So, before we start the post on the game, let me get this out of the way. How is it possible for all these other schools we play to have these incredible facilities. Have you been to the Hudson field this year. My goodness, impressive. Reminds me of a small D3 college, not a High School. New classrooms, new buildings and a flashy new Turf field and stadium. Rice Lake…turf field. Menomonie…turf field. Superior…turf field. Chippewa Falls…turf field…well that’s not quite fair, at least Memorials grass field is better than Chippewa Falls turf field. Anyway, the Hudson complex is amazing. I think the scoreboard cost more than our entire complex! Plus it has graphics. I saw GREAT SAVE flash up below the score a few times, although I think they need some training on when they use the graphics…saves were pretty easy when I saw it! Come on scoreboard operator! One thing that’s nice…going in a beating teams with these fancy facilities! That’s pretty satisfying! On to the game.
Memorial’s first half was dominating. If they looked a bit rusty on Tuesday at North, they looked in mid-season form against Hudson in the first half. Passing was crisp, player movement was fluid, the ball never stopped moving. It looked really good. The most impressive play was from the midfield. They owned the game and really controlled the whole flow of the game. In attack the midfield was able to get the ball into space out wide, get switches when needed to the backside and easily penetrate the Hudson defense. When a ball was lost, they quickly delayed attacks and won back possession. I am still learning players but the combination of Ali Bowe, Serena Sorenson, Cameron Carmody, Molly Grasskamp and a few I might be missing looked solid all night. No surprise on this night all the scoring came from the midfield.
What makes this team interesting is they can beat you in so many ways. The have some very talented forwards and wing players and on any given night, Stow could get 3-4 goals. Hudson made a decision to try and stop Stow. It was clear they had picked their poison…stop Stow and take our chances with the rest of the team. When Stow had the ball, Hudson was sending double and triple teams her way to slow her down. She still had some chances, but they did seem a bit more limited than usual. So, what do you do if they shut her down…well, that leaves some other very talented players available in space. The decision to send multiple defenders on Stow really opened up the midfield area and Memorial pounced. Another fact to share…all the goals came from outside the box…..I think. Got a bit distracted on goal 3 with all the action around the net….but I think it was struck from outside the box.
Let’s take a look at some highlights. Man…this one was close to going across the line. I have slowed it down and looked at it several times. Thought maybe it was over, but probably not all the way over…so close. I think this was a good omen for Sorenson on the night…more highlights for her soon.
The scoring was licked off on the night by Molly Grasskamp. But the key to this play was Ali Bowe. She wins a ball in midfield..a common theme tonight…and takes on two defenders. Then she makes a really good inside cut and the defenders fly by. She spots an open Grasskamp in the middle of the field and lays off a nice pass and Molly does the rest. A hard drive that finds its way thru to the corner of the goal.
So, after that first bar down, you figured Sorenson deserved one and you were right. As Hudson tried to clear a ball, it is picked up by Carmody in midfield and she spots Sorenson in space who wastes no time rifling a hard shot to the far corner. Very similar goal to the first one. Almost as if Coach DeRusha had instructed his midfield to take some shots from the 18 since they likely would have a few opportunities. Against North, the team was trying to make that extra little pass…tonight, when space presented…they were shooting…and SCORING.
So, what is the worst lead in soccer. If you have coached or played they always talk about a 2-0 lead. Memorial led 2-0 at the half. At 1-0 you are still really focused. At 3-0, the other team is discouraged. At 2-0, teams sometimes just get comfortable and the other team still feels engaged. To their credit, Hudson came out and really picked up their energy and effort in the second half. It felt like they committed more numbers in midfield to change the Memorial advantage. They were winning balls and playing balls into space out wide. Shots started to come, they applied some pressure on Memorials defense. The game became a very even battle over the first 30 minutes of the half. Memorials GK had to get to work in the second half. And then there was a stretch where Hudson had 4-5 corner kicks, felt like 20, in very quick succession. And they were all very dangerous, you sort of felt a goal was coming. I think around the 70 minute mark, it happened and it was a beauty. A strong corner kick to the back side of the 6 and a really strong header back across goal into the far corner. No chance to stop that one…it was well earned. Game on! So now Hudson is very energized and really into the game. What would Memorial do, well, they did what really good teams do, they responded. They picked it up and took back control of the game. Within minutes they were pressing for goal #3. Several really good opportunities saved by the Hudson GK and a few others saved off the line by defenders. Here was one of those sequences. Another bar down by Beaudrie, but no goal, and then almost by Stow, no goal.
A few minutes later, Sorenson delivered again to put the game away at 3-1. Didn’t get video of that one, my bad, but it was very similar to the first two. The midfield really delivered tonight!
Top Take Aways
The defensive line of Kison-Hanson-Gerry-Jochimsen is a BRICK WALL. Throw in Carmody in front of them and you have a double brick wall. This group is big, fast, physical and tough!
This team has options. Taking away Stow wont guarantee you success against Memorial. That is important going forward.
Time to get Tested. Hudson made them work in the second half, but I think this teams needs to get tested. The non-conference games coming up in the next weekend will give us an indication where they are.
Go ABES!