JV2 and Freshmen Battle to a Scoreless Draw/New Games Scheduled!

The concept was advanced at the start of the season that the JV2 and Freshman teams might be well-matched with each other, and occasional games between them might be a nice way to compensate for the lack of matches with other schools. Mission accomplished. A few scrimmages in practice suggested that they were indeed potentially great rivals. Thursday afternoon at The Pasture, in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd, the team teams battled to a 0-0 tie that was well-played and highly entertaining. The well-organized defense of the Freshmen held off the relentless attack of the JV2s, and goalies Trevor Lichtenstein (Freshmen) and Christian Bliz (JV2s) emerged as the stars of the afternoon. We'll let Freshman mentor Jason Hirschhord take upo the narrative from here: "Our back lines—Joseph, Justin, Sam L, George and Davey, Paul, Blake, Liam—were rock solid throughout. They pushed up the field on our attacking plays, they closed down fast, they recovered and had each others' backs. Blake made a brilliant recovery in the second half: running down JV2's striker who had snuck past us, clearing the ball out to the side, hustling over to save the ball, and booting it up the field. As a result, they held JV2's dynamic, fast, and physical attackers in check, frustrating them on the ball, limiting their chances to take a clean shot, and ultimately keeping them scoreless. Trevor, who played the whole game in goal, stepped up for us big time. He was aggressive and ready to come off his line, and he also communicated effectively with our defensive lines. As the game progressed, we had a number of good balls in from Nick and Freddie on the wings as well as a ton of hustle up and down the lines to both create space on our attacks and close down JV2's wing on defense. Good runs from Patrick, Veer, Kaleb, and Iver—with a few opportunities to put a shot on frame (finishing under pressure will be a big focus next week!). Excellent communication and playmaking from our men in the middle: Sam C (who's working on his left foot every day), Wyatt, Jack, Aaron, and Sayan. With frequent subs, we were able to (almost) match JV2's speed and stamina: Aidan and Dustin (injury notwithstanding) helped make that happen. All in all, I applaud the whole team for being willing to sub often, keep the energy up from start to finish, readily communicate with their teammates, and execute our goal of playing in our shape. I think we got a big boost this week from Dan working with our offense and Cassie refining our warm-up routine. Hats off to JV2 and Coach Bucket for an exciting, hard-fought match. I'm confident we'll see even more progress with our fitness, passing, and finishing the next time we line up against JV2!" JV2s have a day off Friday, and the Freshmen have an optional fitness training session at 4:00. Big news! Both teams have had a game addded to the schedule fopr next week. On Monday, JV2s will play their postponed game at Hartford, leaving after school Game details will follow soon. On Friday, October 2, the Freshmen have an away game at Woodsville. Good thing they have their white uniforms! Stay tuned for details.