Mockingbird Girls '92: Welcome

Game 3 Monday, June 23, 2008. Mockingbird 3 -- Johnson Urbandale SC 0

Seems like every time I watch soccer; I learn something new. Today I learned it’s very hard to watch two games at once!

What an emotional roller coaster today was. Going in, advancing was a long shot at best. A long shot looked even longer at the start as the girls played defense for most of the first ten minutes. Then the girls woke up. Alex came close in the 10th minute with a hard shot just wide high and left. A few minutes later Alex got us on the board after she took a nice pass from Jordan who had just received a throw in from Maddie. Two minutes later Alex and Kaitlin almost combined when Alex sent a pretty touch pass forward to Kaitlin in full stride. In the 22nd minute, Alex got her second goal off a long throw in from Lauren. So the girls had closed the goal differential gap but were still down on goals allowed.

Then the roller coaster shot skyward as South Dakota scored to take a 1-0 lead. At that point we’re going through! Over the next several minutes we continued to press hard for another score and had several chances but nothing connected. Then the roller coaster started back down as FC Milwaukee scored two in quick succession and now we were not going through to the semifinals. Then in the 33rd minute, Lauren broke down the left side; sent the ball forward to Alex in the corner; Alex then dribbled along the end line and fed to Spenser in the middle. Spenser calmly sent the ball in for the 3-0 lead. The half ended with the scores FCM 2- SD 1 and Mock 3-JUSC 0. If it ended now, it would be a shootout!

The girls came out strong for the first 15 minutes of the second half but couldn’t get to the four goal max differential. JUSC didn’t have anything going offensively until a corner in the 12th minute. Then JUSC gradually been to pick it up and for the next fifteen minutes began to show some offense. The roller coaster hit bottom again when FCM went up 3-1; they were now in the semi’s. Around 22 minutes into their half though, SD sent us back up to the top of the ride when they scored to close to 3-2. Now we were tied in differential … AND… the advantage in Goals Against! 20 minutes to go!

For the next several minutes the girls pressed hard for another goal and what seemed surely would be the clincher. But despite several chances and a couple of strange no calls, the score remained 3-0. Still there were only around five minutes remaining with the FCM – SD game at 3-2. Then the roller coaster took its’ last dive down the rails as FC scored two in quick succession to lock it up.

It was a disappointing finish of course, especially with the ups and downs, but the girls had a great tournament to finish another strong year. Certainly was a lot more exciting than getting knocked out of the tournament early like the first two years.

Game 2 Sunday, June 22, 2008. Mockingbird 2 -- Dakota Gold Destiny 1

Well we’re still alive but we’re on life support. We are tied in points with FC Milwaukee but down two goals on differential and also down one in goals against. We opened the half with a strong wind at our backs and it showed early as the girls pressured from the outset. South Dakota did get a shot from distance in the 4th minute but Kayla handled it easily. Then for the next several minutes the girls pressed the SD GK hard. First Kaitlin 1 v 1 around 6 minutes in; an SD defender managed to deflect the ball over the goal line but the referee missed it and awarded a goal kick. Cate almost scored in the 12th minute when their GK misjudged a high ball in the wind and overran it, but Cate didn’t quite have an angle.

At the 16 minute mark Marge battled hard to win the ball and sent a nice pass forward to Kaitlin just over midfield. After stopping to have a chat with the A/R about whether she was offside or not, she decided to dribble it in and score for a 1 – 0 lead.. They had a weak attempt a few minutes later. In the 25th minute, Marge, Chelsea and Cate combined nicely for another threat. We kept attacking but couldn’t quite finish. A minute into extra time, one of their players and one of ours decided to high five each other but missed hands. Unfortunately the ref misread their intentions and chose to Red card each.

Despite only a 1-0 lead the girls clearly dominated play; the question was how much was wind and how much was better skills. The question seemed to be answered as the girls came out attacking we had several good opportunities and a couple more called back by offside calls. Their first shot of the half didn’t come until 13 minutes in and it was a long shot that was easily handled. Unfortunately just seconds later they got a solid shot from the right that Kayla initially stopped but with the wind she batted it down and back just over the line for the tie.

They had a serious chance for the lead in the 17th minute, when one of their forwards got by the defense along the goal line on the right and sent a beautiful cross through the box. Luckily for us, their on-rushing attacker couldn’t make solid contact. The game began to equalize for the next several minutes. In the 25th minute Kaitlin sent a beautiful shot to the upper left corner but their GK made an equally great save. Then at the 27 minute mark, Kaitlin took a long pass from the defense just on our side of midfield (no need to stop and have a chat with the A/R this time). She dribbled it all the way in with Alex running decoy on her right and finished for the 2-1 winner.

They began pressing forward hard for the equalizer which put some pressure on Kayla and the defense but also opened them up to many counter attacks. It was pretty hectic for the last ten minutes and while they pressed hard they really didn’t have many solid chances until the last few seconds with a hard shot low and right that Kayla turned away to preserve the victory.

Game 1 Saturday, June 21, 2008. Mockingbird 1 -- FC Milwaukee 1

FC Milwaukee lived up to their ranking as they gave our girls all they could handle in an excellent opening game. They got off the first shot on goal of the game just two minutes in but it was an easy save for Kayla. We countered quickly when Kaitlin and Lauren combined with a good threat that required a good save by their keeper. FC Milwaukee gained control for the next several minutes and took a 1 – 0 lead in the 8th minute off a corner when both Kayla and Shelly got knocked down (and that takes some doing!).

Around the 15 minute mark Alex and Shelly nearly combined off a direct free kick; FCM got a good chance off another direct in the 20th. In the 33rd minute they just missed to the right on a long direct kick attempt when both Shelly and Kayla slipped going for the ball. For a while it seemed like a battle of direct kicks from midfield as Shelly and their excellent center back seemed to volley back and forth.

The half ended with a nice save by Kayla off FC Milwaukee’s fifth corner of the half. While we were only down 1-0 at half, it could have been worse. They had the best of the play for most of the half; had more chances and we spent a lot of time on defense. They had quickness at every position and showed a lot of ball skills. For much of the half, our girls seemed a step slow.

Mockingbird came out stronger in the second half and play for the first ten minutes was pretty even. In the 6th minute Shelly sent a free kick into the box from midfield that popped up into the air. A couple of our girls had chances at it before the FC Milwaukee GK managed to gain control. Just two minutes later we nearly equalized on a great counter jail break as Cate, Alex, Lauren and Chelsea all got forward. The girls were finally rewarded in the 11th minute when their pressure led to a hand ball in the box. Heather made the PK look easy. The Center actually missed the play but fortunately it was obvious to the A/R who made the call.

With the game now tied, the girls’ confidence and energy seemed to pick up and they controlled much of the play until FC Milwaukee broke free on a good run down the center in the 18th minute. Marge was 1 v 1 and was able to bother the forward enough that her shot went over the goal. Play seemed to be even in the middle of the half but around 30 minutes in, the game really seemed to open up with a lot of exciting back and forth, but with more “forth” for our girls as they mounted several promising attacks but could never quite break through. In the 37th minute, Kayla made an awesome game saving stop diving to her left. The FC Milwaukee shooter had already raised her arms to celebrate! Late in extra time, Shelly made a attack from mid field and sent a beautiful pass to Alex on diagonal run. Alex had the defenders split but she just couldn’t quite catch up to the pass. The three whistle blasts came shortly after that. The other group game was also a tie, so it’s still wide open for the semi finalist slot.

There are sixteen teams competing for the Region II Championship and the right to advance to the National Championships in Little Rock,AR July 22 through 27. Champions from fourteen State Cups (including Ohio North and South) along with the Fall (FC Milwaukee) and Spring (Classics Hammer) MRL Wildcard entries will compete. There will be four, four team pools playing each other in a three game round robin for the right to advance to the semi's and then finals.

We are in pool "C" consisting of the MRL Fall Wildcard - FC Milwaukee Blue, South Dakato Gold Destiny and Johnston Urbandale SC, the Iowa wildcard. currently ranked #10, #44, and unnranked respectively in Region II according to National Soccer Ranking.com.

Game #1: Sat. June 21 - MRL #1 - FC Milwaukee Blue

The ladies' first game will most likely be their most challenging. The fall MRL wildcard entry will FC Milwaukee Blue, currenty ranked 39th nationally and 10th in Region II by NSR. FC Milwaukee is the current State Finalist losing 2-1 to the Madison 56'ers, #9 Region II, in the final last fall. They were the State Champion last year and were the Region II semifinalist coming out on top in a bracket with Eclipse, CUP Red and CASA Black!   Click here for the scores from that bracket.  They lost 2-1 in the semis to the BV Stars.

Take a look at their Soccer-in-College team page and
Got Soccer team page for some game scores.

Here's the club's website: FC Milwaukee
Haven't found a team website yet.

Game #2: Sun. June 22 -Dakota Gold Destiny

This team is from Sioux Falls, SD and is the four time State Champion of South Dakota. They are currently ranked #44 in Region II by NSR and Soccer Girls has them at #47. Our girls have not met this team in our two previous trips to the Region II Championships.

Take a look at their Soccer-in-College team page and
Got Soccer team page for some game scores.

Here's the club's website: Dakota Gold SC
Haven't found a team website yet.

Game #3: Mon. June 23 - Johnston Urbandale SC Freedom

JUSC Freedom, Des Moines, is the wildcard entry from Iowa. The wildcard fills out the brackets to sixteen entries since North Dakota will not be sending a girls U116 team to Regionals this year. They are the current State Finalist from Iowa. They not are currently ranked in Region II by NSR and Soccer Girls has them at #48 in Region II. Our girls have never played this team.

Take a look at their Soccer-in-College team page and
Got Soccer team page for some game scores.

Here's the club's website: Johnston Urbandale Soccer Club
Haven't found a team website yet.

To see the complete Region II Championship draw for the U16 Girls click here.

Here's the bracket draw for the regionals including entries as of June 15 - everything is set now that Eclipse has won the Illinois State Championship.  I've also included the most recent rankings from Soccer Girls (S-G) and National Soccer Ranking.com (NSR).  Not sure either of these make sense especially below the top five to ten but I'm just reporting here.   Group A looks like the proverbial "Group of Death".   Click here for the official full tournament draw.