Mullen vs. Arapahoe (Senior Night!)
Location: MSC
Time: Both teams@4:30 - Senior Night starts at 4:15
Match Preface: Tonight we get to celebrate our wonderful seniors and captains! The pregame festivities will start at 4:15 so I would like our warm-up to start no later than 3:40.
We will have a brief team meeting at 3:05 in room C5 and then proceed outside. If you are getting treatment, please do so right after school at 2:45 to make sure you are to warm-up on time.
AHS Strengths:
AHS' primary strength is that they have very talented individual players. The girls are well rounded and technical, they can shoot from range and they see the field well. A well organized system and team defending will be essential to our success tonight.
Players to watch:
1. The girl who plays the 7: She is the one headed to Colorado College. She is a strong technical player with a little pace. She defends incredibly well, and her passing is exceptional. She also moves well into space on set pieces. She can be deceptive in her movement (especially with the ball) so we need to press her, be we can't dive in.
*When in position, her defending is strong, but she isn't always inclined to work hard or track back. Attacking outside backs should cause her a lot of trouble.
2. Number 13 can shoot and attack. She plays as a center forward in their 4-3-3 usually, and she will shoot from the top of the box or penetrate with a run. Her greatest asset is that she doesn't give up on the ball. She is a true grinding 9, and we will have to cover her between the 5 and 6, not let her turn, and communicate around her movement. We are not man marking her, but we need to be aware of where she is.
3. Their central mid-field is strong, and they love to shoot. Number 19 is questionable for tonight's game, but she has a surrounding cast that act in a similar fashion. They want to carry the ball through the midfield, and they want to shoot on goal. We need to get underneath the ball defensively, and close down shots. Goalies need to be focused at all times!
4. Both their center backs are talented. Patient passing combinations and runs inside and behind will be much more effective then just trying to beat them 1 v 1 or in a foot race.
Set pieces:
Their left footed center back plays a very nice set piece from range!
AHS: Weaknesses
This is a team with very few weaknesses. Overarchingly however, their primary weakness comes in the form of their reliance on individual talent (as noted above). This is an AHS team that doesn't work particularly well as a team. The movement is straight forward, and rarely are they working for one another or moving off one another. If we can shut down individuals, we can cause AHS a lot of problems.
Organization is going to be key to our success. If we can avoid mistakes, take away shots, and close gaps, AHS is going to have a very difficult time breaking us down. We want to press them into isolation and then capitalize on their disorganization in the back as well as their lack cohesive play.
Mullen Keys to success:
1. Protect the ball and play to feet. We need to play on the front foot and be smart with the ball and our attack.
2. Outside backs need to get involved in the attack and our 6 needs to stay in cover (like a 3rd CB).
***It is really important in tonight's game that we keep the field tight. Like we talk about every game, we can't afford a big gap between our defense and midfield. AHS's wingers and tricky number nine will exploit that gap! As we attack, we need to move up with the attack to quickly prevent any counter that might develop.
3. We can't get flat in the back. We need depth in our backfield. Constant pressure/cover/balance. Especially to step in a block shots.
4. No mistakes, no shots on goal = shutout.
5. Our nine needs to be creative with their movement. The more she moves along the back line, the more she will pull defenders out of shape. This will open gaps for through balls and inside runs.
Let's keep it going!
Good luck :)
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