Nordic Recap I

Thoughts Following Nordic

A tough but solid weekend against very good competition this weekend for the boy's teams.  On the whole, Saturday was a more challenging day, and the teams did well to maintain their focus and competitive edge through Sunday where as a whole, we saw two wins (U10 & U12), one draw (U14) and two losses (U16 & U10).  The 16s kept us afloat Saturday...a win and a draw were great results, while the 14s dropped two, the 10s dropped one and the 12s dropped two.



Signs Of Improvement

Generally, having seen all the teams at least once over the weekend, I was impressed with every OSSC boy who took the pitch.  Not a single boy failed to deliver competent performances.  A couple I would like to single out for showing notable improvement are Garrett Roman (U12), who put on a near perfect defensive effort on Sunday morning, and who has gained a couple inches and appears much faster than a year ago.  He was in the right place over and over, breaking up attacks and tackling with real grit.  And he did a very fine job of keeping the ball with his team once he'd won it.    CJ Militello (U14) had a good weekend under my eye, but it was when I left the last U14 a few minutes early, that several of the OSSC coaches, including Steven Keil, our U19 assistant, raved to me afterward about CJ's last shift in the 1-1 draw on Sunday.  Evidently, the kid played a nearly perfect final 10 or 12 minutes in a very taut and nervy draw.  I wish I had seen it for myself, but I'm thrilled to have heard such a great report.  He had, to be fair, given solid performances in the previous shifts he was given, and I hope he feels that at least personally he did a good job this weekend.  Gabe Esparza put on a show, scoring a brace for his U16 side on Saturday afternoon.  He shot from outside, poached from inside, and generally showed some distinct maturity in the attack for the 16s.  His two goals in the 3-0 win were goal-scorer's goals; taking what the defense gave and punishing them for those oversights.  A smart boy, he is clearly applying his mind to the game, and playing with cool, with composure and confidence.  Fun to watch.

Young Guns

Erik Geier (U10) hung two braces up on two different opponents, and despite the best efforts of teammates and staff, we just couldn't find a hat trick for the kid!  But he is nominated for free kick of the tournament, along with Brandon Boncella (U12).  Brandon wrapped a left-footed effort around the wall and into the far side netting, while Erik took the other route, over the wall, off the front post with enough venom that it caromed all the way 'round the back of the goal to the far post!  Two great hits.

Toughness Personified

My comeback player of the tournament is Casey Owen (U14)...who faced the NH and VT state cup champions of 2012 in his first two games.  As the GK, it always stings to give up a goal...the U14s were tested harshly and gave up two 6-0 losses on Saturday.  With no backup, it must have been a trial for Casey to get out of bed Sunday, but did he ever!  The first goal was a sloppy one, but Casey gritted his teeth for the next 54 minutes and pitched a shutout - his teammates pulled the equalizer back in less than four minutes through an Ezra Mead assist to Brian Meeks - to help the team take a point off a third, talented and athletic opponent.  No quit in Mr. Owen.

More to come...lots of notes to collate after so many games, and a few thoughts and observations not necessarily linked directly to our teams as well.  Check back again!