Triangle Y Soccer Club

A Blast at the Beach

The U10 Strikers traveled to Wilmington for their final tournament and set of games as a team.

Day 1 had them playing two games.

Day 1, Game 1 vs. CRSC Black @ 10:30 am.

The Strikers faced a very tough team in their 1^st game of the tournament and started off slowly by falling behind by 4 goals in the 1^st half due to some lapses (and flat play) early in the game. That said the 1^st half even with the 4 goals showed some good defense, a few scoring opportunities and multiple corner kick opportunities. The 1^st half could be summed up by saying “one too few passes and just a step slow to deliver the ball”.

The 2^nd half was much stronger with the Strikers showing good energy and they even outscored CRSC 2-1 in the second half including a nice pass by Joel to Duncan for a goal and great unassisted goal by Matt. Matt intercepted a goal kick and managed to avoid 2 defenders to score off a strong ball. The team had numerous scoring chances and ended on a strong note but still came up short 2-5.

Day 1, Game 2 vs. FCCA Huntersville at 3:30 pm

In a very close second game the Strikers started off quickly with 2-0 lead off of a Kyle assist to Matt for a score and Dylan assisting to Matt for a 2^nd goal. FCCA came back to make it 2-2. The rest of the match was a physical and emotional roller coaster including a score from Dylan off Kyle’s corner kick as well as a penalty kick that was awarded to FCCA off a late call. Penalty calls are supposed to be immediately called and play halted – but in this case play went for several seconds before the kick was awarded. Kyle later scored off another Dylan assist to make the game close but the Strikers ended up losing 7-4. It should be noted that the Strikers played very well including strong goal keeping and defense by Daniel, David, Joel and Justin and everyone contributing with key stops and passes including Idris, Jason and Duncan. That said, the Strikers got few calls and played a physical game. The other team was unsportsmanlike in words and actions including a near yellow card issued to a player on their team for close contact with Justin, our goalie. Our opponents also scored at least three goals by playing an offensive player behind our defense –which in U11 and beyond is considered offside and not allowed. Given the circumstances the team played hard, didn’t get breaks but never quit – a definite character building moment.

Day 2, Game 3 vs. CASL Aztecs

In their final game as a U10 team the Strikers played a fine match, but it was one of those games that the score doesn’t indicate the dominance of another team. The game ended up being a 0-1 loss even though the Strikers had a 3 to 4 times the advantage on shots on goal. For large stretches of the game, we were on the offensive side of the field with a near goal coming from Kyle – one shot looked like it crossed the goal line but wasn’t ruled a goal. In addition Jason, Duncan, Matt, Dylan and Idris had good shot attempts. Daniel and David also go into the act with some sterling defense, headers and deep kicks to the offensive side. When you add in some great goal keeping by Justin and strong defense by Joel you have one exciting game. The team worked hard to the final whistle and parents and relatives should be proud!

We want to also thank the Bumgarner’s (Justin’s parents) for arranging the lunches, dinners and hotels and want to issue a final thank you to the Coach’s for their support and guidance. Next year half the team moves up to U11 so we wish the U10 and U11 teams the best of luck. 

Here is the Striker leader table for goals and assists for the full U10 season:

Goals: Kyle (31), Matt (10), Jason (9)

Assists: Jason (13), Kyle (9), Idris and Duncan (7 each).

We couldn’t keep track of all the headers, strong clears and goal saves so kudos to the entire team for contributing and working hard all year!

Thank you to the coaches for their ultimate knowledge of the game, patience and unending words of praise for our children. Best of luck in the Fall - Go Strikers!