2003 Region Cup Playoffs

Round of Eight-February 2003

We travel long distances to find teams that can beat us.....

It was a long trip to Vero Beach and there was no shortage of great competition. We started out with a tough match against a well-trained and athletic Space Coast team. They played a physical game and did an excellent job of winning and controlling balls in the mid field, and marked up well on our attackers up front. They had a very strong defense which was made even stronger by the small goals and postage stamp sized fields that we played on. Space Coast got on the score board first with a 30 yd shot that skimmed the ground and managed to sneak by a lot of feet before going in. A few minutes later we responded with a beautiful shot by Cameron courtesy of a nice assist from Andy. At half time with the score 1-1 it was looking like a great match that might come down to the wire. Although I thought our kids looked rather groggy, both teams had well-organized defenses and both teams were playing a good game of ball control. But our guys were loosing a lot of individual battles. While we were watching balls drop and bounce, Space Coast was snatching them out of the air. They were winning the majority free balls, which gave them the edge.

In the second half we continued to loose balls, particularly in the mid field, but we managed to do a good job of controlling the game when we got possession. Unfortunately, mid way through the second half Space Coast hit another low ball that slipped through the goal. Up 2-1, they intensified their defense and we had an enormous up hill battle as the boys fought against winds that had picked up to perhaps 15-20 miles per hour. This one ended 2-1. The boys put on an excellent show, certainly not their best performance, but under what were somewhat adverse conditions they played well. Thanks to some excellent defense by Taylor, Emilio, Landon, Connor and Trevor, we narrowly outshot Space Coast by 11-10 shots on goal. Following the game, Neil, the coach of Space Coast said that we were very unlucky to walk away the looser. Perhaps so, but it was clearly a great match up for us.

In the second game we faced a confident and pumped team from Brevard. Having just come off a surprising 3-1 victory over Indian River, a team that hadn't lost a game in nearly a year, Brevard was ready for us. In the first half we battled into the wind which was now in excess of 20 miles per hour. Brevard was all over us and managed to capitalize on the windy conditions with a fairly early goal. They knew a bit about our team from the Ormond Beach tournament where we tied them 2-2, and were man-marking both Mitch and Cameron. Mitch was able to eventually break free to put us on the score board, but Brevard came roaring back. At half time we were down 2-1, but we had a few things going our way.

The wind was now in our favor, and the marking strategy of Brevard was leaving several of our other players frequently open near the goal. In addition, in the second half Brevard came out and, it appeared, they were playing a delay of game strategy. With 25 minutes to go they seemed to be hunkering down in a defensive stand and planned to clear balls away from their goal as far as they could. If this was their strategy it kind of went down the tubes quickly as both Andy and TJ nailed beautiful shots early in the second half, putting us up 3-2. At that point Brevard struggled against both the wind and our defense to gain ground. The second half was all Rampage and Mother Nature. The ball rarely crossed mid field as our kids were able to get off numerous shots. When the ball did make it to our end of the field Danny was able to launch balls back into our attacking half-in fact, on one occasion he missed scoring off a huge punt by only a few feet. Late in the second half, Trevor gave us a fourth goal with a great individual effort, dribbling past several defenders. And with seconds remaining in the game, Dallas slipped a skimmer into the lower left corner of the goal giving the boys a great 5-2 comeback victory. The boys outshot Brevard 24-9. While I would have preferred to end day one up 2 games to nil, with a 1-1 record we were still in the hunt

On day two, the wind had calmed to perhaps 10 miles per hour and the temperatures had cooled a bit. It was a beautiful day for soccer. Our competition was the host team, a determined and athletic Indian River squad that had a wake up call the prior day experiencing a rare loss and a tie. They had to win and we had to tie in order to advance to the Region Cup final four. It was clearly going to be a great match up from the start. Our boys did a good job of possessing the ball and threaten to score on several occasions. Approximately 15 minutes in to first half, TJ danced past a couple of defenders and snuck a nice shot into the lower left corner of the goal. Our defense continued to be outstanding. Taylor, Emilio, Connor, and Landon kept Indian River outside of our box for almost the entire first half. Again, our biggest problem was winning balls, particularly in the middle of the field.

In the second half our boys continued to play outstanding defense and our possession was excellent. The boys held on to their 1-0 lead for approximately 30 minutes. With about 5 minutes left in the game, Indian River managed to break free and hammered in a deflected ball. Things still looked good for our boys as they continued to control the ball well, but Indian River picked up the intensity a bit. With just a minute to go, off a strange series of mishandled balls, a bouncing ball came across our goal box that Indian River headed in. It was an amazingly disappointing ending to an otherwise fantastic game for our boys. Following the game, Mike, the coach of Indian River commented that he felt our boys were the best team he had played against all year. I thanked him and a few minutes later he came over again to say that he wasn't just being nice, that he honestly felt the boys were the best team they had faced all year.

Although our kids didn't advance to the final 4, they did end the Region Cup tournament ranked 5th on the basis of record and points differential, which is a great result. Equally important, the boys earned the respect of all the teams that competed in Region Cup. A number of coaches approached me about our team and commented on how skilled they were. And I think some of the recognition that they got stems from their sportsmanship and the class that they showed as well as the sportsmanship that our parents showed throughout the tournament. I will also add that we are very, very lucky to be competing in a region and age group with such a classy group of coaches and quality teams. The future is very bright for our boys. Having teams that are fun to compete against makes the sport of soccer that much better. It's good for everybody.

As usual, at this tournament we named an individual to receive our sportsmanship award. This time the award goes to Danny M. who gave us a truly courageous performance in the goal. It takes a lot of guts to do what Danny does for our team. Congratulations, Danny on this well deserved and long over due honor. And congratulations to all of our players for putting on a really great show this weekend!

Knock Out Round-January 2003

It is certainly an understatement to say that this was an awesome weekend of soccer for the Rampage. We started off against a big, tough Palm Bay (PLM) squad with one dominating player that we knew we had to shut down. We changed our initial game strategy by moving Andy into the center mid position, pushing Mitch to forward, and shifting Taylor to center defender. In the first half our boys played outstanding. Andy, Mitch, and Cameron got us on the score board quickly with three first half goals off assists from Cameron, Trevor, and Andy. Our defense was impenetrable allowing only five shots in the first half. Taylor held the center mid strong, and Landon, Connor, Emilio, and TJ held the flanks extremely well. And Danny gave us a solid game in the goal. At half time, with a 3-0 lead, all we had to do is hold on.

We started off strong in the second half given a goal by Andy off a ball that Mitch fed to the middle. Up 4-0 with 15 minutes left it appeared that this one was in the books. But Palm Bay's star player wasn't willing to give up. He struck back in the 35th minute bringing some spark to his team. At that point, he decided to become a one man team. Our boys gave him a bit too much space which allowed him to score twice more. But the clock was in our favor and we were able to walk away with a well earned 4-3 victory.

In game two we faced Orange County (OCS), one of the favorites to go all the way in Region Cup. Our first five minutes were a bit rough. OCS had several early opportunities that they didn't capitalize on until finally, in the 8th minute, they slipped one by our defense. Up 1-0, it looked like we might be in trouble. But after being fouled in the corner in the 14th minute, Mitchell slammed a great bending ball from the flag. The ball sailed by the goalie, was held in the hands of a defender momentarily (red card?) and then promptly popped into the back of the goal off a header from Dallas. It was a great highlight moment in Rampage history :-) We held on to the 1-1 tie until half time, playing a great head to head game with OCS.

In the second half we came out strong. Our defense completely shutdown OCS. Our midfield worked the ball well and eventually Cameron was able to hit a well struck ball into the back of the net off a pass from Mitch. Up 2-1, OCS was stunned, but certainly not ready to give up. Both teams played with great intensity. Our last ten minutes we struggled to keep the ball in our attacking half, but our defense continued to be strong. Eventually though OCS was able to slip one more into the goal. With the score 2-2, we slowed down the game, played conservative defense, and played for the tie, giving us 9 points in our bracket, which would be enough to advance to the second round of 8.

In game 3 we faced our friends from Jacksonville. First Coast (FCS) is an awesome team of quick, highly skilled kids that had struggled in their first day of play. In the first half, both teams played well, particularly on the defensive end. We struggled to get off shots with only four from Mitch and one each from TJ and Andy. At half time with the score 0-0 it was clear that our kids had to pick it up.

In the second half we finally started to put more pressure on the the FCS defense. TJ eventually slipped one by the goal on one of his patented moves. Up 1-0 our mid field and defensive game really picked up. FCS started to push forward and eventually left our wings open. James made a nice break away to the corner and crossed a perfect ball that Craig finished, putting us up 2-0 with about 8 minutes to go. We continued to play excellent defense, but the play worked its way closer and closer to our goal. Eventually, with less than 2 minutes to go, FCS snuck in a beautiful goal. When the whistle blew, the Rampage walked off the field with 15 tournament points, putting them in the top four at the tournament and tied for first in our bracket.

It was a truly great accomplishment for our humble squad that started off their season with a 9-0 loss to Weston and an early 0-3-1 record. Making it to the final 8 in their first season together is something to be very proud of.

As always, we announce a Sportsman of the Tournament for a player that exemplifies great sportsmanship and other qualities that our team stands for. In the Region Cup Knock Out Round I felt compelled to name two players that raised their game to a new level and also showed a great deal of positive leadership: TJ and Dallas. Congratulations to both of you and to all fourteen players that, as always, played the game with a great deal of class.

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