Well That All Folks!! Our regular season has come to a climatic finish. We ended the season on a 3-0-1 run including a final game 2-1 victory over Fallston.
This was a game of two halfs. The first half we seemed tenative and a little off our game....but that being said at the end of the half we were only down 0-1. I told the boys at half to not worry about the score as it was only a one score game and it was apparent that they gave us their best shot and could only get one goal.
We started out the second half strong with several scoring oppurtunites that we just missed converting. We scored our first goal of the game on a play that i didn't know we had in our arsenal. On a throw in deep into Fallston side of the field Jacob Z threw the ball in and threw so far that it bounced through the center of the box and onto the waiting foot of Sam who properly deposited it into the back of the net. Jacob's throw-ins all game were amazing, the other coach was constantly warning his guys to play deep when he was throwing the ball because of the distance he was getting. (his dad, Coach Walt, said his new found strength came from chopping wood this week)......Keep chopping Jacob!!
Before the start of the second half i pulled Zach H to the side and told him that whenever we needed to come up with a big goal he seemed to be the one to find it. I told him that he would be the one to come up with another goal today. Well half way through the second half he chased down a through ball pass from his teamate and got tackled from behind forcing a penalty shot. This is always a dilema for a coach, who takes the shot. After some discussion amongst the coaches i decided that Zach earned the shot and i owed it to Zach to prove i had faith in him. Zach came through with flying colors and drilled a shot into the upper right corner.....2-1 Rampage lead. A lead we would not relinquish.
After the game i told all the boys that over the past few weeks our team has evolved and we no longer have a first line and a second line, but rather a complete team. I think we have found a formula that works well for all of the boys as some of the boys seem to have formed a connection with each other both of the lines we have put together.
I want to thank all of the boys and parents for what turned out to be a great first outdoor season. With a new team made up mostly of boys who have never played at the travel the coaches and i didn't know what to expect. Needless to say we were pleasantly surprised with how well the season turned out and esctatic with the development and steady progression of the boys as a team.
