Quick Update for those interested. Green Bay Preble defeated Hudson today 3-0. 1-0 Game for most of the game. pretty even possession game and Hudson had some nice moments where they put Preble under pressure. Similar to yesterday, Preble scored two goals quickly late in the game. Goals in the 86th and 88th made it 3-0. Looks like Green Bay Preble is good! I have a feeling the Hudson game is going to be very competitive!
Another season of Memorial soccer is off and running as they squared off against one of the state’s best programs in Green Bay Preble on Friday afternoon. Their last game was an incredible match up, won late by Memorial in the Sectional Finals last year. Remember the Martinez goal in the final minutes! Quite the way to start the season for a young team trying to find their way after losing a strong senior class last year. Right into the fire as they say. It was a bit strange for me….watching a Memorial game without one of my kids in the program or on the field playing. Just a fan. No nerves, that was cool. No anxiety…that was cool as well. Just enjoying a great game and being a soccer fan.
First observations.
-Memorial is quick, athletic, great feet, great skills, tactically strong, well coached……but a bit smaller than I am used to seeing on the pitch. Gone are many of the big, physical players from last year. No more Beasts in the midfield or back line. Memorial could really physically dominant teams last year, this year they will need to use their skills and knowledge of the game.
-Memorial is young. Four underclassmen started the Preble game, including dynamic Freshman Jared Nunez. Toss in four junior starters and that leaves just three Senior starters currently. That will change in a few weeks as a few Seniors should get back into the line up. But regardless, it is a team that will need to learn to play together and develop some chemistry. Preble had only two sophomores on their varsity squad. Memorial started 3 Sophomores and a Freshman. You could feel the difference in experience. Preble was loud and talkative all game. Lots of communication and chatter on the pitch. Memorial will get there, time and patience.
-Are those new uniforms. Very sharp….love the new look!
-Style of play. Apologize for the comparisons, but it’s my first time seeing them play. Not as much possession as I am used to for Memorial. A lot of balls over the top or thru balls into space. Not as much build up in the final third. Not as many overlapping, deep runs by the outside backs on either side as last year. We got used to Jolley and Free bombing down the sidelines and getting into the final third and whipping in crosses for Longville to knock home. Lots more touches in the Midfield and out wide with Wingers. Great to see the ball being shared up top. All the wingers and forwards are dynamic. When the ball moves up field, everyone is moving forward as a unit. Opportunities to have combination play and find players free on the backside are there. No more reliance on a single forward. A few more games and the offensive players will start finding each other. More goals are coming. I love how they are sharing the ball and trusting each other.
Game Recap
So, soccer is sometimes difficult when it comes to results. Sometimes you dominate a team but win 1-0. A bit of a deceiving score. Sometimes you get killed but manage to make some saves and earn a tie. A bit of a deceiving score. And sometimes it is a very even game, and just a few plays make the difference. This game felt pretty even to me for big chunks of the game. Preble’s physicality and Memorial’s youth showed up in the first 30 minutes of the second half and Preble did exert their will on the Abes during that period of play. But the Abes were still finding a way to keep the Hornets out of their net. For 87 minutes this was a really close well fought match. But there are those other 3 minutes…..just three I know, but they were a fateful three in the result. Let’s end the drama….Green bay Preble 3 Memorial 1. But that is a bit of a deceiving score!
It was a very competitive game of soccer. The first half saw both teams compete hard and show strong play on both the offensive and defensive side of the field. I would say the possession was pretty even. Both sides had good spells and found good moments. Memorial came out flying and had a strong first 20 minutes. They were the better team in that stretch. The ball was moving quickly, they were finding space on the wings. They were winning back possession quickly after a turnover. The defensive line was stepping hard and winning balls. When pressed deep, they were up to the task to chase down a run and clear out balls from the 18. GK Hanson, a likely All Conference player this year, is a nice safety blanket in the back. He made a few very nice saves in that spell. A leaping, one hand poke over the top on a hard drive was especially impressive. Memorials possession paid off about 15 minutes into the game. After a string of nice passes and working the ball into space down the left side, Memorial struck first. An attempt to clear a ball was intercepted in Midfield by Woodworth who played it forward to Nunez, who played it forward to Mitch Brenner. His first touch and trap was really the key here. A hot ball in from Nunez, but controlled nicely. A turn into space, a touch and a nice left foot finish in the side net. 1-0 Abes. Notice two more players in the box. I really like how they are attacking the net.
Preble responded after the goal and the game settled into a tight match. No real advantage. Preble did put some pressure on the Memorial defense but Hanson was up to the task. He played sweeper keeper on a few balls and made that one nice save. Unfortunately, later in the half, Preble evened up the score. A ball out near midfield came free to their captain, Lindsley, who found the top corner from distance. Not much Hanson could do on this one. A shot from distance that just finds the one spot it can get past the keeper. A pretty fortunate score from there, the kid may not have a nicer shot all season….but well done, a nice shot. 1-1 at the half.
I am pretty sure the Preble coach told his players at the half to take advantage of the one key difference in the game. Preble’s size and strength. It was noticeable in the first 30 minutes of the second half. Preble was much more physical. Bodies were flying around. Tackles and pressure were increased a bit. I think maybe the physical play took a toll. Preble had a significant edge in possession during this period. But hey, Memorial was finding a way to keep the game tied. and then there were those 3 minutes we talked about. Just three, I know, but it was the difference in the game. A nice spell of possession lead to a ball down the left-wing, a cross came flying into he box, and the Preble forward out-dueled the Memorial defender in the air for a nice header goal. 2-1. Quickly, Preble was back on the attack. A little wobble on the back line and midfield allowed a ball to be played into space in the 18 and a quick turn and shot and it’s 3-1. Just three minutes, I know, but man, bummer dude, those three minutes hurt a bit.
Memorial responds. Maybe that settled them down? Maybe down two they said, what the heck, let’s just play a little loose and free. Not sure, but the final 15-20 minutes looked much better. Memorial had their best spell of the game in this period. They really did not put much pressure on Preble until the two goals. Then they had a bunch of chances.
So back to the deceiving score idea. Zumwalt with a great chance. And notice Jacob in the box ready for a pass or tap in goal. Sometimes the woodwork is your friend and sometimes the woodwork is your enemy. Today…it was our enemy. A pass to Jacob and a shot had the GK beat. A nice powerful shot, headed for the goal and ….ping….off the post. Notice all the players in the box available for a pass. Then later, a nice free kick from Junker and Brenner rises above everyone for a header. The GK is out of position and beat, the ball is headed for the net….ping….off the cross-bar. But there is Jacob with the volley finish and the ball is headed into the net when….stab….the GK makes a one-handed lunging save. No goal. What? How did we not score there!! Come on man!
So back to the deceiving score idea. Pretty easy to envision both of those plays turning into goals, finding the net and the game ending in a 3-3 tie. but hey, that’s soccer. The team is young, and they are working hard. I love their energy. I love all the forward players in the box ready to pounce. I love how they are sharing the ball. I loved that they came back from 3-1 to put a scare into Preble. I love the possibilities of how good they can be with a few more games and a little more experience. I love they have two seniors who will likely make a big difference in the physicality of the team coming back soon.
No shame going down to Preble and the quality of their squad. Just three minutes…..just two pings off the woodwork….and this is a different article. Go Abes. Trust the process!