Osseo vs. Hopkins August 31st

Well, this was an ugly win, but a win none the less. A victory of the will if nothing else. This is the first time we have beaten Hopkins since i began coaching the team. I also know that previous teams have been tested by these guys also, and they always play us tough. It is a good confidence builder and we should feel good about this one for sure. We can compete with anyone in the state and this bodes well for contests to come. Now we have to keep inproving and prove we deserve to be among the states elite teams every match. Are you with me?

It was a hard fought battle where our execution of our game plan was spotty. When we kept our zonal defense intact we did well, when we lost our discipline and didn’t communicate, it was Swiss cheese, if you know what i me. We will review our plan before the match tonight. Matt fortunately had a great match and made several saves late in the match, especially from corners, that really saved our bacon.  we have to improve to compete with the top teams in conference and come out on top. Despite this our defense held the line…Good job at Rule #2!

Overall, our attack was spotty. We need to execute on shape quick passes with flanking & overlapping runs. The few times we did this (i counted 4 in the whole match), our attack looked good, with the resulting a goal of Corbin’s strike and Gus getting the rebound. we have to start putting these combos together 15+ times a game to really empower our attack. I am confident you can do it.

As a team we also played tight and a lot of boot ball instead of controlling, bringing it up (building the attack in waves) and “looking it up” Let’s keep that in mind tonight. The result of not doing this is our backfield, midfield, and attacker our often out of sinc with each other, either ahead or behind. when we execute sharper passing and runs we don’t leave as much space for between the three lines for the defenders to take the ball alway.

Another thing that we did well when we were disciplined was throw-in. you need to keep working our throw in strategy to keep possession of the ball. When we do this in the various thirds it works the majority of the time.

Set pieces you just need to recogize the situation and execute. Going quick on the back two thrids, and executing our practiced pieces in the attacking third.

Next up – Park Center. Take nothing for granted. Take no prisoners. Execute the plan and keep improving and moving toward the Standard of Excellence.