KFDM COOP Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 PN-G girls soccer looks to capitalize on opportunties By RYAN S. CLARK January, 21, 2009 In the eight years Aimee Bates has coached Port Neches-Groves girls' soccer team, she has seen her teams post multiple 10-plus win seasons and make respectable playoff runs. This season's squad is giving Bates something else to look at. ``This is the best team I have had since I've been here,'' Bates said. So far, the Indians have lived up to Bates' praise by starting the season with a 7-0-1 record after a 1-0 victory Tuesday against Silsbee. PN-G entered this season ninth in the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches Girls 4A Region III rankings. During PN-G's hot start has been two victories against West Brook, a Class 5A school with recent playoff appearances, and one against Vidor. Bates said this season's early success has been the result of a few changes. The first and arguably most important change has been PN-G's on-field formation. Last season, the team mainly used a 4-4-2 formation, which provides four defenders, four midfielders and two strikers. The formation gave the Indians balance but did not always result in goals. Now, the team is using a 4-3-2-1 scheme often referred to as the ``Christmas Tree'' formation because of what it looks like on paper. By having three central midfielders and two attacking midfielders supporting the striker, the formation allows PN-G to create more scoring opportunities. ``In previous years we'd have possession and it was great,'' Bates said. ``The problem was we could never really do much with it. This year, we have been able to score.'' Should those changes continue to work, it could benefit the Indians this weekend in the Longview Varsity Tournament where they will play Lindale, which beat PN-G in a Class 4A area round playoff game last season. Senior left winger Alexis Smithy said she's benefited from the changes of playing closer to the forward. ``Last year, coach Bates had those of us who were her outside players play really wide,'' Smithy said. ``This year, it's different. With this formation, we are pinched in more up top and it allows us to create opportunities on offense.'' Another change for the team has been playing on the new Field Turf at Indian Stadium instead of on natural grass. Indian Stadium, built in 1951, is still undergoing a $10.2 million renovation effort that began in 2008. Part of that renovation effort was replacing the stadium grass with Field Turf, an artificial surface that needs little maintenance compared to grass. Bates said playing on the new surface has allowed the team to be quicker with its passing options. ``On grass we'd get about five to seven yards per pass,'' she said. ``With the turf we get around 15 yards a pass.'' Senior goalkeeper Breanne Martin said she loves playing on the turf. Martin said playing on grass and the turf is noticeable. She said by this point in the season, the goalie's area might be uneven and unkempt due to wear and tear. But with the turf, she does not have that problem. ``Another thing that is different is when I slide for a ball, I stick to the grass. I don't stick to this stuff,'' she said. ``This stuff, it'll definitely it keeps you in shape because you have to work harder.'' Smithy said playing on the surface does give the team a bit of a home field advantage but they still find a way to stay sharp when they have to play games on regular grass. ``We play our home games on this and we practice on the grass fields behind the school,'' Smithy said. ``I mean, there's no other way to say it but really we kill two birds with one stone.''
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