Memorial continued it’s early season success with a professional 4-0 effort against North. You kind of expected Memorial to control the game. You had a idea it would be a easy victory and MHS would have the bulk of possession and at some point find the net…on more than a few occasions. What you didn’t expect was an early…and I mean early….North opportunity to grab a 1-0 lead and maybe put some pressure on the experienced Abes. Alas for North, it was not meant to be. A shaky early ball and a nervous moment was cleaned up by an excellent 1v1 stop by Tyler Hanson and a clearance off the line by defender Larson. Man is Hanson cat quick and his reaction to the shot was really impressive. Eventually the quality showed thru and two really nice first half goals by Longville and Rosenberger settled things down for the Abes. A second half PK (I think the 4th in 5 games) and a cheeky volley off a long ball over the top made it 4-0 and a hat trick for Longville.
Highlights. My first attempt so I apologize in advance..but hey..I am an old dude and trying to figure it out. Might need to ask my millennial kids to help me out. Ouch! Here are the four goals…not in order…working on that!
Top 3 Take Aways from the Game
Memorial Just Wears You down.
It wasn’t flashy. It was just solid execution in all phases of the game. Hanson made the big early save but I only remember one more shot on goal. After the early shaky start the defense controlled everything. They manged a few balls North sent over the top and cleared away most balls in the box with composure and decisive stepping to win balls before they became an issue. Midfield controls the game and eventually, they find a break thru and feed balls into Longville. Orser and Lyons just boss the midfield impressively. Longville just works and works up top and knows he will get his chances. New this year is improved wing play to add a scoring threat and take some pressure off Longville.
Memorial is BIG
It was obvious that the Abes were much bigger and more physical than North. So far this season, I have not seen an opponent as big and strong as MHS. I guess I should add fast and skilled as well. In D and in Midfield they tend to boss other teams. North has some nice players, quick feet and full of energy, but they just did not have the beef to hang with Memorial on D and in the Midfield. Offensively they are not as big, but Haig and Longville both bring an energy and physicality that is impressive.
Not Many Shots on Goal
I only remember two good chances for North. Might have been a few more on goal, but nothing dangerous. I have seen all 5 games and it strikes me that Memorial has not given up many goals (3) and even more impressive is the lack of shots on goal against the Abes. I have not kept a scoring sheet, but just watching the games, it feels like they keep the shots to a minimum. I remember a few periods in the River Falls game where they gave up a few and a few corners. Same at Arrowhead for the first 10 minutes, but overall, pretty impressive to limit the chances and keep shots on goal to a minimum. Again, just solid fundamentals, great field awareness and positional sense across the pitch.
It is really early in the season, but so far, it looks good. Another big test in Hudson on Thursday. We will learn a lot about the team and how far they may go after a tough road game against last seasons BRC Champs. Should be fun!