Game 1 - April 18, 2009 - Plymouth Lasers 2 - Novi Cats - 6
A rough beginning to our season. Novi scored six goals early on. However, one bright spot was our holding Novi to NO GOALs in the second half. Our defense really tightened up and was very impressive in spite of the attacks from Novi. While we took a beating, something 'clicked' in the second half, and I'm confident our team will play better defense in the future. We're in a tougher division and everyone will have to play harder if we are going to win. We will work on better defense and passing next practice and game.
Here's our players did:
Joe was very effective today in blocking, passing and shooting on goal. He was thwarted many times when trying to score, but had an assist today. He also was fantastic on defense. Craig was very strong on defense today with some excellent stops. Brian missed the first half, but played a strong second half with several steals and blocks. Nick had a very strong second half with great clears, passes and a very painful block. Carter really helped our second half with strong defense and shutting down the attacks. Kyle played a strong game with some great blocking, passing and steals. He also helped the defense as well. Austin was strong again in midfield and helped our defense when they needed it. Josh had a lot of great stops and passes today and several shots on goal. Paul did extremely well against an unbalanced attack. He stole the ball, passed and managed his zone well. James was exceptional in goal today. After his repeated requests not to play in goal, he did exceptionally well allow NO GOALS in the second half. In the first half he was relentless in his attacks against a brick wall defense, but he managed to get an assist. Bradley was very strong on defense and midfield today, with great passing and very good blocks. Jon was a welcome addition to our team this season. With his great speed, power, throwing ability on throw ins, and his shooting, I'm looking forward to seeing him play on offense and scoring this season. He was great today in every spot he played. Kevin scored both our goals today and managed to keep the Novi defense busy. Evan was a rock on defense with some exceptional stops in the second half. Chris played a great game in spite of just getting over a cold. He was great on defense and midfield. Dan faced a lot of defensive collapses in goal in the first half, but managed some outstanding saves. In the second half, he was outstanding as our 'cannon'. Drew was fantastic on defense and midfield making many stops and great passes.
Good game Lasers.
Full sized photos with captions below - scroll down to view them OR click here - > Game 1 Thumbnails Gallery for lower res images. When in the gallery, click on each image to enlarge it.
The team gets ready to warm up
Craig covers defense very well
We line up for the ref
coach Ted talks about strategy to the team
The Lasers march onto the field
Dan starts the game with a fantastic save
He boots it deep
Carter clears it!
Nick and James are all over the ball
Joe and Kevin move forward
Austin blocks the attacker
Joe races back for the ball
Joe and Kyle box out the attacker
Kyle retrieves the ball
Bradley and Nick cover the backfield
Nick has it and races forward
James gets the pass
Joe's shot is saved by the Novi keeper
Kevin shoots and scores!!
Evan races down the attacker
Chris intercepts the pass
Jon moves the ball out of our backfield
Evan blocks the shot with his body
Kyle blocks
He passes back
Craig stops the shooter
Another save for Danny
Josh clears it this time
Bradley, Austin, Nick and Kevin rest
Chris gets ready to head the ball
Jon has the ball
Joe bails out the defense
Kyle looks for a scoring opportunity
Austin tries to catch the attacker
Nick clears it
James rushes for the goal
Craig, Chris, Paul and Kyle take a break
Nick passes to the offense
James tries to regain possession
Joe stops the Novi offense
Jon, Bradley and Austin protect the middle of the field
Kevin looks for scoring opportunity
The team relaxes during half time
Craig and Brian listen to the coach
Austin prevents a scoring attack
The team defends a corner kick
Kevin races for the ball
Drew, Bradley, Nick, Jon and Evan rest this shift
Carter stops the attack
Paul intercepts the ball at midfield
James throws the ball to Paul
Another save for James
Kevin score again!
The team is happy Kevin scored again
Joe helps the defense
Kevin's shot is blocked
Josh intercepts and sends it back to the offense
Great save James!
Kyle and Brian share a laugh
Drew gets the ball out of our zone
Dan prepares to send the ball
Bradley stops the attack
Carter keeps an eye on the Novi offense
Kevin executes a great corner kick
Josh and Nick race forward
The Lasers have a good crowd cheering them on
Joe looks for a scoring opportunity
Nick gets past the defense
James sends it deep
Jon is relentless on defense today
Dan blocks the attacker
Joe avoids a collision with the keeper
Chris throws a perfect block
Drew races up field
Paul handles it now
John blocks the offense
Great save James!
Drew fights his way past the defenders
Josh sends it to the Novi goal
Brian deflects the kick
The Novi offense is surrounded
James leads the handshake
The Lasers played a much stronger second half
The boys worked hard today
coach Ted reminds the boys of how well they played in the second half