Quotes to think about...

“I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.”
~ Mia Hamm

[ So true. Desire | Commitment | Team - United you will stand.]

“You can't just beat a team, you have to leave a lasting impression in their minds so they never want to see you again”
~ Mia Hamm

[ You think RVSC wants to play Sodium anytime soon? Lets leave another impression Saturday.]

“I am building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.”
~ Mia Hamm

[ You've trained, sweat and sacrificed all season for this moment. Make it your shining star. ]

“The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking.”
~ Mia Hamm

[ For all the times you wanted to quit, stop or give up, but didn't. ]

“I've worked too hard and too long to let anything stand in the way of my goals. I will not let my teammates down and I will not let myself down.”
~ Mia Hamm

[ The goal is to win State Cup. It is within your grasp but it is up to you, each one of you, to give everything you have and more. Who will be the hero? ]

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”
~ Michael Jordan

[ Sodium is stacked with talent, challenge yourself to prove you have the intellect and teamwork to be a champion. ]

“Practice as if you are the worst, perform as if you are the best.”
~ Author Unknown

[ We know you are the best at what you do. Saturday you will prove it to the State of Oregon. ]

And my all time favorite;

“Sodium never lost a soccer game, they just ran out of time.”
~ A Wise Parent


From the sidelines at field 5 your faithful fans will yell; GO SODIUM!!

Remember....

Remember the last game of the 2009 Lake Oswego Cup?

SUNDAY, JULY 26, 2009

Believe...

There are certain moments or events in every persons life that define who they are, and who they will become. Sunday was one of those moments for Sodium.
The 11 remaining Sodium players, battle-scarred and exhausted, took the field that morning to take on ESUFC Arsenal. Arsenal brought their 1-1-1 record to the field looking for a victory and a possible chance at the Flight A top spot. Sodium, with nothing to lose, was playing for pride and looking to be the spoiler.
The warm-up was lead by assistant coach Niki Brooks. We spoke personnel and positions. "How will we get the most out of every position?" We settled on what got Sodium to where they are today, the basics. We planned out the personnel on a 3-4-3 set. Niki told the girls she wanted them to come out fast and score within the first 5 minutes. If we get up by 3 then you can basically play where you want, was the promise. She fired them up but most importantly, she told them, was to have fun.
As the thermometer was climbing up, so was the determination on the faces of the Sodium players. They knew this was going to be a battle, they knew they didn't have any subs on the bench, they knew they were running on pure guts and determination and emotion. They knew what had to be done.
From the opening whistle the Arsenal squad had one directive, to wear down the lady warriors by whatever means possible. They tried boot-ball and that didn't work. They tried running the girls with breaks and long passes. Sodium shut them down. Finally, they resorted to playing a little dirtier than I have seen them play. Every time our forwards would get the ball, they went down, hard. Every ball in the air the Sodium mids had someone climbing their backs. Even our defenders were taking cheap shots. And even when they were down, most with tears in their eyes, they never stayed down. They are warriors. They got up, dusted themselves off and as if to say; "Is that all you got?" would nod to us on the sidelines, 'I'm OK.' and you can bet they were.
The first half ended a 0-0 deadlock. On the sidelines the girls laid down and re-hydrated with water and wet towels. Jesse James gave Sodium a much needed lesson on communication and pep talks were given to boost emotions. We noted that the Arsenal keeper likes to challenge and kept coming way out of the box to slide tackle. Keep that in the back of your minds forwards, it could come in handy.
As the whistle blew the Sodium team knew they had seen the best ESUFC had to dish out, and now the only thing left for them to do, was score.
The play again was hard fought. Both teams had had time to rest, but who would outlast who was the question. The Arsenal squad would sub at every opportunity to keep fresh legs in game. But, as with all great players, they listened at half. They applied what they had heard and slowed the play down with control, communication and solid passes. Play was winding down to the 15 minute mark and from the bench we could see that the lady warriors were now running on pure adrenalin and emotion. Something had to give. That was when KJ broke free down the left side. she was taking punishment from two defenders who she quickly beat and sure enough, the ESUFC keeper came charging out. As any great student of the game KJ applied what she had learned and chipped the ball. It deflected off the keepers shoulder and toward the goal. Mac Kearney had been in the keepers face all day and now she found herself again, deep in the box. But this time there was no keeper and she finished the ball into the net! The players were so exhausted there was barely any celebration. Methodically the made there way to the line. Niki had said in the pre-game that if we get up and are tired that players could swap a couple positions and center forward could drag back to help out the mids. And that is exactly what Sodium did and it paid off nicely as they shut the Arsenal down for the remaining 12 minutes. As the whistle blew and the tears welled up, you could see in the faces of the lady warriors that they had nothing left, the tanks were empty, they had left everything they had on the field.
What an absolute testament to the heart each and every one of these players possess and to the teams conditioning & training regiment. I challenge any other team to accomplish the things these athletes accomplished on the field today.

Congratulations Sodium on digging deeper than you thought you could, and finding what you didn't know you had.

You are true competitors, true champions.

Horsely I will continue to yell; GO SODIUM!


Lets do it again Saturday. Dig deep Sodium, and leave it all on the field.

Key points of consideration

I have put together a few key points we should keep in mind as we prepare for the coming weekend. Theses are just a few off the top and I'm sure there are more. These are just observations and conjecture and have no scientific basis. (As are most of my posts! LOL!)

We have been here before
2007 & 2008. Sodium knows how to prepare both mentally and physically for the upcoming battle. I think Arsenal might be a little shell shocked at the gravity of the situation when they get to the field. Sodium knows how to take the excitement, the adrenalin, the butterflies and turn it into a positive. To use it to their advantage. Arsenal hasn't been to the 'Big Dance' before, Sodium knows how to win it.

Grass (Field #5)
History. In 2007 on grass field #3 and in 2008 on the same field #5 Sodium captured the Championship. Tom and the ground crew know exactly how Sodium likes it and will get on their knees with tweezers to make it just right. Turf or grass, it won't matter. The lady warriors will be flying high on Saturday.

The E Factor
Sodium last played Arsenal in October '09. Since that game Sodium has had the overwhelming excitement of adding Easton Kawawaki to their powerhouse lineup. Arsenal has yet to have the pleasure to meet Mrs. Kawawaki. We'll be happy to introduce her Saturday.

Defense
Sodium defense is peaking right now. Saturdays game against FC Portland really put the exclamation point on that fact. Payten, Erika, Taylor, Lexi & Taylor (and Andrea) have reached nirvana in the backfield. They have each others back, they rotate, they seek out and destroy opponents offense. They are comfortable in the fact that they can match with any, ANY, offensive threat. One thing stands out; they take no team for granted and respect everyone. They come out and attack offenses with the same vengeance if they are from FC, EMFC or ESUFC. They are big, physical and in your face. God I love to watch those guys!

Offense & Midfield
The offense is starting to click. Yes, Sodium only scored 1 against Sherwood. But, they came back the next week and posted 2 against FC Portland! Sodium offense produced more goals than other team this year. If Sodium can keep that pace, they will be victorious. Sodium's midfield is coming of age. There has been a couple standout performances but mainly they have elevated play throughout. It will be critical for Sodiums mid fielders to control the game in order to win.

How the teams got here
Arsenal
5th in league. Defeated WSM Venom 2-0, PCU Impact 2-1, Magic 1-0, FC Ruby 2-0 and Rush 1-0.

Sodium
2nd in league. Defeated FC Ruby 1-0, RVSC 9-0, USA Hotshots 2-0, Sherwood 1-0 and FC Portland 2-0.

Peak too fast?
As a coach I will say I have seen teams play a powerhouse in the play-offs that took everything they had to beat. Rightly, they celebrated the victory. But the next round they had nothing left. Could this be the case for Arsenal? Could they have viewed (and rightly so) the game against Rush the biggest yet and thus, having left it all on the field, have nothing left? How long can a team go on adrenalin? Could the same be said for Rush having to play LOSC? Did they have nothing left for Arsenal? We'll see on Saturday.

Strength of position
Offense
Arsenal - Has a couple really good offensive threats. Scored 3 of the 4 goals allowed by Sodium this year. Scored 22 total goals. Fast & Physical
Sodium - (See above) Scored 31 total goals this year.
>>Key to victory
Sodium will need to maintain control of the ball up front. Score early & often. Play physical. Take advantage of our speed/quickness. Crash the box at every opportunity, there is safety in numbers! Crisp passing is critical.

Defense
Arsenal - Solid. Gave up 14 goals this season. Saw Rush make several deep runs.
Sodium - Like a rock. Allowed only 4 goals this season.
>>Key to victory
Sodium defense needs to keep playing at the level they have all year. They need to neutralize Zoe (#13). She is very good and needs a body on her at all times. Stop the easy break. Minimize or eliminate mistakes.

Midfield
Arsenal - Stable. Saw Rush control midfield at one point and it took away the Arsenal attack.
Sodium - Playing solid. Several players rising up right now and playing very physical.
>>Key to victory
Win the 50/50. Don't allow Arsenal mids easy feeds to Zoe and forwards. Make them work for every possession. Cut off outside penetration from Arsenal mids.

Fans
Ha Ha Ha!! I had to throw this in! We need to invite EVERYONE we know to this awesome event! Bring your air-horns and let them blow! We need to stand behind out team as they battle for the right to be called the best in Oregon! We need to scare the Arsenal fans back to the East side!

Overall
If Sodium can maintain their momentum, control the tempo and the ball, have great communication and play good solid team offense which starts with teams defense, there is no team in the state that can beat them.
Come out with an attitude Sodium, a chip on your shoulder. You have so much to prove Saturday. Be physical. Show Arsenal what's like to play a State Champion caliber of team. And when you get a lead, no letting up. Relentless pounding. Remember the RVSC game? We will see Arsenal again, that is a fact. Lets go out and take care of business, 'Sodium Style'.

Never give up. Never back down. Never lose faith.

You've done it before, now lets do it again....

GO SODIUM!!

Sodium in the 2010 State Cup Championship!

The lady warriors posted a 2-0 shut out over cross town rival FC Platinum to advance to the 2010 Oregon State Cup Championship!

Play was pretty isolated to the FC half of the field in the first half. Sodium came out with a purpose, determination and a spark in their eyes. Just before the halftime whistle Laura Camp lined up a corner kick. With a slight left to right breeze she stutter-stepped and let loose a rocket towards the goal. The ODP FC keeper leaped but the shot was just out of reach as it glanced off the far post and in!!! Sodium up 1-0 at half!
As the second half whistle blew the ball was dropped back to Aliyah Chance who's crisp pass was taken by Eli Beard. Eli found Easton Kawawaki who split 3 defenders and streaked to goal. She ripped a shot past the FC keeper for the fastest goal on record with Sodium at 27 seconds and a 2-0 lead!! The crowed went nutz as the team mobbed Easton.
Play remained in the FC portion of the pitch until the final whistle. Sodium advances, FC goes home.

Other State Cup Action
Rush came to town looking to knock off the local ESUFC Arsenal. What they got was an epic battle and a 1-0 loss. Play was back & forth all game. Arsenal scored with just minutes left to take the game.

Championship
THUSC Sodium vs ESUFC Arsenal - 5/8/10 @ 1:30pm THPRD Field #5

From the sidelines
I will restate what I said before, we have seen this FC team before and we did exactly what was needed to win. Defense Defense Defense, what more can I say. Sodium defense has dealt 5 shout-outs in a row in State Cup. They are looking for #6. The midfield play is starting come alive lead by the play of Laura Camp and Eli Beard. The forwards are electric and fun to watch as they have been really starting to explode apart defenses. There is that familiar feeling starting to surface, we felt in 2007 & again in 2008. The feeling that Sodium just could be the best team in Oregon.
Arsenal has proven themselves a very admirable opponent. They are peaking and playing well. Sodium will have to stick to their game plan of control and attack. If they do, they will be crowned the Champions.

Have an awesome week of practice and remember your loyal fans will be there screaming you on to victory.

From the sidelines of REC #5 we will be heard to high heavens; GO SODIUM!!

Sodium Advances with a 2-0 Shut Out!

Sodium posted yet another State Cup shut out to silence all critics and advance to the finals! Details to follow.

2nd Half

Sodium starts the second half with a Eli Beard assist to Easton Kawawaki for a 2-0 lead!

Semi Final update

Laura Camp gives Sodium 1-0 halftime lead with a corner kick off the far post! 

Go Sodium!

Mobile Updates

I will be posting the action as it happens in today's Semi Final match. Oh the miracles of modern technology!