Congratulations to our U12 Boys and U15 Girls Green who claimed the Championship at the Naples Sharks Shootout
U15 Girls Green Tournament Report
Despite the challenge of playing up the Strikers 96' Girls Green battled to win the U16 Gold Bracket at the 2011 Naples Sharks Shoot-Out. After defeating Naples U15 Elite team 3-1 and then winning against Naples U16 team 2-1 the Strikers would find themselves in the Championship match and once again facing their "River Rival" the Cape Coral U15 Black team.
The Strikers and Cape had some compelling matches over the years. After the Strikers won the Orange Classic last season the Cape came back and defeated the Strikers in the first league game of the 2011 season. This past weekend would be the Strikers opportunity to re-claim their spot on the "big stage".
The first half as expected was a physical battle and the Strikers looked to be playing good soccer and controlling the match. Late in the half the Strikers would catch an unlucky break and would give up an "own goal" leaving them down 1-0 at half.
Confidence and Conditioning would pay dividends early in the second half when Noelle Tennant, not once but twice would find the back of the net putting the Strikers up 2-1 before water break. The Strikers held it together the last 15 minutes and fought hard with heart and passion, and would once again come out on top in the "Big Show".
The entire team played as one, with a great effort from keeper Amanda Schlichte. The defensive back line was solid and the midfield would control the game with possession and linking up passes from the back to the front.
"The girls played so well as individuals pushing themselves to be the best they could be, and that resulted in a team effort that was needed to come out on top. These girls need to perform and perform well every time they step onto a field, and to add a rival match is just so much pressure" stated coach Lukas, We as coaches and parents are extremely proud of the players and how they represent the club!
Well done ladies and Congratulations on another well deserved Championship!
Strikers U12 Boys Championship Game Report
The Strikers went through to Sunday's Championship final against San Carlos Scorpions with both teams undefeated in the tournament and the Strikers in contention to win their second Naples title in a row. As the San Carlos team took to the field their players looked so big it could've been their U13 team and we could see we would be in for a physical game. As the game commenced it was apparent that San Carlos' tactics would play to their size advantage with the team getting the ball forward to their big players as quickly and directly as possible. Strikers were prepared for their physical approach, stuck to their passing game and the starting defensive line of Jordan 'Birdman' Lohr, Stephen Barker and Captain Alec 'AJ' Prieto held strong. Strikers kept the ball well and dominated early possession with Andy Enchemendia doing a great job of holding the ball up under pressure and feeding the midfield trio of Andre Blanco, Cooper 'Cuba' Stone and Logan McLeod. With around 10 minutes gone and against the run of play San Carlos scored with a mis-kick from a corner that tricked Striker's goal keeper Michael Hafele and somehow managed to find the goal, San Carlos got lucky but it's 0-1. There was still plenty of time remaining but Strikers responded immediately, after a great passage of play, Logan McLeod created some space on the right hand side and with seemingly everyone in Collier Regional Park shouting 'SHOOT' he rifled a bullet shot into the top right hand corner to bring Strikers level within 30 seconds, 1-1, 11 minutes gone. The game continued at a frenetic pace and the action was end to end until 20 minutes in when a lapse of concentration left a San Carlos forward in space on the edge of the Striker's penalty area and he had time to look up and pick his spot which was the top right hand angle, a good goal, 1-2. Striker's introduced Stefan Fevrier-Sildor and Kevin Reynolds into the game to give the team a more attacking look and this had an immediate effect with the Strikers putting the San Carlos defense under pressure which saw a succession of corners for our team and it was from one of those corners that Kevin Reynolds found the ball seven yards out from a rebounded shot and drove it into the bottom left corner, 2-2 and half time.
The introduction of the tough tackling John 'no más' Briers for the second half would ensure that San Carlos' big forwards would have a fight on their hands andwasn't long before he introduced himself to them, John's thumbs up to the referee confirmed that a yellow card was indeed appropriate although his intentions were for the ball. The game seemed to settle and Strikers looked in control, passing the ball well but at around 45 minutes came a game defining moment. After an innocuous challenge, Stephen Barker had played the ball out for a corner but the referee signaled first for a goal kick and then to the astonishment of everyone watching, including San Carlos decided to award a penalty. No problem, Vice Captain Michael Hafele was in goal and as he bounced on the goal line a la Bruce Grobbelaar he looked confident and calm. The San Carlos penalty taker stepped up and shot, Michael extended to his right and made a fantastic save before jumping at the feet of the onrushing players to smother the ball. Justice had been served. The Striker's seemed to grow in confidence after this and the Strikers passing style of play started to pay dividends as the tired legs of San Carlos struggled to gain possession and when they did Striker's didn't let them have it for long with some impressive tackling from the team and some notable challenges from Andre Blanco and John Briers. Buoyed by the songs of the Strikers Parents choir, the team continued to play well and with around 10 minutes remaining Kevin Reynolds found himself 1 on 1 with a San Carlos defender from a Michael Hafele punt and with great composure, he played the ball past him before shooting the ball into the top left corner of the goal 3-2. Debel Massolas came into the game to provide a new target for the team and within seconds of his introduction he held the ball up well before splitting the defense with show of great vision to play in Kevin Reynolds and with memories of Geoff Hurst in 1966 he almost had his hatrick except for a great last ditch block from the San Carlos defender. With time running out and the Striker's defense looking strong, we continued to create chances with both Debel Massolas and Kevin Reynolds coming close again in the final few minutes. With Andy Enchemendia on the sideline waiting to be reintroduced the referee blew his whistle for a deserved Striker's victory and a second consecutive Naples title.
“If God had wanted us to play football in the sky, He'd have put grass up there.” Brian Clough.
