Triangle Y Soccer Club

The Hibs opened the Fall 2008 season in style with a 4-0 shutout victory over the FVAA Ambush. The Hibs controlled the action from the opening whistle with sharp passing and good movement. The defense, led by JD, Josh, Greg, and Juan turned back any attempt by the Ambush to mount an atack.

In the 5th minute, Gabriel put his head on Colin's lofting corner kick to open the scoring. Colin, Buzz, and Brian controlled the middle of the field to keep the Ambush pinned into their own end. In the 12th minute, Colin drove thru the defense and pushed the ball past the keeper for the 2-0 lead, which held until halftime.

While the Hibs dominated the 2nd half, they couldn't finish their opportunities and allowed the Ambush to put some pressure on them. But Graham made a few good saves in the net to keep them off the scoreboard. It took until the 58th minute for the Hibs to extend their lead. Gabriel's 25 yard free kick from a wide angle banged off the post and Buzz was there to put the rebound away. A few minutes later, Garrett scooped up a thru pass and pushed the ball across the goalmouth for Zack to put away.

Overall, a solid game by the Hibs, but they need to collect their reward for dominating the middle of the field.

Goals
     Gabriel, Colin, Buzz, Zack

Goalkeeper
     Graham: 5 shots, 0 GA, 100%

It was obvious that the Hibs were the far superior team when Joey scored off of Colin's cross within the first minute of the game. He added his second goal 3 minutes later from Buzz. The Hibs played well and used their size and speed advantage to move the ball around and control the middle of the field. The Sting only crossed the midfield line 2 or 3 times in the first half as Zack, Greg, and Evan added goals to make it 5-0 at the half.

The second half was more of the same despite the Hibs playing down a man to try and even things up a bit and provide some relief on this hot afternoon. This gave the Sting a bit more breathing room in the middle allowing them to control the ball more into the Hibs' defensive end, but they still couldn't muster a shot on goal.  Juan added 3 more and Evan got his second of the day as the Hibs rolled to a 9-0 victory.

Goals
     Juan(3), Joey(2), Evan(2), Greg, Zack

Goalkeeper
     JD: 0 shots, 0 GA, 100%

The Hibs controlled the pace of the game for the most part, but couldn't get anything into the net. Shots rang off the post and the crossbar and the Claymores keeper made some nice saves. This gave the Claymores some opportunities to move the ball downfield and create some scoring chances. But, the Hibs' defense was up to the challenge. However, the ice was broken in the 31st minute as Colin lofted a ball into the box and Joey outleaped the defender to head it home.

The Hibs did well to make halftime adjustments and took it to the Claymores quickly, exploding for 4 goals in a span of 11 minutes. Joey got his second in the 38th minute when he grabbed a weak clear and drove in from midfield. Four minutes later, Greg blasted one home from 35 yards out. Then, Juan cranked in a 25-yarder a few minutes later from Evan's flick-on from a throw-in. Brian wrapped up the onslaught with a 20-yard rocket. Joey and Evan added one more each as the Hibs rolled to their 3rd straight.

Goals
     Joey(3), Brian, Evan, Juan, Greg

Goalkeeper
     Graham: 0 shots, 0 GA, 100%
     Gabriel: 0 shots, 0 GA, 100%

The Hibs started strong and kept the Celtic pinned into their own end of the field for much of the first half. They played the ball wide and drove down the wings with precision, but couldn't get the handle on any of the many crosses that went thru the box. Colin got the Hibs on the board in the 10th minute when he collected a thru ball from Buzz and drove around a defender to move in on the Celtic keeper. He deposited the ball in the net as the keeper stood his ground on the goal line. Two minutes later, Buzz collected a throw-in from Zack and played a lofting ball across the top of the box. Joey's initial volley got blocked, but his follow-up shot found the back of the net for the 2-0 lead.

The Hibs continued to press and worked the ball around with sharp passing and terrific movement into space. JD and Zack controlled the wings while Buzz, Graham, and Gerald played solid in the middle. Just before halftime, Buzz cranked a shot that rang off the inside of the post and rolled down the goal line behind the keeper. A Celtic defender won the race to the ball, but Josh blocked his clear off the line and banged it into the net for the 3-0 halftime lead.

The second half was more of the same as the Hibs came out and quickly made it 4-0 when Brian collected Josh's cross and cranked it home from 15 yards out. The Hibs continued to work the wings and Joey made run after run down the left side that turned into multiple chances. Garrett, Gerald, and Juan also made some terrific runs down the wings, but the Hibs could not convert any of the several resulting crosses. The Celtic keeper also made a few good saves to keep the Celtic's hopes alive. Their few attacks into the Hibs' defensive third were turned back by a solid defense that continues their 4-game shutout streak.

Goals
     Colin, Joey, Josh, Brian

Goalkeeper
     Graham: 1 shot, 0 GA, 100%
     Gabriel: 1 shot, 0 GA, 100%

It was more of the same terrific ball movement as the Hibs came out strong and dominated play on this windy Sunday. With the wind in their faces, they kept the ball down and tore up the wings for crosses. In the 10th minute, Joey made a deep run down the left side. As he turned towards goal, the Crusaders' keeper stood his ground on the line and watched Joey's shot ring off the far post. Gabriel was there to pound it home.

The Crusaders didn't put much pressure on, but they took advantage of the wind and their long goalie punts sprung their forwards a few times. One long shot from the right side floated over JD's head and hit the bottom of the far post, almost becoming the first goal allowed this season. But the Hibs shook that off and continued to play well. In the 24th minute, Joey's high, lofting cross was bobbled by the keeper at the near post and Will pushed it in for the 2-0 halftime lead.  

With the wind at their backs, the Hibs kept the Crusaders pinned in their own end and only allowed them to cross midfield a few times. Brian quickly made it 3-0 with a long shot from the left side. Joey added carbon copy goals as Greg and Evan sprung him on the left side in the 51st and 59th minutes. Zack's long breakaway from Juan as he transitioned at midfield made it 6-0. Graham rounded out the scoring with two late goals, the second on a 25-yard volley off a bad clear. The Hibs' defense was dominant all game as JD didn't touch the ball in the 2nd half and they recorded their 5th straight shutout.

Goals
     Joey(2), Graham(2), Brian, Gabriel, Will, Zack

Goalkeeper
     JD: 1 shot, 0 GA, 100%

It looked like the Hibs were a little too cocky going into this game as the Santos played them evenly for the first 15 minutes. They were beaten to the ball and generally couldn't string together more than 1 or 2 passes. Santos moved the ball well and spread the Hibs' defense as they penetrated for a few opportunities that were pushed wide of the goal or snuffed out by the Hibs' defense deep in their own end. As the Hibs turned the momentum their way, the Santos defense was up to the task and turned back their attack. The Santos goalie made some good saves to keep the Hibs off the scoreboard.

The Hibs opened the scoring in the 17th minute when Josh's long switch from midfield found Joey on the far side of the box. His one-time rocket beat the keeper clean. Two minutes later, JD worked thru some Santos players near the top of the box and found Joey in stride to make it 2-0. Santos dug in and kept the Hibs out of the net for a while, but a late half onslaught turned the game for good. In the 29th minute, Gerald flicked on Josh's throw-in and Evan buried it. Then Gerald got 2 of his own, one off Brian's corner kick, and the other from a nice feed from Will right at the 35-minute mark.

The Hibs worked the wings in the 2nd half and drove deep for crosses into the box. Santos' defense was up to the challenge for most of the half and their transition game created some scoring chances of their own. Will, who was making his first appearance in goal, was able to scoop up their deep thru balls and end any threat. In the 51st minute, Graham put Brian's corner kick into the net and then JD closed out the scoring off Evan's cross after his deep run in the 59th minute.

Goals
     Joey(2), Gerald (2), Evan, Graham, JD

Goalkeeper
     Gabriel: 1 shot, 0 GA, 100%
     Will: 1 shot, 0 GA, 100%

Playing on a very large field is usually an advantage for the Hibs as they like to spread out and move the ball quickly. However, they didn't take advantage of the maximum sized field against the Claymores. During the first half, they held the ball too long and didn't provide many options for the ball carrier in the vast space on the field. As a result, they had difficulty sustaining any pressure as the Claymores turned back attack after attack. The Claymores transitioned well out of the back and caught the Hibs napping in the middle of the field a few times, creating opportunities. Fortunately, Garrett and Greg played strong defense to close things down.

It took until the 19th minute for the Hibs to get on the board. Juan challenged a defender at the top of the box as the Claymores were trying to get out. He won that ball and buried it for the 1-0 lead. A few minutes later, a long ball played from the Hibs defensive end found Joey at the top of the box and he played it across to Evan who finished that opportunity. Things slowed down a bit after that until Colin made a rare appearance on the front line. Within 30 seconds of the substitution, Will made nice move on a defender and sent a thru ball into the box. Colin collected it, beat 2 defenders, and deposited it in the net. Two minutes later, Gerald made a deep run down the left sideline and pushed the ball across the goal where Colin put it away for the 4-0 halftime lead.

Although they were up by 4, the Hibs were not moving well and opening up the space this large field afforded them. But, in the second half, they moved the ball smartly and drove down the wings for crosses into the box. Brian, Evan, Gerald, and Will served up several terrific balls, but nobody could get a solid head on them. Late in the game, Buzz connected on a nice header that looked to cross the goal line, but the referee saw it differently as the keeper grabbed it and did not award the goal. With JD and Greg playing physical in the middle, the Claymores had a hard time building out of their own end, resorting to long clears. Colin, Juan, and Zack played strong defense to close those down and eliminate most of the threats they generated. Graham did the rest with 6 saves to preserve the season-long shutout.

Goals
     Colin (2), Evan, Juan