Playing two games in a week is always a tough ask of an athlete. Soccer is a sport that requires focus and concentration along with a high level of physical fitness. There are very few other field sports that can compete with the demands that soccer places on its players. It is also the most beautiful sport, it is pure and allows for individualistic expression within the team dynamic. Unfortunately its simplistic nature is often overshadowed by players overcomplexity and inability to continuously do the simple thing in order to see out the best interests of the team. No matter how good the individual, soccer is about the team. If the team does not work for each other then the ability of one or two players is null and void.
As we traveled up to Shawnee State University on Wednesday 17th October we knew the task set out before us. As the game kicked off it was clear to see the focus within the team. We had come to get a job done and were dedicated to the task in hand. Though it was not our usual start to a game, it has to be said that we dominated possession and pressured Shawnee into turning the ball over.
As the game settled into a rhythm we were able to create several chances. Unfortunately we were unable to hit the target with them or allowed their keeper to make easy saves. As we kept pressing we sent a diagonal ball into the box which was handled by a Shawnee State defender, giving us a penalty, to which Toni Dempsey successfully put away. Once we got this goal I felt as though it was only a matter of time before we pushed on and got another. At times like these we must smell blood and kill teams off. Shawnee hadn’t cause us any real problems, and I really felt that if we could make our quality shine through we would handle the game comfortably. For 44 minutes of the first half we did this. As I was preparing my half time talk for more of the same focus and concentration we had a momentary lapse that gifted Shawnee the equalizer. There is never a good time to concede but it is especially hard when the wind is taken out of your sails at such a time.
The half time talk centered around keeping focus and pressing for more goals. Although we were slightly deflated by the equalizer we knew that we possessed all the tools necessary to boss the second half and come away with the result we were looking for.
The second half started and I felt comfortable in what we were doing. We again pressured Shawnee in the middle of the field, forcing them to play long balls that we were coping with easily. We created several clear cut chances that would have given us the pedestal to go on and dominate the game, but unfortunately we spurned these chances. As is soccer and sport, it doesn’t matter how much you dominate if you do not convert your chances, and as the game wore on Shawnee began to breed confidence from our missed opportunities. With this they were rewarded with a goal that went against the run of play. We continued on in search of a goal that would get us back into the game, but unfortunately it never came. Shawnee went on to score twice more leaving the final score 4-1, a poor representation of the game as a whole.
As we continue on this path of learning and growing as a team we must remember days like these. It is not always the team with the most talent, or the team that has the most chances that wins the game. Soccer is about making the most of the opportunities you do have, and making sure you limit the opposition to as few as possible.
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