Division I District 5 - Standings and Statistics

[cardifffan]

soccerguy2628 said:

i think it should be if the keeper steps on and holds it to zero while he is in he should be awarded, but if a keeper is scored on during a game then should be awarded no points.

What is this Hockey? Talk about something else that makes sense.

[maradona9]

spicyjalapeno said:

The Mandeville vs Northshore game was a joke. NHS controlled every aspect of the game, just couldn't find the net. Mandeville scored first off a rebounded clear by the keeper...NHS keeper shanked a ball played back, and instead of the easy clear, a MHS player gathered the ball just inside the 18 with nothing in front of him but an open net. 1-0 Mandy. Northshore tied it up, as previously specified, 2 seconds into the second half with a shot off the kick off. 1-1. Mandy's last goal came off a cross that I can only assume the NHS defender thought was going to be called offside? He let the ball roll past his feet (literally, made no attempt at clearing) into the Mandeville forward waiting only feet in front of the net. 2-1 MHS. Northshore had many, many opportunities after, just couldn't finish. This isn't the highlight of the game. The biggest factor was how out of control this game was. Three times all play was stopped because of fighting, or near fighting. Plain and simple: Northshore won't let this happen again.

I have a tape of the game and it looks quite different then you have written about. NHS had 4 shots on goal. 0 quality shots seeing as a keeper should be able to block a ball from midfield. Game was out of control which was encouraged by their coach from what i saw. And second goal is nothing how you described. MHS outside mid made a run and NHS outside mid trailed him and never had a shot at clearing the ball. Nice cross and finish. I saw all this after watching the tape.

[spicyjalapeno]

I almost didn't respond because of how unintelligent you made yourself sound, card...but then i figured I'd help you along a bit. You obviously need to keep up a bit better with the district, seeing as FHS beat St. Pauls, who is, as you claim, the only team that a loss to can be honorable. NHS has dropped only one game that they shouldn't have: the MHS game. That is ONE excuse. So that's two of your points, now obsolete. The old coach is not coming back; three points. It doesn't matter how good the coaching is if you don't have quality strikers (one of their forwards hasn't played soccer in 3 years). Possibly one of their best strikers plays defense a strong majority of the time. Yes, you can coach and focus on finishing, but only to an extent. At some point, the players have to step it up, which they have not. Everyone drops a game they shouldn't every once in a while, friend. This was Northshore's.

[maradona9]

Also, MHS is to blame for the game getting out of control as well as NHS. Spicy you act as if northshore is a powerhouse. They are no where close to that so you might want to lower your expectations.

[cardifffan]

Sorry Spice, seems like we struck a nerve. Didn't mean any disrespect. I didn't realize how bad things are. If you continually blame each other for bad play, you will surely dwell in mediocrity the rest of the season. After all, a player playing a different position is a "coaching" decision, and not the players fault. There's got to be another reason why your team is suffering from such bad form, other than players playing out of positon, or not have played in three years. Seems like y'all lack discipline, not fight. That my friend is a coaching problem. If the players are not stepping up, maybe they lack leadership from the captains, coaches, or other players. Why pick up a player who hasn't played for three years? He obviously was thinking about himself when he left your team the first time. Why fight with the other team. This shows a definite lack of skill and discipline on your behalf. As far as the old coach, I didn't know if he left the area or if he left because of something else. You can't blame the players for a lack of commitment on the field (like having no strikers), you have to blame the source.

I didn't mean to strike a nerve, it just seemed liked someone was trying to make excuses for a bad performance. I don't see any with as much skill as St. Pauls. Fontainebleau is good, but not as skillful.

[d1d5fan]

dude, sps has more individual talent than FHS. i have seen both teams play, and against each other, and sps wins the individual talent. however, fhs is a more complete 'team' and they play well together, moreso than sps. in hs soccer you need the team aspect. thats how fhs made the state finals last year, because of the team, not because of one or two players. fhs did handle sps in the game, but 1 on 1 i think sps matches up everywhere and even a little better in some places.

[dbeasely17]

Ok, a couple comments about SPS and FHS. d1d5 fan pretty much hit the nail on the head. St. Paul's is the more talented team man to man, however, Fontainebleau does a much better job of playing a team oriented, aggressive game. As far as the game goes, I posted a game summary from a completely unbiased standpoint on another thread. Have another look if you feel so inclined:

laprepsoccer.proboards2.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&n=1&thread=3926&page=2#1166291618

Here is a link to the Times-Picayune article on the game:

www.nola.com/prepsoccer/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/116625207910140.xml&coll=1

The fact of the matter is, while St. Paul's may be the better team talent-wise, Fontainebleau has shown over the past few matchups that they are the team that has more heart. Granted, injuries and an unfortunate own goal had a lot to do with St. Paul's loss, but the last three times these teams have met, Fontainebleau has won because they wanted it more. Fontainebleau got what counts and they are clearly the better team.

Fontainebleau did not, however, as fhssoccerfan indicated, dominate the game against St. Paul's. The two halves were fairly evenly split, with Fontainebleau dominating the majority of the first half and St. Paul's taking over in the second. Fontainebleau's gameplan was simple: keep the ball away from the St. Paul's attack and play through balls to Brooks and Pierce. While this wasn't very pretty soccer, it got the results. St. Paul's flat back line looked confused the entire first half as Hickman and Langridge blew by them time after time. St. Paul's didn't make any adjustment to drop a sweeping player back and it was clear that it was hurting them. Fontainebleau was able to capitalize on these, getting two goals off of mistakes by the St. Paul's defense. Both goals were the direct result of an offensive overload caused by one or more Fontainebleau players getting behind the St. Paul's defense. In my opinion, Coach Ditchendorf's strategy for the game was perfect and St. Paul's did not adjust when they really needed to. The result was two Fontainebleau goals, a result that was good enough to put St. Paul's away.

However, St. Paul's clearly dominated the second half, both in possession and shots on goal. The game was played in the St. Paul's offensive side of the field for most of the half, excepting a couple of quick Fontainebleau counter attacks (one or two of which nearly resulted in goals). St. Paul's out passed, out ran and out-hustled St. Paul's in the second half, but all for naught. It was as if Coach Ditchendorf knew that if he could get a two goal lead his defense would get him the win. They did, coming up and making big plays to end St. Paul's threats time and again. As Coach Ditchendorf indicated in the Times-Picayune arictle, "St. Paul's puts a lot of pressure on you. They want to get you down and keep you down. There were a lot of balls near our goal all night." St. Paul's got numerous shots and looks at the goal, but could not convert when it counted.

Regardless, both teams are extremely talented and capable of making a deep run into the state playoffs. The matchup between the two towards the end of district play will likely decide the District Champion. Fontainebleau has won the last 3 matchups and has to be considered the better team at this point. Don't count St. Paul's out, though. The seniors for St. Paul's will not want to lose another game. The matchup at the Dawg Pound will undoubtedly be another instant classic.

[d1d5fan]

no doubt, january 23rd at 7pm. mark it on your calendars

[soccergeezer50]

I have to beg to differ on these talent comments, although I hope that SPS continues to consider that to be the case. Man for man, that is just not the case, not that there is any wild disparity, mind you. I've know a bunch of the boys from both teams for years now, and SPS is currently relying (in general) more on size and aggression versus superior foot skills and accurate passing that FHS posesses. Notable exception is Breeden of course. Watch him play, constantly creating and looking for someone to work with out there, but coming up wanting more often than not.

Also agree, and it's a good observation, that FHS relies too much on through balls to the forwards followed by shot attempts by the forwards. They are missing many an opportunity by not playing more crosses to the waiting midfielders in the goal box (like Breeden would) instead of shot after shot from tough angles (IMHO). But you have to be impressed with the effort that is expended.

But totally agreed that the game was a close one and not dominated start to finish by anyone. These two are the class of the division, barring a letdown, and only time will tell who has the will to take the division.

[lakeview]

The only way to spell FRANKIEBABY is s . k . i .l . l.

He just needs somone to hand him the ball. Sorta like REGGIE. Wolves fans can chant FRANKIE . . . REGGIE . . . FRANKIE . . .REGGIE.

Hmmm. Gotta get off the frappa mocha pepermint latte with a twist tonight.

[defender19]

Does anyone have a game summary for the Fontainebleau V. Ponchatoula game?

[cronaldo7]

Brief summary of the fhs phs game:

FHS came out to this game still a bit worn from the thrilling fight to the finish victory at st paul, and simply wasnt ready for the speed that phs has. although it wasnt sps speed, the bulldogs wasnt expecting them to be as fast as they were and phs made some good attacks through that. PHS's best chances all came from the throw-ins near the fhs goal and got both of the goals from them (one directly from a throw i think, and the other was a pk called resulting from some kind of foul on the keeper punching out the throw). FHS didnt really play the kind of game they like offensively, probably being another result of them simply underestimating PHS. Overall, good intense game, with both sides staying very classy throughout. The next matchup between these two should be a good one and shouldnt be overlooked because of the fhs vs sps matchup following it.

[cronaldo7]

Oh and by the way i think you need goalscorers for fhs from that game.

What i know for sure right now is ray cummins with one and pierce langridge with one.

Not sure who scored the third but i think it may have been brooks.

[l2ws]

cronaldo7 said:

Brief summary of the fhs phs game:

FHS came out to this game still a bit worn from the thrilling fight to the finish victory at st paul, and simply wasnt ready for the speed that phs has. although it wasnt sps speed, the bulldogs wasnt expecting them to be as fast as they were and phs made some good attacks through that. PHS's best chances all came from the throw-ins near the fhs goal and got both of the goals from them (one directly from a throw i think, and the other was a pk called resulting from some kind of foul on the keeper punching out the throw). FHS didnt really play the kind of game they like offensively, probably being another result of them simply underestimating PHS. Overall, good intense game, with both sides staying very classy throughout. The next matchup between these two should be a good one and shouldnt be overlooked because of the fhs vs sps matchup following it.

I got to see this game because it had been re-scheduled and it didn't conflict with the games I normally watch. While I agree with Cronaldo's assessment, I'm not as eager to say FHS had a closer than expected game against PHS simply because they had beat St. Paul's three days earlier. While I wanted to watch FHS play, it turns out I also saw a mostly young PHS team that played hard and well against FHS and should get due credit.

Both teams played good in an intense game. Overall, PHS had the better of it the first half in my view, creating a lot of early chances mostly on deep throw ins and corner kicks that were put in the box. PHS came up a bit short on finishing, but finally headed one into the net in the 18th minute. FHS answered impressively and fiercely after giving up the goal, pressing hard and leveling 3 minutes later. It was a great response. The rest of the half was give and take, and they went to the break at 1-1.

FHS went up 2-1 ten minutes into the second on an excellent free kick that was drilled at the goalie. The PHS goalie made a good play on the ball, blocking the shot, but it was too hot and he dropped it. FHS was there to clean up the mess. The rest of the half was more give and take, but then late PHS made an interesting change. Both mid-fielders were substituted at the same time. Up to that point the mid-field had been fairly even, with perhaps better possession by FHS but good hustle and effort by PHS to disrupt the flow. After the mid-field subs, the game shifted noticeably to FHS's attacking end, and within 5 minutes they earned a third goal. The PHS mid-field was changed back, and the tone of the game shifted accordingly.

In the final two minutes, PHS had another excellent throw-in deep on their attacking end, and the PHS defender they seemed to move forward every throw in and corner kick went to make a play on the ball at the near post. It appeared the FHS goalie ran into him from behind as the PHS player attempted a header. A PK was awarded and PHS converted to make it 3-2.

A well played and fast game by both sides, and one I was glad to see. What I particularly liked was the fact that so many players on both sides of the ball were playing intense and well. Team efforts for both, and Cronaldo's observation of classy behavior is dead on.

And speaking of behavior, there was also a humorous moment late when the referee threatened to clear the stands, calling the fans delinquents or some such. A tad unusual. From what I saw, the fans were fairly typical for high school soccer.

And after many visits to PHS, I finally know why they call it The Swamp. The mosquitoes were incredible, especially the first half!

[dbeasely17]

cronaldo7 said:

Oh and by the way i think you need goalscorers for fhs from that game.

What i know for sure right now is ray cummins with one and pierce langridge with one.

Not sure who scored the third but i think it may have been brooks.

Ok, well let me know if you find out...

[dbeasely17]

soccergeezer50 said:

SPS is currently relying (in general) more on size and aggression versus superior foot skills and accurate passing that FHS posesses.

I have to disagree here. St. Paul's is one of the smallest team in the state. If you notice, when they struggle it is because they are not passing quickly enough. When they don't get the passes off quickly enough, they get hit hard and knocked off the ball. Fontainebleau certainly has the advantage in size and conditioning, while St. Paul's may have a slight edge in quickness (quick feet). Fontainebleau did a lot of offseason training in the weight room. With the exception of 5 or 6 players, most of the St. Paul's guys never lift weights, much less regularly. I still would say that St. Paul's has the better foot skills from man to man. That's not to say that there aren't Fontainebleau players who don't, but man to man St. Paul's has the edge. If you want me to give a player by player breakdown, I could tell you how each Fontainebleau player matches up to his St. Paul's counterpart. I can tell you that Kurt Brannon, Zack Ely and David Gourges have as good a touch as anyone on either team.

[dbeasely17]

St. Paul's will play Newman tomorrow, December 22nd at 11:00 A.M. The game will be played on the Varsity field, rather than in Hunter Stadium, due to weather conditions and newly planted seed.

[lakeview]

And now we return you to our regularly scheduled program. Back to the district race. Who's on tap this week?

[lakeview]

CoachRay is showing FHS as our number one seed, STP as number 2, and Ponchy and Northshore as wild cards.

No playoffs for Slidell, Mandy, Hammond and Covington.

[lakeview]

Dawgs will have to beat St Paul once again.