Announcement
Lightning strung four brilliant games together this weekend to claim top standing in their age group at the Troy City Classic. Rochester went 4-0 on the weekend with over half the roster contributing with goals, even more with assists, solid defensive play and great turns in goal taken by five different players.
RSSC Lightning 3 – Waza 2
The first contest of the tournament would prove to be Lightning’s strongest. Play was pretty even in the first portion of the game. But as the first half progressed, the girls started hitting stride and tallied two goals. Waza answered with a goal of their own to make it a 2-1 game at halftime. In the second half, Lightning scored early to give themselves a cushion that would prove crucial as Waza scored one more and continued to press in search of the equalizer. But Lightning rose to the task, denying the equalizer and taking away a well-earned 3-2 victory.
RSSC Lightning 10 – Bloomfield Force 1
The second match of the afternoon featured a game against our very dear friend Taylor Lambouris and her new team Bloomfield Force. This was an amazing performance because every five or ten minutes of the contest, Lightning seemed to push the level of their play up a notch higher. At the start, it was pretty even as both teams were moving well and working hard to win the ball and move the ball. But after the first goal, thing really seemed to pick up for Rochester and Force seemed to start playing a bit on their heels. Things just snowballed as the game went along and Lighting kept increasing the pressure more and more. As I said, it seemed that every few minutes, as the confidence and awareness of the players continued to grow, the level of play kept rising in kind.
It was a masterful showing and very possibly an epiphany game – or what I often refer to as “bicycle moments”. That being the moment where the players make that leap from knowing in their head what can be done only because they seen it done or been told about how it can be done, to really understanding and internalizing the thing and making it a part of them. And just like learning to ride a bike, once learned, it there forever. Time will tell if this is true, but this could be the game I look back on at the end of the year and say “there is where it really started”.
RSSC Lightning 5 – Genesee Star 0
Sunday against Genesee Star, Lightning picked up where they left off Saturday offensively, and tightened up their game defensively to walk away from the day with no goals allowed. Five goals and another solid performance put Rochester one game away from a perfect weekend. Passing, individual ball skills, team communication, defensive responsibility – all of it was being put to good use. Lightning carried play the whole way through and the result was never in much doubt.
RSSC Lightning 5 – TSC Blue 0
The final match against Troy very much mirrored the previous match with all the same strong work ethic and skill being brought to the field by this special group of players. And as it should be when hard work and good skills are combined with full effort and focused attention, Lighting emerged from this match the winning team again, and with this victory, the top team in the age group.
After the tournament, Lightning all gathered at the Cerny home for a cookout and outside theater night. It was the perfect way to wrap up a perfect weekend.
Girls, you cannot imagine how pleased and proud I am of how you are coming along. I love the work you are giving at your training sessions. I love the effort you are putting in everyday at home. I love your attitudes and the way you are bringing the lessons from training onto the game-field. I hope you are seeing how much all your hard work pays off. It’s still very early, but keep putting in this sort of effort into everything you do, and I promise this will be an amazing year for you.
Great job EVERYBODY!!!
Next up – Petoskey.
The first contest of the tournament would prove to be Lightning’s strongest. Play was pretty even in the first portion of the game. But as the first half progressed, the girls started hitting stride and tallied two goals. Waza answered with a goal of their own to make it a 2-1 game at halftime. In the second half, Lightning scored early to give themselves a cushion that would prove crucial as Waza scored one more and continued to press in search of the equalizer. But Lightning rose to the task, denying the equalizer and taking away a well-earned 3-2 victory.
RSSC Lightning 10 – Bloomfield Force 1
The second match of the afternoon featured a game against our very dear friend Taylor Lambouris and her new team Bloomfield Force. This was an amazing performance because every five or ten minutes of the contest, Lightning seemed to push the level of their play up a notch higher. At the start, it was pretty even as both teams were moving well and working hard to win the ball and move the ball. But after the first goal, thing really seemed to pick up for Rochester and Force seemed to start playing a bit on their heels. Things just snowballed as the game went along and Lighting kept increasing the pressure more and more. As I said, it seemed that every few minutes, as the confidence and awareness of the players continued to grow, the level of play kept rising in kind.
It was a masterful showing and very possibly an epiphany game – or what I often refer to as “bicycle moments”. That being the moment where the players make that leap from knowing in their head what can be done only because they seen it done or been told about how it can be done, to really understanding and internalizing the thing and making it a part of them. And just like learning to ride a bike, once learned, it there forever. Time will tell if this is true, but this could be the game I look back on at the end of the year and say “there is where it really started”.
RSSC Lightning 5 – Genesee Star 0
Sunday against Genesee Star, Lightning picked up where they left off Saturday offensively, and tightened up their game defensively to walk away from the day with no goals allowed. Five goals and another solid performance put Rochester one game away from a perfect weekend. Passing, individual ball skills, team communication, defensive responsibility – all of it was being put to good use. Lightning carried play the whole way through and the result was never in much doubt.
RSSC Lightning 5 – TSC Blue 0
The final match against Troy very much mirrored the previous match with all the same strong work ethic and skill being brought to the field by this special group of players. And as it should be when hard work and good skills are combined with full effort and focused attention, Lighting emerged from this match the winning team again, and with this victory, the top team in the age group.
After the tournament, Lightning all gathered at the Cerny home for a cookout and outside theater night. It was the perfect way to wrap up a perfect weekend.
Girls, you cannot imagine how pleased and proud I am of how you are coming along. I love the work you are giving at your training sessions. I love the effort you are putting in everyday at home. I love your attitudes and the way you are bringing the lessons from training onto the game-field. I hope you are seeing how much all your hard work pays off. It’s still very early, but keep putting in this sort of effort into everything you do, and I promise this will be an amazing year for you.
Great job EVERYBODY!!!
Next up – Petoskey.
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