Okay….get your popcorn ready…..if you are the parent of a player you might need to take a little antacid to settle your nervous belly….I know, I’ve been there a few times. Thursday night in Eau Claire; Hudson @ Memorial. The winner will take hold of the BRC lead and in all likelihood, the BRC Title. Rice Lake did NOT get a win or tie against Hudson, North did NOT surprise Memorial . So this is it. A big game for sure. Both teams are ready. Both teams are in good form. Both teams are confident. Both coaches feel they have the better team. It should be really fun! I will share now that I am bummed that I will miss the game….unavoidable but still a bummer. I will have to rely on some updates from a trusted source. I will be anxious all day and anxious during the time from 4:30-6:00, anxiously awaiting a beep on my phone notifying me there is a text, and then not sure I want to look because it could be a Hudson goal, but hoping, and praying a little that it’s a Memorial goal…and it will probably just be a text from Kathy telling me to pick up dinner on the way home. Not sure there will be many goals. I am thinking a more classic 2-1 game with a late game winner, might even be leaning toward another tie. I know the game will have a few yellows, both teams are jacked up and ready. It will be fast, physical and nervy all night. I wish I was going to be there. Ugh!
Memorial vs. North
I was able to catch the first half of the North v. Memorial game on Tuesday night. It was really the classic cross town game. North, unfortunately, always seems to be a bit over matched facing Memorial. They just don’t have enough quality players in the program right now. So they do what I would as a coach, sit back in defensive shape, stay compact, and hope for a few counter attacks. Maybe sneak in a goal and then hope for the best. And that’s how it played out. Memorial with all the possession and taking shot after shot in the first half. What North does have is probably the best GK in the conference (all due respect to Scott Knowlton). I love getting a few Memorial goals and dropping on the blog, but as I was attempting to get one, I ended up with quite a highlight reel for North GK Ayden White. Shot….save….shot….save… was the theme of the first half. White was up to the task and was shutting down shot after shot. It was an impressive display and so what the heck, I figured I would treat you to the best of the saves.
Things starting heating up and white was up to the task, a great reaction save and deflection wide.
And for me the save of the night. Hard to get low fast and not only low, but a diving deflection on a hard driven shot to keep the ball out of the net. This was top class goal keeping!
But you knew, you just knew Memorial would find their goal, and as usually happens, after all the amazing saves and amazing shots denied, it would come from a pretty simple shot, not very spectacular, but just enough to get the goal.
Junker finds the net off a ball that ends up at his feet in the box. And then you figured, after one, more were coming. Will Jolly netted the second before halftime a minute later and then Rosenberger and Woodford made it 4-0 late. A Ben Madison goal in the 80th minute gave North something to feel good about.
MLS Update
Correction to my last post. The 1-0 loss to Seattle was just the last game of the season….not a playoff game. Minnesota sealed up the #4 seed and will face off against LA Galaxy on October 20th. It will be a home game and i hope the stands are packed. Go Loons!
Premier League Update
Liverpool is still undefeated in League play…..but got a really big assist from the referees on Saturday. A PK awarded to Liverpool in the 93rd minute enable them to secure a 2-1 win over Leicester City. Oh my—-what a gift.
Premier League Table Top 6 after match Week 8
- Liverpool
- Manchester City
- Arsenal
- Leicester City
- Chelsea
- Crystal Palace
Yes, that’s right, no Tottenham and no Manchester United.
Did I mention there was a big BRC game this week?