This weekend was the end of the TNT season; the boys (and parents) headed down to Canton for the season ending win-or-go-home playoffs
Game 1: We were the #2 seed (more on that later) and faced the #7 seed from Livonia. We’ve played this team twice before this season and pummeled them, two 7-0 wins.
Saturday’s game (and Saturday’s only game) was no different and I really don’t remember the final score, except that it was a number greater than five and Livonia’s was 0. Matthew had the second goal of the game and continued his passing ways to contribute more than one assist. I’ll get video of that first goal online soon; he absolutely bombed it into the back of the net after he noticed the goalie was playing way over expecting him to kick it to his teammates on the other side of the goal.
Game 2: Game 2 of the playoffs began at 10 am Sunday; we faced the #3 team from Canton. We’ve faced this team twice before too….a 7-3 win and a 2-1 win. The 2-1 win was a little weird; it has seemed like the Canton team had a player or two that they hadn’t had before (instead of one really big kid they had two, for example)…
Celebrating one of many goals
I don’t think this turned into a shot on goal; I think the other guy deflected it and we got a corner kick out of it.
This time they had only one big kid; and TNT jumped out to a three goal lead and salted it away for a 4-0 win. I was looking forward to seeing how the coach played the boys during these games; we’ve been winning so convincingly at times it’s been easy to just rotate the pieces-parts and get what you want most of the time. During this game, the coach had Matthew up front in the first half and then, to protect the lead, shifted Matthew (in his grouping) and one of the other stronger kids (in the other grouping) back to defense to close things out.
These pictures are not mine; another parent grabbed them and put them up on facebook. I promptly downloaded them. Love this one.
Celebrating more goals….
Game 3: We had a 4-hr wait until the championship; went to Ikea, ate lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, watched the Steelers gift the Dolphins six points to start the game, headed back over to the soccer complex for the finals.
This time we faced the #1 seed, and I’m a bit confused by how they were the #1 seed and we weren’t. They did beat us, but, had only moved up to our division a few weeks back and while we had easily beaten everyone else, they only had one other game there. Oh well, no matter, the proof will be found here.
Our first goal was cheap; one of our defender’s charges across the midline and kicks it straight at, and not particularly hard at, the goalie. He bobbles it, it goes in, and it’s 1-0. Feel bad for the goalie no matter what team they are on when that happens. A few minutes later another defender charges in, absolutely buries his long range shot, and it’s 2-0 and the rout is on. I think it finished up at 8-2; was 5-1 at halftime.
A break before the game starts….
Matthew and Kijae….Kijae was the recipient of Matthew’s passing gifts…..
Matthew was, at least to me, a little out of it at the beginning of this game….he was the forward, but, didn’t seem really involved with the ball and spent a lot of time waiting up front for a pass or a ball that never came his way. In the second half, he, like the first game, was dispatched to the defense and he really had a nice game back there….he had two awfully nice passes for assists to round out the scoring and did a great job of tracking forward with the ball and then getting back to cut off the other team (who was pressing quite a bit to get some goals to get back in it).
I think on this goal specifically Matthew sucked in the defense and just pushed it across where a wide-open Kijae buried it…..
Coach, kids, and younger brothers and sisters celebrate the win
That’s the end of the fall TNT season; including the tournaments the boys went 10 and 2 and won two championships. The two teams the boys lost to the boys beat the next time they played them. Not bad!
