Coach's Report - Game 6

It is about 11:00 pm here, and the sun is just setting. As I look out from our hotel window, there is a swirl of fluffy clouds now darkening against the red and blue sky, a kind of massive conch shell suspended above the port of Gothenburg and the statue of Neptune holding a smaller version that resides there. When things are going well, there is a tendency to find favorable omens wherever you look, and right now its hard for any of us to look around anywhere without a smile on our faces.
This is my third time at the Gothia Cup, the World Youth Cup held in this wonderful city, and never before have I seen so little of Gothenburg's sites. There has simply been no time to sightsee, the girl's games and their preparation for them are all we have time for. But I'm happy to report that sightseeing will have to wait one more day at least: we are going to play on Friday!
This evening's game presented Northern California Soccer Academy as our challenge, felt by many of the tournament officials to be the favorites to win our group before the tournament began. Such was their reputation, that they had been privileged to be one of the showcase teams on display at the Heden Center during each of their games of the tournament, including tonight's.
Let me try to describe the Heden Center. It takes up the entirety of a large park in the center of the city. It is home to four full-sized artificial fields, each surrounded by stands for spectators. The four fields are bisected by a long avenue lined with tall poles adorned by a flag from every participating nation. This is the tournament's hub, the most central of the 28 sites the tournament uses. It houses the press center, multiple food and souvenir stands, fun activities for the players, the sports and souvenir store and an elevated building from the balcony of which coach's and scouts are allowed to view all the fields simultaneously. By this time of the week, it is not only coaches and players from the 1600 teams who throng the Heden Center; many locals and Swedes from surrounding communities are now commuting or walking to spend the day at Heden, assured of seeing one quality international youth game after another on any given field. It is, if not the largest, undoubtedly the most international of settings that you could ever imagine playing or seeing a youth soccer game.
Tonight was brisk and occasionally breezy. As we neared Heden, our excitement grew with nearly every step. The place was packed, despite a UEFA Cup game being played just down the street at the Ullevi Stadium. A public address announcer was providing updates from every field, a complex symphony of languages from all parts of the world frequently drowned him out, and all around the tension was visible on the faces of the fans and players hoping to get through to the next round.
It seemed suddenly absurd to be the least bit unsettled by the circumstances. I told the girls it simply could not get any better than this! What a stage on which to express yourself! What was there possibly to do but enjoy it, and enjoy it to the fullest. We vowed to have no worries, and to make sure we finished the game with no regrets. I asked the girls to watch part of the preceding game, to imagine what it would be like to cause a cheer to rise up above the crowd, to score in front of these afficianados of the sport, to take their rightful place among the best the world's sport has to offer. I wanted nothing from them but the certainty that they were ready to experience, to live, the next 60 minutes to their absolute fullest.
Our game began just past 7:00 pm, with the sun already lying low in the sky. The tone of the game was set early, NorCal receiving a yellow card in the first minute. Both teams were trying to establish their short passing rhythm through their midfields, but finding it hard to provide a meaningful service at the end of long passing sequences. NorCal were being denied the space on the flanks near the byline they repeatedly were trying to get to, but on minute three they settled for a cross from a much deeper position. This was struck, however, from the flank where the sun was setting, and the resulting lob proved difficult for Jordan to track against the blinding background, and the ball found its way just over her head and under the crossbar. It was the stuff of nightmares: we were down 0-1 on a fluke!
Another comeback was certainly too much to ask, especially against NorCal. But the girls again dug deep, and found a way to regain the game's momentum, although without translating that momentum into any meaningful chances. The game continued to be played primarily in the midfield, until Amanda was played in, and struck a well-placed first-time shot that NorCal's keeper was only able to parry just wide. On minute 19, Beth had a similar chance, again saved dramatically by the keeper. Jordan returned the favor three minutes later, keeping us in the game by corraling a long-range NorCal effort. Sadie delivered then one of her signature driven crosses, which found Shanna's head, only to be directed just wide. We earned a corner just before half, but Mac's effort was saved again.
Another halftime, another sense of being unjustly behind. The NorCal goal was dispiriting, but it was only one goal. We reminded ourselves that we were always going to have to score at least once to win, so the task now was really no different than it had been at the start. We had begun to look threatening at the end of the first half, we had to believe that we could eventually convert one of those threats.
The second half began with us showing how much we still believed. A fine cross from Liz within the first three minutes found Amanda on the move in the box, but the NorCal keeper again was up to the task of saving it. NorCal were now largely limited to long-range efforts, and one such went wide on minute 5, before the game again settled into the pattern of counterbalancing midfield play that marked so much of the first half.
It was time to try to stir things up, to try to ask some new questions of NorCal. Playing with three forwards themselves, NorCal had forced our wide midfielders to help out defensively to such a degree that we were not able to involve them in our attacks as much as we might like. Emily Hahn was brought in to hold the fort defensively on the left flank, which she did admirably. This allowed us to move Jen forward, where her speed would, at the very least, require NorCal to adjust their defensive coverage. To complement this, I planned to move Emily White up front, but just as I was about to make that change, the game was turned on its head, and in a direction quite the opposite from what most everyone assumed at the time.
It was minute 14, and a fortuitous deflection had found its way to a NorCal forward just outside the box with Emily White out of position to the outside of her opponent. The challenge Emily had to try to make came in just late after a touch had been made into the box, and the referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty. The changes I had been contemplating might become moot if we were to go behind by two goals. Instead, with the crowd hushed, Jordan produced a brilliant save to her right on the spot kick, silence turned to jubilation, and a real sense of hope was renewed. What had first appeared to be a dagger blow had become instead a needed boost for us, and one which proved to last for the remainder of the game.
The first time I saw Heden in 2001, I imagined what it might be like to be associated with a showcase team, and I felt genuinely privileged to be sitting on the bench for this team today. I never imagined I might be privileged to witness one of the better goals I or Heden could ever see while sitting there. With Emily White now moved forward, we found ourselves successfully getting Jen down the left flank with regularity, but as yet with no profit. In minute 21, however, thunder struck just blocks from Odin's Street (that's really its name). Jen again easily beat their right back, and this time delivered a swerving left-footed cross to a streaking Emily about 16 yards from goal. Despite pressure from a defender to her right, and without breaking stride, Emily managed to strike a first-time volley with the outside of her right foot that bent into the top right corner before the keeper knew much about it. A world-class strike in a world-class setting. We had equalized!
We continued to battle, hopeful of avoiding the dreaded penalty shootout. A corner won by us did not produce a shot, a ball laid off to Kaylie was struck well but high. Jordan made another routine save, and the final whistle blew.
The tight schedule at this competition means there is no time for overtime; in the event of a tie, the match goes immediately to penalty kicks. Anyone who knows me, knows my aversion to this method of deciding games, an aversion that no doubt in part at least stems from the preponderance of such lotteries I've been on the losing end of. Yet strangely, a hint of confidence made its way uneasily into my mood. I had a feeling that Jordan's penalty save in the second half might still be in NorCal's mind; it might make them either hesitant or feeling they needed something better than average to beat our keeper.
At this point, the PA announcer conveyed the result, and the news of a penalty shootout spreads quickly and is sure to attract interest. Fans from the other games made their way over. I've never seen so many people moving in such silence, at least not at Heden.
We won the toss and decided to kick first. Emily looked calm in stroking her shot unstoppably into the left upper corner. NorCal's first attempt went high, adding credence to my suspicion of longer term ramifications from Jordan's earlier heroics. Shanna was next, and also looked assured in beating the keeper easily. NorCal's 2nd attempt brushed the left post, but stayed out. 2-0 LISC. Sadie stepped up next, and tried to go low to the left, but NorCal's keeper showed the saves she'd made during the game were no fluke as she dove well to save. NorCal finally tallied as Jordan touched, but could not save a shot to her right. Beth was more than eager and ready next, quickly striking after the whistle past the keeper still glued to the ground. NorCal now needed to score to have any chance, but Jordan got down well to her right to smother their 4th attempt. Shootout over: LISC 3- NorCal 1.
The silence now turned to hysteria. The players, and I confess myself included, mobbed Jordan and tried to set a record for a sustained group hug. We are actually through to the final 8! We have actually advanced further than 92 other teams from around the world in our division! We are the only remaining American team in our division! Next up is UNAM of Mexico, the first team we've played that's likely to adopt the South American style of play diametrically different from the Scandanavian style we have adapted to since arriving. Tomorrow's a new day: new challenges, new rewards. Wish us luck,


LISC 1 NorCal 1 (LISC advances 3-1 on pk's)

Shots: LISC 9 NorCal 8
Shots on target: LISC 7 NorCal 6
Goal: White
Assist: Guy