After shootout, offseason begins

What did you think of the game?

This face says it all.

It's tough to go out on penalties, but remember, only the champion of each division gets to end with a win.

We lost in the Quarters to Armory, after having tied the game 2-2 at the end of regulation and two brief overtime periods. We had a good penalty phase, to be honest, but Armory was able to get a critical +1 on its sixth attempt. The score in penalties was 4-3.

Give Armory the credit it deserves. They had to play short for the entire game and made it up with outstanding individual plays and quick passing by their women.

In contrast, we had to try to establish and re-establish a rhythm with nearly a full complement of players on the bench. That's difficult. Everyone wants and deserves to play, and when they finally get in the game, it's often in an unfamiliar role so it's hard for the team to adjust. Numbers usually work to our advantage. We are a deep team, with lots of combinations to get the job done.

Aside from our lack of rhythm, keep your heads up because it was a decent performance. There were some nice plays and some unsung heroes. For example, Nate made the best of few minutes and Katya displayed excellent possession. We stayed in it until the very end. Alec made sure of that. When it came to penalties, I know we're all proud of the people that represented us on the spot. The way we roll is that everyone has to be ready - if your number is called, you step up and give it your best shot. The penalties this time were all well taken. Good job, seriously!

We'll wrap up the season in another post. Here's the scoring summary for the playoff game:

18' - Armory scores off a deflection deep in the box.

25' - Nate scores with a hard shot into the netting from the five yard line following a long build up and easy assist from Ermy.

60' - Jon dribbles up the right wing and pounds a dominant long-distance shot over the goalie's head, from approximately the 40 yard line. The goalie had been playing well outside the box and we finally made him pay. How many times has Jon scored on a breakaway from the wing?

75' - Armory scores on a corner kick after some failed clearances.

After OT, we went to penalties. The PK score sheet was (Goleros/Armory): 0/1, 1/0, 0/1, 1/0, 1/1, 0/1.

That gives us a 2-2 record in games with penalties. Not too bad. Next time, we'll improve to 3-2, watch out.


[Notes: Quarterfinal playoff versus Armory on 11/15/08 at Washington & Lee HS. Score 2-2 after OTs, we lost 4-3 in PKs. Goals by Nate (Ermy), Jon. PKs taken: Jer (miss), Cat (make), Ermy (miss), Bri (make), Mike (make), Meg (miss). Alec had two saves in PK phase. GKs: Adrian, Alec.]