"Not today" - the Spring '19 mantra the Dolphins adopted at the 1st preseason practice. Doubt circulated around the roster during the off season as the Assistant Coach bolted from the team citing burnout as the driver. Necessity is the mother of invention so all routines were subject to change as a determined Coach Dad envisioned leading the team successfully to a 1st Place finish. The Spring preseason weather was cold, wet and unpredictable leading the Dolphins to hold practices on every individual day of the week at some point during the season for the 1st time in team history. A positive team environment would manifest amazing results as the campaign progressed. It would not be all sunshine for the team and there was a need for crisis management with an early loss and injury/illness roster challenges. When the smoke would clear "culture would eat strategy for breakfast" and the Dolphins would confidently hoist Gold Medals while singing the iconic ballad of "We are the Champions." Here is how it all went down...
Game 1 vs. Sweet Tarts
The team's opener was the first of many 8am kickoffs. A line of early storms would pass and the game was on. The Dolphins looked like the better team throughout the game - keeping the ball on our opponents side of the field most the contest. We held a decided edge in Corner Kicks and shots on goal. Despite those advantages and controlling the action we found ourselves on the short end of a 0-1 loss when we just could not convert any of our many scoring chances. The disappointing loss marred the high hopes of the Spring campaign - happily there are no photos from this game.
Game 2 vs Grape Crush
The disappointment of the opening loss coupled with a rash of illness knocking 3 players from the game (including Taylor) brought great pressure to our week 2 contest. Dad & Jordan headed over to the field for yet another early game with suspect weather - 38 degree temperatures coupled with an icy mist would make for our 2nd coldest game in team history. This was must win territory and the team responded with a Wagon-Circling performance despite having just the minimum 9 players needed to field a squad. < 1 minute into the game Jordan would convert a goal off a great center pass and the team would score 2 more times including a 2nd for Jordan prior to half. Our opponents would come out in the 2nd half strong and cut the lead to 2 but a 3rd goal from Jordan would end any hopes of a rally. As the game was winding down, the opposing coach's were tipping their cap to the Dolphins conditioning commitment when they were overheard stating, "It's like this team doesn't get tired."
Jordan beams after her big game while Dad sneaks a picture in the backyard since his phone froze in his backpack during the cold 4-1 win!
Game 3 vs Diamonds
Weather continued to be a hassle and caused a 2 week postponement of our 3rd contest against the 3x defending division champions, whom we had lost 4 consecutive games to - each progressively worse then the previous. The Dolphins would make the most of the delayed game lining up a series of practices spanning over Spring Break. The evening game & chance to play under the lights were great trends for the team as we were undefeated in night contests. Despite all that the Dolphins came out flat conceding an early goal and eventually digging a 0-2 hole heading into halftime. The team stuck together and kept the deficit 2 through the next 15 minutes despite being beat to the ball repeatedly. Things started to change when our opponents made a critical error and committed a penalty just outside their Goalie Box and we were awarded a Direct Kick - Jordan stepped up and stared down the wall our opponents created infront of their goal. She executed a fantastic high & hard shot that blew past our opponents heads and found the back of the goal! The crowd responded with a huge ovation that shot life into the team. Minutes later a motivated Midfielder blasted through multiple layers of Defenders before breaking free and defeating the Goalie to tie the game. All momentum was firmly behind the Dolphins and the crowd in a frenzy when with a minute left our Goalie would make a save, blast a punt downfield, Jordan would win the ball, break free outside and feed a spot-on pass to another streaking Midfielder (Addison) who would beat the Goalie to take the lead. A roar engulfed the complex, pandemonium followed as the Dolphins rose up and slayed the dragon 3-2!
As luck would have it, one of the greatest moments in team history was immortalized in this video when Jordan connected with Addison on this last minute score to seal the improbably comeback win!!!
Team pictures mean big milestones and this one was a signature win for the suddenly surging franchise
Like watching the sunset...
Game 4 vs Diamonds
Just 4 days after their cardiac win against the Diamonds, a scheduling quirk had them lined up for a rematch - this time on the Field Turf of Toyota Soccer Complex at 8am. Chaos would surround the game in the form of multiple weather interruptions and mass confusion about rules governance around lightning delays. 3 separate times we cleared the fields as lightning persisted through the 1st half. On the field the Dolphins yielded yet another early goal and teetered on the brink of a letdown. The team would respond with 2 quick scores as both Addison & Jordan struck working the middle of the field. Late in the half the lead would extend to 3-1 just before another delay created risk of finishing the contest. After minutes of painstaking debate with FSA Personnel, Referees, and Coaches, good would triumph over evil and the game would play on! We would fend off an attacking Diamonds team for 20 minutes before scoring 2 more goals including our 1st Corner Kick score of the season! The Dolphins vanquished some "demons of losses past" with the dominating victory. Clocking in at 2 hours & 20 minutes, the marathon game was officially the team's "longest".
Addison, Jordan & Taylor all await a Diamonds Goal Kick
The Dolphins Shelter In Place & handled the weather outages great in the 5-1 win!
Game 5 vs Storm
Another 8am game, another weather problem. A cold front blasted through Frisco during the contest dropping temps by 15 degrees behind howling 25+mph winds and rain. 1st place would be on the line in uncomfortable conditions against a difficult team. The Dolphins would come out looking sharp behind a strong passing attack. That offense would strike early when Taylor connected on her 1st score of the season off a well-timed crossing pass. The teams would slug it out while the conditions would continue to deteriorate and impact the action. In the 2nd half the Dolphins would press our opponents keeping the ball on their side of the field, eventually extending the lead to 2. Things would tighten up after conceding a late goal but the Dolphins would eventually close out a cold 2-1 win. In the past 2 games the much improved defense had a stretch of 113 consecutive minutes without allowing a score!
Dad & Taylor strike a quick pose in maybe the worst weather conditions in team history. With the win the team extended it's impressive record in rain games to a perfect 5-0.
Game 6 vs Sweet Tarts
Our 3rd consecutive 8am start brought with it similar worry about the weather. A massive line of Thunderstorms was barreling towards Frisco - but slowed just enough to not alter the game. The team came in riding a wave of confidence - which grew when our opponents Coach admitted just before kickoff that he "was hoping for a rain out." The teams traded shots on goal the first few minutes of the game but by halfway through the 1st quarter the Dolphins built a 2 goal lead. That lead grew to 3 when Jordan connected on a "Bend it Like Beckham" Corner Kick score. There was a ray of hope for our opponents when the Dolphins conceded a goal just before halftime, but after some nice adjustments the defense controlled the 2nd half while the offense added 2 more goals en route to the 5-1 victory. The Dolphins had avenged their early season loss and won The Battle for Purefoy.
Jordan feeds a long pass to Addison during a 1st half attack
A flag blocks her head as Jordan sets up for what would be a sensational goal on this Corner Kick
Taylor works inside the close confines of the Goalie Box
Game 7 vs Storm
For the 4th consecutive season we found ourselves playing the Storm for big stakes late in the schedule. Great trends heading into the game: 18-1-1 with Stars & Stripes ball, undefeated playing under the lights, and we had swept the previous 3 late season critical contests against this team. Both squads came out on fire with nothing held back. Jordan had a great 1st half, scoring our initial goal, bouncing a big shot in the box off a "polarizing" opposing Midfielder - she later fed an Assist to our Left Wing on a great cross to build a 2 goal halftime lead. We found ourselves in a dogfight for the next 20 minutes but with a smothering defense and huge plays from the Goalie we never yielded a goal. Addison would eventually break the Storm with quick back-to-back scores up the middle. A late Penalty Kick goal for our Sweeper would be the icing on the cake in the dominant 5-0 win!
Jordan & Addison Captain the team at the ceremonial coin toss - It was the final game for the heralded Lucky Stars & Stripes Ball which accounted for 4 max points victories this season
Captive audience for the pregame pep talk
Headed out to the field
Jordan & Taylor both find the camera
An amazing sunset was the perfect backdrop for the start of the game
Dolphins trot back for kickoff after Jordan's opening goal
Jordan sets up for a Corner Kick as the sky burns in the background
Our opponents wielded a trio of undisciplined, aggressive, and at times "spastic" Midfielders who routinely blasted the ball all over the field & talked trash to us & each other (all pictured below)
Coach leads an excited team to the post game handshake...
Hallelujah - We are the Champions!!!
Game 8 vs Grape Crush
"The war is over, we won." Infamous words uttered at practice with We Are The Champions blaring in the background just days before our final game. For the 1st time in franchise history the Dolphins headed into a game with nothing on the line from a standings perspective. Temperatures climbed to the low 80s on a late Sunday afternoon making this by far our hottest game of the year. After a promising start the Dolphins would fall behind when our Reserve Goalie would concede a weak goal - she would bounce back and turn away all other shots for the rest of the half. Jordan would tie the game on an improbably long lob shot just minutes before the break. We normalized the line-up for the 2nd half, came out with confidence, and despite having a series of shots on goal we just could not seem to find the mark. Just as the game seemed destined to tie, our opponents did just enough to have the ball "bouncing around" just outside our Goalie Box and scored on what could only be described as a "Hail Mary" shot with < 1 minute left. The shocking letdown loss was complete - hats off to our opponents who showed tremendous sportsmanship the entire game, were playing for 3rd place and worked the full 60 minutes for the win. The team will grow from this experience but for now it's just a disappointing conclusion on what was a tremendous season.
Coach provides some last minute instructions with admittedly not his best material headed into the final game. The teams 6 game winning streak, previous 7 game unbeaten streak in FSA season finales, and > 1 year winning streak on grass fields were all history after the improbable loss
Taylor got to Captain the final contest and blasts a Corner Kick in the 1st half
Jordan takes one off the body...
...and makes a break downfield
Shortly after the season the team came together a final time this Spring to celebrate a Gold Division Championship! Braum's has become our traditional party destination. Change will continue to come to the team as we move to 11v11 format in the Fall and will look to add several players this offseason.
Dad complements Jordan on her ability to perform under pressure and Taylor beams as she shows off her Gold Medallion!
Epic Season Dolphins!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment
>
<$BlogItemCommentCount$> comments