| Rebecca's Panthers Soccer Team: |
| Rebecca has been placed on an AYSO U10 (under 10 yrs) to start in August 2004. She is continuing to "play up" a level as she did very well last year in U9 and played through the Spring & in Summer Camp. She began on the Cheetah team, but was moved to the Panthers. See website for standings, pics, et al (U10G-01/ PANTHERS) |
| 2004: SEASON CHAMPIONS, 2nd in AREA: |
| The Panthers played against the Jaguars. Rebecca started off with a bang, making the first goal of the game. She made several great advances down the field, nice cross passes & finally one connected & Greyson scored too! Unfortunately, Greyson had to sit out the 3rd qtr & Rebecca the fourth, so the scored got tied up -- but Greyson scored the winning goal in a penalty kick - Yea Panthers! Rebecca received many compliments, even from the opposing coach & asst coach. |
| 8/14: vs Jaguars |
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| This week the Panthers played against the Wildcats. The Wildcats are coached by the same coach as last year's rival (Starfish), but the girls did great. Rebecca again made several great advances down the field, nice cross passes, but nothing was connecting. Greyson made a nice pass or 2 to Rebecca, but her goal attempts weren't successful either (one just barely over the goalpost, one barely left & one right). Out of frustration, I think, Rebecca took an opponents' goalkick & kicked it with so much force that not only did it go over the goalpost, but practically went to the moon! lol. Finally, Greyson made 3 goals in the 3rd qtr & Rebecca made 2 goals (beautiful plays) & 1 assist in the fourth; she worked hard for all 3 of those goals. Rebecca again received very nice comments from the opposing coach. |
| 8/21: vs Wildcats |
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| This week the Panthers played the Snow Leopards in San Elijo; final score: 5-0. This team was downplayed a bit as it was supposedly a mixture of U8, U9, & U10 girls; however, they fought hard. They had a very good (tall!) goalie & one particularly skilled midfielder (from last year's Dolphins). Along with one other good player, the 3 played the whole game. Since Rebecca and Greyson scored 2 goals in the 1st quarter, Greyson was taken out & Rebecca went to mid - and then shortly after to stopper. Her final quarter was spent in fullback, as it turned out, the lone defensive player. But Rebecca took some nice shots on goal, & made some nice defensive plays. |
| 8/28: vs Snow Leopards |
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| This week the Panthers played the Cougars, coached by Kevin (asst coach of Fusion & Angelfish), incl. Kenner & Daniella from the same teams. Final Score: T (2-2). Greyson scored 2 goals in the first qtr. Rebecca kept things at a 2-0 lead in the 2nd qtr before she went out in the 3rd qtr. During the 3rd, a dubious handball call was made against the Panthers (the ball never even left the ground during the entire play - handball??), unfortunately the PK was awarded bringing it to 2-1. On the very next play, the score was evened up. No change after that. Not a very spectacular game. |
| 9/18: vs Cougars |
| 9/25: vs Leopards |
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| Wow!! What a game!! As both teams were missing a girl, the top 3 girls on each team got to play the whole game. This meant that both Rebecca & Greyson; Stephanie & Alyssa were playing the whole game. This made for a VERY exciting game. Both Rebecca and Stephanie slated to play forward took it upon themselves to play more of a midfield position to help out on defense, thus bringing the score to a much lower score than the teams were used to - the Panthers took home the win at 3-1. Both Rebecca and Stephanie took several shots on goals, but in both cases the defense did not give either of them good shots. Both Rebecca & Greyson gave each other nice set-ups for goals, but many did not convert. Rebecca had 2 assists to Greyson's 3 goals. The final goal in the 4th qtr that wrapped things up was a thing of beauty -- a beautiful goalie throw from Montana to Greyson, pass to Rebecca who, in order to gain possession first had to cut off a defender, then as that player & a mid were collapsing on her from either side, she did a fake - a step-over, leading them forward and then a quick 180 cut back going the opposite direction, forcing them to run into each other as she made her getaway toward the goal. She brought the ball (and 3 defenders) down the right wing, almost to the right sideline. Then a 60 ft + cross to the center for Greyson's boot into the goal! |
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| 10/2: vs Cheetahs |
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| This game against the Cheetahs seemed closer than the score indicates. With the confusion of goals being taken away here and there, it was hard to keep track of the status. But when the score was 4-0 at the half, the coach became serious about easing up. Rebecca played defensive mid 3rd quarter to Greyson's stopper and stopper to Greyson's goalkeeper in the 4th. Other defensive players & a player that was scheduled to be out in the 4th were given the opportunity to play offense. We were pleasantly surprised with the talent that was added to the team since Rebecca had left. Hannah Steele hadn't been to the practices at the time, & Alexia Ruiz replaced Rebecca; both were strong players. Of course Danelle played a great game as expected. Final score - 5-0. |
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| After a week off, the Panthers came back strong. In the first quarter, they had possession of the ball in the Bobcat half of the field the entire time, less 20 seconds! Rebecca had a minimum of 3 defenders on her at all times, but when with the ball, she had up to 7 players to contend with. Incredibly, she would cut, fake .. past player after player. She got the ball up into the penalty box a couple of dozen times, got off centering passes over half of those times. Unfortunately she was "football tackled" from behind, had her feet swept out from under her, pushed backward ... she took a lot of physical abuse that day; actually most of the Panthers took some level of abuse that day. She got off one beautiful shot that just barely missed the far corner and a left-footed goal from a corner kick which was helped over the line by a goalie carry but wasn't counted. The stars certainly weren't aligned in the Panthers' favor, but they played a great game. |
| 10/16: vs Bobcats |
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| 11/04: vs Tigers |
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| After 2 weeks of rainouts, the Panthers finally got to play their last game of the season - and it was a doozy! Every girl on the team contributed. The passing game worked effectively to keep the ball in the Tigers half of the field a large majority of the time. Within the first minutes of the game, however, Rebecca was flattened on a fast break just as she was entering the penalty box - memories of the last game - however, the center ref was the RC & he called the foul, giving the Panthers their first goal. Some classic give-and-go's with Rebecca and Greyson brought the score to 3-0. Rebecca had a beautiful shot - unfortunately the goalie made an equally spectacular save. Another shot by Rebecca was so strong that when the goalie grabbed for it, she had to take a couple of steps back & juggle the ball; it was questionable whether the goalie crossed the line with the ball or not. With no ref in a position to call it & our lead, no one chose to contest it. With the goalie still unsteady from the save, she threw the ball directly to Shannon, immediately fell down, allowing Shannon to pop the ball in the goal. Once again, though, in the last seconds of the game, Rebecca was primed for one more goal attempt - front and center - and the whistle blew for the end of the game. She was disappointed that she was denied that last shot --- BUT ... it didn't matter because this last win gave them the Season Championship! |
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| Seeding Game: 11/06: vs Cougars |
| Only 2 days after winning the Season, the Panthers took to the field against the #2 team. They had tied in the season, but this time they had to play without a couple of their midfielders, including their top-scorer; and with an injured striker, their 3rd top scorer. For the 3rd game in a row, Rebecca was floored in the first minutes of the game, this time a direct, close-range shot to the face. She was seeing stars & in pain for quite a while; the ref even forced her to take more time after getting up because he could tell she was still dazed. She also had to endure 2 high-kicks, one cleat mere inches from her face & another at her chest/neck, but she was able to dodge to keep from being injured. The Panthers had another impressive showing - tieing 1-1 in regulation. Unfortunately, it went directly to a PK Shootout, where Rebecca & 2 of her teammates made their shots, but 2 missed. It came down to the last shot & the game was lost. As this is the 1st game used to structure the seeding, there was little riding on the win, so with a full team & hopefully healthy, the team should continue to place well. |
| REGIONAL PLAYOFFS: |
| 2nd Game: 11/13: vs Leopards |
| I suppose I jinxed the team by assuming the team would be healthy .. oh well .. unfortunately, with their top-scoring mid-fielder just flying back from vacation on the day of the game & several girls not feeling well, the team was not playing like themselves. There were only 3 goals in the entire game & all of them were the result of our own team ... unfortunately, 2 of them were into our own goal(!) The team learned a painful lesson about making short, centering passes within your own penalty box. ouch. But the Panthers weren't the only ones making mistakes, Rebecca received a nice assist from a Leopard throw-in near their own goal. After the steal, she brought the ball to the near post and shot a beautifully-tuned goal into the far corner without a fraction of an inch to spare. Rebecca played a very good game overall: she consistently outran whoever they threw at her and had the ball in the penalty box numerous times, beautiful centering passes, just nothing converting into solid sogs. She took a few shots herself, one resulted in quite a nice save. Our goalie had an excellent save as well. In any case, the girls will have a nice break until the Area Playoffs. Go Panthers! |
| AREA PLAYOFFS: |
| Game 1: 12/11: vs La Costa 4-1 (2 Assists) |
| Rebecca got the first goal again! I believe she served up the assist on the second & the third came from the most unlikely source -- Rebecca took a corner kick, sending it right across the face of the goal, our left wing stepped into it & one-touched it into the goal(!!!!) The game probably would have been more one-sided, but in the 4th, the coach decided to take out the star center & best defender, switched out the regular goalie, put Rebecca in fullback & switched the mids, fwds & defense around. It was a heart-stopping quarter because they had their best in & our offense could not keep the ball on their side of the field, so Rebecca actually got some action. She played it great, though. She did a beautiful goal kick, stopped their best fwd 3-4 times, one time she stole the ball & blasted it so hard, it almost made it to the goal(!!) |
| With numerous things running against them, the Panthers managed to go away UNDEFEATED(!) Rebecca walked away with 2 goals & 6 assists and MANY phenomenal near-miss shots. She even had 2 coaches & 2 referees come up to me and compliment her great shots, passes and unselfishness in passing the ball. |
| Game 2: 12/11: vs City Hts 1-0 (1 Assist) |
| Game 3: 12/12: vs Mira Mesa 2-2 (1 Goal, 1 Assist) |
| This was a tough game. Their entire team was playing VERY aggressively; they even looked like linebackers(!). Their coach was
screaming so much & so loud that the ref cautioned him because he thought our girls were being scared by him. Rebecca was being pushing, elbowing, held. One time one of our fb's was literally plowed down; one of our girls was injured so bad (our goalie) that she was taken out; at least one of their girls was taken out injured too (when she made a flying body tackle at Rebecca - and missed - landing flat on the ground). Anyway, it was 0-0 all the way to the last minute. Rebecca made a great cross to the center & the center mid put it away. phew. |
| The first game was tough as expected, but we stayed
undefeated by tieing 2-2.
Rebecca made the first goal; an incredible, high-lofting cross-shot into the upper-left corner of the net. Then the opponents started playing an off-side trap on Rebecca every time the ball was passed to her (they would rush forward when the ball was played in her direction, pulling her off-side & losing the ball - ack!) -- it worked numerous times, so Rebecca had to start playing front of the midline. |
| Game 4: 12/12: vs Tierrasanta 3-0 (1 Goal, 2 Assists) |
| Final Tally:
4-1, 1-0, 2-2, 3-0 10 goals Rebecca (2 goals, 6 assists) |
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| Rebecca had an incredible 1st qtr. She played great offense with at least 3 power shots just being outside right/left & one hitting the post. She played defense, never letting a fullback get a kick. The ball was in front of their goal 99% of the time. 2nd qtr the coach told her to take it a little easier (he was afraid she'd tire out) & then took her out the 3rd qtr since we were ahead. Unfortunately, due to a mix-up, they ended up playing the first part of the quarter short one player, and that is when the other team got their 1 goal. Rebecca was very strong in the 4th qtr. Oh my gosh, there were 2 drives where she had the best ball handling I have ever seen. The first she picked up at the midline from a beautiful fullback kick; she pushed it past one mid, cut back past 2 girls to the center of the penalty box where all 3 defenders collapsed on her with 2 mids beginning to encircle her from behind & still no one one her team having caught up yet. She did a 180 step over (I got a picture of this - bottom left pic) with a cut back, broke out of the circle, performed 3 successive hooks to slalom past 2 more girls, finally to a point where she had an open shot at which time she was tripped & flattened - ack! The second came from an opponent's throw-in - she pushed past 2 mids, dribbled up to the penalty box, cut one-way past a fullback, cut the other way past the stopper then a nice cross to the center of the goal for the score & one of her assists. We put one of our best players in goal one qtr, played down a player, Rebecca was out, & we ended up (per the request of the ref) playing our girls each 3 qtrs & in different positions. |
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| Unfortunately, half of the team had been sick this past week - strep throat, high fevers, exhaustion, .. you name it, the team had it. But they came together and won the game. The Cougars played a great game, however; we were fortunate to come out on top in this one. Rebecca was a bit spotty - very aggressive in spots, made some nice shots on the goal, just didn't connect. She hit the ground a few times, including in the last play of the game; she hurt so bad, she had to be helped off the field and couldn't even go through the tunnel. :( |
| Semi-Final: 12/18: vs Cougars 2-1 |
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| Rebecca played stronger in this game. Mira Mesa wasn't playing anywhere near as tough as last week, but unfortunately neither was our team. In any case, the girls took home a 2nd place medal(!) At the medal ceremony, the other coach singled out Rebecca and told her, "You have no idea how scared my girls were of you" He complimented her on her play / ability. I think that made her feel good after the loss. Sooo this was the end of the road ... the end of a great season(!!) |
| Final: 12/18: vs Mira Mesa |
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