We had 160 minutes of nice performances Tuesday taking both games from Bear Creek by identical 3-0 scores. That is two more clean sheets led in back by Brady, Shaun, Luke, Dom, Miles, Peter and Tyler. Tarin added two more to his goal tally as our program leading scorer, and Nolan got a goal and an assist. Dean and Jake also came up with big assists. Elliot started what is sure to be a prolific four year goal scoring career with two on Tuesday, with X tallying a goal and an assist. Kaden had a soccer assist and and hockey assist as he was impressive on the wing.
Thursday, we continued a troubling trend of slow starts for the first half of our varsity match with Brighten conceding five times in the first 40 minutes. We came together at halftime and were determined to win the second half. The effort in the second 40 was night-and-day different from the first half, and the match ended 1-6.
Friday, we avenged the loss with a hard-earned 1-1 JV draw against Brighton on our home turf. James earned a PK in the second half, and X put it away with authority in the left upper 90. Our shape was excellent as marking and communication resulted in a team in sync and a comeback goal to draw even. Smart, aggressive play left no doubt about the effort made by every player.
Effort is the theme we are all focussed on. Going forward, effort will be even further emphasized over soccer skill. We want to be a defense-first team, and we gave up five goals in 40 minutes Thursday. That simply cannot happen. The film confirms the breakdowns were not skill related. They were lack of effort. The lineup will look different in the varsity games this week. After a five goal loss, we should expect change. Effort will be prioritized over seniority.
I made mistakes, too. I have asked too much of the team. I have coached them to press high, and also for the centerbacks to drop and absorb pressure, stretching us and leaving too much space in the middle to try to defend. We corrected my errors in film Friday night. The changes should help us find success in our goal to #defendthemountain with the same level of success in the varsity matches that we have accomplished in the JV games. More effort and better strategy. Let’s see what the coming week brings.
Games Tuesday & Thursday
This week our four games (two varsity and two JV) have the same timing both Tuesday and Thursday.
Tuesday 9/12 we host Mead:
JV 5pm on our GMHS Turf
Varsity 7pm at the NAAC (North Area Athletic Complex)
Thursday 9/14 we host Columbine:
JV 5pm on our GMHS Turf
Varsity 7pm at the NAAC (North Area Athletic Complex)
Players will only be expected to attend the games you are playing in, and we are looking for siblings or cousins to serve as ball runners. We are not going to ask players to be in two places on the same day. If the JV players want to come to the NAAC after our JV games, they will be welcomed on the bench to support, but this is not a requirement. If we have younger siblings or cousins in the program who can volunteer to ball run for us, for any and all of the four games, that would be greatly appreciated. Please contact Coach Matt to volunteer.
There is no early release this week, and we will be in gold uniforms for all four games. Gameday rosters will be published on Monday and Wednesday.
Rams Supporting Rams
As a soccer program, we will be supporting Brady and the rest of the gridiron Rams at the Green Mountain homecoming football game hosting Conifer at 7:30pm on Friday, October 13th. Cross Country will be attending our senior night soccer game hosting D’Evelyn at LMF the day prior.
Team Photos are Ready for Ordering
Individual and team photos are ready! Click this link to view and also where you can order online!
***The album will be available until Friday, September 22nd.
If anyone has any questions about ordering, they are more than welcome to contact our photographer, Alex, directly by text at 720-232-3542 or email at [email protected].