2008 St. Lawrence Laurentians Round Robin
Game 1 : St. Lawrence; 1 vs Ontario; 1Game Three : B.C : 3 vs St.Lawrence: O
The 1-1 draw against Ontario was a great team effort.
Richard Kelly scored a beautiful goal and Mike Howlett
was very unfortunate not to pick up a goal as he had a
couple of marvelous scoring opportunities.With a bit
of luck St.Lawrence could have pulled off a win.
However,Ontario are a good team and had there chances
as well so maybe in the end the 1-1 final score was
deserving to both teams.
Game 2: St.Lawrence:0 vs Quebec:2
Overall,the Laurentians played very good and had a
respectable first half.Due to very weak defensive marking,
Quebec scored 2 early second half goals just seconds
apart leaving the Laurentian team in a state of shock.
Then as a result of some undisciplinary play,
St.Lawrence were minus a man,as a result of a red card to
Richard Kelly. Quebec virtually played at will for the
second half and totally destroyed the Laurentians,
dominating them in every aspect of the game.
Despite this rather weak performance and the final
2-0 Quebec victory I'm still with the,
"Proud to be a Laurentian Group"and will be there to cheer
the Laurentians on when they meet BC in Game 3.
I t was a great game of soccer. Sometimes
you really don't judge a book by it's cover
and in this case the score is not really indicative
of how the game was actually played.
The Laurentians showed character,played with
determination, but in the end the story of the match
was we couldn't put the ball in the net. St. Lawrence
played well, had their chances and I mean quality
chances. Mike Howlett, Jeremy Brenton,
Johnny Pickett and Marc Pittman had glorious
opportunities. Our lack of goal scoring in this
tournament has killed us. To date, we only have
scored 1 goal in three games. John Douglas, folks, was
simply outstanding. I know B.C. got 3 goals but
saves, and I mean brilliant. But in all due respect
B.C. did score a couple of beauties.
I guess, after B.C. had lost to Feildians, they had a lot
to prove as well. I spoke to a representative of their
club prior to the game and they were disgusted about
their performance in game 2.
Weak marking
In the mean while, St. Lawrence marking in
their own zone has resulted in them allowing
6 goals against in three games. Marking your man
in your own end of the field means you mark tight.
You are basically shoulder to shoulder with your
opponent. B.C. beat us in the physical element of
this contest. They hit every blue and white shirt
that practically moved. They primary focus of attack
was on Mike Howlett knowing full well, you stop Mike
and with Richard sitting as a result of his red card,
you would stand a very good chance in defeating
the Laurentians. They knew what it would take to win ,
they did what it took to win and they won. Their game
plan worked. Now it's time to forget about medals
and play for respect, something that we have achieved
for our approach to the sport of soccer for a
lifetime.
This contest laid to rest which soccer team in Newfoundland
the best senior men's team! The Laurentians knocked
the Feildians out of medal contention. Quebec had defeated
Ontario earlier by a 1-0 score so if the Feildians had won over
St.Lawrence they would have played for the Bronze Medal.
Now the Feildians are playing for 8/9 seed and the Laurentians
are playing their final contest of the 2008 Nationals for 7/8
seeding.
It was Marc Pittman who opened the scoring for the Laurentians
on a free shot from about 30 yards, and a fabulous save by keeper
John Douglas at the 14 minute mark that were the highlights of
the first half. The second half saw a a demonstration by Richard
Kelly that was simply outstanding. On four different occasions
he was the set up man as the Laurentians challenged Prim, time
and time again but it was veteran Alec Turpin who eventually
penetrated the Feildians defense and scored from a Kelly setup,
giving the Laurentians a 2-0 lead and what resulted in a 2-0 win.
This victory now gives the Laurentians a 5 win, 3 tie record on their
head to head matches against the Feildians this year.
Play-off Game
St. Lawrence 5 vs Manitoba 3
It was a game that was played more for formality rather than for
the competitiveness of the competition. The winner of this contest
would be seeded 7th while the loser would be ranked 8th.
Mike Howlett lead the Laurentian scoring with 2 goals while singles
came from, Mike Douglas, Rudy Norman and Sean Edwards.
This game some what showcased Laurentians future players,
Tyler Beck, Stefan Slaney,Tristan Slaney and Sean Edwards
and introduced them to National competition. It was also as much of a
farewell affair to future Laurentian Hall of Famers,
Mike Howlett, Alec Turpin and Captain Blair Aylward who have
all indicated that they will be retiring this seasons.
Thanks guys for your efforts !! You three have all wore and played
displaying the the Laurentian Logo with respect and pride
2008 - Feildians/Ernst & Young OrendaRound Robin
Game1 - Feildians: 1 vs BC; 0
This well deserved 1-0 victory by the Feildians over BC maybe
described as the biggest upset of the tournament when all is
said and done. Maybe it won't, we will have to wait and see.
The Feildians did what they had to do and scored an early goal by
Shannon Brushett and they defended well. They frustrated the BC
team and Matthew Prim put on the best goal tending display at
the Nationals thus far.This contest and victory is a great
confidence booster for the Feildians as they were
awarded 3 points for their efforts.
Game 2 - Feildians: 0 vs Ontario : 1
Certainly the Feildians are playing in this tournament
showing very little pressure and as a result they put
in another good solid performance. In their game against
Ontario they certainly didn't look one bit out of place.
Prim has been solid in goal,Johnny Acreman has been their
general in the backfield and David Webb has performed
well controlling midfield. Up front the Feildians still
need a spark in their offense in order to be a threat to
their opponents.Feildians looked like they had scored
a goal it what appeared to be an on sides play but the
linesman felt different and as a result of his thoughts,
a Feildian goal was called back.
However. Ontario did score a goal that came from a
shot outside the box that I'm sure Prim would like to
have back.
The Feildians are looking good at this point.
They are presently looking like they
could be the highest NL seeded team in this
2008 National tournament and that certainly
would be quite an accomplistment
for them.
Game 3: Quebec -2 vs Feildians:1
Another solid performance by the Feildians.
This is a contest that the Feildians could
have very well won.The Feildians are letting
the ball do the work for them and as a result
they are generating trouble for their opponents.
They are moving the ball from the back line to
midfield and then onwards to the striking position.
They are pressing the opposition , creating
turn overs and using space. In this game, Quebec
opened the scoring on a penalty shot and afterwards
they went up 2-0. The Feildians connected for a goal
and then started mounting pressure on the Quebec
team and Quebec were very fortunate to have prevented
the Feildians from getting the game equalizer.
2008 - EPR Kirby/The Dock team .Round Robin
2008 - Holy Cross team 
No comments:
Post a Comment