Tates Creek 3 Boone County 1

**oldgrappler** · August 22, 2015

Lovely evening at Tates Creek . The game began with Tates Creek controlling the action. Boone County looked tentative except for a few players. TC opened the scoring at just under the 10 minute mark. Boone regrouped and began to play a little better. Defender Anton Paoli was not intimidated and was just as aggressive as the TC front line. As Boone began to take possession of the ball their confidence began to grow. BC was able to possess the ball and pass its way down the field, taking a shot on goal that was handled by the Keeper. Boone defense was handling TC’s attack. The mid field began to possess the ball and it turned into a pretty even match. I expected TC to have a lot of shots on goal but they had fewer than I thought. With 10 minutes to go in the half, Boone advanced the ball towards the TC goal. Three Boone players were going together with a mid receiving a pass and going forward. He had options with two Boone players to either side. He launched the ball towards the goal from about 30 yds out. The goalie was playing a little too far forward and the shot was perfect. Martinez netted the goal and Boone tied it up 1-1. The rest of the half was a fairly even battle back and forth. TC had a few more opportunities than Boone but no serious threat was made. The Boone kids went into the half believing they could play with TC and had a legitimate shot to win.

The second half began much as the first had ended but TC started to get the upper hand. Boone played with TC for 60 minutes. Over the next several minutes two of Boone’s defenders went down with serious cramping. Capable subs came in and play continued. A third player later had to go out with injury. It was some time after the first two injuries that TC scored their second goal. They passed their way towards the goal and had three players advancing. Boone’s defense was in position but the ball was launched and cleared just under the bar for a goal. TC 2, Boone 1 with just over 17 minutes remaining.

All three Boone players that had to leave the match due to injury were able to sub back in at various times. But from that point forward TC took control of the game and put tremendous pressure on Boone’s defense. TC plays great possession soccer. Their offensive attack provides them lots of opportunities. They strive to pass quickly. Two touches and they get rid of the ball. This does not allow a defender to really take on the ball. He has to choose a passing lane to defend. TC spaces well and the guy with the ball always has at least two options for a pass. They are a top team. I was real proud of the way Boone played. They did not look over matched until the very end. They had a legitimate chance to win this game. Coach Norris has the team playing good team soccer. The passing and spacing looks better than it has in the past. It’s a real team effort. Brock looks good in the middle. He secures the ball well and dishes it to the open guy to initiate the offense.

We learned after the match that Boone’s weekend schedule has been changed. We were supposed to play two games Saturday evening at 7 pm and 8:30. The 8:30 pm game has been moved to 8:30 am when Boone plays Bryan Station. Then at 7 pm it will be Boone vs Lafayette.