Coach's Game Analysis
9/16 - Cougars edge Northeast
Wednesday September 16 - Chesapeake 1, Northeast 0.
Saves - Josh Meekins, 15.
MVP Offense - Greg Jordan.
MVP Defense - Josh Meekins.
From the Pasadena Voice:
Cougars Edge Northeast in Defensive Struggle, 1-0
by Tim Prudente (photo by Tim Prudente)
Senior defenseman Joey Milligan of the Chesapeake boys soccer team was charged with a single task for the rivalry game against Northeast - shut down the Eagles' star midfielder Alexander Gonzalez. "You have to stop him," said Milligan, "He's their distributor, and if you take him out it makes it very tough for them to connect from defense to offense."
Chesapeake's game plan came to fruition on September 16 as the smothering presence of Milligan effectively neutralized Gonzalez - and the rest of the Eagles' offense - en route to a 1-0 victory. Gonzalez, who found himself constantly accosted by Milligan, managed only a handful of touches as the Eagles' offense struggled to tally a mere five shots on goal, compared to Chesapeake's 15. "It was just two good players going at it," said Chesapeake coach Chris Collins. "They both made some good plays and it was a great match up, but in the end the day went to Joey." The Eagles' prolific scorer was in agreement. "It was definitely frustrating," said Gonzalez, who spent time with teh U.S. Olympic developmental team last November. "He was down my back the whole game... I guess he did his job."
In addition to their defensive triumph, the Chesapeake offense proved similarly successful, scoring midway through the first half with senior Justin Wurtzer lobbing a shot over the head of approaching Eagles' keeper Josh Meekins. Wurtzer's score marked the only goal in 80 minutes of play, and served to deflate the spirits of the rival Eagles. "That goal just took the wind right from our sails," said Gonzalez. "We play a very emotional game and when we get scored on early like that it's hard to bounce back."
The second half found both teams playing defensive soccer as increasing downpours turned the ball slick and made footing treacherous. It looked as if the Cougars would extend the lead with 19 minutes remaining in the game, but a goal by Justin Kestler was called back for an offside violation. Despite the Eagles' lack of productivity, junior goalkeeper Meekins saw plenty of action, recording 15 saves while being bombarded by Cougar attackers. Meekins prooved sure-handed in the slick conditions an dhis acrobatics in goal prolonged the Eagles' hopes. "Meekins made some incredible saves. He really came up big for them," praised Collins.
Apart from the dynamic play from Meekins and the Eagles' defense, Northeast coach Sam Tanner was quick to point out his team's ineptitudes on the offensive side of the ball. "They controlled the middle of the field no matter what we did," said Tanner. "We started with four midfielders and we even went to five midfielders, but when you don't have the ball you just can't score."
Chesapeake's Collins also admitted his team's showing wasn't its best effort. "There are some things we're not happy about... It would have been nice to put a few more goals in," said Collins. "But a win is a win and even though we're not where we want to be yet, we're moving in the right direction."
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