November 14, 2009 - Downingtown, PA

The Kixx converged on USTC for the first playoff game in team history on, yes, another rainy morning! Today's game would be a rematch against the Marple Newtown Union, who had made their way into the playoffs by defeating the Kixx last week. Revenge match!

The game was hard-fought from beginning to end by both teams. The Kixx started out with a change in strategy. The standard lineup this year has consisted of 2 defenders, 2 midfielders, and 3 forwards. However, Coach John elected to start this game in a 3-1-3 format with 3 defenders and just Michael Bolger in the midfield. The goal was to ensure our defense was solid early on.

Up top, forwards Dalton Musselman, Charlie Beale, and Zach DeLone pressed, but didn't get many great opportunities. The Marple goalie had been strong in the first game, and he continued to be so today, stopping a number of shots and punting the ball a mile. The play was end-to-end, with both teams challenging hard for the ball. The ref let the kids play; there were no more than one or two fouls called in the entire game, with the result that the kids were pretty physical. Play stopped on several occasions due to injury, but nothing serious resulted.

The defensive strategy worked well, as the Kixx defenders Daniel Andris, Max Gress, and Daniel Good time and time again stopped the Union offense before they could get pressure on goalie Mike Battisti, who escaped the first half by defending just a handful of chances.

The intensity picked up in the second half, with the challenges getting fiercer. The Kixx switched to their standard 2-2-3 format, and immediately Marple's pressure picked up. Second half goalie Daniel Good was forced to make a number of early saves as the Union swarmed in the Kixx half of the field. About 5 minutes into the half, Coach John elected to go back to the 3-1-3 strategy, inserting Mike Battisti in at center fullback. Zach DeLone and Matt Tutterice also came in on defense and made a number of nice plays, clearing balls out.

Up top, Joey D'Angelo and Mike Caggiano came in on the wings, and worked some nice plays with Dalton. Mike Caggiano nearly scored on a nice blast from the left side that was fielded well by the Marple keeper. Tristan Hummel also had several good chances. He laid a pretty pass at Dalton's feet, but the Union swarmed and cleared the ball out. Brian Miller had some good plays on left wing as well, keeping the ball in the offensive zone to keep the pressure.

The decisive moment in the game came with about 10 minutes left in the second half. The Kixx got a corner kick from the right side as a result of some nice pressure in the corner the Kixx forwards. Left-footed kicker Michael Bolger lined up for the kick, with the three forwards in the goal area. Center fullback Mike Battisti moved up to fill a big gap between the players in front of the net and the Kixx defensemen, lined up at midfield.

Bolger's kick landed close to the net, and bounced around a bit before the Union managed to clear the ball out. But the ball rolled straight into that empty area, and Mike Battisti stepped up and kicked the ball back it. It went straight to Dalton Musselman near the 14-yard line, and with the Union players caught heading in the opposite direction, Dalton had just enough time to launch a shot into the far left corner of the goal! The Kixx had a one-goal lead, but could they hold it?

The Kixx had held leads in their past two games, but let them slip away. Predictably, the Union came at them hard. But time and again, the Kixx turned them back. Nearly every player on the Kixx team had at least one play where he cleared a ball out of the Kixx zone late in the game. Mike Battisti made a great play with a few minutes left, stealing the ball from a Union player, faking out another, and clearing the ball out. Joey D'Angelo made a particularly nice play with just 2 minutes left. Dalton sent a nice pass to him on the right wing, and Joey carried it deep into the Union zone, then protected the ball from 2 Marple players for a good 30 seconds. While it didn't result in a goal, those 30 seconds were very important, and Marple had to carry the ball the entire length of the field to get back on the attack.

Ultimately, the Union just couldn't crack the Kixx defense, and the whistle blew. The Kixx had made it to the championship!

The championship game will be on 11/15 at 2 pm against a tough West-Mont team, who defeated Sporting Radnor in overtime.