Ugly game that was played very physically. Conner has a lot of aggressive, good athletes who like to make the game a struggle and rely on their wings to lead quick counters. They sat back very deep and dared Highlands to break them down through possession. Both teams had chances. The bright spot for the Birds is that they had better spurts of possession than the past 4 games, which was a good sign. They also had times where the passing was quick and precise. Little by little the improvement goes.

I'm on here so I want to shout out to #13 Caymon Stevie (wanna shill your own kids, join the site.) He initiates contact, I get it. He's bigger, stronger, and faster than every center back that he faces. However, it seems that he's been called for the foul on every 50/50 play. Twice last night he was called for the foul while dribbling or getting tripped while dribbling (which blew my mind since he got tripped from behind). He has not gotten the benefit of more than one call all season in games officiated by 9th Region officials. HOWEVER, he has kept him mouth shut and gotten on with the game. He has shown great maturity and desire, and I couldn't be prouder of how he is playing and carrying himself.

Definitely a great game to watch last night. I found it even with regards to possession. Conner's defense contained Highland's offense well. Both teams had equal amounts of missed scoring opportunities. It goes to show there are some strong dark horses amongst the mix in the 9th Region and Conner may definitely be one of them. Preliminary rankings...are meaningless. Anything can happen with high school soccer.

Definitely a great game to watch last night. I found it even with regards to possession. Conner's defense contained Highland's offense well. Both teams had equal amounts of missed scoring opportunities. It goes to show there are some strong dark horses amongst the mix in the 9th Region and Conner may definitely be one of them. Preliminary rankings...are meaningless. Anything can happen with high school soccer.

 

Conner's athleticism is going to cause a lot of teams problems. Depending on the Regional draw, this could be the 9th Region Final. They may run into issues in a tightly called game due to their aggressiveness (they got lucky not to pick up a second yellow on a challenge on the sideline and a few others for accumulative fouls) but that is what makes them a legitimate threat. They take it to you.

I mentioned in the Soccerama thread before the season how impressed I was with the back 4 for Conner. Fast, tough-minded, and really scrappy -- you're right, they are going to give a lot of teams fits.

I really like the Drew kid for Conner #5, center mid. He doesn't get a lot of attention.

He's really scrappy and a play maker!