June 5, 2010 - Kintnersville, PA

The Kixx got together for their first tournament of the year, the March into Cups Tournament up in Bucks County. This writer wishes he could have started off the year with better news, but the truth is, it was a pretty disappointing weekend for our boys in blue!

March into Cups was a one-day, three-game tournament, and it was technically our last tournament as a U-9 team, as the tournament had originally been scheduled for March, but had to be postponed due to snow. Instead of snow, though, we got the opposite end of the spectrum, with temperatures in the low nineties. Because of our great performances last season, the Kixx were seeded with the top U-9 teams in the tournament. The first game was at 9 am against a Greater Chester Valley team wearing bright green uniforms. With a few players missing due to scheduling conflicts, the Kixx had a thin bench, with just one substitute. The first game started out tentatively, with both teams feeling each other out. But after a GCV player slipped in a goal, things started to go downhill. Despite some superb goaltending from Daniel Good, the Kixx struggled to challenge their opponents on defense, and GCV made us pay, taking a 2-0 lead at halftime. Meanwhile, the Kixx couldn't convert on offense either, and as the coaches shifted players to offense late to try to generate a goal, GCV got too many chances and made the Kixx pay, rolling to a 5-0 victory that was really much closer than the score indicated. Daniel Andris and Mike Battisti hung tough on defense through most of the game.

After a few hours to shake off the early loss (and for me and Mike, to take advantage of a nice little local creamery called Owowcow), the Kixx took to a much smaller field against a bright yellow Cantolao USA team that had beaten GCV 3-2 earlier. The Kixx play improved in this game, and after failing to score in their one scrimmage and their first game, the Kixx finally got off the schneid. Last year's offense forces Dalton Musselman and Charlie Beale made the first strikes of the Kixx's season, with Dalton drilling a breakaway shot from about 20 feet out. Later on, Dalton headed a looping shot over the keeper for what might have been the Kixx first goal via header . . . but not for long, as Charlie headed a nice one home from the left side of the net just a few minutes later. Unfortunately, on the other end of the field, the Kixx's troubles from the first match continued, and Cantolao ended up defeating the Kixx 6-3. Still, play was much improved, with Zach DeLone and Mike Bolger playing very solid midfield for much of the game, and Joey D'Angelo also getting several scoring chances.

The two losses earned the Kixx a final match against a Doylestown team called "PA Rush." After falling behind early, the Kixx staged a furious comeback, with newcomer Ruben Hoika in particular playing furiously and notching his first goal as a member of the Kixx. Tristan Hummel also played solidly after missing the first game of the day. After storming back to tie the game at 4-4, it looked like the Kixx had the momentum. But as with the earlier two games, the consistency just wasn't there, and a few more PA Rush chances found their way past goalie Mike Battisti, giving the Rush a 6-4 victory and sending the Kixx home very disheartened.

The tournament wasn't all bad, from a coaching perspective. For all intents and purposes, this is a new team. The kids have been away from soccer for a few months, and there has been some turnover in the team, so it's normal that they're not quite in sync yet. On top of that, our successes from last year mean that we are facing tougher competition this year, mostly teams that have been playing all spring. There are plenty of lessons to be learned, but the kids played hard on a hot day. They supported each other and scored some goals. The most obvious struggles were that they really played like eight individuals, rather than a team, and that they lost most of the physical battles. Better teamwork will come with practice and more time together, and we have more than enough talent to match up with these teams. We just have to relearn the level of intensity it takes to win those fights for the ball! We're very proud of the boys - it's easy to be a good team when you're winning, not so much so when you're losing tough games! This adversity should help them down the road. For now, we'll shake this off, and see you on the practice field!