Soccer Report

 Mullen vs. Northfield Location: Mullen High School (3601 S Lowell Blvd) JV@3 Varsity@5 Arrival for varsity at 4 - boots on by 4:15 Northfield Strengths Northfield has a couple of players of interest: 1. Against Green Mountain, their outside left back was very impressive. She was fast and constantly involved in the attack. We need to make sure that our wingers are tracking underneath, especially on the weak side to account for her elevated positioning. 2. The girls who play the nine and ten are particularly good at exploiting the half spaces on top of the defense and underneath the midfield,. Our defensive midfielders need to see them dropping into that space and get tight and goal side of them. We can't be on top of our back line, but we need to be pressed to the dropping 9 and 10 in that space in between. 3. The girl who plays the 6 makes a nice delayed run into the space. She sits kind of deep and allows for the ball to be recycled back to her. However, she is really strong on t...

 Match Report: Mullen vs. Grandview Location: Mullen High School (3601 S Lowell Blvd) Time: JV@4:30 (North) V@4:30 (South) Varsity Team meeting @ 2:45 Boots on @ 3:35 Warm up @ 3:40 Grandview Strengths:  1. Grandview probably has one of the top 5 players in 5A (if not the best) in their attack. She is ruthless. She operates off of two primary strengths - exploiting the space underneath the midfield and on top of the defense and running in behind. Her finishing is top notch. Today you will see her do a couple of things: she will drop in to receive the ball at her feet and turn to attack. We can't let her do this with out a tussle. Constant contact with her is important. She will also try to get in behind on the counter. Our small field alleviates some of this, but if she gets going, she is hard to catch. Our midblock will stifle a lot of her opportunities behind our defense, but we have to be aware of what she wants. We have to try and reduce opportunities for her in front of g...

 Mullen vs. Eagle  JV@ 4:30pm - Thunder Ridge Middle School ( 5250 S Picadilly St, Aurora, CO 80015) Early Release: 2:30pm Arrive: 330pm Varsity@6pm - Legacy Stadium ( 26101 E Arapahoe Rd, Aurora, CO 80016) Meeting: 2:45pm Arrive: 5pm Boots on: 5:15pm Warm up: 5:20pm Scenario Number 1: Eagle has lost their last two games by a large margin. Most likely they are going to try to get deep, block, and stay underneath the ball. They have one player who is dangerous on the counter, and as a team they are decent in transition. If they execute a block, the number one thing is that we can't get frustrated with the game. We have to press players high so that we have numbers up against the block (but also so we can counter press) and we have to seize/make our own opportunities in the box. This is a game that we will have to be patient with. In order to break down the block, we have to implement the following strategies. Cross the ball into the block Penetrate the block with tight forward...

 Mullen vs. ABK Locations: JV@ Arapahoe High School ( 2201 E Dry Creek Rd, Centennial, CO 80122) Arrival - 3:30 Start Time - 4:30 Varsity@ Littleton Public Stadium ( 199 E Littleton Blvd, Littleton, CO 80121) Arrival - 6:30 Start Time - 7:30 Notes: For varsity this is a late game, so you need to be taking care of water and nutrition throughout the day. Eat a good dinner. It will matter.  Both teams are white all the way down. ABK Strengths: 1. Big Air - in the games I have watched, it seems like this is Arapahoe's biggest strength. They just constantly kick the ball away. This is a territorial brand of soccer designed to keep the ball out on a teams defensive third. And if played right, it can allow for counter attacks to materialize. It also puts pressure on the oppositions back line and keeper to be sharp. Lastly, it attempts to create throw ins and corners in the final third without potentially sacrificing a lot of territory in the back. If they continue on the trend they h...

 Match Report: Mullen vs. Trail Location: Mullen High School (3601 S Lowell Blvd) -  Varsity Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/@mullenhighschool7553/streams Time: JV@4:30 (North Field), V@4:30 (South Field) Cherokee Trail Strengths: This Trail team has a number of talented players - 10: She plays the 10 and sometimes the 7 (out on the right). She is fast, and has a wicked cross and shot. If we allow her to gain momentum, she can be super dangerous in transition. When watching Trail so far this season, she has been a little up and down (injuries, cramps, etc.) We need to push her athletically today. She doesn't prefer to come back and defend, so we need to take care of the ball and prevent her from striking us in transition. She will hang out up top and look to break the lines, so with her on the field, our counter press will be elemental. 5: I actually think that this is one of trails most dangerous players. She often plays on the wing in some fashion and she will grind...

 Match Report: Mullen vs. Smoky Hill High School Location: SHHS ( 16100 E Smoky Hill Rd, Aurora, CO 80015) Varsity on the Turf - JV on the South Grass Field Time: Both games at 4:15 Early Release @2:00 Varsity Team Meeting at 2:00 in C5. Smoky Strengths Key Players: Smoky has two key players who represent the spine of the team. Both play in the attack, and both are quite talented. They play as the 9 and the 10 for the most part, but they interchange between the two positions. They are fast and strong on the ball. Number 21 is their senior, and she kind of steals the show. She is good with the ball at her feet, and when she is in and around the box, we have to play conservatively against her because she has the ability to draw fouls in dangerous areas. (Remember, we are still waiting for our first PK... make sure it is in our favor.) Number 2 is a junior, and in my opinion, the most talented of smoky's players (all around). She is fast, she moves the ball well, and she acts as the l...

Match Report:  Mullen vs Cherry Creek Varsity @8 - Arrive by 7 Stutler Bowl: 9300 E Union Ave, Greenwood Village, CO 80111 JV @4:30 - Arrive by 3:30 Village Greens  Fields: 9501 E Union Ave, Greenwood Village, CO 80111 Notes: Varsity, you have a late game, so you need to make sure you are eating throughout the day and staying hydrated. Eat a good (somewhat early dinner) and a mix between water and Gatorade. Watch some soccer today and come prepared to kick butt. Creek Strengths: Speed: First and foremost, Creek relies heavily on their speed in transition. They always have fast athletes who can cover ground quickly. *In order to neutralize this strength, we need to prevent this from being a wide open, up and down, game. We need to execute and organized counter press, and we need to get underneath the ball. Additionally, we need to use our dead time well. When the ball is out for a goal kick, throw in, whatever, we need to make sure to use that time to get underneath and recover...