Coral Gables Storm vs. Lake Worth Sharks

     Yesterday our team went out more prepared and focused then any of the previous games. We drew the game at 1-1, but it was a hard fought game, that some believe we should have won. With many great performances it was difficult to say who played the best, but three players come to mind. They are Juan Perez, Tony Espindola, and Manuel Sonato. Juan had many great defensive plays throughout the entire game, Tony was the leader of the movement, distributing the ball, and Manuel had many top class saves that kept us in the game.

     Now lets get into the action of the first half! Our team started off the game great. We were focused, motivated, and determined. Most of the possession belonged to us for much of the first half. We had great stretches of pressure on the opposing team. Most of the attack pressure came from us with, Steve, Justin, and Facundo having most of the shots on goal. Coral Gables had one threatening shot from outside the box that hit the post, but nothing more than that. It was great to see the team pass the ball around and understand each others run, this means that our chemistry is improving, which later can be a benefit.

     Then the second half starts, this half was full of energy from both teams because we both knew that we had to go out and win the game. Our team once again started this half out strong, but we didn't completely dominate. We had our chances and Coral Gables had theirs. The first goal came 10 minutes before the end of the game with Justin Garcia scoring on a corner assisted by Facundo Bentancourt. Then, the mistake happens, we give them and penalty and they score. The game wasn't over, we had one last chance, but Steve wasn't able to finish it off. The game was a 1-1 tie.

     All of the players played well and gave it everything! I guess that receiving the new jerseys gave us a little boost! Well, we went in there looking for a win, but got a tie. This will motivate us even more to get the first win of this preseason! We have two home games this week against Key Biscayne and West Pines, hope you guys come out and support. Until the next game, Vamos Barca!!

Scrimmage vs. Westgate

     Today, we had our small scrimmage vs. Westgate. They're a small team formed by kids around the neighborhood, but don't underestimate them. They had a very good team with certain players having very good skills. This was just a game to practice our chemistry and see where we need to fix our problems. Overall we had a very good game.

     Our team started strong but failed to score. Westgate took advantage of that and scored off a mistake, which tends to be our weakness, we make one mistake and it usually costs us a goal. After their first goal we never really bounced back and they scored once again. The half time score was 2-0 in favor of Westgate.

     After the half time talk, our team bounced back with Justin scoring making it 2-1, and then a penalty was scored by Facundo tying the game at 2 a piece. Then Westgate bounced back and scored 2 goals, making it 4-2 is favor of Westgate. Towards the end of the game Facundo scores again giving our team hope, but Westgate took advantage of our team pushing up too far and scored on a counter. The final score was 5-3, Westgate won.

     Even though our team lost, we gained many positives. We also learned what our mistakes are, and hopefully before our game vs. Predators this Saturday we will be able to fix them. Our team played very well, but simple mistakes cost us the game. We will improve our chemistry and play so we can win our games.
   

First Game of the Pre-Season

         The first game of our preseason was not the prettiest, but you cant expect for a new team still working to become a family on the pitch to beat one of the best teams in the state. Our starting XI: Manuel Sonato, Eric Ramirez, Ruben Garcia, Juan Perez, Armando Bejarano, Facundo Bentancourt, Francisco Navarro, Tony Espindola, Daniel Flores, Justin Garcia, and Steve Hyppolite played well for most of the game. Homestead Hawks got off to a good start and pressured our team for the 10 beginning minutes. Most of the momentum belonged to the Hawks who led 1-0 at half time. Our team had 10 minutes to take a break from the 90 degree weather and talk about the issues.

        Our team took the pitch for the second half and changed the momentum to our side. After 7 minutes of play Steve Hyppolite scores his first goal in his first game for the team, and ties the game at 1-1. Then 2 minutes later our team lines up for a corner kick, Facundo gives the signal that he is about to cross the ball, and when he makes the contact, the ball had so much curve that he scored off the corner kick. An Olympico! How rare? Now the score is 2-1 in favor of LWS FCB.

        Don't let the excitement fool you because right before the end of the 3rd quarter the Hawks tie the game at 2. Then at the start of the 4th quarter the Hawks took the momentum back, we held them off for 10 minutes playing solid defense. But then a small mistake on a cross and the ball slips through the defense and our goalkeeper and then all of a sudden the Hawks take the lead. Then after that goal our team suffered a mental lapse. The Hawks scored 3 more goals and won the game 6-2. It was a hard loss, coming back and letting the lead go. But don't let the score take away how well our goalkeeper, Manuel Sonato, played. The team after the game promised to work even harder to make ourselves better. We'll see if the training helps us out 2 weeks from now as we play Plantation Predators at Buttonwood Park. Come out and support us on 9/7/13 as we play Plantation!