SPRUCE GROVE HELD BACK AGAIN!!

Last nights game was in a word FANTASTIC!!   This was the second time we met up with the Saints in the regular season and this one counted for points.  The last time we met up with Spruce Grove we SHOCKED them with a brutal 6-0 win.   This was a stunner for sure as this team was made up of the best 98 and 99 girls in the zone.

This time around we knew that they wanted some payback for that loss.  What team wouldn't?  That's part of competitive sport and any team that was beat badly in a previous meeting would want to win and show the oppponent a thing or two.

As fate would have it though last night this would not be the fact.  Our girls came to the game with a determination and desire to win after the last couple games. They showed our opponents that we mean business and ARE NOT a one time fluke with another crushing victory of 5-2!

So far this season Spruce Grove sits at the top of the pool and we are the ONLY team in the league as of this writing to beat this team.   I've said it before, our team is only a few months into U16 for the first time and we are showing the older teams a thing or two, being competitive and WINNING games.

It just goes to show that when our team brings their A game anything is possible.  This was also with 5 GIRLS out of the line up due to injuries and sickness.  WAY TO GO TEAM! Currently we are sitting in second place in the entire Tier 2/3 division.  An AWESOME achievement for the youngest team in the division.

Next up is the CMSA Winter Classic.  We are looking forward to playing some hard teams in this tournament to help bring our game to new levels of excellence.

STORM GAME LAST NIGHT - A Tie it is!

Last night we played against the STORM and some of our old teammates.  Games like these are usually pretty interesting but this game was just a normal game.  The girls were fired up to play as usual but as a team we probably played at about 70% of our best.

We had many girls that were tired from All Day Ski Trips and of course Jayden and Kaela were out due to concussions.   These facts affected our game and our forward lines were not the norm for sure.

Still even though we didn't show the best the game was tied 3-3.  The Storm tried really hard to win the game but in the end a TIE is a good turnout for everyone.   Next time should be different once we are back to full strength and our normal powerhouse play.

Good job to the girls for the tie.  Next week its Spruce Grove again!

2013 EMSA / MWSA Outstanding Volunteer Award

I'm very pleased to announce that I have been awarded the EMSA / MWSA Outstanding Volunteer Award this year.

The honour was awarded to me last night for the many areas of organization and media management improvement I've done with the MWSA and Selects FC over the past 2.5 years.

It also recognizes my role as the creator of the U8 MWSA Junior League Academy Soccer program. This academy program was a the first of its kind at the U8 age group in Edmonton. Each season helps to prepare youngsters for the start of competitive U10 soccer.

Thank you to everyone for awarding me this honour and for the continued support that the organization, parents and of course my team show me season after season. 

Sincerely,

Coach Preston

Selects FC VS Selects FC - and the Selects Win!!

Tonight was our first game with the 1998 Selects FC team and what a game it was.  It was truly a sight to behold as both teams played an AMAZING game.  

This game was truly one of the harder games we have played since Provincials in August.  It was a hard hitting and fast paced game that all of us coaches, parents and players can very very proud of.

Over the past few weeks the girls game has been changing and improving where our team is truly becoming a play making style of team. This showed up in a big way tonight with some truly great soccer.

The working together certainly shows in our game statistics. We keep stats of each game and I want to share some of the progress we are having. For example, in the last three games our Shots / Shots on Goal average was 30-33 shots per game.   The Shots tonight were a staggering 53 against one of the top level teams in our pool!!   This is important because these shots were gained through moving the ball properly as a team and not just dump in the corners and chase it in. As we continue to work on our shot finishing we will only see this number stay high and goals per shots continue to increase throughout the season.

On the other side of the coin the other team only managed 21 shots against us.  Considering that this team has some of the best strikers in our league and older aggressive players this continues to show how far our defense and goal-tending has changed and grown.

Even though we lost the game 5-4 it was truly anyone's game.  Even the other team and many of the Selects FC coaches in the stands watching us agreed.   Many people commented on how it was one of the more entertaining and nail biting games they have seen in a long time.  We are so very proud of the girls and excited to where this team is headed.  In our books the score was irrelevant as our game play was the true winner tonight.

Great work girls!