Kelly Girls results from Bastrop tournament

[watash]

Thursday"s game

Kelly............0  1  -1

Temple.........2  2  -4

Goal: Zuri Prince

Assist: Claire Dykeman

First Game Friday

Kelly.............................2  0  -2

Conroe Oak Ridge............2  0  -2

Goal: Madeline Horning

Assist: Yasmine Afshar

Tough play on a sloppy, small field in thirty something degree rain. Lampasas tonight at 7:30. Two starters return to Beaumont tonight after the game for SAT test so tomorrow doesn't get easier.

[KFDM COOP]

Thanks for the update!

[RonBurgundy68]

Thursday"s game

Kelly............0  1  -1

Temple.........2  2  -4

Goal: Zuri Prince

Assist: Claire Dykeman

First Game Friday

Kelly.............................2  0  -2

Conroe Oak Ridge............2  0  -2

Goal: Madeline Horning

Assist: Yasmine Afshar

Tough play on a sloppy, small field in thirty something degree rain. Lampasas tonight at 7:30. Two starters return to Beaumont tonight after the game for SAT test so tomorrow doesn't get easier.

How many goals does Prince have on the season? It seems like she is cranking them out left and right... 

[bullets13]

what do you know about temple?  it seems like they handled a pretty good kelly team without much trouble...

[FriendswoodFan]

If you go to the Friday Night Madness website, you can see some of their game results.  Loss to CC King, loss to Midway, tie vs. LC, win over Oak Ridge, win over Kelly.  They seem to be a decent 5A team.

[bullets13]

ok, thanks!

[watash]

Bullet 13, I did not arrive in Bastrop until Friday and did not see the Temple game so tough to evaluate. My impression was that no one on the team was overly impressed with Temple as much as Kelly felt they played badly.

Once again, played every game of this tournament on an undersized field. While it is true that it is same size for both teams, a wet, small field is a great equalizer for slower teams which do not possess or pass as well.

No one would suggest a football game being played on a smaller field yet that is exactly what we have encountered in four games this year. These four games on smaller fields account for two of Kelly's five losses and the tie. Coincidence?

[watash]

Aries456, I have not kept cumulative stats but plan to run the totals and post. You are correct Zuri is a great player and has many points. Only a freshman, she has a bright future

[FriendswoodFan]

I do not know about it being a coincidence, but what it tells me is that Kelly does not play well on a smaller field?  That suggests that they rely on their speed and through/over balls to generate scoring chances, but are probably not as much of a posession/skill team as you seem to think.  A small field puts a premium on a passing and possession skills.   

[sharkfutbol]

Actually Kelly girls play an excellent game of possession and do not at all depend or count on the thru ball.  They do however like to spread the field out and make weaker teams come to them and defend leaving space open for players to move into .. to recieve passes and keep their movement and possession game going.  These girls play the ball on the ground and knock it around.  A smaller field then keeps it easy for an agressive team of athletic but unskilled girls to keep pressure on you.  I am in no way saying Temple are any of the teams they played were that style as I didnt see any of them, but I have seen the kelly girls and they play a pretty game of soccer.

[FriendswoodFan]

Actually, assuming that the Kelly girls play the way you describe, the smaller field does not mean that the open spaces are gone, it just means that they are not as large.  What you call the "athletic but unskilled" opponents are able to "keep pressure on" in such a situation only if the Kelly girls are unable to pass, receive and pass again quickly enough to overcome the shorter distances that those opponents need to travel.  That is my point.  A smaller field puts a premium on true ball skills, and teams that are unable to play a very quick posession type of game are frustrated by smaller fields and sometimes lose games to teams that they think are not as good.  Those teams also tend to play through and over balls against tougher teams; which is also harder on a smaller field.

[sharkfutbol]

You can analyze a game and pick it apart the way you see it from there. and I do believe alot of what you say is a fact.  I have seen the Kelly girls...  and Again. .. my point.. is.. the kelly girls play a very nice game of soccer and possessing.  I am not discussing or trying to take up for Kelly .. they dont need anyone taking up for them.. they are doing nothing wrong.. .. I am complimenting those girls on their game and how well they are playing soccer ...  great job ladies..  last .. find me a coach with a great skilled team that wants to play on a small field... wont happen..

[westend1]

Shark

If you havent noticed by now, FF only comes on here to bash Kelly.  Go look at his/her past posts.  We don't mind you promoting Friendswood teams on here, FF.  But, why must you say something negative about Kelly with every other post?  Do you do this to private schools on other sites?

[FriendswoodFan]

You're wrong as usual WestEnd.  It's not bashing. 

I dislike and challenge (and, yes, please look at my past posts) when people either unabashedly brag without having any basis for doing so or make excuses for losses.  Not that they can't do it, but I think people who do it should expect to get challenged.  I happen to hope that the Kelly girls go all the way.  However, when Watash suggested that 2 of Kelly's losses and one of their ties was due to the size of the field, or when Shark once suggested that travel weariness was the reason that his boys lost a game, I thought that was nonsense, and I challenged them on it. 

And, I don't give my beloved Mustangs a pass either.  The Football team grossly underperformed this year.  The Lady Mustang VB team was great, but when they got beat in the State Finals, I didn't blame the lights, the floors, the hotel food, or anything else.  They went, they played, and they lost to a better team.  Same thing with the Lady Mustang soccer team's trips to the State Tournament the last 2 years.  Heck, BB can tell you that McKinney North was far and away a better and more skilled team than FHS was in 2006.  Last year, it was much closer, but The Colony was the better team.  This year, we will see.       

[westend1]

OK.  I reread Watash's posts.  I'm not sure he is blaming all Kelly's losses on the field size.  It seems to be his OPINION that Kelly plays better on a regulation size field.  You seem to have all the answers, so I will ask you.  Can field size affect a teams style of play?  Or, is it just coincidence that Kelly seems to have it's best games on the larger fields?                                             

[sharkfutbol]

Kelly Girls.. Great job and keep playing the same game.   WESTEND...as far as FF goes and his writing..blah blah blah blah thats what I see when he writes.....  Save your chat with ff.. he is a volleyball man.. he is probably informed on soccer but ..  it doesnt matter what you write.. he is going to just say and turn the conversation to him and friendswood soccer....  he has become the forum police.. as he feels its his place to decide if your making excuses,  not passing on information or your take of things. we are not allowed to do that anymore.  we cannot print our take on games.  so to save the conversation .. do not respond..... I write what I do to compliment their play.. its great...  go lady dawgs..

[FriendswoodFan]

WestEnd, yes the field size can and does impact a team's play; especially if they are accustomed to and more comfortable playing on a large field.  I have not seen Kelly's girls play. 

However, since Shark tells me that the Kelly girls play a possession type game, but they have trouble on smalle,r tighter fields, I would bet that the center mids tend to receive and dribble into space before passing.  On a small field, the space is less, and the angles are easier to cover.  The solution is less dribbling, more movement off the ball, and quicker passing.   

[watash]

wow, I never expected such an exchange over this post.

However, Friendswood Fan, I am disturbed that any of my post game comments have been misconstrued into "excuse making". Any competitor worth their salt(and I am the father of one) abhors excuse making. Five times this year, the other team has been better than our girls on that day. Those who have beaten us did so on the same size field, under the same conditions with the same referees. Frankly, I don't need to make excuses for our team because 17 times this year including two tournaments it has gone Kelly's way.

You speculate that the Kelly team does not play well on a small field which may be true. Nor should they be expected to do so after playing and practicing for 3 months on a normal field. Certainly, the football team, of which you are critical, and the volleyball team you reference didn't reach the near end of their season and have to play on a different size field or court. When the Lady Mustangs travel to the state tournament, I pretty sure it is to play on regulation size fields. I would further bet that Friendswood has a regulation size field and your coach, if given the choice, would choose playing on a regular field over an irregular field every time. You are obviously passionate about your soccer and undoubtedly know more about the game than I do. I don't see how anyone who truly enjoys the game would want to watch "bunch ball". When it happens, I don't think post game commentary about the fact should be wrongly labeled. I will stick with my observation that a smaller field makes for an uglier, less skilled game.

Temple and Conroe Oak Ridge were obviously challenged by the same field necessary field adjustments and beat and tied Kelly anyway. On the other hand, Duschene regularly practices and plays on a field which is both shorter and more narrow. Therefore,when they play at home, I think it is both fair and logical to comment that they have some advantage over a team seeing their field for the first time. 

I have already spent more time responding than this deserves but being accused on making excuses struck a nerve. Should we expect your Mustangs back in the state tournament this year?

[FriendswoodFan]

I am always intirgued when people post on a public chat board like this, and are surprised that their comments elicit replies.  Again, I am rooting for the Kelly girls -- heck their coach is a former, much beloved, assistant at FHS. 

I read, and still read, your original post as noting that Kelly tends not to play as well as they expect when they play on a small field, and you even said that everyone thought that Kelly "played badly" against Temple on the small field.  That probably is not so much as making excuses, as it is telling it like it is.  Oddly, however, when I pointed out that the results you described suggest that Kelly "does not play well on a smaller field," I am accused of "bashing" the team.  That's hypocritical (not by you but by those who accuse me of bashing).

I must say that I disagree with you about the expectations of Kelly.  From everything I have read about them, from what I know about their coach, and from some of their results (for instance, a sound thrashing of Foster HS), I think they can and should do well on smaller fields.  It means playing at a slightly faster tempo than they are accustomed to, but a team that dominated a very good Foster squad can do that.

As to whether you should expect the Lady Mustangs to return to Round Rock for the State Championships for a 3rd straight year, I hope so.  The entire team (except for 1 starter) returns, and they have been playing very well so far including a 3-0 win over Seven Lakes (the returning regional finalist), wins over several strong 5A teams, and wins over Brenham and Foster.