Conference Champs! Conference Champs! Conference Champs! Okay…now that I have that out of the way, let’s talk about the game. I mean, I am a fan and it is really nice to be able to say Conference Champs with 2 games left in the BRC. Hudson had a two season run as champs and it was time to take back the crown and make the claim that Memorial is the dominant team in the BRC. A well-earned, hard-fought, physical battle ended in a 3-1 win for the Old Abes.
Some observations.
Hudson was a different team tonight compared to the first game at Hudson. They came out of the gate with energy and desire. They were flying all over the field, playing with a sense of desperation…which is appropriate…since this was a must win game if they wanted to win conference. The game felt dripping with tension. There was an edginess in the atmosphere. Players felt it, fans felt it, I think the coaches felt it…as well in my opinion the Center Ref felt it. There was no real flow or symmetry to the game. Possession on both sides was limited, tackles and physical plays were numerous, and the Ref let them play. It was a very even game for the first 25 minutes. Shots were few as both defenses were closing down, stepping hard and pressing any movement in the box.
I remember at the 25 minute mark thinking to myself…this feels like a game that will be decided on a set play (corner kick or direct kick). A game that would not be won with standard offense and breaking down a defense with crisp passes and well place shots. It just felt like something else would be needed. That something else arrived at the 26 minute mark when Memorial earned a corner kick. I hate zonal marking. I just do. Feels wrong to me. Standing in space and covering an area on the field. It just feels a bit helpless to me as a coach. Some coaches love it and swear by it…I am not one of those.
Give me good old-fashioned man marking, touch marking, grab a shirt and hang on for dear life. Hudson believes in zonal marking. Simon Larson is 6’2″ , maybe 6’3″ and was unmarked in the middle of the box. A nice service from Owen Jolley and bam….Larson rises up and pounds home a header for the 1-0 lead.
The remaining part of the half was marked with a lot of physical play. Memorial started to improve possession and were able to get some shots off but nothing too dangerous. No real action for Hudson as the half continued. It was just a battle. It felt choppy as well. A bunch on injuries, some strange penalties (more on that later) and multiple clock stoppages prevented the game from flowing the way a normal Memorial game plays out. But hey, you have to win ugly sometimes too.
Physical Play
A few examples of plays that were happening all night. One of the more physical games all year (I missed Green Bay Preble but sounded similar). Joe Free colliding with a Hudson player. No free possession, no free balls, everything contested. A penalty on Joe and a free kick to Hudson.
Owen Jolly on one of his patented long runs down the left side. Now I know I am a fan, but what do you think. Hudson player never touched the ball. Hudson player jams an arm into the back of Jolley and takes him to the ground, wins the ball and plays out. No penalty, just a good clean play….yeah right.
The Second Half
Memorial looked a different team the first 25 minutes of the second half. They came out and dictated play right from the whistle. They owned possession during this period, passing was crisp, penetration into the box was much improved and shots were starting to pick up. When they lost possession, they pressed quickly and won the ball back. Hudson was on their heels. I have found you generally get rewarded for this type of effort and many times the reward is a bit fortunate. Rosenberger makes it 2-0 on a hustle play and a friendly deflection….up and over the GK….off of a set play. Like I said earlier…it just had the feel of a set play game.
During this same run of play we were treated to what would have been one of the best goals of then season (I missed the Longville Prebel goal..currently the first choice for goal of the year).
Longville makes it 3-0. As the rain was picking up, I had to flee and go get my umbrella. As fate would have it, on my way to the car, Longville knifed into the box and pounded home another goal. No video. But hey, he has scored 31 times this year, so I am including this one as representation of what I think the goal probably looked like. Hang with me here. It could have looked like this…there is a chance. To play click on the YouTube link and then click back to finish the post.
Correction. I got it wrong. I had left the field for a moment to get my umbrella during the rain. Got some bad advice….you know who you are. It was Martinez off an assist from Orser. Way to go Matt. 3 goals in the past 3 games.
Man, I wish I got that excited after a goal as the announcer. So the game sits at 3-0 and it just felt like the tension was finally lifted. About this same time, it started to rain. Radar was perfectly clear at game time and the rain was well past Eau Claire. So where did this come from. I think it was just perfect timing, the rain was like washing away all the stress of the game. Things felt calmer during and after the rain, stress was gone, tension lifted, maybe Hudson knew the game was secured and maybe Memorial did as well.
So what was left…the only real drama was whether Memorial and GK Hanson would keep a clean sheet and extend the long scoreless streak in conference. The last goal in conference was Aug 31 at River Falls early in that game. Since then 7 straight games with no goal. I had moved to the other end of the pitch to get some defensive footage for the first time this year. Trying to be fair to the awesome defense of Jolley-Larson-Burlingame-Free. I have missed a bunch of great saves by Hanson and thought maybe I would get one tonight. As fate would have it and with all apologies to GK Hanson who just has a great article written on him in the Leader Telegram today….I videotaped this.
Another set play! A chip into the box and a good header on goal in a dangerous spot. Hanson makes a cat quick leap and pushes the ball over…well not quite over the bar…it hits the cross-bar, bounces straight down off the ground and sits up perfectly for the tap in header. I have to say, probably a deserved goal for as hard as Hudson worked all night. It takes this kind of goal with a ball off the bar and the perfect funny bounce to beat Tyler. The streak unfortunately is over. Time to start a new one!
Top 3 Takeaways from the Game
Ref had a tough night. I think he let too much go early and it cost him a bit. He called a yellow early when I thought he should have just talked to the player and given him a warning. He called a yellow late on a player for what I think was delay of game after he requested the ball be moved a few times and Memorial leading 3-0. Strange. He let a lot of calls go with nothing. I know a tough job and all respect to refs, just my opinion that he had just an okay game.
Weird watching when your son is not playing. Cooper was not able to play tonight and I must say it is a bit weird to watch a game when your son does not play. Stress is different. Less anxiety. Maybe a bit more relaxing, but definitely weird.
Memorial handles missing starters better tonight. Earlier this year in the Rice Lake game, Memorial was missing two starters and the game felt out of sync. Lots of missed opportunities. Tonight, with two starters out of the line up, and several players needing to come off for injuries, Memorial managed thru and did not miss a beat. Rotations were different and the bench stepped up. A good sign of a team maturing as the season develops.
I will end with this image. Your 2017 BRC Conference Champs. Eau Claire Memorial. See the glow behind them as the sun is setting. Seems appropriate (gotta find a way to get better video during these games, it gets dark fast). Let’s finish off the last few games and build toward something bigger!!