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The lone soccer game on the schedule Monday night was between the talented solid
Alexander Lady Bulldogs and the upstart energetic Nixon Lady Mustangs at the SAC.
Both these teams have taken the district teams by storm with their strong and physical
defenses stopping opponents forwards. The real surprise is the lightning quick
forward tandems that both teams possess that have caused severe problems for any
defense trying to contain them. The game would also be hard fought in the midfield as
both teams possess excellent field generals to run their teams offense. So the stage
was set for a great match up between two of the district's surprise up and coming
teams.
The game got underway with both teams playing two distinct styles of play. The
Lady Bulldogs started playing a 4-4-2 which shows their game plan to control the
midfield while matching up their faster wingers to support the defense to control the
Nixon speedy forwards. The Lady Mustangs were in a 3-5-2 formation that clutters the
midfield but also has more players defending than attacking. This formation shows the
respect the Lady Mustangs have for the super quick forward play of Lady Bulldogs'
Palmira Martinez. The game had both coaching staffs trying to negate their
opponents strongest advantage to start the game.
The Lady Bulldogs were moving the ball well as their midfield was passing well and
opening up the spaces for their offense to get going. The Lady Bulldogs midfield of
center midfielder Cecilia Avila masterminding the offense was key to possession and
tempo. The play of the Alexander wingers Lauren Long and Samantha Gonzalez also
made run towards the goal area to offset the Nixon defense. The Nixon midfield under
the leadership of Lupita Perez was hard fought to contain all the speed the Alexander
team had. Nixon's Kassandra Cornejo along with Azeneth Ibarra were hard press to
maintain possession in midfield. The Nixon defense also had their center defender
Regan Leza running all over her goal area to close off the passing lanes. The Nixon
team looked like it was having an off-night as compared to other outings in district
play.
The Alexander Lady Bulldogs were hustling to every ball and all that hard work got
them a golden opportunity. Lady Bulldogs' Lauren Long recovered a ball near her
sideline when she sent a nice strong pass towards the middle of the field. That's
where Alexander's top scorer Palmira Martinez outran her defensive markers and just
touched the ball once to set up her kick to score the first goal of the game 1-0 in the
5th minute. Martinez's masterful diagonal run accompanied by her blazing speed got
behind the Nixon defense to get the Lady Bulldogs' confidence going. This got the
Alexander team to move up their positions to get closer to midfield to keep the attack
and pressure going.
This pressure paid dividends in the 20th minute as Alexander's Cecilia Avila sent a
pass towards the sideline to Samantha Gonzalez making a good run down the
sideline. That's where Samantha Gonzalez needled a great pass between the Nixon
defenders to Palmira Martinez who rocketed a shot past Nixon goalkeeper Glenda
Stendebach's outstretched hands for 2-0 lead. The Lady Bulldogs' offense was
controlling the ball, the energy and more importantly the scoreboard. The half ended
with the Lady Bulldogs outplaying their counterparts the Nixon Lady Mustangs.
The start of the second half had the Nixon Lady Mustangs making some
adjustments and also changing goalkeepers. The new goalkeeper would be Diana
Shakira Morales who has a quicker step to get off her line and quicker reactions in
her goal area. Nixon also added Glenda Stendebach at midfield to try and secure
possession and also slow down the great midfield play for the Lady Bulldogs. All these
changes got the Lady Mustangs to get two quick shots on goal that Alexander
goalkeeper Debany Davila stopped. The Alexander defense of Georgette Galvan,
Alexa Salazar and Maria Gonzalez contained the fast Nixon forwards of Yahaira Lara,
Amanda Aguilar and Ada Aguilar. The Lady Bulldogs defense was taking the speedy
Nixon offense out of their game with quickness and experience as they were
frustrating their opponents.
The Lady Bulldogs were on the attack once again but the feistiness of the Nixon
defense prevented a goal but allowed a corner kick. On the ensuing corner kick, Lady
Bulldogs' Alexa Salazar crossed in a picture perfect pass to Cecilia Avila who shot the
ball past Nixon's Diana Morales for the 3-0 lead early in the second half. The Lady
Bulldogs were outworking and outplaying the Lady Mustangs on set plays as well as
the run of play. The Lady Mustangs finally reacted as Lupita Perez made a couple of
nifty moves to get her teammate Kassandra Cornejo the ball on the wing. Cornejo
made a cut towards the middle that got the attention of the Alexander defense and
Cornejo passed the ball to Ada Aguilar who kicked to the second post for a response
from the Nixon team for a 3-1 game.
The Lady Bulldogs regrouped and settled down defensively to effectively control
the game after that. Bulldogs' Georgette Galvan was constantly getting to any passes
into her area and going on the attack. This added another facet to the Lady Bulldogs
attack that got the Lady Mustangs to reel back more support. The pressure kept
mounting on the Nixon defense and they allowed Palmira Martinez to once again
receive the ball to get her third goal of the game, a hat-trick, and a definitive 4-1
game win for the Lady Bulldogs. The Lady Bulldogs cheered when the final whistle
blew as they now are in the upper echelon of the district's team. ALEXANDER WINS
4-1 OVER NIXON.
After the game, the soccer guru spoke to Nixon Head Coach Gris Quijano about
the game on hand. She said " we did not play very well tonight. We were a step slower
and reacted slowly to everything we saw tonight. Our team speed did not show up
tonight as we got outplayed. We were on our heels and not on our toes". The soccer
guru asked Coach Quijano about whether or not they could have beaten this team if
they had played at their usual faster tempo, she said " yes most definitely. We did not
run very well or very fast tonight. We have been playing well just like we did in Border
Olympics and our scrimmages but we had an off-night tonight".
The soccer guru spoke to Alexander Head Coach Charlie Gonzalez about his
team's performance tonight. He said " Excellent. They came out here to play
especially Palmira Martinez who had a hat-trick for us tonight. Our team knows that we
have a very good player in Palmira so they try and give her the ball as much as
possible. Great game by our team". The guru asked Coach Gonzalez about his
team's defensive performance to which he said "we really didn't know how fast the
Nixon forwards were til tonight. We made some adjustments defensively before the
game and got a great performance by our defensive captain Georgette Galvan and
the rest of the defense. Nixon has a good team and a very fast team overall. We just
had our girls play a tough game and got a great win".
Overall the game tonight was eye-opening. The Lady Bulldogs graduated a lot of
their starters last year but you could not tell by the way they are playing so far this
season. Credit that to the excellent coaching staff and the great energy that Coach
Charlie Gonzalez brings to the team. He has this team believing and playing well
throughout every position on the field. The difference in tonight's game was the
mental toughness that Alexander knew it was going to be a tough game and were
ready for it. The Nixon Lady Mustangs did not play up to their potential but also failed
to match the energy level of the Lady Bulldogs. Nixon Coach Quijano will rectify this
as she has made great progress from last year's district bottom team to this year's
surprise team. Expect great things from both these teams as the season goes on. On
a quick side note, the soccer guru applauds the attendance of the Asst. Athletic
Directors Lisa Haberkorn and Juan Botello along with Alexander Head Football Coach
Joel Lopez in the game. These fine individuals have been to many soccer games
supporting both boys and girls Alexander soccer and it shows the importance for all
faculty and administrators to support our teams no matter the sport.
SOCCER GURU'S TIP OF THE DAY:
The soccer guru's tip of the day is opening up the passing lanes. This
overlooked offensive feature has been the downfall of many teams. You
need to have your wingers or side mid fielders get the ball and go wide. This
forces the defensive pressure to leave open spaces for talented and fast
players to expose those open spaces. Once those spaces open your mid
fielders can either take that space or send passes to confuse or create
problems for your opponents. So try and use every inch of the field to get
that defensive pressure to lessen. That's when you can take advantage.
Alexander Lady Bulldogs and the upstart energetic Nixon Lady Mustangs at the SAC.
Both these teams have taken the district teams by storm with their strong and physical
defenses stopping opponents forwards. The real surprise is the lightning quick
forward tandems that both teams possess that have caused severe problems for any
defense trying to contain them. The game would also be hard fought in the midfield as
both teams possess excellent field generals to run their teams offense. So the stage
was set for a great match up between two of the district's surprise up and coming
teams.
The game got underway with both teams playing two distinct styles of play. The
Lady Bulldogs started playing a 4-4-2 which shows their game plan to control the
midfield while matching up their faster wingers to support the defense to control the
Nixon speedy forwards. The Lady Mustangs were in a 3-5-2 formation that clutters the
midfield but also has more players defending than attacking. This formation shows the
respect the Lady Mustangs have for the super quick forward play of Lady Bulldogs'
Palmira Martinez. The game had both coaching staffs trying to negate their
opponents strongest advantage to start the game.
The Lady Bulldogs were moving the ball well as their midfield was passing well and
opening up the spaces for their offense to get going. The Lady Bulldogs midfield of
center midfielder Cecilia Avila masterminding the offense was key to possession and
tempo. The play of the Alexander wingers Lauren Long and Samantha Gonzalez also
made run towards the goal area to offset the Nixon defense. The Nixon midfield under
the leadership of Lupita Perez was hard fought to contain all the speed the Alexander
team had. Nixon's Kassandra Cornejo along with Azeneth Ibarra were hard press to
maintain possession in midfield. The Nixon defense also had their center defender
Regan Leza running all over her goal area to close off the passing lanes. The Nixon
team looked like it was having an off-night as compared to other outings in district
play.
The Alexander Lady Bulldogs were hustling to every ball and all that hard work got
them a golden opportunity. Lady Bulldogs' Lauren Long recovered a ball near her
sideline when she sent a nice strong pass towards the middle of the field. That's
where Alexander's top scorer Palmira Martinez outran her defensive markers and just
touched the ball once to set up her kick to score the first goal of the game 1-0 in the
5th minute. Martinez's masterful diagonal run accompanied by her blazing speed got
behind the Nixon defense to get the Lady Bulldogs' confidence going. This got the
Alexander team to move up their positions to get closer to midfield to keep the attack
and pressure going.
This pressure paid dividends in the 20th minute as Alexander's Cecilia Avila sent a
pass towards the sideline to Samantha Gonzalez making a good run down the
sideline. That's where Samantha Gonzalez needled a great pass between the Nixon
defenders to Palmira Martinez who rocketed a shot past Nixon goalkeeper Glenda
Stendebach's outstretched hands for 2-0 lead. The Lady Bulldogs' offense was
controlling the ball, the energy and more importantly the scoreboard. The half ended
with the Lady Bulldogs outplaying their counterparts the Nixon Lady Mustangs.
The start of the second half had the Nixon Lady Mustangs making some
adjustments and also changing goalkeepers. The new goalkeeper would be Diana
Shakira Morales who has a quicker step to get off her line and quicker reactions in
her goal area. Nixon also added Glenda Stendebach at midfield to try and secure
possession and also slow down the great midfield play for the Lady Bulldogs. All these
changes got the Lady Mustangs to get two quick shots on goal that Alexander
goalkeeper Debany Davila stopped. The Alexander defense of Georgette Galvan,
Alexa Salazar and Maria Gonzalez contained the fast Nixon forwards of Yahaira Lara,
Amanda Aguilar and Ada Aguilar. The Lady Bulldogs defense was taking the speedy
Nixon offense out of their game with quickness and experience as they were
frustrating their opponents.
The Lady Bulldogs were on the attack once again but the feistiness of the Nixon
defense prevented a goal but allowed a corner kick. On the ensuing corner kick, Lady
Bulldogs' Alexa Salazar crossed in a picture perfect pass to Cecilia Avila who shot the
ball past Nixon's Diana Morales for the 3-0 lead early in the second half. The Lady
Bulldogs were outworking and outplaying the Lady Mustangs on set plays as well as
the run of play. The Lady Mustangs finally reacted as Lupita Perez made a couple of
nifty moves to get her teammate Kassandra Cornejo the ball on the wing. Cornejo
made a cut towards the middle that got the attention of the Alexander defense and
Cornejo passed the ball to Ada Aguilar who kicked to the second post for a response
from the Nixon team for a 3-1 game.
The Lady Bulldogs regrouped and settled down defensively to effectively control
the game after that. Bulldogs' Georgette Galvan was constantly getting to any passes
into her area and going on the attack. This added another facet to the Lady Bulldogs
attack that got the Lady Mustangs to reel back more support. The pressure kept
mounting on the Nixon defense and they allowed Palmira Martinez to once again
receive the ball to get her third goal of the game, a hat-trick, and a definitive 4-1
game win for the Lady Bulldogs. The Lady Bulldogs cheered when the final whistle
blew as they now are in the upper echelon of the district's team. ALEXANDER WINS
4-1 OVER NIXON.
After the game, the soccer guru spoke to Nixon Head Coach Gris Quijano about
the game on hand. She said " we did not play very well tonight. We were a step slower
and reacted slowly to everything we saw tonight. Our team speed did not show up
tonight as we got outplayed. We were on our heels and not on our toes". The soccer
guru asked Coach Quijano about whether or not they could have beaten this team if
they had played at their usual faster tempo, she said " yes most definitely. We did not
run very well or very fast tonight. We have been playing well just like we did in Border
Olympics and our scrimmages but we had an off-night tonight".
The soccer guru spoke to Alexander Head Coach Charlie Gonzalez about his
team's performance tonight. He said " Excellent. They came out here to play
especially Palmira Martinez who had a hat-trick for us tonight. Our team knows that we
have a very good player in Palmira so they try and give her the ball as much as
possible. Great game by our team". The guru asked Coach Gonzalez about his
team's defensive performance to which he said "we really didn't know how fast the
Nixon forwards were til tonight. We made some adjustments defensively before the
game and got a great performance by our defensive captain Georgette Galvan and
the rest of the defense. Nixon has a good team and a very fast team overall. We just
had our girls play a tough game and got a great win".
Overall the game tonight was eye-opening. The Lady Bulldogs graduated a lot of
their starters last year but you could not tell by the way they are playing so far this
season. Credit that to the excellent coaching staff and the great energy that Coach
Charlie Gonzalez brings to the team. He has this team believing and playing well
throughout every position on the field. The difference in tonight's game was the
mental toughness that Alexander knew it was going to be a tough game and were
ready for it. The Nixon Lady Mustangs did not play up to their potential but also failed
to match the energy level of the Lady Bulldogs. Nixon Coach Quijano will rectify this
as she has made great progress from last year's district bottom team to this year's
surprise team. Expect great things from both these teams as the season goes on. On
a quick side note, the soccer guru applauds the attendance of the Asst. Athletic
Directors Lisa Haberkorn and Juan Botello along with Alexander Head Football Coach
Joel Lopez in the game. These fine individuals have been to many soccer games
supporting both boys and girls Alexander soccer and it shows the importance for all
faculty and administrators to support our teams no matter the sport.
SOCCER GURU'S TIP OF THE DAY:
The soccer guru's tip of the day is opening up the passing lanes. This
overlooked offensive feature has been the downfall of many teams. You
need to have your wingers or side mid fielders get the ball and go wide. This
forces the defensive pressure to leave open spaces for talented and fast
players to expose those open spaces. Once those spaces open your mid
fielders can either take that space or send passes to confuse or create
problems for your opponents. So try and use every inch of the field to get
that defensive pressure to lessen. That's when you can take advantage.
