Spring Soccer Yearbook '20

After an offseason that would make for an excellent "30 For 30" episode the Dolphins headed into the Spring season with a revamped roster.  After getting a great jump on Preseason work in January, February would be littered with bad weather, indoor soccer game conflicts, and cancelled practices.  Somehow through the chaos the team strung together a dozen workouts despite the wet weather anarchy.  There was a clear change in team environment with 4 players off and 2 new teammates joining.  The lower headcount meant increased minutes for all.  With a focus on Soccer, there was little concern about the latest pandemic impacting Asia...

Game 1 vs Cheetahs

The opener was true Spring soccer weather - low 40s and a stiff 15mph southern wind accompanied the 9am kickoff.  The team tends to thrive in the cold and that trend would hold true.  The offense came out strong - Jordan opened the scoring with a strike from inside the box 1 minute into the contest.  Our new starting Goalie would have to block just 1 shot the entire 1st half as the team built a 3 goal lead.  More of the same in the 2nd half as Jordan collected 2 Assists including 1 to Taylor as the Dolphins pulled away for a 5-0 dominating victory.  The "new look" defense completely shut down our opponents and Goalie tandem combined for an impressive shutout victory.

Sharing the wealth - 4 players would combine for 5 scores & 3 came off Assists - the team celebrates their 2nd score of the game

Taylor shot on goal early & often, stepping up her game in the opener

 Taylor attacks the ball going toe-to-toe with an opponent

 Jordan repeatedly beat the defense on the outside notching multiple Assists off strong centered passes

Halftime speeches are easier with a lead

Game 2 vs Pixies

On Leap Day we made the 40 minute trek to Allen for an early afternoon game.  Despite the balmy mid 70s temps there was a chill in the air from strong 20+mph winds.  We spent the majority of the 1st half on our opponents side but missed chance after chance on wide shots and good opposing Goalie play.  Despite the wind in our face we carried a 1-0 lead into the half.  2nd half our opponents never got a shot on our goal and we kept the pressure on the defense which yielded 3 more scores.  Jordan was great on Corner Kicks and picked up an Assist in the 4-0 win.  Shared success - 6 different players have scored the teams 9 goals over 2 games.

Lining up for Kickoff   

Jordan ran wild on the outside getting past opposing defenders

Celebrating after the opening score 

More halftime advice

Game 3 vs Allen United

This week brought a 2nd consecutive trek to Allen, this time to play a quality opponent in last seasons 2nd place Gold division team.  On the front end of Spring Break, the contest would stretch both teams rosters.  Low 60s temps and another week of strong southernly winds would put the breeze in our face and a chill in the air to start the game.  The offense matched pregame speech intensity, attacking early and gaining an advantage just minutes into the contest.  The rest of the 1st half would be a scoring stalemate highlighted by strong Dolphins attacks and some exceptional Goalie play for both teams.  What happened next is a 1st in team history as multiple Allen players would "up and leave" the game at halftime putting them at a numbers disadvantage on field.  In what would be a wheels off 2nd half, human nature took over and the Dolphins showed little killer instinct despite living on the opposing side of the field before adding a 2nd score 15 minutes in.  We would later concede our 1st goal of the season on a broken play ending a team record 200 minutes of shut out defense.  Any drama would end shortly after when Jordan would score on a strong strike in the box.  The game was nowhere near as close as the 2 goal difference would indicate as light rostered Allen team would draw sympathy calls from the biased local referee crew including removing a Dolphins goal, denying a Dolphins PK, and after the game admitting they were out of compliance on Allen League rules on how they managed minimum player statutes.  The Dolphins headed into the Spring Break bye week all alone in 1st place.

The Dolphins celebrate an early score in what would be an impressive 1st half

Jordan chats it up with Taylor after scoring the final goal of the game

The Dolphins headed into Spring Break all alone in 1st place - the team was jelling and nothing could stop us...But a new opponent was lurking about the community and although we enjoyed 2 more team practices during Spring Break, COVID 19 soon brought a halt to "everything."  We stayed diligent and found a way to train in the garage multiple times a week despite months worth of stay at home orders.

In the end, the Dolphins amazing Spring '20 season was another victim of a crisis that racked up countless impacts across the country and world.  The FSA was game and did what they could to try and preserve the league calendar, but weekly reschedules ended May 1st with a final "Throw-In" of the towel.  Uncertainty reigns but our desire to play Soccer will burn all Summer...