Soccer Report

 Mullen vs. Overland JV/Varsity @4:30 (MSC - 3601 S Lowell Blvd.) **Both teams will play at the same time on the East/West fields (JV seating is along the North sideline of the North Field) Team Meetings: Varsity @3 in 303 JV @ 3 in Dr. E's room (G39) Boots on by 3:45 - Warm up @3:50 Today's theme: "Set pieces - the game within the game" Overland Strengths: This is an Overland side that has worked incredibly hard over the last year on their defensive shape. They are giving up fewer goals this season. However, they have lost some of their attacking power as well, so they are fighting harder for ties and low scoring victories. 1. They will be organized. They have held a couple of quality opponents to one or zero goals, and in part it is because they are committed to getting underneath the ball, blocking shots, and looking for big clearances. They seem harder to break down than in years past, and when you watch them, you can tell that their shape and movement is better. ...

 Mullen vs. Eaglecrest JV@4:30pm at Thunder Rdge Middle School (   5250 S Picadilly St, Aurora, CO 80015 ( V@8:00pm Legacy Stadium 26101 E Arapahoe Rd, Aurora, Co 80016 JV early release @2:30 - Bus and carpool leaves at 2:45 Varsity Team meeting in 303 @ 3 (7pm arrival - 7:15 boots on) Eaglecrest Strengths: This is a very technical Eagle team that is trying to play good futbol out of the back. They do a lot of things right. The OBs get involved in the attack sometimes, the 6 holds his position well sometimes, and they try to move the defense around and then play direct up the wings when they bait the press. Overall, it is impressive to watch them play. I think that their strengths can be summarized into a handful of themes: 1. They do well to control the tempo of the game. They will play their goalie all the time. He has decent footwork, and they (similar to Denver North) like to play the box in the back. The goalie will play a wide CB, he will try to bait the winger, and then...

 Mullen vs. Parker Lutheran JV@10, Varsity @12 (Varsity team meeting in 303 at 10:30 - don't be late) Location: MSC (3601 S Lowell Blvd. Denver, CO 80236) Lutheran Strengths: Lutheran is a big, physical team, who has some key players and can move the ball around well. Their cast includes some very talented attackers: The first to watch out for is the big left footed player (who wears the pink phantoms) and plays in the middle of the park. Primarily the 10. His left foot is wicked, but it is all he uses. He transitions the ball well on attack, finds the open pass, and has great execution. He also has a rocket. Additionally, he will make the occasional run to the wing and play a nice ball across the middle with his left. In order to keep him contained, we need to focus on two things. The first is that one of our 6s needs to be aware of his movement throughout the game, but especially in transition. We can't get pulled out of the middle, or spread, or he'll expose us for sure....

 Mullen vs Coronado Varsity @4 (JV immediately to follow) Mullen Soccer Complex: 3601 S Lowell Blvd. Denver, CO 80236 Coronado Strengths: Coronado has a very good coach and a couple players who can really impact the game. Marcus has been coaching for quite a while and has won the league the last couple of years, securing the 32nd seed in the playoffs. He gets some talent through his program, but he runs a good system and his teams are well organized. They beat Durango (the number one seed) in the playoffs last year with a block and counter system. They are pretty relentless in their willingness to suffer.  He will know a lot about you. He will be prepared for dangerous set pieces, and he will wait for his moment to strike. Coronado will not try to take a lot from the game. They will try to keep it tight, block low, and look to score on the counter or a nice set piece into the box. We can't make any mistakes. Coronado makes sure that their non-league schedule is full of competi...

 Mullen vs. Grandview Varsity @4pm (JV to follow) Mullen Soccer Complex (3601 S Lowell Blvd) Grandview strengths:  Grandview suffered through some tough games last season relying on a somewhat younger cast of players. They are older now, more seasoned, and more disciplined. They took a beatdown from Fairview to start the season and it appears to have been a byproduct of an attempt to move the ball around a little more and play on the front foot. They got caught on the counter a handful of times, and now it would seem that they have abandoned that attempt. They are back to their defending ways, and Coach Wood is a coach who has no problem winning every game 1-0 if it means protecting the goal.  You can expect to see Grandview back in a block looking for opportunities to counter. They will all get back behind the ball, and we need to push up and take advantage of this fact. The deeper we push their wingers, the more ground they have to cover to get forward. Additionally, th...