Local HS Soccer

[TU_BLA]

I figured I would start this thread. My son will be playing for Union (starting JV goalie and varsity backup). I will learn a lot tomorrow about what the season will look like and who the teams to beat after tomorrow's preseason festival in BA. I know Union will be playing BA and Bixby and there may be a 3rd game thrown in. Things kick at BA's Kirkland Complex (between 71st and 81st on Lynn Lane) at 2pm for Union (Union varsity/JV vs BA at 2pm (I would assume main field will be varsity, lower field for JV). Union will then play Bixby at 4:15pm (same set up).

BA has something like 10 seniors on their team this year. Union has 18! And while 18 seems a lot there are about 8 of them that have never appeared in a varsity game...I do think most of them are at least rostered with varsity for the start of the season. Out of the 18, the entire Union defense is seniors and have been starting and playing together for the last 3 years. The back 5 all play for the Blitz 04/05 EA team and the GK plays for the TSC 04/05 ECNL team. Interestingly the primary goal scorer will be a junior...and he's one of the fastest people I've ever seen with the ball at his feet. Union is also working with a 2 HC system this year as 2 of the assistants are basically sharing interim HC duties...Union's HC is dealing with a custody issue in one of the tribal court systems right now and is away from the team. From what I've heard Union will be among the top 4 teams in the state along with BA, Norman North, and maybe one of the Edmond schools (Memorial or North...will learn more about them this Saturday at the Deer Creek tournament). Bixby lost a lot last year but may have the top returning GK in the state in Casey Copenhaver. Owasso also has an excellent GK but the rest of that team lacks speed and technical precision. Jenks will be solid but believe it or not they're still struggling to find a way to replace Will Edwards...they just don't have that dynamic special player to carry them when needed nor enough dynamic pieces to make up the production, a la the Oakland A's moneyball roster.

 

[TU_BLA]

Update: Union and BA tied 0-0 and Bixby beat Union 1-0 (by way of a PK). That's on the varsity side. For JV, my son's Union team beat BA 2-0 and Bixby 7-0. This JV squad has a lot of talent which should tell you how good the varsity side is. Union's depth is pretty good and the development the kids get and how the coaches bring them along letting them develop vs rushing them to varsity is a really good thing. Stillwater is bad.

I'm going to throw Bixby into the mix for a state title. About half their players play on the Blitz 04/05 EA side which is ridiculously good (the other half of that team is made up of Union's backline and 6). We'll see what the west side of the state has on Saturday.

 

[Li'l Eric Coley]

This is my annual response. No one beats Jenks 87, Edison 88, or Jenks 89. No one. And I mean no one.

 

[TU_BLA]

This is my annual response. No one beats Jenks 87, Edison 88, or Jenks 89. No one. And I mean no one.

I have no idea who was on those teams and I'm pretty sure I never watched a full match before the 1990 World Cup. However, my first roommate in college played for Pittsford-Mendon in (outside Rochester, NY) and they won the mythical USA Today national championship in 1989.

The Union 2018 team that won the state championship was pretty damn good. They were ranked in the top 20 nationally that season. I think that team was undefeated as well, won a highly rated national HS tournament in Alabama, and took down Daryl Dike's Edmond North team in the state playoffs.

ADD: So Union did end up 18-0 in 2018.

 

[TU_BLA]

Yesterday Union played at the Deer Creek preseason "festival" and had games against Edmond Memorial and Deer Creek.

1st, the Edmond Memorial coach is psychotic and acts the fool on the sideline. I was actually embarrassed for the players on the sideline. Union toyed with them starting 4 players who are JV players. Once Union brought in what I expect to be the starters it was really close. Union's success this year will be tied to their ability to finish. They are going to create a ton of chances as they have speed and technical skill that is among the best in the state. Union won 1-0.

2nd game vs Deer Creek, my son made his varsity debut in the 2nd half. He and the other junior GK kept clean sheets and each made a couple of really good saves. This game ended 0-0 as Union just couldn't find the back of the net but had a lot of really good chances.

Jenks was also there. IMO, they have a goalkeeping problem. Their MF is strong and they have a striker who can really hammer the ball. They beat Edmond North 2-1, and tied Edmond Memorial 2-2 (both of Memorial's goals came courtesy of PKs; 1st call was 100% legit, the 2nd one was just weird).

 

[TU_BLA]

Updates:
Union JV played at Heritage HS (Rogers, AR) last week. 1-1 draw. My son conceded a goal off a PK. Apparently Heritage had a second PK nullified because one of their players entered the box before the ball was struck by the penalty taker. My son said that was Heritage only had the 1 shot on the PK the entire game. This is the only goal my son has conceded in HS this season. Varsity also played Heritage that night. Union lost 1-0. HUDL stats for the game had Heritage with 3 shots and the coach said 2 of them were more like long balls over the top that the keeper came and collected. Goal came on a bad pass back to the GK that the attacker got to first. My son said Union probably had 70% possession and a dozen or more shots.
Yesterday Union had JV and varsity games against Bartlesville. JV went scoreless draw. I think Bartlesville had 1 shot credited which was more like a cross that went too close to the GK and my son corralled it easily. Union again had like 20 shots, about 10 on goal. Several got blocked/saved. Varsity game got called about 5 minutes in b/c of lightning (now to be played Friday). My son was on the bench but from just the few minutes that they did play, it was only a matter of time before Union broke through. Bartlesville has a GK issue. He's 6'4" and has terrible footwork and he can't be trusted with the ball at his feet (I've seen him play for many years at the club level too and he has not improved in either of these areas over that time). There is a kid on their bench who's much short (maybe 5'9") who is a better all around keeper, good with his feet and with the ball at his feet, but coaches seem to be enamored with height despite the limitations the taller GKs may have. In my experience, the taller GKs may get to 1 extra shot every 25-30 chances but in keepers who have bad feet or bad instincts they are responsible for 2-3 more goals against in that same amount of play. Most of Bartlesville's team is made up of players from the NEOFC Bartlesville 06 group and some from their 05/04 group plus 2 TSC players. Those NEOFC groups are OK, the 06 team is a really good side that has been together for 6+ years. They are very sound technically but don't necessarily have those dynamic technical players that can beat defenders in 1 v 1 situations. They are very good in the air, at least at the club level.

I might try to go to the game on Friday and see how it plays out. My son won't be there as he is headed out on a backpacking trip for the weekend. Then we head out to Boston next week to visit my parents and 3 schools. He is set to meet with the coaches at MIT and Worcester Polytech during that time.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

Updates:
Union JV played at Heritage HS (Rogers, AR) last week. 1-1 draw. My son conceded a goal off a PK. Apparently Heritage had a second PK nullified because one of their players entered the box before the ball was struck by the penalty taker. My son said that was Heritage only had the 1 shot on the PK the entire game. This is the only goal my son has conceded in HS this season. Varsity also played Heritage that night. Union lost 1-0. HUDL stats for the game had Heritage with 3 shots and the coach said 2 of them were more like long balls over the top that the keeper came and collected. Goal came on a bad pass back to the GK that the attacker got to first. My son said Union probably had 70% possession and a dozen or more shots.
Yesterday Union had JV and varsity games against Bartlesville. JV went scoreless draw. I think Bartlesville had 1 shot credited which was more like a cross that went too close to the GK and my son corralled it easily. Union again had like 20 shots, about 10 on goal. Several got blocked/saved. Varsity game got called about 5 minutes in b/c of lightning (now to be played Friday). My son was on the bench but from just the few minutes that they did play, it was only a matter of time before Union broke through. Bartlesville has a GK issue. He's 6'4" and has terrible footwork and he can't be trusted with the ball at his feet (I've seen him play for many years at the club level too and he has not improved in either of these areas over that time). There is a kid on their bench who's much short (maybe 5'9") who is a better all around keeper, good with his feet and with the ball at his feet, but coaches seem to be enamored with height despite the limitations the taller GKs may have. In my experience, the taller GKs may get to 1 extra shot every 25-30 chances but in keepers who have bad feet or bad instincts they are responsible for 2-3 more goals against in that same amount of play. Most of Bartlesville's team is made up of players from the NEOFC Bartlesville 06 group and some from their 05/04 group plus 2 TSC players. Those NEOFC groups are OK, the 06 team is a really good side that has been together for 6+ years. They are very sound technically but don't necessarily have those dynamic technical players that can beat defenders in 1 v 1 situations. They are very good in the air, at least at the club level.

I might try to go to the game on Friday and see how it plays out. My son won't be there as he is headed out on a backpacking trip for the weekend. Then we head out to Boston next week to visit my parents and 3 schools. He is set to meet with the coaches at MIT and Worcester Polytech during that time.

Good luck on the meeting with coaches at MIT and Worcester.

 

[lawpoke87]

Good luck on the meeting with coaches at MIT and Worcester.

Same buddy. Let us know how it goes.

 

[TulsaRulzOSUdrools]

Bixby sucks
Union sucks
BA sucks
Jenks sucks
Cascia sucks
Holland Hall sucks

Guymon 4 life.

 

[TU_BLA]

Same buddy. Let us know how it goes.

Visited with Coach Bovell from MIT on Wednesday. Good visit. We need to get more film on my son and possibly attend an ID camp near Boston that he can send his GK too. He did say he likes to carry 4 GKs on a 30 man roster and he will only have 2 next year with none incoming so he is looking for GKs. They play in a conference with schools of Uber-nerds 😂 MIT, WPI, Wheaton College, Clark, Coast Guard, Babson. We happened to be there the day after MIT regular action day. Being the STEM campus they are, they send admissions notices out on Pi day (3/14) at Tau time (6:28pm). Coach said the lacrosse and football coaches were stomping around on the 15th because several recruits they had been working with were not admitted, including a lacrosse goalie the coach both wanted and needed.

Just to let you know what type of person my son is, he chose a t-shirt from the book store that read "E/c^2. Square root symbol of -1. PV/nR".

WPI was a nice tour. Coach wants some more film as well. Son chose a t-shirt with "Fd. nRT/V. Square root of -1"

Math people and engineers have fun

 

[lawpoke87]

Would he attend MIT if soccer wasn’t an option?

 

[TU_BLA]

Would he attend MIT if soccer wasn’t an option?

Yes. If he gets to play soccer at whatever school he chooses to attend, it's a bonus is his thinking, so he's at least making a connection with the coaches. He's said he's not choosing a school based on being able to play soccer.

 

[TU_BLA]

Union beat Bixby 2-1 last night. Union scored 1:35 into the game and pretty much dominated the game. Bixby tied the game on a free kick from about 30 yards out. Foul was weak. Shot was an absolute laser over the wall and Union GK didn't have a chance. Union's 2nd goal came about 15 minutes into the 2nd half on a nice connection play and slip pass to Union's 9 who hit a cracker to the bottom right corner (far post). Bixby's GK looked like he was a little off his angle. Bixby had only 1 more shot on the game and the Union GK made a fantastic save.
This game got heated mainly because a lot of the players play together on club teams. Ref lost control of the game in the 1st half. Whistled a foul on Union but for some reason the play continued, Union player goes to get the ball and a Bixby player came in 2-footed into the ankle of a Union player. No card because the ref basically said it didn't happen b/c of the original foul. Faulty logic....dangerous play is dangerous play whether or not the ball was actually "in play". It happened right in front of my son on the Union bench and he said it warranted a straight red. It injured the Union player and he returned briefly but couldn't finish the game. Also resulted in one of the Union coaches getting shown red.

Another incident with an elbow to the face/nose (broke the nose of the Union player) which should be an automatic card for reckless, dangerous play...nothing. This one happened right in front of me...I heard the crack. Even if unintentional, it's reckless and warranted a yellow card. I've seen similar plays in college and pro soccer given red cards.

Late in the game Bixby pulled their all state GK (Copenhaver) to put him in the field and my son's Blitz teammate was put in goal. He made a couple of comfortable saves. Copenhaver picked up a yellow about 3 minutes after being put on and had to come off briefly.

I said it earlier in the thread, Union has a state championship quality team this year if they can find any goals at all. They played without 2 key players yesterday (I suspect one was due to grades, the other an injury), and lost 2 more during the game, one of which (broken nose) was absolutely eating up Bixby's defenders and creating a ton of problems. Next up is a trip to Gatlinburg for a HS soccer festival. My son won't be going as he opted to go to the EA Showcase in Tucson this weekend (and guaranteed playing time vs watching from the sideline all weekend as the backup GK at Union).

 

[TU_BLA]

Union beat BTW last night 1-0...although it probably should have been 3 or 4-0. Union controlled play (and missing 2 starting defenders to boot). Many quality chances that just missed the net or didn't connect on the final pass for Union. The build up play was high quality. BTWs best chance came on a cross that the Union keeper bungled on the intercept and it fell to a BTW player in the box but couldn't get a shot off.

Union JV also beat BTW's JV 1-0. My son had a nice 2 save sequence in the 1st half where he stopped a 1 v 1 vs the BTW striker and then followed with a nice stop on an attempted chip to knock it aside to where a defender could clear the ball and end the threat. He had 2 more saves and a nice tackle he was forced to intervene on after a bad back pass to him from one of his defenders.

I believe this was the last of Union's non-district play and they'll get started in district on Friday vs Stillwater. 4:30pm JV game, 6pm girls, 8pm boys at Union Soccer Complex (66th and Garnett) for anyone who wants to check it out. Stillwater is 5-2 on the season and lost 3-0 to Edmond Memorial and 3-2 to 3A Crooked Oak. They went to OT to beat 5A Coweta. I expect Union might win this game handily and maybe a backup GK might get a few minutes

 

[TU_BLA]

Ok, so big shocker Friday evening. 1st, my son had a shutout in the JV game. He's conceded 1 goal in JV time this season and that came off a PK. He had a couple saves but he was more impressive distributing the ball through the teeth of the 30 mph winds on Friday afternoon.

Varsity game, Stillwater parked the bus. It was apparent their game plan was to try to get the PKs at t the end. They have a 6'4" GK who gets tremendous coverage of the goal. Somehow Union managed to o my score 1 goal off of 17 shots on frame (and probably 20 more that didn't find the 192 Sq ft). Stillwater found their goal after a turnover and then a foul resulting in a free kick and a botched clearance off of that. Maybe one of 3 shots Stillwater had on the game.

Union has to find some finishing. If you were watching and not keeping score the game really wasn't all that close. Coaches need to get players to understand that the taller a GK is, the tougher it is for them to get to the low shots if they're reacting (different on PKs since almost all GKs try to take away the low parts of the goal). Disappointing.

Next game is Tuesday vs Enid and then next Friday at Edmond North.

 

[TU_BLA]

Union boys beat Enid 2-0 last night and had a 3rd goal wiped out by an absolutely terrible offside call (Union's games are broadcast on their YouTube channel, UView and you can rewind action, so my wife and I went and did so...kid was onside by 10 yards, there was another Union player who was close to an offside position but still looked on because of an extra deep Enid defender...regardless, said player was not involved in the play anyway so should have never been considered as offside). Which sucked that the goal was wiped because I was pretty sure my son would get some minutes if it had stuck. Enid had nothing for Union. Maybe 1 shot on goal and only a couple of other threatening possessions...and this was with Union missing their starting CB (injury) and 2 of their better skill players (grades). A lot of JV and FR kids played last night for Union as well. Enid's best player, #10, was really good but he just didn't have any help.

Union JV Boys tied 1-1. Goal against was a really really bad play by the GK (not my son, Union decided to use their FR team vs Enid's JV team). Union's boys should have scored 5-6 goals in this one...the Enid JV keeper was pretty solid. Union varsity girls beat Enid 9-0...impressive win but not the 10-0 mercy rule, end the game we were all hoping for just b/c the game was a HUGE mismatch.

Next up is an important district game at Edmond North on Friday. Union might be without the same two top forwards along with another forward who left the game last night with a knock.

 

[lawpoke87]

Heard a rumor today that Blitz boys were getting ECRL. Any scuttlebutt from the Blitz side ?

 

[TU_BLA]

Heard a rumor today that Blitz boys were getting ECRL. Any scuttlebutt from the Blitz side ?

I've not heard any of that. Not sure if that would mean they'd do away with EA but I think the EA platform is slightly tougher and more competitive than the RL stuff...from what I've seen. RL would be fine but I wouldn't stick the 06 2nd team in there without a major infusion of talent which might happen with the Sheffield kids because I don't think but one or 2 of them will make the combined 05/06 EA side for next year.

 

[TU_BLA]

BTW my wife thinks TSC will be able to pay their way back into the ECNL on the girls side if they do get dropped...I don't know how any of that works

 

[lawpoke87]

BTW my wife thinks TSC will be able to pay their way back into the ECNL on the girls side if they do get dropped...I don't know how any of that works

The TSC as it existed 5 years ago maybe. TSC in 2023 I have my doubts. Numbers, facilities, coaching personnel, etc….I think it’s a long road back should they lose NL.

 

[TU_BLA]

The TSC as it existed 5 years ago maybe. TSC in 2023 I have my doubts. Numbers, facilities, coaching personnel, etc….I think it’s a long road back should they lose NL.

I agree, although I just went to their website and they still have a pretty impressive slate of coaches. TSC's problem is they're too much like a damn DirecTV promotion vs a well run business. They suck kids into the club with the promise of getting you on the top team and then once you're their, they no longer care and kids leave because the kids and parents see that they no longer matter as much when you've been there 3-4 years. They don't reward the kids who stay long term and they don't do much to try and keep them. I've run into Barry a few times this year at various tournaments and we've talked and asked how each other was doing but at no point did he ever ask about my son and how he was doing and if he was happy with his move or what TSC could have done to make his experience there better...and that's a mistake, especially if a kid has been there for a long time (my son was there for 6 years). He wants TSC to exude and portray to the outside world that they are the top soccer club in Oklahoma and one of the tops in the nation but the facilities, the expense, and just not caring about kids who have been there scream otherwise. But the show they put on for kids from other clubs that they think can be ECNL is crazy good, but even your experience screams that once a kid is in the program, they are no longer that important to the club in general.

 

[TU_BLA]

Just got back from Edmond North. The referee was OK but made one absolutely disastrous call that really determined the outcome of the game. 10 min in, Union CB takes down the Edmond North 9 while he's breaking to goal. Ref shows the ref card. I can't disagree with it, he was the last defender. I've seen more not called an/or not carded. That's fine. There wasn't much disagreement from Union's bench either. That's not the call that determined the outcome. Edmond North scored first when their 9 split the defenders and walked in on goal. Union knotted it about 5 minutes later, then scored a 2nd just a few minutes after that (2-1 Union 20 min in). Union splits the defense again a couple minutes later and the EN GK comes racing out to the top of the box, Union players chips a shot and the EN GK reaches up and seats it away...problem is he's 2 yds outside the box. AR waived his flag, ref blows his whistle. Shows a YELLOW to the GK. Union bench goes nuts, parents going nuts, me included. This is textbook DOGSO handball and the GK should have been shown a red and team finishing g the game with 10 each. Even more important is if he had shown the red as the laws call for, Edmond North didn't have a backup GK on their bench for the game and would have stuck gloves and a bib on a field player to play in goal the rest of the game.

As it is, that call pretty much determined the game as Union would have won easily playing even up. Weirdly enough, the game was knotted at 3 when a whiffed clearance by a Union defender ends up with EN finding a player at the top of the box who hammered it home with only a minute left.

For the most part Union's 10 players outplayed EN's 11.

 

[918Golden]

Just got back from Edmond North. The referee was OK but made one absolutely disastrous call that really determined the outcome of the game. 10 min in, Union CB takes down the Edmond North 9 while he's breaking to goal. Ref shows the ref card. I can't disagree with it, he was the last defender. I've seen more not called an/or not carded. That's fine. There wasn't much disagreement from Union's bench either. That's not the call that determined the outcome. Edmond North scored first when their 9 split the defenders and walked in on goal. Union knotted it about 5 minutes later, then scored a 2nd just a few minutes after that (2-1 Union 20 min in). Union splits the defense again a couple minutes later and the EN GK comes racing out to the top of the box, Union players chips a shot and the EN GK reaches up and seats it away...problem is he's 2 yds outside the box. AR waived his flag, ref blows his whistle. Shows a YELLOW to the GK. Union bench goes nuts, parents going nuts, me included. This is textbook DOGSO handball and the GK should have been shown a red and team finishing g the game with 10 each. Even more important is if he had shown the red as the laws call for, Edmond North didn't have a backup GK on their bench for the game and would have stuck gloves and a bib on a field player to play in goal the rest of the game.

As it is, that call pretty much determined the game as Union would have won easily playing even up. Weirdly enough, the game was knotted at 3 when a whiffed clearance by a Union defender ends up with EN finding a player at the top of the box who hammered it home with only a minute left.

For the most part Union's 10 players outplayed EN's 11.

Wow. That’s got to be a red. How do you give a yellow in that situation?!

 

[Li'l Eric Coley]

A goalkeeper should be allowed to use his or her hands wherever they like. That box is just a suggestion. We shouldn’t be shunned as red card criminals. Next thing you know, keepers will have to go to their own schools!

 

[TU_BLA]

Wow. That’s got to be a red. How do you give a yellow in that situation?!

Good question. I ref'd games yesterday and a number of the people I work with do HS games as well. My son and I showed them the clip from the HUDL video and only 1 of 6 said it was a yellow card. 5 said straight red and it should have been out of the pocket before the ceBret even reached the spot where he was awarding the kick from.

If there were VAR in HS soccer, Union would likely be 2 games better in the standings right now.

 

[TU_BLA]

A goalkeeper should be allowed to use his or her hands wherever they like. That box is just a suggestion. We shouldn’t be shunned as red card criminals. Next thing you know, keepers will have to go to their own schools!

My son would agree with you 😂 And those damn GK camps are expensive, as are the gloves

 

[TU_BLA]

Union @ Jenks tonight. JV game at 4:30pm at the Jenks practice fields (south of the high school, off of 91st St on Birch). Varsity @ 8pm at Trimble Stadium.
Union is going to be up against it tonight. They are down 2 CBs (one is injured and the other has to sit out due to a red card on Friday). My son said they spent a good part of yesterday's practice game planning to counter Jenks' 3-5-2 formation. They expect Jenks to stay defensive focused and look for opportunities to get upfield. Union will need to pick their spots to push their fullbacks upfield to jump into the offense as there would be a definite risk leaving the 2 CBs exposed. Union will again not start their best XI and will bring a number of their better players in off the bench. The change of pace these players have and the trend for the defenses to sort of get into a feeling of comfort with the 1st 11 to have 3-4 All State caliber kids come in really changes a lot of games for Union...if they can keep 11 players on the pitch for the duration of the game.

 

[TU_BLA]

Disastrous day for Union yesterday. Every team lost to their Jenks counterpart. My son's JV team lost 3-1. Jenks had 1 v 1s with the Union GKs dialed up on demand yesterday. Since it was a virtual day for grades 10 and 12 (juniors took the ACT all day), the way they looked half asleep at 4:30 made me think most of them rolled out of bed at 2:30 in order to be at the bus by 3:00pm. It was the worst I had seen this particular group play...it's normally pretty good. JV girls lost. Varsity girls lost 2-0....and if I was a parent of a Union girls player, I'd be emailing the AD asking about options for a new coach. The current coach is pretty bad, does little in terms of sideline coaching, and what she does coach is reminiscent of a U12 rec league team that has the biggest fastest player on the field. Union played kickball the whole game and connected more than 1-2 passes in a row only a couple of times. Every other play was kick the ball as far as you can and see if one of the forwards can get on the end of it. It was wholly unappealing "soccer". Union was also without its best player, Danae Hobson (sp?) who hurt her knee (it looked pretty serious) last Friday.

Union varsity boys lost 2-0...Jenks had 2 shots on goal. Union enjoyed probably a 70/30 possession advantage and took about 20 shots with about 7 on goal. Jenks keeper played well but had maybe 1 real tester. The best shot Union took was from 35 yards and the ball beat the keeper and skipped off the crossbar. He wasn't getting to it if it was on goal.

I am pretty sure Oklahoma is struggling to find referees because the 3 clowns they ran out last night shouldn't be doing U12 rec games let alone HS games...and I've worked with a couple of them in local tournaments.

Next up Choctaw on Friday night. I fully expect Union to run rule them. My son may get a few minutes in the varsity game...we'll see. Hopefully Union will get their primary CB back from injury. Since he's gone out the backline has been seriously disheveled and disorganized.

 

[lawpoke87]

Does that loss eliminate the Union boys from the playoffs?

 

[TU_BLA]

Does that loss eliminate the Union boys from the playoffs?

No. My guess is they'll still finish in the top 4 of district and make playoffs. They play Choctaw, Sand Springs, and Putnam City...none of them are any good at all. But then they'll likely get stuck playing BA in the 1st round of the playoffs. They played early in the season in a scrimmage and I believe it ended 0-0. They'll need some help though from Jenks or Edmond North in beating Enid (both would be preferable). I expect Union to run the scores up in the last 3 games to get the margin points to a place that it is better than Enid and it owns the head to head tie break.

Stillwater has been parking the bus in EVERY game hoping to find a counter or just getting to PKs. They have a GK who can absolutely steal a shootout (he's in the 6'4-6'5 range). He's a shot stopper...but he's got terrible feet. Stillwater would rather put a ball out for a corner than try to use the GK as a relief valve and reset.

 

[TU_BLA]

Union won on Tuesday vs Sand Springs 2-0. Union obviously needs to be much better at finishing. They had 32 shots vs Sand Springs to SS 2...and those were generously given as I'm not sure I would have credited the Union GK with any saves that night. The score should have easily been 6 or 7 to nil. Good news for Union is that Enid lost to Edmond North 3-1 so Union is now in the final playoff spot in the district. Union plays at Putnam City tonight. A win and they're in. A loss and they must wait for the Jenks and Enid result. Jenks lost their last game out to Stillwater which was a surprising result, 1 that Jenks gave up 2 goals (they hadn't allowed a goal in district play yet, and 2 that Stillwater actually moved enough numbers forward to score 2 goals. Now Jenks, Ed. North, and Stillwater are tied at 5-1 in district. Jenks has the best GD so is listed in first. Ed. North is +8 and Stillwater is +4. Edmond North plays at Sand Springs tonight and could possibly pick up +4 in the GD (4 is the max I believe), while Stillwater plays Choctaw. I don't think Stillwater can catch Edmond North but an Edmond North win and a Jenks loss will probably push Edmond North to the top and Jenks to 3rd. Union cannot do any better than 4th and is looking at a likely 1st round meeting with BA on May 2nd.

We'll see what happens. My son keeps talking that OSSAA is doing a state JV tournament too which would be new since they've not done that in the past as I am aware.

 

[TU_BLA]

Yes. If he gets to play soccer at whatever school he chooses to attend, it's a bonus is his thinking, so he's at least making a connection with the coaches. He's said he's not choosing a school based on being able to play soccer.

Just an update...my son just got his ACT scores and combined with his current GPA has academic credentials better than 54% of accepted students at MIT. He's pretty stoked right now.

 

[lawpoke87]

Just an update...my son just got his ACT scores and combined with his current GPA has academic credentials better than 54% of accepted students at MIT. He's pretty stoked right now.

Congrats. Huge accomplishment for him.

 

[TU_BLA]

Congrats. Huge accomplishment for him.

I'm pretty excited for him too. I worry for him too because a lot of his academic "achievement" comes naturally to him...he doesn't really work hard at it...which I know doesn't work out well in college (I was the same way in HS and I was an average college student at best...but I had a good time).

 

[TU_BLA]

Union wins 4-1 over Putnam City. Lone goal against came late in the game on a PK. Jenks beat Enid 3-1. Union will be in the playoffs and we should know the bracketing by Monday.

Union JV lost to Putnam City 1-0, again on a late PK. My son played the 1st half and recorded a clean sheet. When the PK was called with about 4 min left the Union coach tried to sub my son on to face it. When I talked with him afterward he said he knew where the kid was going the second he set the ball down on the mark. Ref didn't allow the sun (and he shouldn't have in that situation). As it was, the other GK did guess the right way but the shot was a nice one, hard and just inside the post. Bad luck and the line goal was completely against the run of play in this one.

 

[TU_BLA]

So there are 2 heavyweight matchups in the 1st round of the playoffs on Tuesday night. Union goes to BA and Bixby goes to Jenks. Both Union and Bixby struggled a bit this year, Union with injuries and red cards and some bad luck. Bixby struggled to find chemistry under a new coach and a perceived lack of depth...from one parent at Bixby, he said the coach doesn't like to sub players off unless he's forced to because of a yellow card or injury and that has led to extremely tired and worn out players late in the season. Both of those teams have enough talent to beat their opponents on Tuesday. Union and BA are set up for a run to the finals as Jenks, Norman North, and Mustang are all on the opposite side of the bracket. Whoever wins that game gets Edmond North or Bartlesville, and then likely Edmond Memorial or Deer Creek. I've seen Union against all those teams and can say they are the more talented team than any of those on the road to the final. I know BA is pretty talented too.

It will be interesting to see which Union team shows up. he CB that has been injured and not playing should be healthy by then which will make a HUGE difference. That will allow one of the kids who has been playing back there to slide back up to the 9 where he is extremely gifted (he's been doing a great job at CB as well).

 

[Li'l Eric Coley]

I watched the BA-Bixby match at some crappy bar last week b/c it was the only thing on TV. Bixby sucks, like Guymon if I had to guess. BA keeper's a fatty. That's all I got.

 

[TU_BLA]

I watched the BA-Bixby match at some crappy bar last week b/c it was the only thing on TV. Bixby sucks, like Guymon if I had to guess. BA keeper's a fatty. That's all I got.

BA has too many keepers and their coach insists they all play. Probably the best of the group is a kid named Evan Boss, a junior. The kid you saw is likely Kevin Martinez who was the GK on their state championship team 2 yrs ago. He's a SR now. BA parents are starting to sour on their coach though b/c he doesn't always play the best players and his tactics might be a little too simplistic (too much over the top kickball for them). And I think I talked to the Bixby dad right after they got smoked by BA, by all accounts that was a bad game for them...and the coach at Bixby gets a little too anxious and takes out his All State GK (Copenhaver) to play the field. The backup GK at Bixby is a kid who plays with my son at Blitz. He's tall. That's about all I got for him. He struggles playing the ball with his feet and he doesn't see the field particularly well in distribution...just my observations of watching him.

Union better get BA on Tuesday because next year will be a struggle for anyone in Oklahoma to beat BA. They are going to be loaded next year as their JR class is probably stronger than their SR class right now, and they've got some current SO who are absolute studs as well. Bixby is going to be in a world of hurt after this season. They lose a lot of extremely talented seniors and they don't have the depth in the SO or JR classes to replace them.

 

[lawpoke87]

From my brief observations, it appears a lot of high school teams employ the kick and chase tactic. Not sure if it’s talent (or lack thereof) of coaching. Does make for some fairly ugly games

 

[Li'l Eric Coley]

And the other thing, when someone scores, how come all 50 dudes sitting on the bench have to come to the corner and celebrate and play grabass? So stupid. I reckon times have changed.