Boys U10 Black
News
Boys U10 Black Make Semifinals
July 21, 2008
Boys U10 Black continue to improve under the guidance of first year (Notts Forest) Coach Jorge Sevilla. This weekend's Carlsbad Cup started good and got better. In Saturday's first match, the boys were challenged by a bigger, stronger Storm team from Vista. But, as the old addage goes, the bigger they are … the harder they fall! Or, as I used to hear it in my youth, the bigger they are, the harder they hit! Either way, the team played an up-tempo game, highlighted by crisp passing and near perfect crosses, as they kept the Storm on their heels throughout most of the game. Dylan Bustos played exceptionally well, accounting for two of the teams' four goals in an impressive 4-1 first round victory. Once again, goalkeeper Israel Mendez was very strong, saving all but one of the shots fired in his direction. Team defense showed a marked improvement from the previous tournament, and much of the credit goes to the newest member of our team, Eder Lopez, who along with Justin Satriano, Dylan Plaster, Cesar Sigala, David Espinoza, and Daniel Diaz, shut down the Storm's hard charging forwards. Notts other goals were scored by Daniel Diaz and Alan Loranzano.
Game 2 pitted our boys against a young and relatively inexperienced Lightning club from Carlsbad. The Lightning never gave up and kept playing hard the entire game. They should be commended for their effort and great attitude in the face of very tough competition the entire weekend. Notts took control of the game early and never gave it up. They scored early and often leading 6-0 at halftime. The second half saw more of the same, as coach tried to find ways to minimize the damage inflicted on the young Lightning team. The game ended 10-nil, and the team was point leader at the end of day one. Many players participated in the scoring parade, including Dylan Bustos, Matthew Martin, and Shane Fayette (2 goals each), Alan Loranzano, Daniel Diaz, David Espinoza, and Cesar Sigala, with one goal apiece.
In our first game on Sunday we played eventual tournament champion Beach, from Long Beach, CA. Beach was experienced, fast, and played and aggressive and physical brand of soccer. Both teams had several good chances to score in the first half. Beach scored twice late in the half to take a 2-0 lead into the half. Our boys mounted a fierce challenge in the second half. We were able to get a ball by the Beach keeper as he came out very far, but was beaten to the ball by our forward who guided it into the net for our first score. The remainder of the game was well-played, with both teams having opportunities, but neither able to capitalize. It was a tough loss, but a game the boys could hold their heads high in defeat.
Semifinals
Finishing first in our bracket, we hosted the first semi-final game against the Del Mar Sharks Blue team. The Sharks played fast, and passed well, but it was Notts who came out flying and notched the first goal of the game. Alan Loranzano started the
scoring with a bullet that started from about 18 yards outside and left
of the box and ripped one into the upper right hand corner of the net. We
continued pressuring in the offensive zone, but were unable to get another score in the half. The Sharks scored their first goal a few minutes later, tying the game at one. A short time later, the referee called a foul just outside the box on what appeared to be a case of a player tripping over the ball. The direct kick was good, and the Sharks led 2-1. About 2 minutes later, Notts was pressuring in the Sharks offensive zone, and in a game-changing non-call, the referee failed to see a hand ball in the box. A hand ball that everyone (except the ref) around the field saw, including the line judges and parents from both teams. No excuses here, but two glaring failures by a ref in a game of this importance can make all the difference in the outcome, and in this case it certainly did.
After falling behind 3-1 early in the second half, Notts fought back to 3-2 with a well-designed give-and-go play that started deep in our own zone. Playing hard and pushing our defenders forward trying to even the score, the Sharks capitalized on a breakout pass and scored the last goal of the game to end our run in the tournament.
At the end of the day, we have much to be proud of, including finishing in third place with 22 points; and leading the division in goals scored (17). We will look back on this tournament as a milestone in the development and maturing process for the Boys U10 Black as a team, and not not just a group of individual players.
Good luck to us at Forest Cup!