The team's final week of practice prior to departure has been outstanding! But to get a full sense of the improvement, let's set the stage with a little background:
Last Wednesday, the team played a co-ed squad from Leonardtown High School's boys and girls teams. Playing in 95-degree heat, the team was slow to start, trailed 3-0 early on, and lost 7-1. As a result, this week's preparations have focused on staying positive and sticking with our game plan, regardless of the score. A team dinner on Monday night renewed the players' sense of opportunity, friendship, and excitement, and good practices focused on recovering to play strong defense whenever we lost the ball.
Yesterday, the team's final session in America was a rematch against Leonardtown. This time, it was team USA that caught Leonardtown taking it easy, and jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead on two goals from Larry Mills and one from Terrell Nowlin, along with solid defense from everyone and the best game yet from goalkeeper Alan Hill. Leonardtown regrouped, but Team USA still won the first match 4-3. In the second match, Leonardtown came out strong and took a 3-0 lead, but this time Team USA continued to work hard, closing the score to 4-2 at halftime. The game was even closer, at 5-4, with just five minutes left, but Leonardtown caught Team USA on a counter-attack and scored, winning the second match 6-4, and winning the overall score 9-8.
Still, this was the team's best performance so far, and with key players Wes Thompson and Steven Summerfelt beginning to run around, dribble, and even kick the ball a bit, the team will leave America on Sunday confident in its chances at the World Games!
Please check in for daily updates starting this Saturday, June 18.
Last Wednesday, the team played a co-ed squad from Leonardtown High School's boys and girls teams. Playing in 95-degree heat, the team was slow to start, trailed 3-0 early on, and lost 7-1. As a result, this week's preparations have focused on staying positive and sticking with our game plan, regardless of the score. A team dinner on Monday night renewed the players' sense of opportunity, friendship, and excitement, and good practices focused on recovering to play strong defense whenever we lost the ball.
Yesterday, the team's final session in America was a rematch against Leonardtown. This time, it was team USA that caught Leonardtown taking it easy, and jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead on two goals from Larry Mills and one from Terrell Nowlin, along with solid defense from everyone and the best game yet from goalkeeper Alan Hill. Leonardtown regrouped, but Team USA still won the first match 4-3. In the second match, Leonardtown came out strong and took a 3-0 lead, but this time Team USA continued to work hard, closing the score to 4-2 at halftime. The game was even closer, at 5-4, with just five minutes left, but Leonardtown caught Team USA on a counter-attack and scored, winning the second match 6-4, and winning the overall score 9-8.
Still, this was the team's best performance so far, and with key players Wes Thompson and Steven Summerfelt beginning to run around, dribble, and even kick the ball a bit, the team will leave America on Sunday confident in its chances at the World Games!
Please check in for daily updates starting this Saturday, June 18.
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