End of Fall Season Wrap Up

Len's U-12s After the Berkshire United Game

The season ended with two home MAPLE games this Sunday at the Nashua Corp Field. The U-10s closed the season with a hard fought battle against the Greater Boston Bolts and Len's U-12s dominated possession and had the great bulk of the attacking chances against Berkshire United but could not break onto the score sheet and had to settle for a 0-0 draw. Both games demonstrated the developmental strides that the girls have been making and highlighted issues that we will need to work on as we go indoors.

The U-10s defended well and alternated between periods of nice link up and possession and long balls played out of the back in hope that someone would get onto one and score. Len's U-12s played a very nice first half. The girls moved the ball in the back and across the midfield from one side to the other. When pressing hard in the final attacking third of the field and with lots of Berkshire United bodies jammed inside the box and behind the ball, our strikers began to lay the ball off to midfielders making nice runs. For the first time in awhile the girls had real width and depth when they got forward and it resulted in some nice chances which the Wanderers were a little unlucky to finish.

The previous weekend, the U-14s and Ryan's U-12s travelled to the Seacoast facility to play in the semi final matches for the GSYSL championship. Ryan's U-12s, a group with a majority of players playing up an age, fell to a strong Classics team 4-0 which ultimately won the championship. The girls had difficulty getting forward but they defended bravely and had good stretches of play in the defensive half. The U-14s fell to Seacoast in a pulsing 3-2 game marked by wide open play and end to end action.

Although the Fall season has ended, COE soccer does not. Len's U-12s and the U-14s are already training indoors at the NH Sportsplex and Ryan's U-12 s and the U-10s will follow them to the NH Sportsplex in January. Plans are afoot organizing indoor tournament play as well as the late winter/early spring outdoor season. Two senior teams have also come together -- the U-15s under Steve Hetherington and the U-17s under Gary Karibian. The U-15s will be travelling to Dallas, Texas in early December for their first serious play and the U-17s, along with the U-15s are now training indoors at the NH Sportsplex as well as outdoors at the Nashua Corp field.