Problems with the drainage at Bluffton's field meant that they could not host the game as scheduled. We gladly took the opportunity to play the game at EC.
The match is even early on with BU earning a couple of corners and runs by Jacob Ebbs and Tamru Taye resulting in shots at goal but no pattern emerges. Bluffton sets a high line and compacts midfield well, a tactic that often gives us problems.
In the 14th minute Feli Muyumba plays Tamru in on the keeper but his quick reaction denies Tamru and the game stays scoreless. A ball from Alex Ferreira almost reaches Tamru a few minutes later and after the ensuing collision the Bluffton keeper has to come off. Feli gets a shot off from about 25 yards that's just wide and we begin to have more possession as our fullbacks, Corey Campbell and Zander Ansara begin to have an impact going forward---which would soon bear fruit. A cross from Corey in the 27th minute hits the crossbar and Ibrahim Diarra (on for Feli) comes close to scoring at the far post on Jacob Ebbs' corner.
Just a minute later (30) Jacob gets onto a ball Bluffton play square at the back, plays a one-two with Ibrahim and lobs the advancing keeper for the first goal of the game and his career first. Bluffton recover and hit a shot from distance right at Chris Marshall in the goal but they're under pressure again soon after as Ibra plays Jacob in on the left and just misses the return ball.
In the 43rd minute Zander steps to intercept a Bluffton pass and one-times a ball behind their back line. Ibrahim is already moving and beats the keeper to the ball and finishes in an open goal for 2-0.
Second half begins and we're on top for the most part. In the 50th minute Alex plays a beautiful ball over the defense to Tamru but BU's keeper holds on to Tamru's shot. A few minutes later Tamru dispossesses a Bluffton back and plays to Jacob in front but the shot is high. We've stressed pressure high up the field and it has been bringing us chances. Alex gets the ball after a short goal kick and plays Evan in at the top of the box. Evan is fouled and Mussa Ibrahim hits the free kick just over.
In the 58th minute we win a free kick out at half field and Corey alertly plays the ball across the field to Tamru on the right. Tamru plays Zander on the overlap and Zander's ball finds Jacob Ebbs ahead of his marker close to goal. Jacob buries the header for his second of the day and Zander's second assist. This one was what I call a 'service goal' as Zander put it right on the money.
The game continues with us in control and we see it out for a first conference win and a clean sheet. Solid margins in all the stats and possession.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
1 Defiance 1
We kick off against Defiance in our home opener in the HCAC knowing we'll face a challenge in contrasting styles of play. DU are very well organized defensively and will play directly up to a lone front on the counter. We will be missing Arsene Kabeya to illness and move Corey Campbell to left back in his place.
First half follows the plot as far as possession (largely us) and shots are 5-2 our way but good chances are few and it's 0-0 at the half. Second half starts well and the ball falls to Evan Elko after a corner in the 49th minute and Evan finishes for a 1-0 lead. Defiance ups the pressure on us and we don't respond too well. In the 78th minute they get a free kick from the side and score a header at the far post to get even. We recover fairly well and begin to apply pressure as they sit back a bit. With about 5 minutes to go Mussa Ibrahim gets through their defence on the left and plays Tamru in on the far post. Tamru's shot just misses and the game goes to overtime. Chris Marshall makes some significant saves to keep us level.
We continue to have the better of play in extra time, outshooting DU 4-0 in OT and 13-8 for the game. Tamru just misses wide early on and Felipe Buitrago almost scores in a scramble in front of their goal. The game ends a draw which we may look on as points dropped. We sustain a couple of significant injuries; Frank Mbaya goes out for the last 15 minutes of the first half after being cleated and Zander Ansara goes out in the second half with the same injury. Alex Ferreira steps in for both and ends up playing right midfield, right back and center back in the same game---some kind of record. Frank is OK going forward but Zander may have to sit.
We're now 6th in conference at 0-0-2 and 2 points and the relocation of this weekends Bluffton game to Earlham because of field issues at Bluffton means we really have to get 3 points out of a game soon.
First half follows the plot as far as possession (largely us) and shots are 5-2 our way but good chances are few and it's 0-0 at the half. Second half starts well and the ball falls to Evan Elko after a corner in the 49th minute and Evan finishes for a 1-0 lead. Defiance ups the pressure on us and we don't respond too well. In the 78th minute they get a free kick from the side and score a header at the far post to get even. We recover fairly well and begin to apply pressure as they sit back a bit. With about 5 minutes to go Mussa Ibrahim gets through their defence on the left and plays Tamru in on the far post. Tamru's shot just misses and the game goes to overtime. Chris Marshall makes some significant saves to keep us level.
We continue to have the better of play in extra time, outshooting DU 4-0 in OT and 13-8 for the game. Tamru just misses wide early on and Felipe Buitrago almost scores in a scramble in front of their goal. The game ends a draw which we may look on as points dropped. We sustain a couple of significant injuries; Frank Mbaya goes out for the last 15 minutes of the first half after being cleated and Zander Ansara goes out in the second half with the same injury. Alex Ferreira steps in for both and ends up playing right midfield, right back and center back in the same game---some kind of record. Frank is OK going forward but Zander may have to sit.
We're now 6th in conference at 0-0-2 and 2 points and the relocation of this weekends Bluffton game to Earlham because of field issues at Bluffton means we really have to get 3 points out of a game soon.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
1 Franklin 1 HCAC opener
Our conference opener kicks off right after the EC women beat Franklin 3-2 after falling behind 2-0 in the first half. It's our second consecutive night game on turf and we are certainly fortunate to have a turf field at EC to help us prepare.
As I suspected, the game is intense from the start. FC are really solid and capable of some good stuff but despite being under pressure often we face up well. In the 35th minute Franklin have a corner from the left which is cleared only just outside the box and the resultant shot is deflected off Tamru Taye over Chris Marshal's head in goal. We're 1-0 down away from home and looking at an eighth straight defeat.
We rally in the second half and begin to keep possession better and get a few chances but time is running out. In the 85th minute Corey Campbell launches a long cross from the left which finds Tamru Taye at the far post. Tamru sends the header back over/across the keeper and in at the far corner. Big shouts and celebrations. Get the water ready for OT but remember the Thomas More game where they scored immediately after our late equalizer. Not this time. Regulation ends even in goals (1-1), shots (10-10), shots on goal (3-3) and corners (4-4).
Overtime produces no winner despite Jacob Ebbs having a late opportunity on a counter. Not "the" result but "a" result which gets us off the mark in conference far better than last year (3-0 loss to Anderson). Spirits are better now but we know the challenges we face. On Wednesday we play Defiance, 1-0 winners away to Mount St. Joseph on this day. MSJ finished ahead of us last year and were in the HCAC tournament. Last year we drew at home with Defiance in a lightning shortened game.
A notable visitor at the game was Nathan Cline ('03), a four-year starter at center back who turned up with wife Megan, son and daughter.
As I suspected, the game is intense from the start. FC are really solid and capable of some good stuff but despite being under pressure often we face up well. In the 35th minute Franklin have a corner from the left which is cleared only just outside the box and the resultant shot is deflected off Tamru Taye over Chris Marshal's head in goal. We're 1-0 down away from home and looking at an eighth straight defeat.
We rally in the second half and begin to keep possession better and get a few chances but time is running out. In the 85th minute Corey Campbell launches a long cross from the left which finds Tamru Taye at the far post. Tamru sends the header back over/across the keeper and in at the far corner. Big shouts and celebrations. Get the water ready for OT but remember the Thomas More game where they scored immediately after our late equalizer. Not this time. Regulation ends even in goals (1-1), shots (10-10), shots on goal (3-3) and corners (4-4).
Overtime produces no winner despite Jacob Ebbs having a late opportunity on a counter. Not "the" result but "a" result which gets us off the mark in conference far better than last year (3-0 loss to Anderson). Spirits are better now but we know the challenges we face. On Wednesday we play Defiance, 1-0 winners away to Mount St. Joseph on this day. MSJ finished ahead of us last year and were in the HCAC tournament. Last year we drew at home with Defiance in a lightning shortened game.
A notable visitor at the game was Nathan Cline ('03), a four-year starter at center back who turned up with wife Megan, son and daughter.
0 Wittenberg 3
Off to old NCAC foe Wittenberg coached by Steve Dawson, whose tenure there trails mine by only a couple of years. The Tigers play on turf now but we have the advantage of being able to practice full field on turf down at Ross Field (EC football stadium). We learn that our turf is seriously better than that at Witt but we can't use that as an excuse.
The first half is tentative for both teams and ends 0-0. We have had an annoying habit of being unable to take a kickoff and get the ball out of our own half and in the second half we raise that to new heights and hand Witt a goal just 18 seconds after the restart. That did help to wake us up a bit and we went on a tear for about 25 minutes, playing the best we did all day, forcing a couple of decent saves from their keeper and hitting the crossbar (Xander Ansara). With perhaps their first attack of the half, Witt got wide around our left side and played a ball across to a player who got across his marker for their second goal in the 77th minute. Heads down now we conceded a third almost exactly as we did the second. Disappointing defending in front which was addressed pointedly in practice the next day.
Our season has begun to take the shape of last year's, with a long pre-conference losing streak. We look ahead to a conference opener away to Franklin who will certainly be relishing an opportunity to have a go at us after we got into the HCAC tournament last year by beating them on the last day of regular season. We will be tweaking some of our lineup in the interim to try to be more productive in attack.
The first half is tentative for both teams and ends 0-0. We have had an annoying habit of being unable to take a kickoff and get the ball out of our own half and in the second half we raise that to new heights and hand Witt a goal just 18 seconds after the restart. That did help to wake us up a bit and we went on a tear for about 25 minutes, playing the best we did all day, forcing a couple of decent saves from their keeper and hitting the crossbar (Xander Ansara). With perhaps their first attack of the half, Witt got wide around our left side and played a ball across to a player who got across his marker for their second goal in the 77th minute. Heads down now we conceded a third almost exactly as we did the second. Disappointing defending in front which was addressed pointedly in practice the next day.
Our season has begun to take the shape of last year's, with a long pre-conference losing streak. We look ahead to a conference opener away to Franklin who will certainly be relishing an opportunity to have a go at us after we got into the HCAC tournament last year by beating them on the last day of regular season. We will be tweaking some of our lineup in the interim to try to be more productive in attack.
0 Wooster 1
We visited Wooster on their homecoming, marking 2 years in a row going to them to play; something I did to help even out scheduling issues since we already had 11 home games this year. Last year we wasted an early lead and lost 1-2 after playing with ten men for about 30 minutes. This year we went out and played probably our worst half of soccer from the kickoff, getting outshot 7-4 for the period. At halftime we regrouped and played much better, eventually evening shots at 11-11 on the day and hitting the post (Shvan Al-Hussein) in the first half and the crossbar (Corey Campbell)in the second.
Despite the pressure, a Wooster forward broke into the box and was fouled way out wide away from goal for a penalty. For the 5th consecutive time we conceded a penalty without getting a card. Not that I'd like to see people carded or ejected for fouling but it means that we haven't been reacting to "a clear goalscoring chance" but rather creating one for our opponents. It didn't help that the Wooster player who scored the penalty was the son of a guy who lived on my hall freshman year at Wooster. Down we go again despite a decent response in the second half.
Despite the pressure, a Wooster forward broke into the box and was fouled way out wide away from goal for a penalty. For the 5th consecutive time we conceded a penalty without getting a card. Not that I'd like to see people carded or ejected for fouling but it means that we haven't been reacting to "a clear goalscoring chance" but rather creating one for our opponents. It didn't help that the Wooster player who scored the penalty was the son of a guy who lived on my hall freshman year at Wooster. Down we go again despite a decent response in the second half.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
3 Thomas More 4
Thomas More, 3-time defending champions of the President's Athletic Conference, came to EC for a midweek game. Undefeated so far in 2012, TMC ended last year ranked 18th nationally, losing in the NCAA first round to Hope.
The first half sees us play perhaps our best of the season so far, with a large advantage in possession and chances. Early on Felicien Muyumba slams a shot off the post and back into play. Shortly thereafter Evan Elko receives a beautiful through ball from Alex Ferreira and is in on goal, and is denied when the keeper gets a touch on his shot and the ball is cleared. In the 26th minute, Tamru Taye, playing right back, drifts inside about 25 yards from goal on his left and sends a bomb into the upper near corner for a one goal lead. In the 35th minute Shvan Al-Hussein plays a 1-2 with Felipe Buitrago and beats the advancing keeper for a 2-0 halftime lead.
You know what they say about a two goal lead being dangerous---well it was. Despite anything we can say at the interval, we don't begin the second half well. Thomas More plays far more directly (an oft-heard theme in our matches) and we lack the defensive discipline to deal with the pressure. Twelve second half fouls give TMC the chance to serve balls into our area, which, when added to 12 throwins in our half give us more air ball than we can handle and with goals in the 59th, 80th and 83rd minutes they lead 3-2.
In the 89th minute we're chasing the game when Corey Campbell launches one of his long throws from the left and Mussa Ibrahim gets to the ball on the back post to tie it up at 3-3. Justice maybe since Mussa had a chance go just wide which would have restored a 2-goal lead for us earlier. Then as I'm thinking about preparing for overtime, another long throw of theirs bounces around the box and is finished with seconds remaining.
The game was a blow to our confidence on a variety of levels but it does help us see where we can be better. Conference play is on the horizon and we have work to do for sure.
The first half sees us play perhaps our best of the season so far, with a large advantage in possession and chances. Early on Felicien Muyumba slams a shot off the post and back into play. Shortly thereafter Evan Elko receives a beautiful through ball from Alex Ferreira and is in on goal, and is denied when the keeper gets a touch on his shot and the ball is cleared. In the 26th minute, Tamru Taye, playing right back, drifts inside about 25 yards from goal on his left and sends a bomb into the upper near corner for a one goal lead. In the 35th minute Shvan Al-Hussein plays a 1-2 with Felipe Buitrago and beats the advancing keeper for a 2-0 halftime lead.
You know what they say about a two goal lead being dangerous---well it was. Despite anything we can say at the interval, we don't begin the second half well. Thomas More plays far more directly (an oft-heard theme in our matches) and we lack the defensive discipline to deal with the pressure. Twelve second half fouls give TMC the chance to serve balls into our area, which, when added to 12 throwins in our half give us more air ball than we can handle and with goals in the 59th, 80th and 83rd minutes they lead 3-2.
In the 89th minute we're chasing the game when Corey Campbell launches one of his long throws from the left and Mussa Ibrahim gets to the ball on the back post to tie it up at 3-3. Justice maybe since Mussa had a chance go just wide which would have restored a 2-goal lead for us earlier. Then as I'm thinking about preparing for overtime, another long throw of theirs bounces around the box and is finished with seconds remaining.
The game was a blow to our confidence on a variety of levels but it does help us see where we can be better. Conference play is on the horizon and we have work to do for sure.
0 Wilmington 2
For the first time in a long while we met Wilmington (the other Quakers) in a regular season match. We're refiguring the back line with a new starter at center back. Jacques Mbong, a firstyear from Lexington, Kentucky became the starter. We start fairly slowly with some decent possession and attack on the right side involving Eric Elko and Tamru Taye. The match was played at a high pace and Wilmington caught us on the break with a ball over the top and a solid finish for the first goal. A second goal came in the 40th minute and we trailed 2-0 at the half. Late in the period Tamru Taye almost caught their keeper off his line with a shot from distance but the keeper made a great save to keep us out.
The second half became a different story and we pressed better further up the field and produced one excellent attack that ended with a shot from Jacob Ebbs (FY) that again forced their keeper into an excellent save. Another couple of half chances came and went and the night ended 2-0 them. The match was a good one, statistically even with few fouls and no cards. We are now starting 4 firstyear players, something I'd have thought really unlikely earlier in the year.
The second half became a different story and we pressed better further up the field and produced one excellent attack that ended with a shot from Jacob Ebbs (FY) that again forced their keeper into an excellent save. Another couple of half chances came and went and the night ended 2-0 them. The match was a good one, statistically even with few fouls and no cards. We are now starting 4 firstyear players, something I'd have thought really unlikely earlier in the year.
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