Four consecutive textbook passes leading to an open shot and Judd delivered. Tie game 2-2!
Judd would also pick up our next goal to put us in front 3-2 midway thru the 2nd half with another well placed shot using the inside of his foot. I had made a very clear instruction for all the boys that all shots were to be taken using the insider of their feet (instead of their laces) in order to improve accuracy. It was awesome to see this instruction implemented and result in our best scoring day of the young season.
Judd’s second goal also signified an impressive momentum shift against a talented AC Milan team. We’d carry this one goal lead until the final minutes of the game. The defense after a few changes to start the game had settled in and been spectacular with Nolan Hannan having a standout game at outside back to compliment Ryan Wunderman on the other side. These two boys paired with Graham Kol and Spencer Biles, along with Collin in goal, really did a fantastic job of turning away multiple AC Milan chances but we could tell on the coaching sideline that the longer the game went on, the worse the heat would affect our ability to hold that lead. In short, the defense was showing signs of wearing down.
AC Milan would take advantage and ultimately they executed another combination play eerily similar to their first goal to start the game for their only goal in the 2nd half but it was a dagger. We were only a couple minutes away from what would have been a hard fought 3-2 win. Our defense just look exhausted on AC Milan’s scoring play and there wasn’t much Collin could do to stop the wide open Milan player from finishing. We’d have to settle for the draw which would come back to bite us by the time the day was over.
After a long midday break from our 9:30am 1st game, we’d finally take the field at 5:30pm at Rancho San Ramon against Livermore Gold. As mentioned, Livermore would fall 5-2 to AC Milan in their early afternoon game but I saw enough from Livermore to know it would be a competitive game. Because of the points AC Milan accumulated in their Saturday games, in order to win our bracket we would need to beat Livermore 3-0 or score at least 5 goals if we gave up any goals in our 2nd match.
The boys came out much stronger in this second match and set the tone from the start. Quickly we’d get two point-blank shots on goal. The first by Andrew Wiersdorf and the second shot by Gavin Andrade. With only the Livermore goalie, frozen like a deer in headlights, both boys would drill their shots over the top post. I mention this because it emphasizes my point to the team about wanting them to finish with accuracy using the inside of their feet which they had done with success in the 1st game.
Thankfully both boys would get a second opportunity to correct form starting with Andrew. The play would get its start from Nolan Hannan who would win a 50-50 ball from his right back position on defense. Passing the ball up to Mason Hauck at right mid, Andrew released from his striker position behind the last defender and took off for the goal anticipating Mason would find his buddy making a break for the goal and that’s exactly what Mason did. Showing great composure on the play, Mason Hauck parlayed a quality first touch into a brilliant through ball lifted over the defense that Andrew could run on. From that point, it was just Andrew and the Livermore goalie. Taking additional care this time to not overpower his shot, Andrew would finish with precision to polish off a beautifully crafted play born from a 50-50 ball in the defensive third. Very exciting and well executed soccer!
We’d go to halftime up 1-0 and I’d remind the boys about my shooting instruction from the first game and add that while power shots look great on ESPN, we needed to be better about accuracy to secure 2 more goals and the shutout to win our bracket. With opportunities we had in the first half, I think we were all confident we’d make good on getting those 2 additional goals.
What we didn’t anticipate was a referee who would impact the game in a most unfortunate way. I should note, Livermore did tie the game early in the 2nd half on a quality goal produced when their striker maneuvered past one of our defenders for an open shot on goal before secondary help could arrive. This lone Livermore goal meant we’d have to score 4 additional goals in order to win our bracket. Not out of the realm of possibility based on how our offensive was attacking to that point but certainly longer odds than a clean 3-0 shutout. No doubt it was a costly goal allowed.
About 10 minutes into the 2nd half Dhilan Patel would pick his 2nd yellow card of the game for “pushing down” a Livermore player. It was an identical infraction that caused Dhilan to pick up the first yellow card in the first half. That first yellow card seemed innocuous and harmless at the time despite the bad call. Dhilan’s just a tall kid who managed to trip on his own feet and come down on a Livermore player using his hands instinctively to break his fall. To the referee it warranted immediate yellow cards for what he interpreted to be foul play. It was ludicrous the first time. The second time had everyone from both sidelines, coaches and parents (from both teams) wondering how the referee could be so thoroughly off in his judgement of play.
The 2nd yellow card meant immediate ejection with no substitution. Instead of fighting for the additional goals to win our bracket, we’d have to battle the remainder of the game down a player just to win and nail down the 2nd seed in a semifinal match.
At this point, playing with 10 players I was extremely proud that the boys never relented. Though not having an additional striker did hamper our counterattacks, it only postponed what I felt would be our 2nd goal of the game. It’d take nearly the remainder of the game to find that goal but Gavin Andrade that would come through with biggest goal of the season.
With the Livermore goalie out of his goal box to clear a loose ball, Gavin would collect a loose ball and have the presence of mind and the leg strength from good distance just outside the penalty box to punish the goalie for leaving his goal unattended. One of the great attributes about Gavin is how much he cares about the team and his contributions to the team. His performance is always written all over his face. I know he was frustrated for having missed that shot in the first half, so this goal was extra special not just for the entire team in representing that hard fought 1st win of the season but also for Gavin who plays with so much Aztec pride and wanting to redeem himself. It was a special moment and worth celebrating then and after the game.
Our tournament game ball would go to Mason Hauck. Mason earned a game pin in our first game against AC Milan for his unselfish play and then followed it up with another outstanding game in the afternoon against Livermore Gold. Mason is quietly one of our most efficient players and one of the best facilitators on the team who works very hard to get others involved while simultaneously holding down his position allowing the offense to keep our formation.
If I had a stat for pass completions, I have a feeling Mason would be up high on the list. His assist to Andrew in the Livermore game was the biggest payoff but most of his contributions are very subtle but in giving Mason the tournament game ball I wanted to acknowledge Mason for his efforts and also give the rest of the boys an example of other areas of contributions I value.
Probably my favorite characteristic of Mason is that he takes instructions the first time and executes. There’s no need to remind Mason a 2nd time. He’s extremely coachable. One other thing I like about Mason are his questions. He’s articulate and I can tell with each question he asks me that he’s thought it through before asking and as a result he surprises me with the quality of questions he asks. I ask for the boys to be students of the game and my hope is that they apply what they learn without repeated instructions. I’ve seen with Mason each week the ability to take instruction and execute and in 3 weeks of play I’ve seen him build from each instruction I’ve given him. So it’s a combination of these things, aptitude and execution, that fueled my decision to award Mason the tournament game ball. Congrats Mason!
I’ll be on pins and needles to know the results these next 2 weekends while I’m gone. The most important thing I am hoping for is 110% effort. It’s my hope the boys leave ounce of effort on the field and give coaches Mark and Pete everything asked of them. It’s all about pride in doing your best and I hope when I hear about these next 4 games, I hear they gave everything they possibly could for all 60 minutes of each game. That alone would make me proud.
See you all in a few weekends.
Thank you,
John