Boy's Third Grade vs. MSI Dragons (11/4/2007)
Boy's Third Grade vs. MSI Dragons (11/4/2007)
Hapoel B3 Travel Team rematch against the MSI Dragons is this coming Sunday at 4PM. The game will be played at Avenel Local Park (10051 Oaklyn Drive, Potomac, MD-20854) From I-495 go north on River Road. Turn left on Bradley Blvd and follow to the intersection of Persimmon Tree Road. Bradley Blvd becomes Oaklyn Drive at the intersection as you enter Avenel. Fields are on the right.
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Hapoel B3 Travel Team - Practice
Good news. We can use the JCC Field this Wednesday night (10/31) from 7-8 PM. The lights will be on from 6:30 until 8:30 so please come a little early, so we can set teams and start playing at 7 PM sharp. We’ll be playing a game, to get used to our new teammates, and using the entire field space (e.g. both our fields put together) to get used to playing on a bigger field. See you Wednesday night.
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1-0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our boys won 1-0 in the final two minutes of the game on a goal by Danny Zweben which was assisted by Eli Shemtov. Great work, boys!!!!!
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e-mail from Coach Zweben
An e-mail from Coach Zweben…
I want to share some observations about the game yesterday, and ask that you pass this on to the parents of the boys who played. And did they ever play!
Here is what our boys faced:
• A regulation-sized field and goals, both of which were about four times bigger than anything they had ever played on.
• A game on that field that began less than two hours after every one of them had finished a Hapoel game (and we know how hard our kids play in the Hapoel games).
• A game against a team -- the MSI Dragons – that has played together for many years, Spring and Fall, that plays and practices and drills on a big field, and that in its MSI Soccer league, has not only never lost a game, but also has never been behind.
• A game against a team that was playing on its home field, and that was bent on revenge after losing badly to our boys at Layhill.
• A game against a team that was bigger, physical (lots of pushing and elbowing), and talking some trash.
Here is what our boys did:
• First, the defense. Cameron Harris-Gallahue, our goalie, pitched a shutout in the first game he ever played in a big goal. Our defenders, Aaron Weiss, Mory Gould, Josh Strauss, and Avi Cohen, were absolutely lights out. The Dragons did not have a single, not even one, clear shot at goal. And when Aaron, Mory, Josh or Avi got faked out, or an opponent got past them, which did not happen very often, they ALWAYS, and I mean every single time, came back with a second effort to disrupt the attack. As individuals, and as a unit, they all excelled.
• The midfielders. Daryl Nadler was everywhere, and the one time that a ball trickled through and was loose in the goal box, he came tearing through and cleared it. Danny Zweben, like Daryl, managed to cover almost the whole field, had several great long runs, and scored the winning goal with two minutes left (and I really love this) against one of the trash talking players. Jacob Glassman was outstanding, especially at the end of the game when he was playing on sheer will, and when the other team just could not get past him. Akiva Glashofer not only defended very effecively but also consistently carried the attack on his side of the field and had one tremendous run that nearly resulted in a goal. Jonah Riffkin owned his area in the midfield, completely bottled up the other team and moved the ball forward beautifully. Perry Ross covered a ton of ground, and did a great job disrupting the other team's forwards.
• The forwards. Eli Shemtov was relentless, showed amazing footwork and ball control, and with two minutes left beat two defenders up field and put a perfect pass on Daniel Zweben’s foot for the game winning goal. Mikhael Hammer-Bleich positioned himself beautifully and just missed a goal on a rocket five minutes into the game that let the other team know that they were in for a real battle. Elijah Zack did a great job, fought for every ball that came his way, and was a big part of several great runs to the goal. Ari Sporkin was strong on attack, especially in the second half, and also did a very solid job at midfield. Noah Green also played forward and midfield, and he was particularly strong on defense in the second half, where several times he turned the ball around and moved it upfield. Coby Melkin did a tremendous job pushing the attack, showed terrific footwork and ball control, and passed beautifully as well.
Here is what our boys did not do:
• They did not talk trash and insult the other team, and they did not play dirty. Their response to bad sportsmanship was to out hustle the other team, and they did it all game long.
• They did not complain to their coach (me). Some players got more minutes than others. The boys who got less time wanted to play and they let me know it, but not a single one of them kvetched. What they did instead was to be ready when we needed them to go in, and give every ounce of energy and effort they had when they were on the field. We won yesterday because every one of our enthusiastic, exhausted boys hung in and never, never, quit.
Matt, the Hapoel Soccer motto is Plad Hard, Play Smart, And be a Mensch. All sixteen of your guys did all three yesterday, and you should be really proud of them.
Coach Zweben
I want to share some observations about the game yesterday, and ask that you pass this on to the parents of the boys who played. And did they ever play!
Here is what our boys faced:
• A regulation-sized field and goals, both of which were about four times bigger than anything they had ever played on.
• A game on that field that began less than two hours after every one of them had finished a Hapoel game (and we know how hard our kids play in the Hapoel games).
• A game against a team -- the MSI Dragons – that has played together for many years, Spring and Fall, that plays and practices and drills on a big field, and that in its MSI Soccer league, has not only never lost a game, but also has never been behind.
• A game against a team that was playing on its home field, and that was bent on revenge after losing badly to our boys at Layhill.
• A game against a team that was bigger, physical (lots of pushing and elbowing), and talking some trash.
Here is what our boys did:
• First, the defense. Cameron Harris-Gallahue, our goalie, pitched a shutout in the first game he ever played in a big goal. Our defenders, Aaron Weiss, Mory Gould, Josh Strauss, and Avi Cohen, were absolutely lights out. The Dragons did not have a single, not even one, clear shot at goal. And when Aaron, Mory, Josh or Avi got faked out, or an opponent got past them, which did not happen very often, they ALWAYS, and I mean every single time, came back with a second effort to disrupt the attack. As individuals, and as a unit, they all excelled.
• The midfielders. Daryl Nadler was everywhere, and the one time that a ball trickled through and was loose in the goal box, he came tearing through and cleared it. Danny Zweben, like Daryl, managed to cover almost the whole field, had several great long runs, and scored the winning goal with two minutes left (and I really love this) against one of the trash talking players. Jacob Glassman was outstanding, especially at the end of the game when he was playing on sheer will, and when the other team just could not get past him. Akiva Glashofer not only defended very effecively but also consistently carried the attack on his side of the field and had one tremendous run that nearly resulted in a goal. Jonah Riffkin owned his area in the midfield, completely bottled up the other team and moved the ball forward beautifully. Perry Ross covered a ton of ground, and did a great job disrupting the other team's forwards.
• The forwards. Eli Shemtov was relentless, showed amazing footwork and ball control, and with two minutes left beat two defenders up field and put a perfect pass on Daniel Zweben’s foot for the game winning goal. Mikhael Hammer-Bleich positioned himself beautifully and just missed a goal on a rocket five minutes into the game that let the other team know that they were in for a real battle. Elijah Zack did a great job, fought for every ball that came his way, and was a big part of several great runs to the goal. Ari Sporkin was strong on attack, especially in the second half, and also did a very solid job at midfield. Noah Green also played forward and midfield, and he was particularly strong on defense in the second half, where several times he turned the ball around and moved it upfield. Coby Melkin did a tremendous job pushing the attack, showed terrific footwork and ball control, and passed beautifully as well.
Here is what our boys did not do:
• They did not talk trash and insult the other team, and they did not play dirty. Their response to bad sportsmanship was to out hustle the other team, and they did it all game long.
• They did not complain to their coach (me). Some players got more minutes than others. The boys who got less time wanted to play and they let me know it, but not a single one of them kvetched. What they did instead was to be ready when we needed them to go in, and give every ounce of energy and effort they had when they were on the field. We won yesterday because every one of our enthusiastic, exhausted boys hung in and never, never, quit.
Matt, the Hapoel Soccer motto is Plad Hard, Play Smart, And be a Mensch. All sixteen of your guys did all three yesterday, and you should be really proud of them.
Coach Zweben
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An e-mail from Coach Smurthwaite
An e-mail from Coach Smurthwaite...
Matt,
Yesterday was amazing! There must have been 100 - 150 people at the
game. The conditions were terrific and there was a TON of drama.
Hapoel Soccer gives my guys the challenge which they do not get in
MSI. We continue to roll along in League play which has come at a
cost -- the games are too easy and motivation is a problem.
Playing Hapoel is everything I could hope for. Please let all your
coaches know that we very much appreciated the game and everything
they bring. Our guys can certainly learn a few things about hunger
and aggression!
It is a tradition that will obviously continue for many years.
Thanks again and see you tonight!
Scott
Matt,
Yesterday was amazing! There must have been 100 - 150 people at the
game. The conditions were terrific and there was a TON of drama.
Hapoel Soccer gives my guys the challenge which they do not get in
MSI. We continue to roll along in League play which has come at a
cost -- the games are too easy and motivation is a problem.
Playing Hapoel is everything I could hope for. Please let all your
coaches know that we very much appreciated the game and everything
they bring. Our guys can certainly learn a few things about hunger
and aggression!
It is a tradition that will obviously continue for many years.
Thanks again and see you tonight!
Scott
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