After the abrupt halt to our Spring campaign, the Dolphins emerged from an uncertain offseason losing 2 and later adding 4 new players - but more important was the addition of a new Assistant Coach - friend of the team and Wakeland High School standout State Champion player Mackenzie Wilbanks. Despite the pandemic we started skills workouts in early July and grinded through the summer, practicing 2-3 times a week past Labor Day. The weather cooperated as we enjoyed dry conditions and consistent workouts throughout the preseason. "Training until dark" became the norm and as the weeks passed the actuality of a Fall Season increased - by mid September games had arrived...
Game 1 vs ASA Pixies
Expectations were high headed into our 1st game and the mid 80s/hot sun combo would test player conditioning. Quick start - no problem as we scored 2 minutes into the match. We found ourselves lining up for a Penalty Kick 10 minutes later and were positioned to grab control. Jordan would pull the attempt just a bit too much to the left and it would blast off the post. We would hit the post a 2nd & 3rd time before giving up a goal on a opposing breakaway, carrying a tie into the half. The tie would persist until midway through the 2nd half when a Goalie error would lead to yielding a score on an "own goal" off a Free Kick. The team came together, increased the intensity, and after a sustained attack, tied the game late. We found ourselves in the rare position of a league tie, albeit a disappointing one - our 1st since May 2018. This game will be remembered for the loud clang of 3 post hits....
Sideline huddles have a different feel with masks & coaching changes
The starting front 4
Jordan & Taylor covering the right side of the field
Game 2 vs Texas Stars
Week 2 seems early for must win territory but thats where the Dolphins found themselves after the previous weeks tie. Low 70s temps and West Coast wildfire fueled hazy sunshine made for a comfortable game environment. We had a great history against this team having won our previous 5 contests with a 32-7 goal advantage. We saw immediate week over week improvement in our passing game and defensive strength while we tested the opposing Goalie repeatedly, eventually taking a 2 goal lead into half. After controlling most of the 2nd half and extending the lead to 4 the team had a mental misstep with a handball in our box and conceded a late PK. Despite the bad play we were back on track and celebrated the 4-1 victory!
Jordan blasts a ball out of traffic...
...and later centers one across the field
Put your hands on your hips
The Twins catch their breath during a brief stoppage
Game 3 vs Kickers
With the Dolphins seemingly back on track we headed into our 3rd match up with some nice trends including playing on picture day - which as a franchise we have been an amazing 11-0 over the years. However, as it turned out the week preceding the game was filled with distraction in the form of bad weather and Middle School COVID 19 contact tracing that impacted Jordan, Taylor and Dad. After multiple negative COVID tests we were cleared for play < 24 hours before kickoff. On the field we found an opponent that has had little success this season but sold out to load up the defense. The opposing strategy worked in the form of a scoreless 1st half despite the Dolphins spending the majority of the half in opposing territory. The 2nd half was more of the same as we watched our offense get turned away time and time again as opposing defenders blasted the ball out of bounds. An amazing save by our Goalie late protected the tie - only the 2nd scoreless tie in team history. The Dolphins Coaching staff was left scratching their heads after the puzzling outcome & performance.
Game 4 vs Sweet Tarts
History, intrigue, rivalry all surrounded our week 4 match-up. It was indeed rivalry week and the Dolphins coaching staff ramped up the intensity at practice. The investment paid off as the team came out of the gates strong, winning the ball and getting shots on goal. Jordan started the scoring, burying a great shot off a center pass. She would score a 2nd goal on a similar play later in the half. The team continued to beat the defense on the outside and feed the ball inside eventually building a 4 goal lead by half - 3 coming off center passes. Jordan would complete the hat-trick early in the 2nd half on a strong shot past the Goalie. Our opponents showed little quit and scored twice down the stretch, but with a final goal the Dolphins iced a strong 6-2 win.
One of the many times Jordan broke free outside deep on our opponents "pitch" - the 3 score game was a great accomplishment for Jordan who had been going through a difficult time after being quarantined for 2 weeks after a Griffin teacher contracted COVID and she got caught up in contact tracing guidelines
Game 5 vs The Storm
1st place was on the line in against The Storm. A cool and overcast morning burnt away just minutes before the contest - 90% humidity and blazing sun challenged the players with sweltering conditions. After controlling the action early we took the lead when Jordan sailed a center pass across the box to a waiting teammate for a score. We would later surrender a goal and take a tie into the half. The challenging conditions knocked out 2 starting defenders and the coaches had to get creative with the roster. The modified line-up would perform well and keep the ball on our worn-out opponents side of the pitch. After attacking their Goalie most the half the team would put the game away with 2 scores in the final 10 minutes and launch into 1st place.
Jordan getting touches...
Taylor played "on her toes" and helped control the action in the middle of the field
Game 6 vs. ASA Pixies
The rematch from our disappointing opener brought with it far different weather conditions - 60's temps, heavy cloud cover and a stiff 20mph southerly breeze gave this game a Fall Soccer feel. After a strong week of preparation, including a Columbus Day "Friendly" 4-0 win over the Goalbusters, lifted the teams confidence. We won the toss and opted to start with the wind in our face - a decision that would payoff as we built up a 2 goal halftime lead - both scores coming off center passes from Jordan. Once the wind was at our back for the 2nd half the game was put away by 2 additional scores in the early minutes - both also Assisted by Jordan setting a Club record of 4 in a game! The 2nd score was a long awaited Corner Kick connection. The Dolphins would add a late goal and close out the impressive win 5-0. 4 players combined for the 5 scores in our most balanced attack of the season.
Taylor directs traffic during a play stoppage - the game included a half dozen Free Kicks for various Offsides and Handball plays
Lining up awaiting a Goal Kick
The team enjoyed a spirited celebration after Jordan connected with Carrie for the Corner Kick score...
...and headed into the wind for the next kickoff 
Game 7 vs Texas Stars
More Fall weather - our only 8am kickoff of the season came < 24hrs after a cold front barreled through North Texas dropping 2 inches of rain and temps by 40 degrees. Hats off to the FSA for avoiding cancellations and plowing forward with games as scheduled. The Dolphins thrive in these conditions and would continue to today. Jordan got the team off to a fast start scoring off a centered pass just minutes into the contest. She would add a 2nd goal on a strong shot in the box later in the half. Dolphins mistakes including Handballs, Throw-In fouls, and Offsides would keep the game close - the defense would concede a goal just before the half cutting the lead to 1. The coaches challenged the team with fiery halftime speeches and just seconds into the 2nd half Taylor would send a low Goal Kick back into the net for a score. Minutes later she would score a 2nd Goal on a similar play and that would open the flood gates for most explosive half in club history. The Dolphins would out hustle, attack, press, and dominate the action while blasting an additional half dozen scores past the opposing Goalie en route to a 10-1 win.
Posing in the South Goal where the team recorded an incredible 8 scores - we suffered a strange bi-product of the shooting onslaught when 3 balls were lost into the lake behind the Goal stopping the game several times
Game 8 vs Kickers
Everything was on the line for the Dolphins - with a win the Gold Division would be won and a Ticket to the Dallas Tournament of Champions would be punched. Adding intrigue to the game was some bad blood between the teams including several practice field confrontations and a scoreless tie earlier in the season, A week of wet & unseasonably cold weather would eliminate all practice prior to the match. Despite the disruption the Dolphins controlled play most the 1st half taking a 1 goal lead into the break. A defensive injury would cause us to juggle the line-up but the team was smelling a title and kept the pressure on the opposing Goalie. We would score 3 goals over the 1st 20 minutes of the 2nd half including a direct Corner Kick score from Jordan and outside the box blast into the net from Taylor. The 4-0 win would bring the 2nd Gold medal in Club history!
The team gathers for kickoff after celebrating Jordan's Corner Kick goal
Group photos mean major milestones! #wearethechampions
McKinney Fall Classic
Great expectations - that was the feeling heading into McKinney after the Dolphins clinched the coveted FSA Gold league title. The tournament fell 2 weeks after the end of the regular season and was a good measuring stick against some of the best teams the local area had to offer.
Game 1 vs the GLASA Mayhem
We were scheduled the opening evening of the tournament - the game had the dubious distinction of being our only match ever on Friday the 13th. Weather was not a problem as the evening sported low 70s temperatures and light winds. Right out of the box you could feel the increase in game intensity and speed. We had some challenges in the 1st half managing the speed of the game which put the team Goalie to work - she was up to the task stopping more shots then any game this season. The Dolphins eventually led their opponents to a mistake in the box and took the lead on a 2nd half Penalty Kick. The lead was short lived as we would also commit a foul just outside our Goalie Box and concede a score on a quickly taken/well placed Free Kick. Both teams would miss on multiple scoring chances to close out the game and settle for the tie. At the time this felt like a disappointing start to the event but the Mayhem would go on to shut out ever other team they played over the weekend and score 9 goals over the next 3 games putting this result in a better light.
Jordan unloads a Corner Kick on a balmy/low wind perfect weather condition evening
Game 2 vs McKinney Raiders
What a difference a day makes. Our 2nd match was early Saturday afternoon - the weather had changed dramatically with sustained 30 mph hour southernly winds shaping the event. Adding to that was a steep pitch on the North side of the field that made it tough to keep the ball in play. With the wind in our face we held our opponents out of our goal the 1st half and capitalized on a obvious hand ball on our opponents in their Goalie Box. We scored our 2nd PK of the weekend and cruised into the half with the lead and wind at our back. We expected to blow our opponents off the field with the wind advantage but the majority of the remaining contest was spent chasing balls out of bounds and setting up Corner & Goal Kicks. The frustrating half would end without us adding to our lead but the 1-0 victory put us in position to control our destiny as we played our final match later that evening.
Jordan & Taylor wait during one of the many play stoppages in the game
The bend in the sideline flag tells the story of this mess of a win
Game 3 vs Big Country Pink Widows
Just a few short hours after playing in a wind tunnel, the air speed dropped significantly after sunset and we found ourselves in the Craig Ranch championship stadium playing last years tournament champion. This game got off to a rough start when we fell behind after a physical play in our box led to the 3rd Penalty Kick in 3 games (Referees were extremely tight all weekend with foul and offsides calls) however this one went against us. About 10 minutes later we would give up our only in play goal to feel our biggest deficit in over a year. The game would flip in the 2nd half and we would outshoot our opponents significantly and eventually cut the lead to 1. With all momentum on our side we could not break through in the last 15 minutes of the game and fell 1-2. The next day in the tournament final The Mayhem would rout the Pink Widows 3-0 to win this years draw. The Dolphins finished in 3rd place and had a bid to the Dallas Tournament of Champions the 1st week in December...
Most of the team waits in the stands of Championship Stadium as the game ahead of us ran 30 minutes long while a beautiful sunset burns the sky in the background
Tournament of Champions
The longest season in club history carried into December for the TOC. The top 16 teams in North Texas face off in 4 team round-robin tournaments. It was our 1st trip to Russell Creek Park in North Plano. With a little help from the FSA we managed to keep practicing including 3 "Friendly's" against the U15 FSA TOC participant "LCFC" highlighted by defeating our older opponents in 1 of the contests. The tournament fell the 1st weekend in December so evening training cooled off significantly, spanned the 2nd half of November and traversed the Thanksgiving holiday. Adversity hit the team < 24hours before kickoff when we lost a starting "70 minute defender" from the roster due to an unfortunate death in the family. The coaches would adjust our now 14 person game plan and the 1 day / 3 game sprint would test even our most conditioned athletes.
Game 1 vs Little Elm Storm
8am Saturday morning brought frost, 35 degree kickoff temperature, no wind to speak of and a bright sunrise. The immediate observation of our opponents was that they were highlighted by several large/physical players and executed a loud communication plan that in many ways intimidated our team. The team came out tentative and immediately fell behind by several goals that were uncontested and placed just below the top crossbar of the goal. We missed out on 2 prime scoring opportunities just before half which took a toll. The 2nd half would put more pressure on the team and we would succomb to an own goal and give up 2 more scores in what led to a 0-5 loss - our worst in over 2 years. The Storm would add a Yellow Card for frequent fouls on physical plays but that brought little value to us. Thankfully there are no pictures of this game!
Game 2 vs CSA Tigers
Our 2nd game was 90 minutes after our difficult opening loss - we would learn a lot about our teams heart over the next 2 contests. The midday kickoff brought far better weather with temps reaching into the low 50s and the sun shining bright. During warm ups the spirit was good and morale was high. We immediately showed improved performance with our passing game, winning the ball, and putting pressure on the opposing Goalie. We would take a lead on a close score raising a strong ovation from the crowd. Later in the half we would yield a goal off a nicely centered pass. Minutes later we would respond - Jordan would connect on a Free Kick score just outside the Goalie Box firing up the team heading into halftime. The 2nd half would be a stalemate with both teams missing on scoring chances. The Dolphins completed the rebound win 2-1.
Dolphins Leadership give some last minute instructions just prior to kickoff
Game 3 vs GWF Xtreme
There was anxiety headed into our later afternoon game as the Xtreme were tops in our bracket, handled and shut out the Storm who blasted us in the opener. The Xtreme underestimated us due to our opening performance and a scoreless tie carried into the final 10 minutes of the game, much to the chagrin of the opposing Coach who was losing his mind on the sideline. Despite strong efforts from our reconfigured defense we would give up a long score on what could only be described as a poor play by the Goalie and lose the contest 0-1. The Xtreme would go on to win the entire tournament and our effort was valiant. The "Get off my lawn" moment of the tournament occurred at the end of the game when an opponent took a cheap shot at one of our players and a mild mannered Dolphins teammate exploded with "What's the hell is your problem!?!" This was a heartbreaking way to end what was not only a great Fall Campaign but awesome 2020 as we went undefeated all year in FSA League play (9-0-2) and including Post Season games closed out the season 11-3-3.
Uno Mas - All 16 players & both Coaches will be back for the Spring!!!
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