Scott's defense seemed unorganized and the goalie made a couple of good saves to keep the score at one. NCC gave up a goal when the offside trap was foiled by one of their defenders moving back. NCC than double teamed #9 and Scott had trouble mounting an attack.

 

Unless Scott has someone that can get the ball to Morgan on a regular basis I think they will have to change their approach, if you limit his touches I think they will be hard pressed to attack the goal.

When Ryle has time to organize their defense they look very good. They really only looked vulnerable when St Henry was counter-attacking. Nathan Roe did look very solid in the back and helped Ryle transition to attack. Kareem looked incredibly quick and played some brilliant balls, but didnt get in the back of the net. His best chance of the night came in the second half played in toward goal with the ball on his right peg, but he pulled it back and tried to pass rather than shooting with his non-preferred foot. It doesn't have to ripple the twine, it just has to get past the keeper (near post high or far post low generally gets the job done).

 

St Henry looked OK most of the night but never really looked like they were playing all out. Maybe that was part of the game plan. Like the non-descript no-number tee-shirts their style of play did not really reveal strengths or weaknesses. The St Henry defense did look pretty well organized and they worked the ball well out of the back. Things just seemed to stall out a bit as they worked into attack.

 

The last 20 minutes of the game the average size of the players on each side dropped by about 30% and it looked more like a JV game. The pace of play actually picked up toward the end with Ryle scoring in the last minute or so based on playing forward and chasing the ball energetically. Good to see it end on a score and seeing the boys celebrate on the field you'd have thought they just won their district final... and it was totally cool to watch them enjoy it.

NCC/Scott - I'd agree that the NCC keeper made some nice saves. Most of that was the result of how vulnerable NCC was to the thru-ball/over the top. Very flat footed, ball watching defense and they looked to be playing a sweeper/stopper setup as opposed to just a flat four. If you have a stud sweeper maybe you can do that but they appeared to break down pretty easily against what was not that lethal of an attack. Overall NCC controlled play, had more of the ball and was better overall.

St. Henry/Ryle - much more enjoyable game to watch but I only saw the first half. Both teams possessed and knocked it around a bit but Ryle seemed too much physically for St. Henry. Maybe St. Henry is just young, but I'm not sure. Overall both teams played well I thought. Nobody in particular stood out for either team but with no numbers on the St. Henry kids it was a little hard to tell. Ryle pretty much dominated the first 15 minutes of the game before things evened out a bit later in the first half.

It is always hard transitioning back to High School soccer after watching club but I didn't think Scott or NCC looked very good last night. It looks like NCC needs to work on finishing as much as Scott needs to work on possession. I would have liked to see Trenkamp on the field a little more. Scott will need Morgan, Hegerty, Trenkamp, and Wolf to all be on the same page if they want to get anywhere this season. Scott's coach did make sure that every player from our JV and Varsity teams got a chance to play last night. Honestly, it was a better showing from Scott than I expected and I'm looking forward to a fun season with these guys.....my last HS season for a few years anyway.

Sat Morning:

 

830 am No Game

 

1015 am Pendleton verse Beechwood

 

1200 pm Villa verse Carroll

 

115 pm Boone verse Grant County

 

 

 

Saturday Night:

 

430 pm Dixie verse Campbell

 

615 pm Highlands verse Cooper

 

8 pm Cov. Catholic verse Brossart

 

I'll go with Pendelton, Villa and Boone as winners in the early slate of games. No idea what to expect from Beechwood but hopefully they are ready to play. Last year Pendelton Co. ran the score up on Gallatin Co. (I think that's who they played) so Beechwood should be prepared.

 

Later slate of games, I'll go with Dixie, Highlands and CCH. CovCath starters will probably not even play half the game if I had to guess and while they are not quite fully staffed for this game, they should have more than enough in the tank to handle Brossart.

I agree with soccerforlife on Trenkamp and Wolf. Trenkamp is a very high level player and could play multiple positions on the pitch. As previously mentioned they need a facilitator and I think Trenkamp can be that on this team. He is a very good passer and they need that in the middle to get Morgan and hagerty the ball in space. I was pleasantly surprised at how NCC played as they did out possess Scott. Again though it was only preseason. It will be interesting once it really starts. Looking forward to it.

Thanks for the confidence in Boone, groinpull. Grant is down a couple of players including Mattie Barnett. I saw him walking around with a cast on his left arm/hand.

As far as St Henry/Ryle matchup. Each team played uninspired yet decent soccer. I'll chalk that up to being a preseason game. Thought Ryle looked better with starters in in the first 20-25 mins. Then St Henry looked better than Ryle in the first 15 mins of the second half with started. Have a feeling St Henry coach probably had a little something to say at halftime about their effort. Should be a very good game in the regular season. Both teams have quite a bit of talent.

I agree with soccerforlife on Trenkamp and Wolf. Trenkamp is a very high level player and could play multiple positions on the pitch. As previously mentioned they need a facilitator and I think Trenkamp can be that on this team. He is a very good passer and they need that in the middle to get Morgan and hagerty the ball in space. I was pleasantly surprised at how NCC played as they did out possess Scott. Again though it was only preseason. It will be interesting once it really starts. Looking forward to it.

Welcome to BGP, @Corner kick!

Thx hoops5. Having fun with it. Ready for a good high school season. Wish I could be at the games tonight but you know what they say about a happy wife. . I look forward to the reports about the games.

Grant County and Boone County tied at 0-0. Boone possessed the ball at least 60-40 and had more opportunities on goal. Boone's defense was pretty solid. This match saw lots of substitutions. At one point in the first half Boone brought in 8 players at once.

 

One thing that I did see was that Boone was working at possessing the ball. Their passing was pretty good and their movement was better than I've seen at Boone. In the past, Boone relied on a few players who could go and get the ball and turn it into a shot on goal. This group plays more as a team working the ball up the field and getting in position to score. They did get in position but did not find net. I think that will come.

 

Kudos to the players and coaches for good progress at this point in the season.

Thanks for the update. Any word on the other games?

Campbell Co and Dixie ends in a tie, 4-4.

Higlands 2 Cooper 1