playoff4

as far as heart goes, i think CA and fairview both showed a lot this season with some AWESOME matchups. i've heard from many people that those were the most exciting games they'd seen in a long time, just because it kept going back and forth the ENTIRE time. it was great playing you guys, i look forward to watching FHS and CA play again next year, we'll see how it goes with us having a group of approximately 10 seniors (instead of the 2 we had this year).

yeah, i am/was. even though the seniors (this year) weren't the powerhouses carrying the team, we did our part. fairview guys, again, thanks for a great season, my senior year was awesome. REMEMBER STICKY FINGERS!

i'm wondering why you would think they wouldn't get out of districts....it'd be hard for them NOT to. they are definitely one of the top 2 teams no matter who is first or second, be it us, page, zion, whoever. if page is 1, they are 2 and vice versa. this year, though, we were 2, but they were definitely an uncontested 1 seed. i'm just glad we gave them a good game everytime, even though i wish we could have won once or twice....

with ca, the winning point will be the midfield. a decent defense can watch their strikers most of the game, just be careful on set plays (corners, throw ins, free kicks). what they do is play the ball outside and bring 4 players into the center mid position and control the ball from there. if the center mids from the opposing team come back and contain, their team will move the ball outside, where it's much easier for the defense to control/contain. don't stab, though, watch out for the little side step, because once they get open they'll try to switch the ball with a nice long kick to either the center (right behind the sweeper) or to the opposite corner, close to the far post. if all else fails, they'll drop it back and try to clear the ball up the field. they are able to drop the ball because they all have good control, decent speed. when they drop it back to a wing defender, they'll again pull 4 center mids back and control the midfield while the opposing team chases the ball with their strikers and center mids. that's their offense, pretty much. on defense, they're quick and have good control, and occasionally they play physically. most of their defense is getting the offensive player off the ball far enough for the goalie to run out and pick it up or clear it, which is easy because at home they have a very short field, i'd say 40 yds per half. their goalie is quick and tall, so he has good reach. the key will be getting him off balance or coming straight at him, hard. come in at the side and dribble to the PK before you turn the ball, and go low corners. when coming from the front, go low corners or side net, he'll dive. the key will just be to outstretch him. he goes down, pray it goes outside his hands. he also has a good kick, but his offense can't play on it because their field is too short, so just pull the defense back to receive the ball and it'll be ok. also, players to watch- 23,27,5,6,9,10, and if 11's up to speed, him too. 23,27,5,6,9,10 all rotate around from outside to center mid. 23,5(i think he's the stopper too),6, and 9 are the main 4 the put in center mid on an offensive run, and any of them will also rotate outside on the far post or make a run to the corner to try and cross the ball. 11 plays oustide mid the entire time, but a quick defender can keep him out of the game. 9 controlled the ball most of the time when we played them for district champs. 27, 3, and 10 go up most often, playing center mid/forward. 3 has good control, but he's small so he's not too hard to mark up. he's quick though and he will beat you if you stab. i posted this before we played them in region, it's pretty accurate. they have a lot of depth and some very good players up front. #9, 23, 27, 5, and 3 are their top offensive players, but watch 11 running down your left, his right side, coming in hard at the back post.

i was the player 'being restrained', and i did not hear the 'n' word once OR see the principal interfere at all in the middle of the field at the end of the game. i also didn't hear the 'top of the lungs' yelling going on. maybe i was preoccupied with the ref coming at me, but i don't know, i figure i would have noticed. and it wasn't at the ref's encouragement that we shook hands, fairview does not leave the field being bad sports to the other team, at least not like that. we shake hands after every game, and i personally encourage/make my players shake hands no matter the outcome.

i would put CSAS on par with CA in terms of skill. they are a deep team, have lots of talent in all their players with control and passing skills. it didn't look like they played very well (about like Page or Zion) because i think we played a solid defensive game, it seemed like everyone was containing well. that's why they didn't seem too impressive, i think. other than that, they do have a lot of talent, and if they can come together in the way CA has, i think they have a good chance of advancing. of course, they play CA first round, and it'll be a tough game. CA has a better chance of winning, but good luck to both teams.

yeah, he's a freshman. he has 3 more years to go.

and congratulations class of 2004

PS. good luck in state. good luck to both you and CA, i wish all you guys the best.

i personally would like to apologize to all CSAS players and fans for my (individual) and my (team's) behavior closer to the end and right after the game. it was unsportsmanlike, and while we shook hands, congradulated, etc, it was a very tense and upset off moment for us. i WILL NOT apologize to the center ref, though. i tried to talk to him after the game and he yelled at me to shut up and told us to pack up and get home now. we began shouting at each other, and he began advancing towards me, threatening me. i responded, though not physically, and our coach dragged me back towards the bench. i cast a bad light on fairview as a team, and i'm sure i embarrassed a few parents and players, but this ref had been threatening my teammates the entire game (not just on free kicks, but just randomly throughout the game). he laughed at us, taunted us, and made sickeningly lopsided calls. i do not blame CSAS, their goal came off a good call, but the rest of the game was BS. that ref has no right to participate in any athletic events in any near future if he is going to be threatening high schoolers and promoting physical violence with children. as i said, when i was trying to talk to him after shaking everyone's hands, he told me to shut up and pack up and turned his back on me. i told him he sucked, told him i didn't have another season to play (i was a senior), asked what he was going to do, give me a red? and he began to march towards me saying "you know what i'm gonna do? what am i gonna do?" and presented a physically threatening persona. in my opinion, any ref who resorts to violence with the kids their supposed to be supervising does not need to be anywhere near youth ever again. anyone have any comments about that?

any hints as to what they did or what they're running? anything you guys saw that was out of the ordinary, or something teams need to watch out for?

the name fits the comment...

not to be rude or anything....

i wasn't necessarily saying we should be ranked higher, my point was just the whole thing about page being from a weak district

good point. of a/aa, we have one of the toughest districts, with the number 5 and 4 teams in a/aa state rankings both playing through.