futbalfan

I caught the second half of the game and can only comment on what I saw. Having seen NDA play a few times prior I would say the wind had a definite affect on how they play. They almost always play very good possession ball and use very good diagonal passes often across the field to play up and will go back to to move it across the field. Additionally, their keep throws it out to her wing backs to start the possession. The issue i saw in the first 20 mins of the second half was the keepers throws weren't being thrown in front of her backs which caused the back to come back facing their net to retrieve the ball. Their long diagonal cross passes were being blow down and short of their targets. The coupled with CC's quick reaction to the pass combined for several take aways by CC. The last 20 mins of the half saw a greater sense of urgency and they went a little more virtical especially with the keeper punting instead throwing to the backs. Overall, NDA controlled the majority of the possession again from the half i saw but seemed to almost pass too much in the final third especially in the lat 10 mins of the game. Several time I saw great ball control with players dribbling across the field horizontal and instead of turning and shooting would play possession with a pass back and out to the wings. CC didn't seem to have a shot on goal in the second half although they had a few great breakaways. I would agree with statements about CC's keeper playing a great game. She had several key saves with shots within box and 2 i saw that were from the line. NDA seemed to have several corner kicks and with the wind gusting as hard as it was provided several balls dropping inside the box but just nothing put in the back of the net. I have no idea who are upper or lower classpersons but pretty much all the players they put out there seemed to have great technical skill and overall communication from what I heard sounded like they were all talking well although a few times I heard girls call for shots that were taken as mentioned above.

Back to some pure soccer analysis from what I can tell, as I wasn't in attendance, it sounds from this thread and previous ones I've read on both teams the game in terms of tactics were polarized and seems to have neutralized each other based on style and how it was executed and officiated. What I mean is that it sounds (in general) as though the CCH game plan is usually to possess the ball and take what the defense gives them in terms of offensive opportunity. The Scott strategy is play vertical and use the power and speed of their 2 forwards. Sounds as though CCH's strategy was affected by Scott's style, officiating and lingering player medical issues. Scott's strategy was affected less affected by CCH's defensive play and the disruption of player personnel due to YCs. Assuming I'm close, how did the their tactics play out in the game? What worked and didn't work for each team's strategy that they may have problems with in tournament play? What worked for each?

I've heard two diff rumors. Most reliable one has him out until first district game.

I strongly suggest they considering playing Futsal as a much better alternative. Club coaches Derek Smith (KHA) and Jon Caldwell (CUP) started pickup futsal games down at Serpentine wall on Friday nights a few years ago followed up by summer and winter futsal (Ginga; Brazilian name for it) camps that concentrate solely on ball control and skill. They just recently announced a Futsal league. Not only is it much safer due to no boards it's also safer due to the fact that all the kids playing are there to work on body and foot control with precise ball handling. No, not a paid advertisement but I've Refereed the games and have seen both Jon and Derek run their programs.

Are the dates and locations for Regionals posted anywhere? I'll assume District games are played the week prior. If not any idea when they are to be posted.

Yes, if it's District seeding game then it cannot end in a tie. Not sure of tie breaking rules in KY.

Did you happen to get a look at the net before or after notice how it was secured to the frame of the goal? The reason why I ask is that hitting the net in and of itself could easily happen and I've seen it before when the net was not tight to the frame and technically it's only a goal when the entire ball cross the full line/crossbar. So, although it doesn't seem possible its quite plausible for your observation to occur yet not score. That said, I'm hoping the AR was still on the goal line unless the Lions pulled out once the kick was made which is pretty rare in most games until after the first touch is made after the corner was taken occurs. If this is the case, they should be looking straight down and looking to see if the ball completely crosses the bars the 1 vertical bar (goal post) they are looking at and waiting for the plane to be crossed. Those bang bang balls are a tough to catch and its why the EPL starting placing additional officials on the goal line. I'm chuckling now as I'm thinking of a HS game with "Goal Line Technology" like we saw during this summer's World Cup.

I've been told that Borkowski was dismissed from the team and is not listed on the khsaa roster.

I think it will be close with highlands edging BC out. BC just lost their starting keeper due to disciplinary issues at school. Not sure for how long but that has to affect the team.

yes, that was me who brought Sam specifically into the discussion. I've seen him play both at Trinity and at the Rovers and have witness the speed at which he plays the technical skill and most importantly his soccer IQ. From the followup reports I got I understand big Koodos go out to the CCH mids for handling not only him but also #18 Greg Fischer who is also a very talented ball player. Looking forward to catching another CCH game before the tournament rolls around.

sorry, I should have been more clear. My response was not specifically toward you and apologize if it came across that way. It's just reading that other thread has become pointless to me and this thread was more general in nature where that is very specific but both brought up the issue of coaches taking responsibilities for player actions and I felt my response was better suited for a more general audience than that one. I really don't know any of the coaches around here directly outside of a couple as I'm more involved in club on both sides of the river. so, those I do know and a few well are through those types of interactions. I'm glad to hear about other coaches taking a more active part of their players off the pitch.

when are the polls taken? I assume this was prior to Cooper's defeat of NCC.

Given the Scott/Boone thread has gone a path I can non longer follow as I'm not a local nor had any children going to school locally or involved much local events I thought it would be good for folks to informed here that the fact is there are coaches that do attempts to "set the tone" although they may not be made public or known outside of the players and his/her staff. Without getting into specifics I understand the Boone coach has made it clear throughout the school that he is to be informed if any of his players misbehave during school and there will be consequences. A great example of coaches using their authority as not just coaches but mentors to positively affect the lives of these players even when they themselves may not comprehend why. I actually found out about this when I was inquiring about the reason of absence from another player from last year. Keep in mind before assuming that when anyone sees actions on the field that the coaches aren't doing things behind the scene to address them.

Caught the second half of this game and it was a nice match. If Cooper has any young ones coming up they could be strong going forward. I've seen Snow play club. So was not surprised by his abilities but was was surprised to see him adjust well to the size, speed and physical nature of HS. He probably has the most overall talent on the team and will nice seeing him advance even further. I had heard about issues the Cooper's coach has had with Refs and I didn't see or hear anything more than usual from any typical coach. Definitely a shame you are watching at field level there. It's hard seeing some if the play develop with that viewpoint.

A Trinity faithful sent updated me this morning and said it was a great match to watch. He said cch's mids really were all they were touted as with #16 winning majority of 50-50 balls and #11 controlling flow and distributing. He still felt Trinity had better overall ball skill but CCH's team effort from front to back was higher than Trinity's. Stated the score could have easily been 2-0 Trinity to 2-0 CCH and any combination in between. trinity missed several shots with players going on goal and one of them resulted in a PK that was missed due to a great save by the CCH keeper. Also stated only distance threat from CCH was off a couple if directs taken by 7 and 11 with one just tipped over by the trinity keeper. The Trinity coach was overheard giving CR some feedback that they were sure would result in a card. Not sure what was said though. Last thing he stated was they were expecting CCH to fold due to lack of subbing the mids much and when 12 went down he felt the tied would turn and just kept waiting but CCH's endurance really played a major part. Just a shame the result is due to an own goal.

A few times last year and twice this year actually. Keep in eye on 15 and 7 for Trinity. I know 7 (Stocton) is going to Indiana and I believe 15 is also a D1 signee. I've seen Stockton slice through 4-5 players in traffic and is the 2013 player of the year in Ky. I don't see CCH with that type of player on the pitch. Here's a little more info on Stockton. Q&A Trinity soccer's Sam Stockton I wish the CCH players all the best and will be rooting for them but just providing some objective analysis.

I've seen Trinity play twice this year (lex Cath & HHS) which were both pretty much blowouts even if the scores don't indicate it and they are very impressive but its' truly hard to gauge based on those game. One clear advantage over CCH from what I've seen of both is that Trinity can easily play 16 (goalie included) that are all technically solid can handle the ball. There's little to no drop in play when they tart subbing while with CCH I've seen a drop once they start subbing and some worrisome ball handling coming out of the backline. CCH's midfield can definitely play and i would say they are both equal in that part of the game. Then you look at forwards and defense and Trinity is a quicker and more technical team in both regards. That said, they are both teams of HS boys and anything can happen on any given day. If CCH can keep at least equal in terms of possessions and capitalize on opportunities that will come up (no missed open header or 1 on 1s with keeper) they could pull off an upset. I can see another 3-1 Trinity but wouldn't be surprised to see a 1-1 draw even 2-1 CCH win.

Being in this for some 40+ years from all angles this post is about the most prolific statement I think I've heard in many many years and goes to the point I was trying to make about the influences players have that affect how they conduct themselves. There's absolutely nothing wrong about rooting for a team, being mad about a situation or even expressing disagreement (assuming it comes in a respectful manner) spending equal amount of time influencing a player in a positive manner by instead of blinding defending a player/team or placing blame on another player/ref, parents took your approach and talk their son/daughter about the words the refs read off before every game "..High School athletics emphasize positive values.... We remind you that we expect good behavior and will quickly penalize misconduct. We encourage and appreciate your help. Let this competition reflect mutual respect among all participants, coaches and officials." Too bad they don't have the announcers spend time before each game reading that off instead of effort they put into reading the names of the starting lineup everyone in the stadium knows by heart. if they did maybe the whole intent of the game wouldn't be lost before the whistle is even blown to start the game and just maybe more parents will take it upon themselves to contribute to seeing less if not all of that type of behavior is elliminated from the game. Yes, polly anna (yes, dating myself with that one) in view but really isn't it what's needed?

thanks for the insight. sometimes it's not just of one target or who the target is but sometimes it's due how the mids play together with another body there. If you have 2 enter mids that play 60 mins playing with certain space and rolls then add a third and they don't practice that well and at game speed it can cause problems retaining possession.

Anyone know if Borkowski from BC is hurt? He was second in scoring last year and I see he's only played in 1 game this year based on what I'm seeing on KHSAA stats page.

one of two things are in error. Either the game reports was written wrong/KHSAA recorded it incorrectly or your reliable source isn't so reliable. Per KHSAA's website KHSAA DQ Reports on File Downs, Beau Soccer (Varsity) 3 Boone County 09/04/14 Scott Gascon, Sam Soccer (Varsity) 16 Boone County 09/05/14 Scott Espinoza, Enrique Soccer (Varsity) 00 Boone County 09/05/14 Scott Petterson, Chance Soccer (Varsity) 18 Scott 09/05/14 Boone County Treadway, Luke Soccer (Varsity) 34 Scott 09/05/14 Boone County note: i too heard 4 were ejected from boone but I wasn't there and I'm going off the KHSAA report noted above.

Three comments. 1) i understand through a Boone faithful that at least the Boone cards were all deserved. One of the reds was in part due to a player aggressively approaching an AR. 2) this is from comments I've heard but also observed first hand that the BC coach really does try to positively influence his players conduct on and off the field. Two examples I saw were at the North Oldham game when one of his key players received a well deserved yellow for a late tackle, he kept him on the bench for a good portion of that half with the score 2-0 and the end still in doubt. He also, didn't start a typical started to hopefully get through to him that his behavior has consequences. 3) I point out the above not to call anyone out specifically but to shed light on statement folks have made on this thread about coaches not controlling their players and that it's just not that black and white. If a coach has a key player that also has a history of poor behavior I personally think they best they can do is attempt as best they can to make a positive influence while balancing the needs of the team. Put yourselves in the Scott and Boone coaches shoes and what would or could you really control to have the behavior displayed by players different? Would you really sit a key player who just received a yellow for a "nasty foul" the entire game or would you do what I hear the coaches attempted to do during that game which is explained to player what they are doing wrong (again), tell them it will affect their team and give them the chance to think about it and then provide them a chance to behave correctly? I doubt anyone here truly would sit a player and entire half, because that's basically what it would take to avoid what transpire from what I can tell and heard. At the end of the day, it's the kids that make the decisions and I can't help but wonder what influences those that are repeat offenders have in their lives outside of the 1-2 hours 5-6 days a week for 3 months a coach has. How many at the game heard after the very first foul of the game called by the CR, a scream from a parent/spectator something like " Johnny, don't take that crap" or "get him back".

out of curiosity, in you opinion was the formation change a cause, personnel or a combination that resulted in the change?

as I've stated many times in my life, I maybe dumb but I'm not an idiot. on a serious note, any comments i may make on this board are based on information I've received from people I've physically spoken and personally consider to be reliable or I've observed first hand. like many on here I've heard a ton about various items raised on this board but have chosen to not comment about unless they fall into the above criteria.

and a tennis racket to take whacks at the swarm of dragon flies