So 3 games as part of the EA Winter National Showcase in Lakewood Ranch, FL this past weekend. (Lakewood Ranch is just outside of Bradenton/Sarasota). Nice all grass complex, really well run and organized event.
My son's team went 2-1 against teams from Grand Rapids, MI (4-2 L), Wasatch SC (UTAH, 5-2W), and 974 FC (LIbertyville, IL, 2-0 W). My won split the time in goal in the 1st game, played the field the 2nd game, and played the entire 3rd game in goal. The team from MI were snipers as all 4 goals were just inside the far post. My son gave up 3 in the 2nd half of that one...1st one, hard low shot that ticked the inside of the post and in. 2nd was another low hard shot after a corner and the kid jumped on the attempted clearance and hit a ball that went in just inside of the post. My son never saw it as it somehow went through about 10 bodies in front. Last shot was a rocket that nestled upper 90 far post. The goal against the other keeper was also a low rocket just inside the far post. There's a reason why coaches say shoot to the far post.
2nd game- the team from Utah looked like the 90s Utah basketball team and if I had seen a roster my guess is at least 8 of the players had the last name of Andersen. They were big but they were slow and they couldn't handle Blitz's front line. My son played in the field about 15 minutes as there were kids dropping from cramps and what not (it was low 80s all weekend and the Blitz boys hadn't played a meaningful game in 3 weeks and had not trained much since that last outing...conditioning was a real issue). 30 seconds after coming on, he helped set up a goal for Blitz. The 2 goals against were meh. Blitz looked really tired and slow the 2nd half after building a 3-0 lead. 1st GA was one that could have been avoided had the GK come off his line...he hesitated and then couldn't get out in time to take the angle and shot away. 2nd was off a corner and some more GK indecision.
3rd game, my son got the entire game in goal as the coach promised the 2 keepers equal time since it was a showcase and laid out the plan to split the time. His team really controlled play for the most part but would give up some breaks over the top as defenders got greedy in moving forward and losing their marks. One was an excellent chance that my son challenged, got his finger tips on just enough to push it on the bar. Kid from IL missed a wide open net on the rebound. That was early 1st half and probably the best scoring chance that team had. 0-0 at break. Blitz comes out 2nd half and turns the screws on the press and forced a few defensive 1/3 turnovers that turned into good chances. Finally cashed one in from about 25 yards (IL Gk was not very athletic and was pretty indecisive on coming out and in distribution...he might have been a year or 2 younger but available to travel this weekend). Ball hits the underside of the bar and in. AR called it right away....their coach lost his mind and the ref (who was an absolute clown) after conferring with the AR, made the VAR sign and pointed to the center to indicate a goal. Um, there was no video review why are you making that gesture.). My son made a couple of comfortable saves, one from about 45 yds where the kid hit a free kick and it was one of those low dipping, curving shots that skipped right in front of the GK. It could have been trouble...and my son was able to handle it cleanly. Blitz added a 2nd goal on a tremendous pass from a defender, who used the outside of his right foot to put the ball into the top of the box for the cutting winger who slotted it past the keeper for 2-0. This is when the ref becomes a major clown. 5 yellow cards for Blitz for time wasting. One of them may be warranted but the kid played the ball away after the whistle was blown but no one could hear the whistle. As a ref, blow the damn whistle like you mean it...players 2 fields over should be able to hear it. One was given when the other team played the ball over the touchline for a Blitz throw and the Blitz player nearest the ball didn't go to pick it up. He is a forward and doesn't take throws...ever and he left the ball for the fullback who was coming up to take the throw. Ref started arguing with players on the field too. He warned my son about wasting time on a goal kick. He placed the ball down to take it, looked initially to want to go short, saw the other team pressing high, and asked his players to move up and centrally for the goal kick and then waited a 3-4 seconds to allow them to push upfield. Anyway, game ends. Other team's coach comes on the field and just blasts the ref. 1st about the initial goal given and then about a challenge my son made in the box where he went down lengthwise to take a shot away and the opposing player hit a bad touch that went 10 yds wide of goal...and then the player took a dive. Like my son said, he just went down wide, didn't come out feet first at all and didn't do anything unnatural to impede the player. Coach then blasted about another foul called on his player in the attacking box after a defender shielded him enough to allow my son to come out and scoop the ball up. Attacked just gave a forearm shiver to the back.
All in all a good weekend. I thought it was just a showcase to get the kids some exposure. Apparently, the games actually count for EA national rankings points and with the 2 wins and the current league record, there is a good chance my son's team will qualify for the national playoffs next summer.
