Soccer Report

 Mullen vs. Battle Mountain Location: Battle Mountain High School ( 0151 Miller Ranch Rd, Edwards, CO 81632) Game Time: 6pm *The transport will leave Mullen at 12:30pm. Boys should eat some lunch and then meet at the Spirit Center for departure. We will arrive in Edwards around Three o'clock, get some food, and then head to the school. Boys will take the field at about 5:15pm. Battle Mountain Strengths:  BM has a couple particular players of interest: Number 9: This is their utility sophomore who plays out on the wings either as a wing back or an outside back. He has had a fantastic season. He is dangerous on the dribble, he can shoot, and he kind of embraces this notion of anti-positional football. He'll go anywhere on the field.  *We need to keep him contained, but most importantly, we need to track his runs. If he is at the outside back and makes a run all the way down field, our winger should not pass him off, he should follow him as long as is necessary. Number 7: Lo...

Mullen vs. Liberty Common Location: Mullen Soccer Complex (3601 S Lowell Blvd. Denver, CO 80014) JV@10 on the South Field V@12 on the North/South Blue Field (Senior Celebration to follow) *Varsity Team Meeting in 303 at 10:30am Liberty Strengths:  Tactical: From what we can see, this is a well structured Liberty Common team who moves on and off the ball really well. The CBs shift nicely into position to cover for one another, and it is very clear that they are well coached and have a tactical identity. This structure in the back has handed them a fair amount of shut out wins this season, and they have proven difficult to break down in direct play. After some struggles early season, Liberty seems to have moved to a 4-4-2 formation. They will move the ball quickly in the mid or bypass it in favor of their two forwards, but the structure in more simple and working for them. They use the middies to win balls and transition quickly. The good news about this is that we should outnumber t...

 Mullen vs. Arapahoe JV @4:15 - Arapahoe High School ( 2201 E Dry Creek Rd, Centennial, CO 80122 ) Arrival time: 3:15pm V @6 - Littleton Public Schools Stadium (LPS -  199 E Littleton Blvd, Littleton, Co 80121) Arrival time: 5:00pm *Please make sure to eat a good snack before tonight's game. We'll need the energy! Match Preface : Know that we have taken a lot from AHS over the last couple of years and they are coming for vengeance. Tonight we have to show a great deal of awareness and discipline to stay in this game. They will be territorial, constantly booting the ball out, and we need to be prepared for that. Expect a grudge match. ABK Strengths:  As always, AHS remains incredibly athletic, fast, and direct. Essentially they will just look to throw the kitchen sink all game long, and they won't let up. This direct play has resulted in a handful of opportunistic moments. They beat Creek on a long shot from outside, they beat GV on an insane shoss into the back corner dur...

 Mullen vs. Loveland Classical Location: Loveland Classical High School ( 3015 W 29th St, Loveland, CO 80538) Varsity @4pm There will be a team meeting in 303 at the beginning of lunch (12:45) - We will then depart at 1:45. JV will meet in Edwards room at 3:30pm Loveland Classical Strengths: We do not have a great deal of footage on Loveland Classical; however, we were able to identify a couple of strengths. 1. They have a decent sized team. Their CBs and their attack appear to be fit and strong. In the game against Nederland, the 9 was able to fight his way in behind a number of times to create opportunities on goal. On top of that, the CBs covered well, and appeared to be good ball winners. 2. They have some speed on the wings - both the weakside and strong, they are pretty well balanced. This is a good goal scoring team that has a nose for goal. Against Berthoud, they have an exceptional transition down one wing, bring the ball across goal, and the weak side winger covers the ga...

 Mullen vs. Cherokee Trail Location: MSC (3601 S Lowell Blvd. Denver, CO 80236) JV@4:30 V@4:30 Varsity team meeting @3pm in 303 - Sandwiches will be in 303 for varsity and G39 for JV CT strengths: 1. Physicality: The number one thing to know is that this is a big, strong, and fast CT team. They are good out of the air and pretty conservative with their play. They do not shy away from the long ball out of the back to retain territorial positioning. Additionally, their left wing (number 20) is wicked quick and travels nicely inside on his right foot. He is always looking to penetrate. *We have to be strong 1v1 tonight, and we have to try to win tackles, not just get touches. Furthermore, our press needs to be quick and well organized to absorb their pressure. We have to come out ready to fight. 2. They play with a deep CB. This is both a weakness and strength of theirs. Essentially, they play a 4-4-2 but with a diamond in the back (stopper/sweeper style). This allows them to clean up...

 Mullen vs. Smoky Hill JV@4:15 - South Grass field Varsity@4:15 - North Turf field All students will be released at 2:00 with a 2:30 departure. Varsity players should head to the horse shoe for departure, JV players should head to the spirit center. Thank you. Smoky Strengths: Smoky has had some impressive defensive performances - including shutting out fossil ridge and holding trail to two goals. When they get under the ball, they are difficult to break down, and their goalie is talented. Primary themes: 1. Smoky does well to quickly move the ball to the wings. In thefootage that I've seen, they play a somewhat territorial game, and they conservatively clear the ball. Their main highlight in the attack is their wingers, and they play them all the time. They don't seem to spend a lot of time with the ball in the middle of the park, but instead they bang the corners and make the runs. One of their wingers loves the overhead flick, and the other is quick down the line. Both are t...

Mullen vs Cherry Creek JV @4 (Village Greens Fields -  9501 E Union Ave, Greenwood Village, CO 80111 ) JV early dismissal @2:30 Varsity@6 (Stutler Bowl -  9300 E Union Ave, Greenwood Village, CO 80111) Varsity arrival time is 5pm - boots on by 5:15 and warm up @5:20. Additionally, Senior Captains, please make sure you get all the gear out of 303 and get it to The Stutler Bowl for game time. **Varsity: Before reading the match report, please refer to the email I sent about the ABK v Creek game. Creek Strengths: Creek has a strong team this year. They are athletic and fast and working with a decent attacking system. Thematically, they are proving to be dangerous in 4 areas. 1. Their midfielders are getting wide into the lanes and sending dangerous balls into the box. This is an effective tactic (similar to how Grandview used it) because usually these midfielders can enter these lanes unmarked. They drift to the flank and take on the role of an attacking OB. However, the winger o...