Smith suffered an 8-1 loss in Wednesday’s scrimmage against Northwest Guilford at Manzi Stadium.
Most of the damage came in the first of four 20-minute quarters as Northwest scored five of its eight goals against a reeling Golden Eagle defense.
“Well, we started the game by not playing defense at all,” said BLS coach Scott Duff. "Basically, we left our opponents unmarked, and if you leave the opposition alone in front of the goal, it’s gonna cause problems and that’s what we did in the first period.”
Like the defense, the Golden Eagle offense also labored in the first period. A large portion of the initial offensive struggles could be attributed to nervousness, faulty passing and a formidable Northwest defense. Openings seemed to be few and far between, and it was difficult for BLS to put two passes together at times.
“We passed the ball well overall," senior striker Brian Woodward said. "At first it was a little rocky. I think that we were a little nervous, but after we got the jitters out we did a good job of moving the ball.”
After a brief intermission, Smith played its best soccer of the evening in the second quarter. The defense allowed no goals and they moved the ball considerably well downfield. Woodward succeeded in pushing the ball in transition for two impressive shots, but the Northwest goalie notched two saves that were equally as impressive.
“We changed our plan," goal Jeremy Webb said. "We got our mark up and we played just better all-around.”
The game served as an accurate measuring stick, showing the team where it stands and what adjustments need to be made. Thus, the objectives for the ensuing practices were determined by Wednesday's play.
“As a team we need to work on marking up, being more physical, more emotional and communicating -- that was a big problem too,” Woodward said.
Optimism was present nonetheless following the scrimmage and the outlook is still bright. Thus, proving that a certain measure of positivity rests behind defeat.
“We’ll be better than we were last year,” said defender Austin Strawn.
“I think that we’re gonna go farther than we did last year,” Webb added. “This is definitely the best team I’ve seen talent-wise since I’ve been here.”
"We've got to find some defenders," Duff said. "We have to learn how to play this game, especially on defense.
"But we have plenty of talent and we will improve."
© 1999 bls@oocities.com
Get your own Free Home Page