Mariner beats 1st seed DRSC Strikers to advance to Finals

tony0732
Mar 18, 2017
2 min read

I have been coaching this team since January of 2015 and I can honestly say that I have never been more proud of our team as I was on Saturday. We have a bunch of new players and we haven't had a practice yet. We wanted to play winter just to get the new boys used to playing with our regulars. We didn't expect to make the playoffs. This was a transition season to get us some time together in preparation for Spring. But these boys surprised everybody by making the playoffs and beating the undefeated and seemingly unbeatable 1st seed DRSC Strikers.

I spoke to the DRSC coaches before the game. They said that their team has been together for a long time. Most of the teams we played this winter had a number of 6th graders on them and have been practicing weekly. The Dartmouth team looked huge compared to our boys. But our guys hung in there, never quit, and made it all the way to the Championship.

Down 1-0 with under 5 minutes left when Landon tied it with a nice blast from outside the box. Our defense, led by Vincent, Curly, Tres, Coby, and Tyler kept the DRSC attack at bay. Vincent and Curly were all over the field. Co-MVP's for those two. Tres was shutting down their striker all game, and Coby and Tyler did a great job making sure the ball stayed outside and upfield. That may be Tres' best game to date! He never lets an attacker get an easy shot on goal.

On the attack Colin and Landon were impressive on the wings and Max and Cole played well too. Anthony had a few shots and played hard all game. When Vincent got the game winner with a header you could see the boys perk up and realize that they could actually pull off the upset of the season. Dylan was lights out in goal and his time management and smart play in the final minutes was outstanding.

When we can get these boys on the practice field and teach them our system of play, this is going to be a very good team!

And despite losing in the finals against Dartmouth all of our boys played hard and with good sportsmanship. Which was great to see.

Congratulations boys! Your parents and coaches are very proud of you!