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2009 Spring - Game Recaps
Monroe Thunder
2009 Spring Season Game Recaps
The 2009 Spring Season the Monroe Thunder moved up considerably in rankings...in the Fall the Thunder were playing teams ranked 60-70 in the MNJYSA in the fall. In the spring, the Thunder will be playing teams in the 30-40 ranks. That is a considerable upgrade. It is good to be playing against higher level teams, however, as parents and coaches we should modify our expectations accordingly.
Week J - Win - Monroe Thunder 7 - West Windsor - 2 (4-5-1) - Thursday, 5/21/09
Now that the season is over, the Monroe Thunder has finally hit their stride. They reeled off their 3rd consecutive win bringing their record to a very respectable 4-5-1. They also moved into 3rd place. They have proved that they belong in this flight and once they started scoring the wins started coming. It is a shame we didn’t go thru the schedule one more time, we may have given everybody a run for the money. Anyway, another strong scoring effort.
Tyler W led the scoring with a Hat Trick. He scored 3 goals from the center wing position. He did a great job of staying home and getting quick shots off in traffic. Great job Tyler. Tyler M came on to score a really nice goal right under the cross bar. Tyler M made quite a few runs and again had some solid crosses, even though everytime I pulled him out he was coughing up a storm. Jair played a solid game and also came up with a huge goal from outside the 18. Another nice shot just under the crossbar. Tyler T also had a goal on a sliding shot on a breakaway. I cannot remember who scored the 7th goal, as soon as I remember I will add it to the game recap, I apologize, I am not use to so many goals.
The best goal of the season was scored after 5 people touched the ball... With Jair playing sweeper, he controlled the ball in the middle and passed the ball to the right fullback, Ryan W, who carried the ball to mid-field and passed to the Stopper, David A, who one touched the ball to the right wing, Tyler M?, who one touched the ball on a cross to one of Tyler W’s goals. It was really unbelievable, I turned to Coach Joe and said that was our best goal of the year.
It was great to see us play so well, that we could move people into new positions...Brandon W, David A, Joe Z, and Ryan S all were able to log a good amount of time on offense. Jair, Ryan W, Harrison, Shawn, and Eric all were able to log some time on defense. We even put Ryan W and David A in goal. I was happy with everybody’s play, Jair played strong at Sweeper, I really liked him there. Harrison played well at stopper and center mid, I liked him there. I also like the way both Tyler W and Ryan S played at center wing. Tyler W scored 4 goals in 2 games from the center wing position, he really played well.
Good game and a great way to end the regular season.
Week I - Win - Monroe Thunder 3 - Livingston Lobos - 1 - (3-5-1) - Sunday 5/17/09
After our 7-1 loss to Flemington, our boys have shown again how much resiliency they have. This is their second straight win vs a high quality opponenet. The boys played their best game of the season and are really hitting their stride. They are proving what I always believed, that they belong and are competitive with the other teams in this flight. I was so very proud of their effort, they played 100% aggressive for 100% of the game. They came away with a well deserved win over a team that played the Flemington team to a 2-2 tie the week before. Congratulations on a well earned 3-1 win. (The threats of no food at beach blast must of worked, as we are bringing up our goal kitty to record levels).
I would like to say that the last two weeks our defense has played much more aggressively, I think David A and Brandon W have really stepped up their games and are playing extremely well. They are the anchors to our defense are pretty much irreplaceable back there. David A is really starting to develop a good strong right foot and shortening the field and placing the ball back to our offense on a consistent basis. Brandon W is always solid and he is really playing well. Joe Z had a very solid game and Ryan M probably played his best game of the season.
In addition, I wanted to single out both Matt and Michael, as they both played their best games of the season. I have been pushing both of the M&M boys to be more aggressive and pass the ball faster and not try to dribble or stall the play. Matt especially played very well, dribbling past the first defender and then quickly moving the ball with a pass before the next defender arrived. Great job to both Matt and Mike.
The biggest surprise of the game was that Shawn didn’t score, breaking his 5 game scoring streak, however, the left wing position did score our first goal. It just so happened that Eric S has been watching Shawn be in the right position, game after game, and Eric was able to put a nice hard shot in the back of the net off of a nice cross. It was a beautiful goal and beautiful execution by the whole team.
Tyler W scored a goal after a beautiful over the top pass and putting the ball into the back of the net. A great goal, we couldn’t draw it up any better. The play was made by Jair hustling to the ball at the center-mid position and putting the ball over the top.
David S put in a nice headball off of a nice cross from the right wing position to score our insurance goal and completed our scoring for the day. We won’t mention that the ball came off the football cross bar, but we certainly could use a break after some of the calls we had this season.
I also wanted to say that Jair, Ryan W, Michael, and Matt all dominated our mid-field play in this game and that was the key to the game. We simply won the majority of the 50-50 balls and that was wonderful to see. Ryan W finished the game at left fullback marking their best player and running him down from behind to prevent a breakaway goal. Ryan W and Jair both stepped up.
Great win...as I said after the Flemington blowout - if we win out we have a very good chance at finishing a respectable 3rd place. One more game to go...
Week H - Win - Monroe Thunder 3 - Berkeley Heights 2 - (2-5-1) - Sunday 5/10/09
Happy Mother’s Day!!! Well the Monroe Thunder gave their Mom’s a very good Mother’s day present as they won their second game of the season against a very good Berkeley Heights team.
For most of the game, the boys played pretty aggressive throughout. They came out a little flat to begin the second half, but showed a lot of heart to come back after Berkeley Heights opened the second half with 2 quick goals to take a 2-1 lead about 8 minutes into the second half.
I was very proud of the way the boys responded, just like they had done several times before against Millburn, they just didn’t quit. They came back and scored 2 quality goals at the end of game and earned their second victory of the season, winning 3-2. I was really proud of the heart the boys showed.
We also were aware of their offsides trap this time around. They caught us offsides probably 10 times the last time we played them. We turned the tides on them this time around, as we pulled them offsides about 6 times, and we were only offsides maybe 3 times. It was good recognition on our part.
I thought that David A, Brandon W, Ryan W and Jair showed a lot of aggressiveness throughout the entire game. If the entire team played with their energy, we would never have any letdowns. They played pretty solid yesterday. Joe Z played well in the first half on defense and was very solid. Tyler M played a high quality 15 minutes in the second half where he was much more aggressive attacking the ball. When Tyler M was able to get off his runs, his crosses have been great!! He really has shown great improvement throughout the season. He made an excellent cross for our first goal, which again was scored by Shawn G. I believe that is 4 consecutive games for Shawn with a goal!! He is en fuego!
The second goal was scored off of a rebound from just inside the 18 by Ryan W. He banged it home, I believe with his left foot. An excellent shot, the kind of shot we are looking for from our mid-fielders. Great job Ryan!!
I also thought Harrison played well at the center wing position in the second half, he made some good distribution passes to the outside. Overall a great win and a much needed win for our team morale. We have 2 games left, the most important game being against Livingston this weekend. If we win out, we should finish a very respectable third place.
Ryan and Tyler T both played solid in goal.
Week G - Loss - Monroe 1 - Flemington 7 - (1-5-1) - Sunday, 05/03
It was a tough rainy day yesterday. The first game of the season where we really were outplayed and the game was not very competitive.
In talking with the opposing coach, he really felt we played very well in the first half and we just weren’t able to put any goals in the net, but we did have several nice runs. I agree. I know the final score was 7-1, however, that was only the second goal that team has given up all year. They are 6-0-1 and we are the team that tied them.
I thought we played pretty solid in the first half, even though we were down 3-0 at the half. The second half just got away from us as we tried to pull them offsides with our defensive trap. It worked quite a few times and then we were caught a couple of other times. The corner kick they scored on was unbelievable. I also liked our corner kick, we ran the play perfectly and we had people open, we just could not finish.
I thought Brandon, Jair, Ryan W, Harrison, W, Tyler M, and Shawn G all had good games. Ryan S did not play poorly in goal, as most goals were on breakaways and he did have a couple pretty good saves.
Please don’t let the kids get down. We have a very good opportunity to win out the last 3 games. In fact, since Somerset and Millburn are undefeated, if we win out we still have a shot at finishing in 3rd place. I know the competition is much better this season than last, but I still think we are competitive and can really end up on a high note.
Congratulations to Shawn as he scored another goal yesterday. I believe that is 3 games in a row for Shawn – great job!!
Week F - Loss - Monroe 3 - Millburn 4 - (1-4-1) - Sunday, 004/26
Well I was really proud of the way the boys played in the second half yesterday. They kept coming back and coming back and coming back…..It did not matter how many obstacles the other team, the refs, the game and/or the weather put in front of them -- they never quit. One thing I can say about the game is that it was probably the most exciting game I have been a part of.
I think I was the most proud of their efforts in the second half than at any other time this season.
The boys were down 3-0 at halftime and never gave up. They had a goal called back on a questionable (albeit correct to the letter of the rules) offsides call on Tyler M. Then Mike C hit the crossbar as the wind gusted up his shot and it hit the crossbar. Then we hit the post. The coaches decided to implement a defensive trap that really seemed to work well, as the kids tried to push up and control the offensive half of the field. This is something that we are going to practice and maybe put in place for the rest of the season.
Still down 3-0 with 15 minutes left in the game. We finally broke through with a beautifully executed goal. Tyler M made a nice play and run down the sideline and crossed the ball right across the 3 yard line. Shawn ran full speed and charged right through the ball sliding to get his body on it and put in the back of the net. It was a beautiful play and Shawn really stayed home, stayed onsides, and ran right through the ball. Two weeks in a row Shawn had 2 textbook goals. This makes the score 3-1 with 15 minutes to play. With about 12 minutes to play Ryan made a beautiful save on a high shot from just inside the 18 to keep the score at 3-1.
The Thunder kept plugging away, and after a couple more shots on goal, one by Jair and one by Ryan W. Harrison finally broke through on another cross as he put a left foot on the ball and squeezed a hard shot by the short post for another goal. Harrison put a lot of power behind the shot, and it was a good left footed goal. That made the score 3-2 with about 10 minutes to play.
After a couple of more near misses and a couple of mysterious drop ball calls by the referee….The boys still did not give up….Tyler M scored on a beautiful shot just inside the 18 that floated up and over the goalie for our 3rd goal of the game. Game tied 3-3.
We moved some of our defensive players back into positions, Ryan M moved back to stopper and we pulled off the trap. With about 3 minutes left, our defense missed a clear and allowed a 2 on none breakaway on Ryan, Millburn put a shot just inside the post – Millburn took the lead back 4-3.
However, the boys did not give up!! They came back and we had 2 near misses as their defenders blocked 2 hard shots from Ryan W and Jair. In the closing minute we had a corner kick and Ryan W had a shot that was going into the goal, that appeared to be an obvious hand ball that was not called. They called another corner kick…the boys practiced the corner kick play all day on Saturday and they ran it to perfection. Eric had a cross that entered 2/3 of the way down the goal and Harrison W headed the ball right into the goal….their goalie got a hand on the ball and it bounced down the goal line and out of bounds. Game over.
Despite all the obstacles put in front of the boys, they showed a lot of heart, and a lot of pride and they never gave up!!
We should all be proud of their efforts on Sunday…a tough loss against an undefeated team. Currently the Millburn team is 8-0 with 8 goals scored against and we have 5 of those goals, we really played the #1 team in our flight very well.
Week E - Win - Monroe 5 - West Windsor Gladiators 1 - (1-3-1) - Sunday, 04/19
After 5 consecutive scoreless games, The Thunder broke out in a big way. Monroe had a tough week of practice and an even tougher day at the Monroe Tournament. Saturday night everybody had to do a little soul searching and reevaluate their committment to the team and show alot more self discipline and heart. It all started before the game with a good attitude and a good warmup which carried out onto the field. The game started with Monroe ready to play, dominating the middle of the field, with good passing, excellent communication, and wonderful ball movement. What a difference a day makes.
The scoring started with a great goal from a strong left foot cross from Jair over the top to a storming Shawn G for a beautiful goal. Our first goal in 340 minutes of play. Shawn played his best game of the season by far. Jair played a very strong game as he had some strong crosses and used his left foot effectively. He crossed the ball on time and didn’t hold onto the ball to long. All our goals originated with a good pass. The second goal was scored by Harrison W on a good cross by Ryan W. Harrison one-timed the ball just past the goalie inside the left post. Shawn G made sure it stayed in the goal, by smashing the ball into the back of the net after crossing the goal line. He was close to scoring a second goal. David S played a lot of right wing today, and I was very pleased with his play there. David had a nice breakaway off of an over the top pass and put the ball high over the goalie’s head from 15 yards out. The best shot of the day. Tyler M also scored a goal by running through the ball and pushing it into the goal off of a nice cross from Eric S. We scored 4 goals in the first half, twice as many as we scored in the first 4 games. Tyler M scored a second goal in the second half off of a shot from Tyler T.
We were able to play some of our defenders up on the front line in the second half which was a good experience for them. David A, Joe Z, and Brandon W all played up. Brandon W played extremely well, he made several nice runs as the right halfback, in fact, he drove the ball from mid-field all the way down to the near post before crossing the ball across the goalie box. It was a shame no one was there to put it in. Eric S played extremely well, he had two near misses as he put the ball over the crossbar. Tyler M also hit the crossbar on a sure goal if it was a couple of inches lower. Some other players that played very well, Matt K, Tyler W, Ryan W, Jair, and Harrison W played extremely well at both Right Mid and Center Mid. David A and Joe Z played well on defense. David S played a solid Right Wing.
The only disapointments during the game is when Ryan M went down in the first couple of minutes of the first half and then Shawn in the second half both fell to injuries. They were serious enough to prevent them from returning to the game. Hopefully, they will return to normal practices this week.
On a side note, Thank god we scored 5 goals this game, it was looking like our end of year bar-b-q was going to be meatless, we would only be able to afford rolls and not burgers and hot dogs...let alone drinks. Second, Kelly said the Gardini’s, the Sorrentino’s and the Chiusano’s are not allowed to attend games anymore, because their kids combined for 4 goals today when the parents were not at the game...but we are not superstitiuous.
Week D - Loss - Monroe 0 - Livingston Lobos 2 - (0-3-1) - Sunday, 04/05
Monroe’s scoreless streak has extended to 3 games. We have not scored a goal at home yet this season. The boys played pretty well. In fact, I thought we dominated the game at times. We had more opportunities to score than Livingston, however, we were not able to score again. Tyler M hit the post and I am still not sure how the ball did not go into the net. Mike C had a couple of chances to score. We gave up a penalty in the second half that led directly to a goal in the second half. Otherwise the defense played pretty well again. We had our opportunities to score and we played hard, we just need to find the right combination upfront to score. We have the weekend off for the holidays and then we head into the Monroe Tournament.
Week C - Loss - Monroe 0 - Berkely Heights Bucks 1 (0-2-1) - Sunday, 3/29
The Monroe Thunder finally played a home game after 2 long road trips. Their first game on the HS turf stadium. The boys played a very competitive game against a very competitive Berkely Heights team. For the second consecutive game the Thunder was unable to score. Although Monroe was befuddled by a very well played defensive trapping team. We do know the proper strategy as we have the speed on the outside to counteract any defensive trap. We had about 6 or 7 offsides penalties that stifled our offense. The boys played well and I was pleased with the effort, we just need to work on our offsides and awareness of the opposing team’s defense. The defense played well only giving up one goal and we hit the post and crossbar during the game. Sometimes you are just unlucky.
Week B - Tie - Monroe 0 - Greater Flemingston Storm 0 (0-1-1) - Sunday, 03/22
The Monroe Thunder came out today and played aggressive right from the get go...The kids like making fun of me when I say that. That was by far the best game we have played as a team to date. The boys played fantastic and that was probably one of the better teams we have faced. The boys were aggressive throughout and they won their share of 50-50 balls. They communicated well, they passed the ball well and they had quite a few opportunities in the second half to bang in goal. They were not able to finish and unlucky on a couple of chances. I could not be more proud of their effort. They had a great week of practice and the results showed in the game. If we put this effort in going forward, we will be competitive in all our games.
We were missing two big players in Jair and David S, and I thought Ryan W, Matt K, Mike C, and Tyler W picked up the slack at mid-field. Ryan W was all over the field in the first half, he slowed a little towards the end of the game, but showed great heart in playing through the second half at center mid. It was probably his best game to date. Eric S had a good game at left wing along with SHAWN.
Matt K had a tremendous game at mid-field he really played well. The defense starting with both goalies played extremely well. Tyler T is going to be feeling that shot to his chest for a couple of days. Tyler T also played very well at left fullback and then I thought he was playing so well, that I moved him up to mid-field and center striker for a stretch. I played him until he looked like he couldn’t run anymore. He did a great job. Ryan S played much better in goal this week. He was tentative the week before, we worked all week on being more aggressive. He came out 5-6 times, punched the ball out twice and saved another penalty shot. He also played well on defense.
David A, Joe Z, Brandon W, and Ryan M all played extremely well on defense. They all played very well marking the weak side. Brandon W saved a goal by kicking it out of the goalie box. The other thing that the fullbacks did extremely well was meet the ball at mid-field and throw it back to the offense. David A and Joe Z and Tyler T all did that quite a few times. Ryan M did a good job of challenging the ball in the middle.
Overall - A great team effort - I am very proud. Next week is going to be another tough test...this flight every game will be a big challenge.
Great Job and Great Effort!!
Week A - Loss Monroe 2 - Millburn 4 (0-1-0) - Sunday, 03/15
Well the Monroe Thunder opened up the Spring Season with a disappointing loss. The team had a rough first half, as we opened up very flat and gave up a very poor goal to open up the game. Both the goalie and the defense misplayed the ball, the second goal was a breakdown on the defense. Although, we did get lucky as Millburn hit the post and the crossbar three times in the first half. The Monroe Thunder found themselves down 2-0 and feeling defeated at halftime.
After a strong lecture at halftime from both Joe and myself, we told the boys they are just as good as Millburn and that the effort must be stepped up and the results will come. We asked the boys to apply full effort and win all the 50-50 balls. Regardless of the score at the end of the game, knowing that they put full effort was all we were looking for.
With that, the Thunder came out "Storming" in the second half and really dominated the half. I was really proud of the effort they put forth and the results showed in the second half. Millburn was a high quality opponent and at many times in the second half Millburn was on their heals panicking. They didn’t recognize the second half team. Both the opposing coach and the refs indicated they were really surprised at how well the boys came back and how well they played in the second half. I was very proud of the efforts.
I thought Joe Z played a really good game in both halves. He came off the field a little dejected at halftime and I had a hard talk with him, but he personally saved 2 goals in the second half on fine defensive plays. He really stepped up.
Michael C scored his first goal of the season and Ryan W banged home another goal. The boys fought back hard...down 2-0 they scored to make it 2-1, then down 3-1 they scored again to make it 3-2. We had several chances to scorre the tying goal, we missed an open net twice and hit the post once while the score was 3-2. Millburn scored on a very late breakaway goal while we were pushed up tryng to tie the game to make the final score 4-2. Millburn was a little worried as we were dominating play at the time.
I thought Tyler M had an exceptional 2nd half and made quite a few runs. Ryan W played well in the second half. Shawn and Eric played much better in the second half as well.
Overall, I thought it was a great learning experience, I expect to have the effort displayed in the second half for all our games. If we do, then we should have a very successful season.
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