Triangle Y Soccer Club

The Hibs kicked off their final season but took a while to shake off the rust. They controlled the middle of the field and shut down the Crew attack, but held the ball too long and played too much kick-and-run to be effective. In the 16th minute, Garrett's long clear from the Hibs' defensive end was misplayed by a Crew defender. The ball fell right onto Joey's foot and he broke in all alone from 30 yards out to open the scoring.

While there were some good scoring opportunities, the Hibs still weren't moving the ball too sharply. Joey C. made some good saves to keep it a 1 goal game and give the Hibs a chance to settle down. In the 33rd minute, Brian's long switch from midfield landed right on Colin's foot inside the 18. He beat his defender with a nifty move and blasted it past the keeper for the 2-0 halftime lead.

The 2nd half was much of the same for the first 10 minutes as the Hibs slowly settled into their possession game. On a sportsmanship injury situation in the 52nd minute, the Crew seemed a little confused as Matt played a long ball over the top to Evan. He went side to side and got his defender turned around before burying it in the back of the net. Evan got his 2nd of the game a minute later when Joey made a nice flick over the defense to send him in all alone. The floodgates were now officially open.

Five minutes later, Buzz hit Will in stride behind the defense and he buried that one. Two minutes later it was instant replay as Will grabbed Buzz's thru ball and blasted it past the keeper for the 6-0 lead. The Crew didn't really give in and the Hibs tried to move the ball to slow the game down. In the 63rd minute, Greg carried the ball from deep in his own end and pushed it wide to Joey streaking down the sideline. He slid that one past the keeper for his second of the game. Garrett closed out the scoring in the 70th minute on a corner kick.

Against a stronger opponent, the Hibs may have found themselves under much more pressure. It was fortunate that they had a weaker opponent to give them a chance to shake off the rust. One thing that was evident, they were hungry to score goals and finished off most of their chances, which is something they typically have trouble with.

Goals
      Joey(2), Evan(2), Will(2), Colin, Garrett

Goalkeeper
      Joey C.: 6 shots, 0 GA, 100%

This is the 3rd or 4th time the Hibs have traveled to play at this field, and it's always an adventure... muddy, surrounded by swamps and trees, barely legible lines, shaky goals and nets, and small dimensions. This year, we had to contend with an empty bench as a bonus. This opponent is a year older and plays a very physical game, so we knew it would be interesting to see how the Hibs respond.

The Lightning came out of the gate with some strong ball movement and deep balls over the top to try and get that early goal. Greg, JD, and Rolf shut those down and gave Joey C. a fairly easy time in the net early on. Graham, Buzz, and Gabriel quickly stepped up their game in the middle of the field and really took control of the action. A few thru passes to Joey and Evan created some decent scoring chances, but the 1st half was played primarily between the 18s. The Hibs moved the ball well and went in hard for every free ball, frustrating their opponent. By the end of the scoreless half, the Lightning were reduced to just kicking the ball without much purpose.

The Lightning settled down after the break and got the Hibs on their heels pretty quickly. Joey C. made some great saves to keep the game scoreless. On one play, 2 Hibs defenders got their legs tangled as they looked up at the high cross and went tumbling. This left 2 Lighting attackers going in alone on goal. As one tried to set the play on the right side of the box, Joey came out of the net, dove head first into his feet, and poked the ball toward the sideline. The Hibs defense recovered and cleared the ball out of harm's way.

About halfway thru the half, JD got into card trouble and had to take a seat, leaving the Hibs to play with 10 and no subs. It wasn't looking good; Hibs players were noticeably gassed, limping, and getting banged around by frustrated Lightning players. But, every one of Joey's great saves gave them a small boost. But, in the 80th minute, the Lightning broke the ice with a nice shot to gain the lead to the sound of Vuvuzelas (yep, true!).

The Hibs dug down deep and responded 3 minutes later. As a Lightning defender was waiting to tee up a bouncing ball near the right sideline, Evan ran thru it and played it forward with his head. He sprinted towards the endline and crossed it to the middle. Gabriel was charging in surrounded by 2 defenders while Brian had the back door covered. But the ball went off one of the defenders directly into the net for an own goal. Although the finish wasn't great, Evan's play to make it happen was. The Hibs sucked it up for the last 7 minutes and even got a few chances to take the lead, but they were just too tired to finish them off.

A great effort!

Goals
     Evan

Goalkeeper
     Joey C.: 9 shots, 1 GAA, 88.9%

This game was rescheduled from April 10 so that the Hibs would only have to make the long trip to Lumberton once this season. However, that created a double-header against 2 pretty good teams. And, to top it off, several players had conflicts and the Hibs would play with only 1 sub.

The first game against the Crush was a pretty even affair. The choppy field and windy conditions made it difficult for either team to really sustain an attack and the game was played mostly between the 18s in a back-and-forth fashion. The Hibs finally broke the ice in the 27th minute when Gabriel collected a weak clear on the right side, worked across the middle of the box, and blasted one past the keeper.

The lead was short-lived, however, when a long shot in the 30th minute took a weird bounce as Joey dove to collect it. The ball banged off his chest right to a Crush attacker following the shot. Shortly afterwards, Gabriel went down with a pulled muscle and would see limited action for the remainder of the game. The Hibs would have to suck it up with essentially no subs for the second half.

But, with some minor adjustments, the Hibs could take advantage of some opportunities. While the choppy field made it difficult for both teams to control the ball, the Crush seemed to be having a harder time of it. Pressure on their defenders should create some opportunities. The Hibs pressured in the second half, but started to show some signs of fatigue and couldn't finish their opportunities.

Late in the game, the Crush were awarded a PK that seemed like it would decide the game. But the shooter banged it off the bottom of the crossbar and the Hibs were able to clear and survive. Almost immediately afterwards, a Hibs throw-in deep in Crush territory got to Brian on the far left side as the defender couldn't handle it. He fired a shot high towards the goal. The Crush keeper attacked the shot but mis-judged it. The ball went off his fingertips and trickled into the net.

The Hibs buckled down, turned back the Crush as they pushed hard for the equalizer, and came away with the 2-1 win.

Goals
     Gabriel, Brian

Goalkeeper
     Joey C.: 6 shots, 1 GAA, 83.3%

The second game of this double-header for the Hibs would be a great test. Not only were they tired, but they would be without any subs playing against a big, fast, physical team. And, the coach had been at the earlier game scouting us out.

Whatever that coach saw, he really used to his advantage. The Hibs spent the first 5-10 minutes of the game desparately clearing the ball out of their own 18 as the Gunners sent 4 and 5 players up on the attack. Some adjustments to the Hibs' formation solidified the defense a bit, but didn't relieve the pressure altogether. Joey did a great job in the net to keep the Gunners scoreless and give the Hibs a chance to settle down.

A few counter-attacks were all the Hibs could muster as the Gunners beat them to every ball near midfield and turned it back in. It seemed like only a matter of time before they would get on the scoreboard. But the Hibs had different ideas. With the Gunner's keeper way out at the top of his box, Buzz lofted a shot from about 40 yards that sailed over his head into the net. So, after fighting for their lives for 10 minutes, the Hibs had the 1-0 lead.

The Gunners continued to send wave after wave of attackers, only to be turned back by the Hibs' defense as they held onto the 1-0 lead into the break. Most of the Hibs players were visibly gassed, but very pumped up about the game. It was obvious that the Gunners were getting frustrated as they resorted to long balls by the end of the half, trying to get the quick goal. The only thing the Hibs needed to improve on in the 2nd half was challenging for the ball near midfield.

The Gunners tried to get a quick goal in the second half, but JD and Evan worked the right sideline to create several counterattacks. Only a few minutes in, JD beat his man and drove deep. His cross found Joey streaking in the box, but his header went just wide. A few minutes later, the Hibs got a free kick near midfield. Graham's lofted ball got flicked on to Brian standing about 10 yards out. His shot beat the keeper but he was offside.

Those 2 near misses seemed to energize the Hibs, and they frustrated the Gunners at midfield, pressured their defenders, and turned back just about every long ball over the top. The game was played primarly around midfield and started getting a little chippy as the Gunners frustration began to show and the Hibs were determined not to get pushed around. As fatigue set in, the Gunner's chances started getting better, but they squandered their golden opportunities by blasting the ball instead of finishing. Shots were flying 20 yards over the goal and well wide as they started shooting from almost anywhere in range.

Finally, in the 73rd minute, a deep run down the left side and subsequent cross got to a Gunner attacker for the equalizer. They rang another off the post a few minutes later as the Hibs just clogged the middle of the box and cleared the ball to try and kill the clock. When the final whistle blew, there was huge sigh of relief as the visibly drained Hibs walked off the field. They were true warriors in both games and, to come away with a win and a tie in those conditions, was really amazing.

Goals
     Buzz

Goalkeeper
     Joey C.: 15 shots, 1 GAA, 93.3%

You have to go back to the first game of the 2010 season to find a Hibs' regular season loss, so this one is a rarity. Although they're a year younger, the Strike were State Cup champions last year and proved to be a worthy opponent for the Hibs. The Strike came out strong and immediately got the Hibs on their heels. A terrific overlapping run down the left side in the 3rd minute got a Strike attacker behind the defense and, just like that, it was 1-0.

The Hibs slowly settled into their game. Greg, Matt, Garrett, and Graham played strong defense until the midfield could get control. Some key saves by Joey kept the Strike from extending their lead. By the 20-minute mark, the game was pretty even with the Hibs starting to get some chances. A nice wall pass down the right got Evan deep into the Strike end. His cross was cleared weakly and, as Gabe went to settle it at the top of the box, he was fouled. His laser free-kick from 20 yards found the back of the net and energized the Hibs.

The rest of the half was played between the 18's, but the Hibs had the better of the play. It was pretty physical, but not too much crossed the line. Buzz, JD, and Collin worked the middle of the field while Evan and Will harassed the Strike defenders to create a few scoring chances. The half ended at 1-1.

No major adjustments for the 2nd half were warranted since the Hibs had all but seized control of the game. But they came out of the break a little flat and a nice deep run followed by a beautiful header found the back of the Hibs net 3 minutes in. There was no let down though as the Hibs totally controlled the action in the middle of the field. A few opportunities materialized, but the Strike were starting to go into a defensive shell and clogged the sweet area in front of the goal.

As the Hibs pressed hard for the tying goal, a Strike player won the ball near midfield and played a nice ball to the space behind a Hibs' defender. A striker ran onto it and flicked it over Joey's head as he came out to cut him off. The Hibs continued to press but couldn't even get a shot off because of the crowd of Strike players.

The Hibs played a solid game against a very good opponent. They got bogged down in the final attacking 3rd of the field and just couldn't find the handle or finish their chances. A little more quick ball movement may have gotten them some good counterattacks.

Goals
      Gabe

Goalkeeper
      Joey C: 13 shots, 3 GAA, 76.9%

It looked like it was going to be a runaway game when JD grabbed Gerald's thru ball and buried a rocket in the 2nd minute. But FFC fought back and kept the Hibs at bay for the most part. They threatened to score only a few times, but kept the Hibs honest for most of the half. In the 12th minute, Rolf stepped up to a cleared ball and pushed it thru to Joey running behind the defense. He finished that one nicely to get the Hibs' 400th goal.

The Hibs seemed to get too casual after that and weren't able to get another before halftime. While they controlled the flow of the game, they didn't play their game and drive to finish. The 2nd half opened with Evan's quick strike from from a wide, deep angle. But, again, the Hibs played with it too long and kept the game in the middle of the field. When they went to simple passing and movement, they got opportunities. But they didn't do that enough and didn't finish the chances they did get. FFC never really threatened to score in the second half and the game finished at 3-0.

Goals
      JD, Joey, Evan

Goalkeeper
      Joey C.: 5 shots, 0 GAA, 100%

Well, not a great way to wrap up our regular season, but it is what it is. I guess you could just read the write-up from last year's game against this team to find out what happened, because it felt like I was watching a rerun.

The Cobras took the opening kick-off and played possession for about 1 or 2 minutes while moving slowly up the field. Their attack fizzled though as JD, Garrett, Rolf, and Graham shut them down when they got into scoring position. Once the Hibs got the ball, it was like they never gave it up for 80 minutes.

For most of the 1st half, the Cobras' attack plan was to play a long ball and try to flick it on to a running attacker. Unfortunately, the Hibs were stepping up and winning those balls or outrunning the last attacker to the flicked-on ball. Nothing ever really came from it as they could only muster 1 shot.

On the other hand, the Hibs' transition game was outstanding. Graham, Buzz, Gabe, Garrett, and Colin stripped Cobra attackers just inside our defensive 3rd and attacked the space behind them. Possession time was very lop-sided but the Hibs tried to force everything up the middle and had difficulty penetrating the defensive crowd.

The few times that the Hibs played the ball wide from midfield resulted in deep runs to the corner, crosses, drop passes, corner kicks, etc that created quality chances. Many shots were just off target and they didn't really test the Cobras' keeper too much.

The halftime instruction was clear: drive the wings earlier to draw out the defenders and play the ball across. The 2nd half was, again, full of Hibs' possession. Buzz was seeing the field extremely well and threading the needle between defenders to hit JD, Brian, and Joey on runs down the wings. Some great crosses were volleyed over the net or blocked by defenders.

The Hibs finally got on the board in the 47th minute as, ironically, Gabe flicked on a long clear and sprung Evan behind the defense. The keeper didn't challenge him as he drove in on net and buried it for the lead. The possession game continued overwhelmingly in the Hibs' favor, but they were beating themselves by holding the ball too long and not setting up passing lanes.

In the 63rd minute, a Cobra attacker stripped a Hibs defender of the ball and played it across the 18. As the ball bounced about, the Hibs couldn't get a clearing foot on it and the Cobras couldn't get a clean shot off. Eventually, it trickled out to the right side and a Cobra attacker buried it for the tie. It was the Cobras' 2nd , and last, shot of the game.

For the final 17 minutes, the Hibs did everything except score. Great runs, thru balls, breakaways, crosses, full-volley shots, etc couldn't find the back of the net. Even a 19-yard free kick (on a goalie handball outside the box) went about 10 yards over the goal. It was a really frustrating game to watch as a very dominant game by the Hibs was ruined by the score.

Even in the waning seconds of the game, Gabe chested down a cross about 15 yards out, but the shot was blocked by a defender. Brian full-volleyed the rebound and, from my angle, it was destined for just inside the far upper 90. But a desparate leap from another defender knocked it out for a corner. It kind of summed up the whole game.

Goals
      Evan

Goalkeeper
      Joey C.: 2 shots, 1 GAA, 50%

For their 6th and final appearance in this tournament, the Hibs were matched up with a few Classic teams. However, they have regularly held their own against advanced competition and this tournament would be no exception. A late morning start against a younger, but very good, JASA Surge team gave the Hibs an early test. The Hibs' last few games were weak offensively, so the coaches decided to change the formation a bit and add an extra forward.

With the luxury of 3 subs on the sideline, the Hibs went all out pressuring their opponent, making good runs, and creating space off the ball. The game was played primarily in the middle of the field with both teams getting some quality chances. The new formation worked out very well as Buzz did a nice job controlling the middle and playing some great thru balls. JD and Graham were stellar in the center of the defensive line while Gerald, Rolf, and Garrett shut down the wings.

Finally, in the 23rd minute, Graham tracked down an attacker deep in the Hibs defensive end and won the ball. His transition out of the back was excellent as he headed up the left wing where he saw Evan making a run. Graham's long pass hit Evan in stride and he headed in on goal at full speed. He buried that one to get the lead. The rest of the half was a back-and-forth game with some good chances for both teams, but no finish.

The Hibs came out a little flat in the second half, but they were able to withstand the early pressure and start to get some momentum. In the 47th minute, Graham's free kick from midfield dropped nicely into the box. As the crowd of players converged on it, the ball skipped off a defender's head into the 6-yard box on the right side of the goal. As the keeper moved to collect it, JD stepped up and flicked it past him for the 2-0 lead.

The Surge buckled down after that and really put some pressure on the Hibs, getting one back in the 55th minute. The Surge continued to press hard, but Joey made some key saves, and Graham and Gerald shut down any attempted shots. The Hibs had a hard time transitioning out of their end, but were able to slow the Surge down enough to hold on for the win.

Goals
     Evan, JD

Goalkeeper
     Joey: 7 shots, 1 GAA, 85.7%

The Hibs had about 2 hours to rest after their first game, but it was all about getting the blood flowing again and getting ready for their next opponent, a U17 Classic team. From the kick-off, WCWAA tried to play possession. As they moved the ball back, Gabe and Evan provided lots of pressure and quickly created a scoring opportunity. From the resulting goal kick, Gabe made a deep run down the right side and crossed it to Joey. He finished that one against the grain to open the scoring 45 seconds into the game.

But just when it seemed like the Hibs would run away with it, WCWAA started playing strong. The Hibs had several more good chances in the opening 10 minutes while WCWAA was recovering, but they just couldn't get them into the net. WCWAA eventually got back to their possession style and began moving the ball very well, taking it to the Hibs in wave after wave of attacks. They tied it up in the 20th minute and then took the lead 7 minutes later. The Hibs tried desperately to get momentum back, but WCWAA had found their stride.

The second half was more even and played in the middle as the physical aspect started to escalate. The ref was letting a lot go and players on both teams started getting frustrated with the lack of calls. There weren't many shots on goal from either team as the flow of the game seemed to bog down. WCWAA got the back-breaker in the 55th minute and held on for the win.

Goals
     Joey

Goalkeeper
     Joey C.: 7 shots, 3 GAA, 57.1%

Tournament group play can be a funny thing sometimes if the teams are pretty evenly matched. WCWAA had tied YMCA select on Saturday, putting them at the top of the group. But, JASA Surge beat WCWAA in an early morning game, eliminating any chance for them to play in the finals. YMCA Select had also lost to JASA Surge, so they also were eliminated from playing in the final. Since the Hibs owned the tie breaker against the Surge (head-to-head), they just needed to beat YMCA Select to advance. Of course, nothing is ever that easy.

Although they are a rec all-star team created specifically to play in this tournament, YMCA Select came out with something to prove. And, they did well to keep the game even for much of the first half. The Hibs had a hard time using their speed advantage but controlled most of the play in the middle. YMCA tried to play a long ball style but Greg, Rolf, Graham, and Garrett shut down everything that came their way ... except one in the 37th minute. That was a tough one to give up right before the half.

For the second half, the Hibs reverted back to their standard 4-4-2 to shore up the middle and try to use their overlapping speed on the outside. They also needed to take advantage of YMCA's tendency to overplay to one side on defense and switch the ball quickly. It worked well and the scoring chances came in bunches -- deep run and cross by Gerald was just behind Will charging in; Brian banged one off the post, scrambles in front of the net squirted wide. It was just a matter of time.

Finally, in the 58th minute, a nice attack resulted in a deflected shot from Buzz, but Evan was there to put it away. The floodgates were now officially open as the Hibs would not be denied a chance to advance to the finals. Three minutes later, Buzz executed a beautiful 2-pass switch from left to right and threaded the needle to Gerald racing up the sideline. His cross found Will at the top of the box, but the keeper met him there and made the save. Buzz was following on the play and gave the Hibs the lead off the rebound.

Then the fun began. The YMCA keeper was shaken up on the play and, as coaches attended to him, a few parents began a heated argument on the sideline. As cooler heads prevailed, the 3 refs converged in the middle of the field and huddled for a minute or so. By the time play was set to resume and the YMCA coach was back on the sideline, the refs had left the field and headed towards the tent without a word. Neither coach knew what was going on, but eventually found out that they had terminated the game because of the melee on the parents' sideline.

More confusion followed as some tournament officials thought the score should revert back to halftime -- 1-0 YMCA lead -- which would eliminate the Hibs from advancement. Once the proper tournament official was contacted, the Hibs were awarded the win since it wasn't terminated due to weather. Even though it was a strange way to get the win, the Hibs were heading back to the finals of this tournament for the 3rd time.

Goals
     Evan, Buzz

Goalkeeper
     Joey: 9 shots, 1 GAA, 88.9%

As the temperature heated up, the Hibs would have to contend with another pretty good Classic team with a few guest players. Several players knew each other, so there was also an element of trying to prove something to each other. TUSA Green had pretty much rolled thru their group to finish on top, but the Hibs had different ideas and tried hard to create that storybook ending for their team.

TUSA moved the ball well from the outset and played a very physical game. The Hibs gave it back as good as they got it, but TUSA was beating them to the ball and generally controlling the flow of the game. There weren't too many chances for the Hibs, but they pressured the TUSA defenders and tried to counter attack to get a quick strike. It paid off in the 13th minute as Colin and Gabe stifled the TUSA transition near the top of the box on the right side. Colin took the ball deep and crossed it on the 6-yard line. Gerald's header against the grain beat the keeper and energized the Hibs.

As the Hibs' defense stiffened, Gerald and Buzz played tough to try and control the middle. The forwards continued to pressure well, but took some time to get back onside. In the 29th minute, a nice thru ball to JD down the right wing went right past Gabe trying to get back from a deep pressure situation. Since he didn't get involved in the play, the AR made the right non-call despite TUSA's protest. Will got his head on JD's cross and the ball slid inside the far post for the 2-0 lead. Although TUSA seemed to have more of the play, the Hibs' 2 quick strikes were the difference in the game.

But, it was only a matter of time as TUSA came out determined in the 2nd half and really took it to the Hibs. It only took 3 minutes for them to get on the scoreboard and then another 3 to tie it up. The Hibs were on their heels at that point and in survival mode. They slowly recovered and Joey made some nice saves to keep it even. As the game leveled off a bit, TUSA got the break they needed and took the lead in the 69th minute. The Hibs gave it everything they had and left it on the field, but couldn't break down TUSA's defense and get the equalizer.

Goals
     Gerald, Will

Goalkeeper
     Joey: 10 shots, 3 GAA, 70.0%