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Archived Game Results - Previous Seasons
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Fall 2009 Season
November 7th vs Brentwood '98 Select and Harpeth '98 Black: 5-1, 1-2. State tournament in Cookeville, TN. 21 teams in 7 brackets of 3.... blind draw... Winners of each bracket move on with one additional team as a wild-card. The rest go home!! This means you most likely need two wins on day one to move on. A team by the name of Brentwood '98 Select won the gold bracket we participated in two weeks ago in Murfreesboro but apparently Brentwood uses team names loosely, as the group from Brentwood we faced this day was clearly not the same boys we faced two weeks ago. That team outlasted us in a hard fought battle, but today we dominated with goals from Bill (2), Grahm (1), Jolen (1) and an electrifying goal off a header from Grant! Their coaches confirmed that their U12 group is an academy and team rosters change frequently. Their group fought hard and played well, but we got the job done and had one win behind us.
Even with a good start in game one, we knew we would have our hands full after looking at the score (7-0) that Harpeth put up against Brentwood earlier in the day! This game was another that the soccer fans must have enjoyed from the edge of their seats!! This was a hard fought game from whistle to whistle. Harpeth jumped on us early and scored twice in the first half, but we were able to lock things down until halftime. We were able to move the ball well from our defense through the midfield, but the Harpeth defense did an excellent job of denying shot opportunities all game long. Midway through the second half Jolen was able to break free across the middle and hit a great shot to the upper corner that made the score 1-2. Try as we might, we couldn't get the equalizer, and despite a great effort from our defense to hold them scoreless the remainder of the way, we fell 1-2 in the end. Despite some great play by our boys, we didn't have the points to advance out of the bracket so our state run was over. Harpeth went on to win two more on Sunday (7-0, and 4-0) before falling to the Brentwood Elite team 2-3 in the finals. We were obviously disappointed to get eliminated after just two games, but can take some pride in our score against the TN state finalists!! Another great season for the Flames with many more to come!!!!
October 25th vs TNFC '98 Crew: 1-2. Watching these two talented teams teams battle it out on a bright fall day I would think most spectators would have assumed this was a championship game, not the consolation game from the bracket!! The Crew came out of the blocks with some very impressive play through their midfield that literally put us on our heels for the first 5 or 10 minutes. If it were not for some spectacular saves from Andrew, this one would have turned badly for us quick. But, we held, made some adjustments, and then gave up a crazy goal on a ball that just sat in the box 5 feet from Andrew's outstretched hands, his feet seemingly stuck to the ground.... go figure! Bill got us the equalizer just before the half expired and we knew we were in for another 30 minutes of pressure soccer! Both keepers made some great saves in the second half, denying what looked like certain goals (including a PK that luckily went straight at Andrew), but near the end we gave up the winner on a nicely placed ball from a break-away, and that was game. All in all, a great tournament for us despite the lack of a win. We've needed to play against this type of competition for a while and those 5-0 wins in league play have really not helped us as much as these types of competitive games do. I know the boys (and probably parents, and well.... yeah, a coach or two!) would have liked a win, but I think this type of play will only serve to improve our guys in the long run. Good stuff Flames!!
October 24th vs Brentwood '98 Select & MSC Strikers '98 Premier: 3-4, 3-5. Welcome to the Bash in the 'Boro tourament in Murfreesboro. We knew going in that by playing up in the highest division for our age group we would be tested, but that is what this team needs, and it is certainly what they got!! Every team we faced put incredible pressure on us from the opening kickoff and for the most part our boys responded well. Interestingly, the game that we felt like we had the best chance to win was game one (we led briefly in that one by a score of 2-1) and while it did not come out in our favor, it was interesting to see that Brentwood team move on to win the tournament on Sunday... We are that close, but still not close enough!! Goals against Brentwood came from Bill, Graham (PK) and Caleb. The game against the Strikers was a physical battle for us as they had both good speed and size, not to mention plenty of talent!! We were tied in this one at 3-3 before a late flurry from the Strikers put us away. Goals for the flames came from Jolen (2) and Bill. Despite the losses, we felt good about our play and were certainly impressed with the level of talent across the board in our opponents.
October 18th vs FC Alliance '98 Gold 2 and 1: 7-0, 2-0. FC Alliance has two teams at our age group that play division 2 and then a pool of players that make up two more teams (Gold 1 and 2) that play division 3. Must be nice to have such a group of talented players to draw from... But our 13 players from Cleveland seem to hold their own, and we played well on this day for sure. Still not overly pleased with our finishing in these games where the chances are frequent, but we're moving forward with each game and that is all we can ask for. Goals on the days came from Bill (4), Jolen (2), Grant (2), and Chris (1).
October 17th vs BUSC Hammers '98: 2-1. We knew going up for this match that we would be in for a tough match. The Hammers beat us 3-2 earlier this season at the Ocoee Cup so we knew they would be ready for anything we had. Add a wet chilly morning to the mix and you've got the makings of another great Flames/Hammers game! This was definitely another great one in the series. Both teams played extremely well and although I'm sure the Hammers would have liked the win, neither team really lost this one... one team just outlasted the other. I thought our guys played extremely well (you have to if you are going to beat this team) and while everyone on the team deserves some praise, our keeper Andrew was really the star of the day. With the Hammers putting relentless pressure on our goal, Andrew came off the line several times, smothering the ball at their striker's foot just before he could shoot. Their keeper likewise made some nice stops, but in the end we prevailed.... this time! Our first half goal came from Bill on a hard shot to the lower corner and Graham netted one in the second half off a very well struck free kick. Nice stuff Flames!!
October 3 vs FC Alliance '99 Black 1: 2-2. I didn't like the way we ended our Ocoee Cup run, we missed a week due to rain, and we came out today clearly in the middle of an offensive slump. Waaaaay too much individual play and just not looking like the team we've shown we can be. Great stuff from a strong FC Alliance team... We were lucky to come away with a tie. Both goals from Jolen. How soon can we shake this off Flames?
September 20 Ocoee Cup vs KFC '98 Premier: 2-4. Well, this was definitely one of those games... We played this team (minus a few of their key players) earlier in the season and won 6-0. I knew they would be stronger, but was confident we would rise to the challenge. Again, we found ourselves staring at a 0-2 deficit early in the first half and while we got some GREAT looks at their goal, we saw shot after shot miss wide. Graham gave us a spark midway through the half with a nice left-footed blast into the corner of the net, but if we had connected on just 50% of our open looks we would have been up by several goals instead of playing from behind. KFC opened the second half with another tally, but Graham came through again, this time on a beautiful shot from a set piece outside their box. Trailing 2-3 and still getting quality looks at their goal I was still confident we would equalize, but our finishing was anything but, and when they netted #4 with only a few minutes to go it was over. Not a great feeling from this one... We probably had 20 clear scoring opportunities in this game and couldn't convert, while KFC really didn't pressure our keeper, they just were extremely efficient with the chances they had. In the end, those who score win, and we didn't! Hat's off to KFC, they always seem to find a way to win. Hopefully some motivating factors for some of the boys to improve some shooting skills? We'll see.
September 19 Ocoee Cup vs BUSC Hammers '98 and KFC '98 Select: 2-3, 11-1. Welcome to the Ocoee Cup with rain, more rain, and finally some serious competition!! We have always played tough, competitive games against the Hammers so I knew what was coming in this one. We came out playing pretty well I thought, but soon found ourselves staring at a 0-2 deficit that we took into halftime. We had some serious conversations during the half about believing in ourselves and it wasn't long before we were! Our fist tally came off a great crossed ball to the feet of Jacob, who calmly first-timed it into the back of the net like he'd been doing it for years (as opposed to playing goalie where he had been for the past few seasons). Not long after, Bill pushed down the right flank and then dropped the ball back to Chandler who lofted a long ball into the upper corner to tie us up at 2-2. From there is was "game on" and the play was fast and furious. The Hammers found a way though, and drilled the game winner into the corner of the net with little time remaining. There were still a few intense minutes to play and we pressured their side, but couldn't penetrate their defense for a good look. Our fist loss of the season, but a quality game and nothing to feel bad about.
Game 2 was not the sort of game we need to be playing... Much like the Coyotes game, we had our way all over the field to the tune of 11 goals, but gave up one (and the associated shut-out point) and generally looked sloppy in a lopsided win. Goals came from Jolen (3), Grant (2), Caleb (2), Bill. Chris, Chandler, and Jacob, but somehow this one didn't feel like a good way to prepare for a tough morning game against KFC Premier. In this type of game it is too easy to become complacent and think that the little mistakes don't matter...
September 12 vs KMSL Coyotes '98: 5-0. I think the Coyotes are a relatively new team on the scene, though we did play them last season as well. Not a lot of positives to report from this game except the score I suppose. Strangely dimensioned fields, no restroom facilities, no linesmen, U-10 sized goals, and a lackluster performance from us against a team that we obviously could have our way with. Goals came from Bill (3), Jolen, and Graham, but we had waaaay too many chances that were squandered to make me feel remotely good about this one. Need to finish well, regardless of the opponent. We'll take the league win though. Kick into gear Flames!!
August 31 vs East Ridge Express '99: 4-0. We set up this scrimmage because the East Ridge team was looking for some tough competition in preparation for the Atlanta Cup. Yes, another '99 team, but very different than Saturday.... In the first 10 minutes they had us on our heels and were lucky to avoid a couple of scoring opportunities right in front of our goal. As we slowly settled into the game, our defense tightened up and things began to turn our way. Both teams had some good scoring opportunities in the half, including a great header from Caleb off a cross from Bill, but it was 0-0 at half-time and East Ridge had to be feeling pretty good. The second half started with two quick goals from Bill and after that we had the momentum the rest of the way. We seemed to have opportunity after opportunity to score, but our finishing was clearly off. The final two goals came from Graham and Caleb. We had a slightly different look in this game with all three guys that have ever given us time at keeper (Andrew, Jacob, and Grant) all out sick! Jolen stepped up and gave us the minutes in the net that we needed, but the East Ridge team was lacking at least three of their players too... Thats one tough U11 team and not one to be underestimated even on a day that they weren't at full strength. From the Flames to East Ridge "Good luck in Atlanta guys!"
August 29th vs FC Alliance Gold '99 and FC Alliance Gold '98: 10-0, 4-0. I'm not sure what the organizers of the play-date were thinking when they matched us up with the '99 gold squad. I put on our application that we were an above average team that would like to play strong competition. It was immediately obvious that we were going to overpower this team as we scored on our first run at their goal. After that I was trying to hold the score down by only playing our stronger players in the back, if at all, yet we still scored seemingly at will. Goals in this game came from Jacob (3), Graham (2), Chandler (2), Jay (2), and Andrew (1)... 4 goals from our keepers?! Interesting....
Game two was a MUCH better match and not as much in our favor as the score may indicate. The FCA '98 squad played with heart and definitely gave us a run for the money. We were up 2-0 at the half with goals from Bill and Caleb, and then finished them off in the second with additional tallies from Grant and Jay. Great effort in the second game and a good sign of things to come. Go Flames!
August 8th vs KFC'98 A and B teams: 6-0, 8-2. We tried to schedule this team several times last season only to see rain-outs. KFC Blue was ranked 4th in the state at the end of last season, but the squad they brought down today was not of that caliber. We had our way with their "A" group and easily beat the "B" group with many of our more powerful scorers on the bench. Goal tallies for the day were Bill (5), Caleb (2), Grant (2), and Jolen, Graham, Chris, Jacob, and Brandon each with one score apiece. 14 goals is certainly a good way to build confidence at the beginning of the season. No complaints here!
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Spring 2009 Season
May 16th vs Heat '98 and FC Alliance '98 Gold 1. 7-2, 2-1. Our final games of the season and our first match-up against a team that has had our number the last few seasons. I told our guys that despite previous losses against this Heat club, I felt we were playing well enough to get the win. The first half went a lot like we expected... the play was back and forth with great efforts from both teams. We got scores from Graham H. and Bill S. (2) and we found ourselves up 3-2 at half time. During the break we talked alot about not giving up the equalizer early in the second half and hopefully adding to our lead, but we really didn't expect to see our guys break it wide open! We got additional goals from Graham H., Bill S., and Jolen W., and then, as if nothing would go right for the Heat, they added to our tally with an own-goal. A really great result for us against a quality opponent. I'm sure the next game will be a barn-burner!
Less than an hour between games and bring on another strong FC Alliance team. We had seen their gold group earlier in the season and won in a tough match, but as they have a pool of players for their gold team, we knew this team would feature some new faces. Our guys looked a bit tired as the game started, but had been playing double headers all season and were ready for the challenge. We were knotted 1-1 at half-time with our goal coming from Bill S. We just couldn't find rhythym in the second half and I started making some line-up changes to see if we could find that perfect combination. I don't know if the perfect combination ever materialized, but the perfect goal came as Chris P. had moved up into the midfield and followed his own shot in for a put-back score to give us the final score. What a great season for the Flames! So much hard work and more to come in future years. Can't wait to see these guys on the field in the Fall. Go Flames!!!
May 9th vs FC Alliance '98 Black and Coyotes: 1-1, 4-0. Rain on game day was pretty much the mantra of the season, so after speaking with the coaches of the other teams, we agreed to drive up and do our best to get the games in. Lightning and heavy rain hit right about the time we got to Alliance fields, but after a 30 minute delay we agreed to play two 20 minute halves. The field conditions were horrible but our guys came out strong and Bill S. netted an early goal for our side. That score lasted well into the second half, but the Alliance were relentless, and when their goal came our guys were really feeling the pressure. Two things preserved the tie for us... Absolute great reactions from our keeper Andrew S. and the shortened half! I'm sure the Alliance would love to see us again as they definitely had the momentum at games end. Hats off to our guys though for gutting out a tough one!
Game two of the day saw recently cleared skies, but the worst fields we've seen anywhere. Long, clumpy grass, uneven surface, and completely waterlogged! Both teams struggled to find any rhythm in this one and we were up 1-0 at half with a goal, once again, from Bill S. We slowly began to wear them down in the second half though and we picked up a goal from Graham H., Jolen W. (PK), and Bill S. All in all we were glad to get the games in, but the boys uniforms may never look the same... MUD!!!!
April 25th and 26th Adidas Cup Tournament: 5-0, 12-0, 5-0, 7-1. OK, so when the brackets came out and I saw we were in the bronze division I sent an email to the tournament director and suggested we might be too strong for that division. They kept us there and the end result was an extraordinary 29 goals scored to just one against!! Our games were against the MSC Strikers White, TN Rush Swoosh, Stones River Rapids, and the Strikers again for the championship. Despite the big scores, this was not easy and took a great effort from our boys who worked very hard against teams that refused to give up. In particular, the Strikers showed tremendous fight in the championship game, pressuring our defense the whole way though and finally scoring on us as time wound down. Their coach should be very proud of the way those boys continued to play hard the whole way through. Our guys really earned this one though and we had great contributions from everyone to bring home this championship. The final tally on goals for the flames was: Bill S. (8), Jolen W. (6), Graham H. (3), Brandon B. (3), Grant T. (2), Caleb S. (2), Chandler L. (2), Will H. (1), Chris P. (1), Andrew S. (1). Way to go Flames!!!!
April 18th vs FC Alliance '98 Gold 2 and Sevier Stars '98: 3-1, 5-4. Two great wins for the Flames today. The first game was a hard fought win with goals from Graham H. (2) and Jolen W., but the second game was not just hard fought, but a battle!!! The score went back and forth all afternoon. We picked up goals from Grant T. and Graham H. in the first half and went to half time with the score knotted at 2 a piece. After a grueling second half we came out on top with one more score from Graham H. and two from Bill S. Jolen W. was a force in the front, disrupting their back line and serving balls to the scorers. All in all a great day for the flames and good preparation for the Adidas Cup next weekend.
April 13th vs OMS 6th and 7th grade: 3-1. Wow!! What and effort from the boys. Matched up against a team with bigger, more physical boys, our guys kept their composure and ground out a tough win. This was only our second ever attempt at 11v11 play, but you wouldn't have known it. We had several great scoring chances in the first half, but just couldn't sneak a ball past their keeper. Despite controlling a lot of the tempo in the half, our guys were susceptible to counter attacks, and not long before the half we gave up a goal to go down 0-1. At half time we tallked about the positives of the first half and I simply told them to keep playing at the same level and good things would happen. And they did, to the tune of three goals!! While we couldn't find the back of the net in the first half, success smiled on us in the second. We got one early from Graham H. as he looped one up over their keeper's head as he came out for the ball, and then it was the Jolen W. show! Jolen was determined to get a goal in this game and he used his typical combination of speed and hard play to burn right up the middle for two goals! Our guys played their hearts out against some very strong competition and got a very well deserved win. My guess is they are all sleeping well tonight!
April 11th vs BUSC Hammers '98: 4-2. Well, Friday night brought tornado warnings and torrential rains so our first game of the day was canceled, but the Hammers had a field that was playable so this one was "game on". After losing to the Hammers 3-8 just a month ago, we were all a little nervous come game time, but the boys responded to the challenge today and came away with a quality win against a very good opponent. It was a bit of a roller coaster game... They scored first but late in the first half Chandler L. looped a corner kick into the near post and it came of their keeper's hands right into the net! Midway through the second half we gave up a penalty kick to see them go up 2-1, but then got one of our own after Bill S. was taken down in the box. Bill placed that one in the corner and we were tied again. Then Chandler got another one for us off a high ball placed to the far post. With the game winding down, the Hammers pushed everyone up, and in the final seconds we cleared the ball out of our penalty area to a streaking Graham H. who was still on our half of the field but had no-one in front of him but their goalie. He won the foot race, and slipped one past their keeper for the final tally. Given the lopsided score of the last game we played against the Hammers this was a sweet victory for the flames. Rest assured, the Hammers will be ready for us next time! Good soccer boys! Special mention to Kyle S. for heads up play today, controling the middle when we needed it most!
April 5th vs East Ridge Express '98 Grey: 1-0. Gary Tackling has the #2 U-11 boys team in the state so we knew his "B" squad would be tough. I thought we played a better looking game today than yesterday and had several great scoring chances that we couldn't finish on, but did get one really nice goal from the foot of Bill S. He received the ball near the 18 with his back to the goal, turned and found the upper corner. The Express never gave up though, and in the last ten minutes, our guys once again showed that fatigue can hurt you... The Express were clearly more fit than us and had us on our heels toward the end of the game. Depsite better play, I think we were lucky to come away with the win playing like we did down the stretch. Definitely need to work on overall fitness, but other than that, looking good for early in the season.
April 4th vs KFC '99 Purple and Raptors: 1-2, 6-2. Well, after a rain-out and then a cancellation during spring break, and then another rain-out, somehow a month went by with no games. It was looking grim for these games too, but a lot of sand added to the field got us through. We have played a variety of Darrick Lubbel's KFC teams over the years and it seems like every time we lose by a goal. This team had great discipline and skill and it was close the whole way. Bill S. netted us a goal and we had several great chances... hit the post, great saves by their keeper... but in the end they outlasted us and their fitness at the end was clearly better than ours. Can't win against a good team if you can't play hard the whole way. With only a 45 minute break we were back on the field against the Raptors. The boys dug deep and found some energy in the first half. With goals from Bill S., Graham H. (3) and Chris P. we were looking pretty good a 5-0 at halftime. We stressed to the boys to not let down in the second half, yet within ten minutes into the second half they had found our net twice! Our guys gutted it out, tightened it up on defense and even struck again with a great finish from Caleb S. Special mention goes to Jolen W. who didn't score, but figured prominently in our success. His runs and tenacious effort caused havoc in the Raptors back line and that freed up others to finish. The boys were spent by the end of the first game so the second game was on fumes... I'll bet they all slept well this night!!
March 7th vs BUSC Hammers and Greenville Galaxy: 3-8, 4-1. The Hammers club has always been a tough draw for us and today was no exception. We notched the first goal and for a while it looked like things might go our way, but during a five minute period we gave up three goals. We tightened up and then scored again just before the half and despite giving up three, we felt pretty good being down 2-3 at halftime. Things went south in the second half though... We played a lot of minutes without giving up any serious chances, but when we did, we did it in spurts to the tune of five more goals. I don't think the game was as bad for us as the score would indicate, as we definitely challenged them several times, but in the end we clearly came out on the down side of a lopsided score. The good news was we proved we could break down a good defense and score three goals, the bad news was... well.... All three of our goals came from Bill S. with great assists from Jolen W. and Graham H. This also was the debut of our new goalie in training. Trial by fire Andrew!
Game two pitted us against the Galaxy from Greenville, TN. Our guys came out strong but had clearly run out of gas by the second half. The tempo of the game did not favor our boys, but they pushed through some fatigue and came away with a solid win. We had some balanced scoring in this one with one each from Graham H., Grant T., Kyle S., and Bill S. All in all, a good start for us and while I would have liked to have given up a few less goals in game one, the boys did pretty well given the fact that we've only had two outdoor practices so far this season. If we had played a perfect game this early in the season there wouldn't be much to work on, but as it stands, the coaches are just chock full of ideas... starting with fitness training!! The fun at practice starts Monday!!
February 20th vs Redoubt Generals '98: 3-0. Well, the indoor season ends tomorrow and our first outdoor practice isn't even scheduled until March 2nd, but Redoubt needed a scrimmage to get ready for the East Ridge tournament next weekend so I said "lets play soccer!!" I felt like our boys had really improved their passing game during the indoor season and despite having only one sub on the sideline and that outdoor field looking pretty big, our guys proved me right! Redoubt has a solid group of athletes and this was a very good effort from our boys to notch the win! It was obvious we'll need to get back in shape for those full-field runs, but everyone gave a great effort out there today and we are looking forward to see what we can do when we add Jolen, Bill, Grant, and Kyle back into the mix!!
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Fall 2008 season....
| Date |
Time |
Opponent |
Location |
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Score |
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| Sun 8/17/08 |
4:00 pm |
Signal Mtn Storm '98
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Shackleford Ridge, Signal Mountain TN
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7-2 W
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| Thu 9/11/08 |
6:00 pm |
Redoubt Generals '98
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Redoubt Soccer complex, Chattanooga TN |
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2-2 T
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| Sat 9/13/08 |
12:30 pm |
HVFC '98
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Ocoee Cup Tournament, Cleveland TN
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3-1 W
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| Sat 9/13/08 |
5:00 pm
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ETSF '98 Falcons |
Ocoee Cup Tournament, Cleveland TN
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0-2 L
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| Sun 9/14/08 |
9:30 am
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KFC Blue '99
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Ocoee Cup Tournament, Cleveland TN |
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2-3 L
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| Sat 9/20/08 |
10:55 am
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Sevier Starz '98
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Watt Road #6, Knoxville TN |
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2-1 W
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| Sat 9/20/08 |
2:30 pm
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BUSC Hammers '98
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Vulcan Fields, Maryville TN
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0-5 L
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| Mon 9/22/08 |
6:30 pm
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Reboubt Black '99
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Mouse Creek Complex, Cleveland TN |
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3-3 T
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| Sat 9/27/08 |
1:45 pm
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FC Alliance '99 Black
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Watt Road #6, Knoxville TN |
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4-3 W
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| Sat 9/27/08 |
4:35 pm
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KFC Argentina Classic
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Watt Road #6, Knoxville TN |
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7-0 W
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| Sat 10/04/08 |
12:25 pm |
SCOR Heat '98
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Mouse Creek Complex, Cleveland TN
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2-5 L
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|
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Sun 10/05/08
|
2:00 pm
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MUFC Raptors '98 |
Mouse Creek Complex, Cleveland TN |
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4-0 W
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Sat 10/11/08
|
10:30 am
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KMSL Panthers '98
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Mouse Creek Complex, Cleveland TN
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|
4-0 W
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|
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Sun 10/19/08
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2:00 pm
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East Ridge Express '98
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Camp Jordan, East Ridge TN
|
|
W-Fft |
|
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Sat 10/25/08
|
9:15 am
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SCOSA Stingrays
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Snowball Classic, Johnson City TN
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5-3 W
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|
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Sat 10/25/08
|
4:45 pm
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KFC Crush 98 Blue 2
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Snowball Classic, Johnson City TN
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|
0-1 L
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Sun 10/26/08
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9:15 am
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WV Rapids
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Snowball Classic, Johnson City TN
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7-1 W
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Spring 2008 season below...
May 17th vs East Ridge Express: 0-1. Every time we played East Ridge last year it was a serious battle and we were lucky to come out on top by one goal each time. Well today it went the other way. They opened up with an early goal but then our defense locked down and while they had a few shots they never really got another solid chance. We had a stretch where Caleb S. hit two great shots on goal, Graham H. another, and then Jolen W. slammed one off the crossbar, but between some nifty goalkeeping from East Ridge and luck not siding with us today, we never could find the back of the net. East Ridge walked off the field with the win in a game that just seemed to get away from us. Hats off to their team, we'll see ya next year! So we ended the season with a record of 5-4-3, scoring 23 goals in 12 games. Nothing to complain about!! Go Flames!
May 4th vs Middle Valley U11 8v8: 2-2. Back in early April we hosted the U11 Magic to a 6v6 game at our complex, and they offered to play us again, 8v8 on their home turf. We were missing Jolen W. today so the 8 man roster left us with only one sub, but the boys still responded well. We specifically told them that in order to beat the bigger players they would have to use quickness and passing, as taking them on in a physical game wouldn't go our way! We did this well in the first half with several good pass combinations, notably Jay N. to Graham H. on a couple of occasions, eventually resulting in a Graham H. goal. This score held through the half, but then gave up two quick goals early in the second half, both from less than stellar plays on our part... first to the ball in the first half gave way to tired feet in the second half and we struggled to make the plays. Graham H. dug deep though and burned their defense down the right side, cut across the box, and was taken down from behind. As we've seen before, he calmly stepped to the mark and buried the PK for the tie. All in all, a pretty darn good result against a U11 team! Hats off to both clubs for some great soccer!!
May 3rd vs KFC Argentina: 3-0. Great game for the boys today in what we'd love to say was the same KFC Argentina team from last week's championship, but these large clubs often have multiple teams per age group and this team was definitely not the same group. But regardless which KFC Argentina team shows up, we're always happy to play well and get the win! A solid effort from the entire team (Jolen W. wasn't there) with goals from Graham H., Caleb S., and Jay N. Way to go guys!!
April 27th vs KFC Argentina: 1-3. Tough effort from the boys today and one not exactly reflected in the final score. We certainly had our chances in this one, but the KFC goalie came up huge on a few key saves. With the score 0-1 nearing halftime the ref stopped play as our goalie scooped up a ball. After a short conference he called "play on" but Jacob thought he was asking for the ball and simply tossed it out toward him... Needless to say their second goal could easily be erased from the final score. We picked up a goal in the second half as Graham H. calmly knocked in a PK, but it wasn't enough and we missed going to the championship on a close and well fought game. Post Script: After looking back at the tournament scores we saw that TUSC Red beat Stones River with a 6-4 score. Our game against Stones River was competetive but Stones River really never threatened us in their 1-0 loss so it makes me wonder again about our 0-5 outcome against TUSC. Just proves you have to be ready for every game. KFC went on to win the championship 3-1 againt TUSC. Great teams in this gold division and oh how close we were... We worried about playing the boys up in gold but they proved that was the correct place to be. Awesome job Flames!!!!
April 26th vs TUSC '98 Red and SRFC '98 Rapids Elite: 0-5, 1-0. Tournament time in Hendersonville, TN!! We put the boys up in the gold division of this tournament to give them a taste of how the elite teams in TN play and they definitely saw that in game 1... Not sure if we came out flat, or if TUSC was just really that strong, but we definitely played back on our heels the whole game. They scored two goals off corner kicks on which we just failed to get to the ball first, one off a PK, and one blast from very far out that just caught our goalie off guard. Even if we don't make those mistakes, it's still a loss, but 0-5 seemed extreme for our boys at this point. Regardless, there was more soccer to play on this day and our boys responded well against a solid team from Stones River handing them a 1-0 loss on a great individual effort from Jolen W. late in the game. This proved to be a key goal as it pushed us through to the semi-finals to face the winner from group B.
April 20th vs Signal Mountain Lady Storm '97: 1-1. WOW!! The boys first time playing in the 8v8 format against this quality U11 girls team from Signal Mountain and they played their hearts out! This was just a fun game to watch from start to finish. The Lady Storm are a very disciplined passing team and our boys had their hands full, but refused to back down despite being constantly knocked down! I think edge was with the Lady Storm all afternoon, but time after time, our defense came up huge, and when they did get shots off, Jacob H. was outstanding in the goal.... like player of the game outstanding! Actually, if I had to give an award, I'd just give it to the TEAM today though, because each and everyone of them played hard, start to finish, despite being clearly worn out near the game's end. Signal Mountain got their goal off a nicely played corner kick midway through the second half, but with time winding down, Graham H. hit one from outside the top of the box and beat their keeper in the upper right corner to tie it up. We decided to play a "for fun" shoot out at the end, and each team netted 4 of 5 PK's to seal the tie!! Great stuff from the Flames today!!!
April 12th vs Hammers and Middle Valley U11: 2-2, 3-0. I was a little nervous to see how the boys would play today as they were facing the only team (aside from Gary Tackling's super team) to beat us last year. It was a hard fought battle from the get-go, but it was clear that our boys came to play. Each team had their chances, but for the most part it was a defensive battle and the first half ended 0-0. One of the best scoring chances in the first half came when Will H. made a run from the left fullback position and beat two players plus the keeper... only to see his shot go wide by about a foot! But that clearly set the tone for effort and everyone was in it to win. Pushing hard in the second half, we threatened several times, but couldn't put it away. The hard work was finally rewarded with a goal as Chris P. dribbled up the right side and knocked one in off the far post. Not too long later, and deep into the second half, Graham H. gave us a lift as he struck home our second goal. It's hard to say what really happened in the last few minutes of the game, except that it was clear we seemed to think we had already won... Give a good team an inch, and... well... they'll take two goals. Before we could blink, we went from a sure victory to a fight to preserve a tie. Jolen W. almost gave us the win with a great effort just before the final whistle, but I'd have to say we escaped this one! What a game, and what a great effort by everyone! Bring on the afternoon game and the U11 team from Middle Valley. When we set up this scrimmage they told me that they didn't have enough U10's to make a team so they had combined with their U11 team. I figured this would be a good challenger for us, but started having my doubts when the first player showed up and he was almost as tall as me... OK, not quite, but definitely twice the size of our players. Luckily, they weren't all that big (just three of 'em!) and our boys proved that being small, quick, and sure footed trumps big anyway! Caleb S. started off the scoring near the end of the first half with a great right-footed blast off the dribble. Graham H. followed in the second half with a nifty piece of dribbling and a left-footed finish, and Jolen W., who had been threatening all afternoon, calmly blasted home a PK after being taken down in the box. Great passing all day long from the Flames and some nice individual efforts. Jay N., KC S., Caleb S. really stepped up their games today, and how about Chandler L. in the goal?! Great competition from both teams in a well fought game. Great stuff Flames!!!
April 6th vs SMSC U10 Boys: 6-0. After last week's play I can say that I was certainly a bit nervous how we would come out of the blocks, but it didn't take long for the boys to calm me down! We worked 'em hard during the week and they certainly appeared to be ready to play today. From the get-go we were spot on today with passing and when we play like a team good things usually happen. Jolen W. started the scoring with two early goals, followed by tallies from Graham H. and KC S. Chandler L. gave us some solid minutes in goal giving Jacob H. some well deserved time up front. With a 4-0 lead at half-time we re-arranged line-ups considerably playing Chris P. in goal, Jolen W. and Graham H. primarily on defense, and some of our regular defenders up front. This resulted in goals from Chandler L. and Will H. in the second half and gave us a look at a variety of interesting line-up possibilities. Everyone really stepped up their game today and should be proud of the effort they gave! Go Flames!
March 30th vs Rockets Red and Rockets Blue: 0-6, 4-1. Season openers are always a time for butterflies and high hopes and sometimes.... a serious dose of reality! I'd say we got all three when we faced the Rockets Red team from Oak Ridge. After the first two goals against our squad the attitude was simply one of "lets shake off the rust and get back in this", but two goals later it was becoming obvious that the rust was deeper into our metal than we thought, and by the time we started to figure things out they had scored yet another two. Hats off to a much improved Rockets team. Our boys sure learned a thing or two from y'all today! If we had a success during this game it was one of character. Our boys did not get disheartened when they were down and played hard right to the end. Take off an hour for a little food (humble pie for most of us) and we were back out against the Rockets Blue. We spoke to the boys during the break about intensity levels on the field, playing like a team, and what it truly means to be "ready" to play. According to their coach, the blue team is the "B" team for the Rockets, but they certainly played a solid "A" game against our boys. We won this game 4-1 but nothing came easy. Jolen W. came up huge for us in this win with an individual effort of 3 goals. Chris P. knocked in #4 and everyone picked up their intensity to contribute to the win. Jacob H. and Chandler L. split time in the goal and both kept several good shots out of the net. Last year when we came up to Oak Ridge we scored 17 goals to thier 2 in the double header. This year we were on the other side to a the tune of a 4-7 deficit. Not necessarily the start we may have dreamed of, but all in all some good soccer and some good lessons learned, and when it was all said and done all I can say is Oak Ridge really deserves a hearty compliment on thier progress!
Fall 2007 season below....
November 4th vs the AASA Raptors: 2-0. Everyone wants to end their season with a win, but we knew that would be a tough order against the Raptors. We had squeaked by them twice earlier this season, first in our season opener and then again in the championship game of the Ocoee Cup, so we knew they would be looking for revenge. Add a short field, with small goals, more dirt than grass, and a ref but no linesmen, and the stage is set for a real season ender... Our boys were up to the challenge though and, as they have done all season long, played through adversity and took the win. The bad bounces were everywhere, but they affect both teams, and we challenged our boys to play the ball out of the air to eliminate the chance of the bounce. When I heard their coach exclaim "for crying out loud, those boys head the ball better than my highschool team" I started to get a good feeling about the game. It was 0-0 at half time, but Jolen W. came up huge for us with two nice goals in the second half and our defense held strong all day. So we closed out our first season together with a record of 14-2, scoring an incredible 74 goals with only 28 scored against us!! Based on the numbers posted it looks like we have first place in the league as well. Nice job boys!!! See ya'll in the spring! Go Flames!! Season stats and awards posted on the Flames front page.
November 3rd vs East Ridge Express: 3-2. Another nail-biter against East Ridge... These guys can really play and they took it straight at us from the beginning of this one. We tallied first on a nice blast from Jolen W. but it didn't take long for East Ridge to equalize. Just before half Chris P. moved to the front and knocked one in off an East Ride defender to give us the 2-1 advantage at the half. We came out flat in the second half and really invited them to come take shots on us, and that they did. When you give players room to shoot they usually do and it was 2-2 before long. With our regular forwards struggling to finish, we once again moved Chris P. up front and once again he scored giving us the eventual 3-2 margin. Graham H. did a nice job filling in at sweeper when needed, and we got some solid minutes from every player, but it has to be a total effort for the ENTIRE game, and if we play soft tomorrow against the Athens Raptors we won't come out on the win side. One more game to go boys, LET'S DO IT!!!!
October 20th, vs Hammers Blue & Gold: 6-0, 4-5. It was obvious very early that we could overpower the Hammers Blue squad so we played our reserves as much as possible and still won 6-0. Goals came from Graham H. (2), Tristan F., Will H., Jacob H., and Jolen W. It's always nice to have your goalie score (Jacob H. played the second half on the field) but the goal of the game came from Tristan F. when he took a ball off the volley and knocked it squarely into the right side of the goal from 15 yards out!! Take a break and bring on the Hammers Gold team... Talk about a difference in talent level... Our guys were looking flat from the beginning and the Hammers took advantage early going up 1-0. We were getting beat to the ball, but still getting good looks at their goal, only to hit it straight at their keeper... Finally we got a break in the form of a penalty kick for a take down in the box and Chris P. calmly equalized for us. We talked alot at half time about playing tougher, then came out looking tired and lackluster. Before we knew it it was 1-4 and the coaches were not amused... Caleb S. showed a spark and got one back for us to make it 2-4 but time was running short. Bring on Chris P. up front.... Given a rare chance to play forward Chris took advantage of their defense to the tune of two goals... only problem being, we also gave one up on our end. With the game at 4-5 we got a great opportunity from Graham H. up front... He hit a great shot that the keeper deflected but the final whistle sounded before we got a chance at a corner. Yeah, we lost 4-5, but the boys showed some real spirit coming back from a 1-4 deficit. We had great individual efforts today from several players, but just couldn't put it all together for the whole game. Hats off to the Hammers Gold. They played a great game and came away with a well deserved win.
October 14th, vs East Ridge '98 (GT): 0-6. The coach of this East Ridge team contacted me immediately after the Ocoee Cup. He congratulated me on our championship win and then informed me that his U10 boys had "played up" in the U11 Gold division and won the championship there... and oh, by the way, he'd like to play us!! No-one should walk away from a good sports challenge, so we accepted. Our boys have launched into their first season in an impressive fashion picking up 11 wins in just 11 games... So, you could say we were due for a loss!! This team lived up to their reputation and came out of the gates strong. It was 0-2 before we could blink, both goals coming from powerful outside blasts to the upper corners of the goal. But our boys did not give up and played tough soccer. We kept them to three goals in the first half and definitely challenged them to play. Despite the lopsided score, we did play on their end of the field alot and forced them to play very solid defense to keep us scoreless. We mixed up our line-up considerably in the second half, and payed for it a bit in goals, but also saw some some encouraging play in other parts of the game and definitely got everyone some good experience against a tough opponent. Hats off to Gary tackling and his U10 boys. They are a fine team, but our boys should have no shame in playing them as tough as we did. Chalk it up to experience. Go Flames!
October 6th, vs Impact '99 & SMSC '99: 7-0, 2-1. Take a week off, re-set the clock, and it's another hot day with a double header of soccer!! We've faced the Nike impact teams in the past and frankly I expected more from them, despite the '99 designation. We came out slow and had real problems finishing at first, but eventually found some rhythm and put them away. Trying to get something going up front, we pulled Chris P. from sweeper and gave him some minutes up front which he capitalized on with the opening score. From there we altered the line-up quite a bit, giving KC some time in goal and playing several of the usual reserves for long minutes. Scoring were Chris P., Jolen W., Grant K., Tristan F. (2), and Graham H. (2). With Grant's goal, we've now gotten at least one goal from every player!! Playing the reserves long minutes in the first game proved to be a good idea because there wasn't much rest for the starters in game two... The team from SMSC really came to play and brought a very physical game with them. Our boys just didn't seem to have much spunk in them today and while that was OK against a weaker opponent, it almost cost us the game against SMSC. We saw ALOT of good chances but couldn't put the ball in the net. Graham H. eventually managed our two goals, the winner coming off a penalty kick that never would have been given to us if the ref had called an obvious foul outside the box seconds before... The officiating was inconsistent at best, and while I didn't care for alot of the calls, we benefitted on that one. Go figure. It was a good lesson to the boys that 1) some teams play rough, and 2) you can't control the refs calls so just play. Not one of my prouder moments from the sidelines either, but if the ref allows me to speak I will... 'nuff said!!
September 23rd, vs Redoubt FC '98 & ASA Raptors: 3-0, 3-2. Before the game there was no doubt in my mind that we could beat Redoubt, but when we came out flatter than a pancake and they were threatening our goal I began to re-doubt my doubt... OK, sorry, I couldn't resist that one, but the Redoubt club showed up to play and we took a little while to find our feet. With our "encouragement" the boys dug deep and began to find a way to make it happen... and happen it did!! The defense did what they needed to do and Graham H. came up huge for us again up front with three goals. We didn't want to mess with the whole "points" issue and simply played our way into the finals with three solid wins! Bring on the Raptors team out of Athens, TN for a 3:30 pm finals matchup!! We knew what to expect from this team... they played us very tough in our season opener and we knew they would be there to win. What a game it was... We told the boys that championship games don't come too often, so play to win, but enjoy the moment. We looked tired from the beginning... Perhaps the four game schedule was wearing on them, but it was nice to see that the boys could play through a little adversity... Where some of our players were off form, others stepped up. Graham H. started the scoring, but Athens equalized. Then Athens went up 2-1 and we equalized with another blast from Graham. With the minutes waning, Graham got taken down in the box and the ref pointed to the penalty mark. Chris P. who had anchored the defense all tournament long got the call and he calmly buried the ball in the corner of the net!! Up 3-2 it was a matter of survival. Athens never gave up, but the final whistle blew and jubilation was ours!!! How about that? We are 9-0 on the season and just won the championship at the Ocoee Cup!!! The coaches know that its hard to be on the bench when others are in the game, and we talked to the boys to make sure they understood how much of a team effort this was. Not everyone played alot of minutes, but every minute that each player gave was a positive contribution and EVERYBODY contributed. They can all be very proud of thier accomplishment. GO FLAMES!!!!
September 22nd, vs East Ridge Express & Oak Ridge Rockest: 4-3, 6-1. What a start to the ocoee Cup!! Double headers are nothing new to us at this point, and all he fitness continues to pay off. We started the day with a real tough matchup against a team from East Ridge, but the boys played great and came out on top. Jolen W. and Graham H. each came away with two goals for the upstart Flames. This was a physical game and the boys were feeling it by the time the final whistle blew, but tournament days are never easy and we had to start thinking about our next matchup of the day. A little break, a light lunch, and back on the field to face Oak Ridge. We had seen this Oak Ridge club before, but come tournament time, those clubs with multiple teams tend to combine and form one stronger one. They definitely seemed to have more intensity and physical play than before, but once again we wore them down, and once the goals started coming for us things opened up quickly. Graham H. netted three, Jolen W picked up two, and K.C. Smith joined in on the scoring with a solid blast from the top of the box. Throughout the day we had excellent play from the defense, shutting down every attack and feeding the ball forward up the sidelines. Chandler L., Will H., Brandon B., and Chris P. anchored this effort and their hard work really paid off. Winning the first two games of a tournament usually set you up nicely for a chance at the finals, and that's where we sit now. A single win against Redoubt on Sunday and we'll be through to the championship. Can we do it? Of course we can. Will we do it? That's up to the boys, but I think they're ready! Bring on Sunday and the Redoubt team from Chattanooga... Win or lose, we're ready for some fun!!
September 15th, vs KFC Portugal Blue: 3-0. Our winning trend continues, but not without a solid test from this strong KFC club. The Knoxville Football Club takes pride in the investment of technical development of their players, and these boys from KFC were outstanding in the footskills department. This was not an easy 3-0 win by any means. This KFC team was primarily made up of U-9 players (they had one player from their U-10 Argentina Orange club on the team), yet they gave up nothing to us in the skill department. We capitalized on our chances when they couldn't, but I never felt safe with the 3-0 margin as they forced the ball deep into our box, time and time again. Graham H. gave us a solid effort on the offense scoring all three goals, and Chris P. was a rock at sweeper, cleaning up every threat that came his way. We missed Jolen's speed up front today (where were you Jolen?) but once again got a positive contribution from everyone. Hats off to the KFC program. If this team was primarily U-9, we will be in for a serious test if/when we face their U-10 Argentina Orange club in the Ocoee Cup. Plenty to work on in practice this week, including some more fitness... You know who you are, right boys??!! Go Flames!!
September 8th, double header vs Oak Ridge Rockets Red and Blue: 7-1, 10-2. Another double header in the heat, but when you're playing hot, who cares about the temperature?! Having done well in our openers back in late August, we arrived at Oak Ridge full of anticipation and, yeah, with a little confidence in knowing we can play with these other clubs. The boys came out strong and played hard all afternoon long. Our goal production for the season thus far has been phenomenal.... 31 goals in just 4 games thus far!!! We really spread it around again today with 9 players tallying at least one goal. The scoring is nice, but you can't win games without a good defense and once again our back line played strong. Jacob H. was steady as a rock in goal, making plenty of saves and always distributing the ball well. It didn't hurt his feelings a bit to move up front in the second game and tally one for himself either!! Scoring went as follows over the two games: Jolen W. (5), Graham H. (4), Jay N. (2), Chandler L. (1), Brandon B. (1), Tristan F. (1), Chris P. (1), Jacob H. (1), KC S. (1). We moved the players around alot again today, and it was great to see our defenders take advantage of limited minutes up front by hitting the back of the net. Once again, we got positive contributions from all the players and the coaches couldn't be happier with our start!! Go Flames!!!
August 26th, double header vs AASA Raptors and Middle Valley Magic: 6-4, 8-1. Well, we launched into our season in fine style picking up two quality wins!! The coaches were excited all week in anticipation of seeing how this group of boys would play, and play they did. We had a tough matchup with the Raptors club out of Athens, and the game went back and forth with them taking the lead, then us, etc. The scoring started with a penalty kick awarded to the Raptors, but then Chandler L. came back near the end of the half with a great shot from the outside right to even the score. Chandler had been playing defense during most of the half and took advantage of his limited minutes up front in fine style! Our scoring was rounded out in the second half by 2 great goals in a span of about a minute from Jolen W., a penalty kick from Chris P., and nice blast from Graham H., and an "own goal" off one of their defenders on a well placed corner kick from the foot of Chris P. We also had outstanding play from goalkeeper Jacob H. who made a number of quality saves throughout the game. All in all a great first game with positive contributions from every player.
Scheduling a double header in the midst of a heat wave wasn't necessarily one of my brighter moves, but then we've been pushing the fitness level of our players and some of the benefits of that showed today. It was clear from the outset of the game that we could overmatch the club out of Middle Valley so we used it as an opportunity to play some boys in different positions and see if we couldn't get some extra minutes for those who didn't play as much in the first game. The pay-off was huge... We had goals from Jolen W. (2), Graham H., Jacob H., Tristan F., Caleb S., Will H. and Jay N. Chandler L. gave us some quality minutes in goal and every player made a significant contribution in this one!! Not a bad way to start the season, but we know there will be plenty of challenges ahead of us. It's back at it on Tuesday in preparation for our opening game of the East TN Youth League... now if only they would publish the schedule we'd know who we play and when that game will be!!
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