What a great game! I was really thrilled with how well the Thunder played. They had especially excellent play from their goalies in this game. Almost every player on both teams seemed completely engaged. Let's just go straight to the tape now and I'll comment later on what the two teams showed us. (Update: Here is the HD version.)
The moments of great individual play that we managed to get on video speak for themselves so I won't summarize the whole thing but I do want to point at a few moments that really stand out for me. Obviously you can't miss the amazing delicacy of Sam E.'s touch on the ball and the way he combines that with a nearly perfect awareness of where he is on the field and a brilliant imagination for finding a way to the goal but at 0:40 in the video while you see Sam playing the ball confidently right along the touch line note what Samuel is doing, shadowing Sam without crowding him, waiting to see how the play develops. These two don't communicate with each other vocally the way Sam, Elizabeth, Austin and Jackson do but they still make a great tandem as Samuel is already anticipating Sam's moves and getting himself into position. You'll notice on Sam's second attempt he gets a nice little pass from Trey to get the ball around Parker on defense. Then see what Trey does. He continues to Parker's right to get to the goal and get the rebound. Very smart.
Maddie made some great stops on a couple of those efforts from Sam and then Zychik came in to face Elizabeth and stopped her at least three times too. Eventually though Elizabeth gets through and I want you to notice the poise she shows in settling the ball to her feet at about 0:53. Just amazing. Zychik makes a great stop on that first shot but then Elizabeth gets a couple past him. She's tenacious. I'm sorry the video didn't capture how excited Zychik was as he made one stop after another. He went on to have a great quarter in the field too.
At 1:39 you see Jackson beginning a break away run with a beautifully delicate first touch on the ball. You can see by the way he leans over the ball on that touch that he's already seeing the field ahead of him and is calmly staying in control despite the open lane to the goal. Parker stops the shot though with a tough grab right at Jackson's feet.
1:50. This is amazing. Note how early on Jackson sees the play developing and breaks decisively away from the pack.
At 1:58 you see the Thunder setting up for a throw-in. Juan and Brooke have a good sense of what's going on and are looking for the pass even if they aren't in the best position for it. But look at Jackson and Sam. See how comfortable they are with the routine of covering on re-starts like this. Then at 2:25 we see Elizabeth "poaching" on a goal kick. Maddie and Molly are ready to receive Logan's kick (he had a great game in goal) and Elizabeth streaks in, volleys the ball off her hip and then makes two quick moves to get in for a shot. Only Jagger crashing in unexpectedly could stop her. Anyway, in both instances you see players who have gotten past having to learn the re-start plays in the game and now they are seeing those situations clearly and understanding how to take advantage of those changes in possession and turn them into opportunities. That comes with time and experience and the Thunder are already off to a good start.
Near the end we see two fast breaks from Austin with the last culminating in a goal. Again we see a player who has gotten to the point where he can recognize plays developing and react quickly. Just great stuff.
I'm sorry I didn't capture more of the Thunder's offense on video. Brooke, Carson and Juan really were having some great runs but needed a few good bounces that they didn't get. Right at the beginning you see Juan playing some excellent defense, keeping his body between the ball and the goal. I saw great play from everyone in this game. Molly saved one goal with her speedy and thoughtful defense. Look for that at about 2:14. I didn't get everything on video but was watching everybody and you all played wonderfully. Thanks for such a great game.
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