Aztecs September Look Back and Weekend Recap

Hi Aztec Parents,

The boys are continuing their momentum that started the beginning of September and have carried it now into October. This past weekend saw the Aztecs prevail 5-3 in Newark to go 3-0 in league play. Then on Sunday the boys followed Saturday's game with our 3rd win in 3 games of Round 1 State Cup play with a convincing 4-1 win against San Ramon Red allowing us to clinch 1st place for our bracket.

Finishing 1st in our bracket means we should be playing better quality opponents as we enter Round 2 which is what we want as we aim to go as high as we can go!

For the month of September the boys went 7-2 and scored 41 goals in those 9 games. A small part of that had to due with the level of competition (7-0 at halftime against BUSC a few weeks back... clearly a rec team that probably should be at a copper level at best in State Cup play) but give credit to the boys for their continued development as their passing and finishing has improved on a weekly basis.

After a slow start on offense in August, they have really come around quickly. Their commitment to playing as a team is paying dividends and coaches Mark and Pete were just tremendous in my absence as well as in my return. During the tournament in Sunnyvale I was under the weather and unable to fully participate so I had them continue to run the show which gave me a unique perspective. I felt I came back to a team that was performing at a higher level than when I had left which is really wonderful to take in.

Saturday's game in Newark saw the boys get off to fast start with Will "The Wizard" Garrigan scoring in the first couple minutes of the game courtesy of a combination play that started with Graham Kol and Ryan Wunderman. Garrigan has a knack for making the difficult plays look easy and the first goal of the game would certainly qualify in that category.

Halfway thru the 1st half Judd Phillips would continue his September scoring spree with the 2nd goal of the game he parlayed from a well-played pass from Carter White.

Judd Phillips and Hellboy... notice any similarities besides superhero ability!!

At the 29th minute, the Aztecs would get our 3nd goal on an "own goal" from Newark that Will Garrigan and Nolan Hannan combined to create. Nolan did his part with one of his long throw-in's from the right sideline to Garrigan who crossed the ball in front of the goal to where the Newark defense would end up deflecting it into their own goal. Before the half would end Newark would get a direct kick at the top of the penalty box which they would convert for their 1st goal of the match. 3-1 at halftime lead for the Aztecs but Newark would never really threaten from there.

In the 2nd half Ryan Wunderman would find the net from about 20 yards out on a beautiful shot from distance and Nolan Hannan would complete the scoring with a direct kick from 25 yards out that I'll credit Ryan Wunderman with an assist for interfering and distracting the goalie as Nolan's shot bounced once and then through the goalie's hands while Ryan made a play for the ball.

After the game the Newark coach had high praise for the boys because of the way the entire team passed the ball. He said he would love to see us play the Alameda Islanders on Oct 21st because our style of play reminded him of that team which beat them 3-1 a few weeks earlier. Currently, Alameda sits in 1st place in our Bronze League with a whopping +22 goal differential with our boys right behind in 2nd place with +7 goal differential, both teams are undefeated in league play. This game on the 21st is definitely one I've circled on the calendar...

Continuing on to Sunday's match against San Ramon Red, this was my favorite of the 2 games played over the weekend. The field was swampy in places and with the boys in their all whites, there was little doubt about a big laundry week ahead. But getting dirty is just part of the fun in playing soccer. This game really stood out to me because of the passing and teamwork the boys displayed to create 22 shots on goal. From my perspective it was the best team performance I had seen all season as the boys moved the ball from side to side and utilized give and go's to control the tempo of the game from start to finish.

In practice the prior week we had installed two new plays (Alpha and #3). #3 in particular is a cornerkick set piece which the boys initially started running Saturday in Newark and it looked like it had potential. Skip forward one day later in San Ramon and they nearly ran it to perfection! I think Coach Kol was speechless which almost never happens because it was his first time really seeing the play run as it should be. The boys pulled off the cornerkick like a well synchronized Broadway play leading to yet another scoring opportunity. The choreography was impressive so be sure to watch for it on our next cornerkick.

The boys would score 4 times against San Ramon Red with 3 of those goals in the first half. Judd Phillips would score first in the 8th minute on a penalty kick.

The penalty kick was created after Spencer, who was starting for the 1st time at outside half instead of his usual sweeper spot, dribbled through 3 San Ramon players before finally getting tripped up in the penalty box.

As soon as Spencer went down, Judd was calling for the PK shot. That shows a lot of confidence and leadership to step up with no hesitation and Judd delivered.

After a San Ramon own goal in the 16th minute created by pressure from Spencer and Will Garrigan, Judd would pick up his 2nd goal of the match dribbling up the right hand side after a pass from Mason Hauck. Mason Hauck had himself an excellent game with 2 assists on the day and a game pin to go with it.

Here's Mason teaming up with Chris on defense.

In the 2nd half, Will Garrigan would complete the scoring with another effortless looking goal with Nate Cheney providing the assist.

Outside of the previously mentioned cornerkick, there was a combination play that started with Judd at left defensive back where he passed the ball up to Carter at midfield who then teamed up with Will Garrigan for a series of give-and-go plays culminating in a Garrigan shot on goal. We didn't get the goal but the teamwork to move the ball from our defensive 1/3 to a shot on goal with such precision and ease was the highlight of the entire game for me. I really have to commend Carter White because this particular play has come to characterize the growth in Carter's game I've seen in the past 2 months.

When the season started Carter had the habit of keeping his head down and taking on opponents when he had open teammates. Fast forward 2 months and Carter is one of the best Aztecs at give-and-go's and getting his teammates involved. Carter would also create 3 shots for himself in this game.

So last night at practice I presented Carter with a game pin and acknowleged his efforts to the team with a give-and-go drill called "the Carter White". I never had a drill name after me so hopefully he thought it was pretty cool.... keep up the great play Carter and remember to retire that Mustang Fire shirt (on Wednesday's at least.... see the team photo at the top)!

Speaking of great play, it's contagious right now. Ryan Wunderman has been playing his best soccer of the season.

Mason Hill got his first start at Sweeper on Sunday which is an acknowlegment to how he has developed because the Sweeper position is such a vital position.

Having Mason play Sweeper I think makes us even more dangerous because it means Spencer gets to move up on offense. We've seen the chaos Spencer creates for opposing teams when he is able to get a few minutes on offense so I'm hoping to get Mason Hill more minutes at sweeper as the season progresses.

Will Garrigan and Judd Phillips are also proving to be a dynamic duo at the striker positions. Nolan Hannan who earned a tournament game ball in Sunnyvale has really elevated his game as well. Chris Obsitnik is playing head's up defense every game out. Ryan Razeghi, Gavin Andrade, and Graham Kol are dominating play in the center midfield. I could go on and on. All in all, everything seems to be coming together as contributions are coming from every player.

So we go into this weekend with a game against the Quakes on Friday night at Sycamore Park. The Quakes always play us tough. We have a very friendly rivalry with them so no doubt they are going to bring their best effort against us. After the game, the Quakes have invited us to dinner just up the road at Ascona Pizza Company. I'll add it to Teamsnap so families that are interested can hang out after the game.

We follow Friday's night game with another league game against San Ramon White. You may be wondering why we are playing San Ramon White a week after playing San Ramon Red. Well, San Ramon White is their silver team and though they are competing in the Silver division of State Cup, they are one of two Silver teams we must contend with in our Bronze League (the previously mentioned Alameda Islanders is the other).

So tough foes this weekend and a great opportunity to see the boys elevate their game further with the stiffer competition that we will now see in October.

Speaking of stiffer competition, how about playing against the Mustang Silver A and Silver B teams on Sunday? I told the boys about it last night and they're all excited. The games will have a referee and are a great opportunity to see how we match up with the Mustang Silver teams in an official game setting.

See you all this weekend for more Aztec soccer!

Thank you,

John

P.S. By the way, if you haven't put in order at our Squad Locker store for Aztec gear, be sure to do by Saturday which is the last day before the online store closes. Here's the link: https://teamlocker.squadlocker.com/#/lockers/mustang-aztecs