End of the road time.

Roosevelt entered the game with their heads held high and with a lot of confidence. And for good reason: a conference championship and a twelve-win season are nothing to be ashamed of! Plus, they had high expectations for the game-- the Riders,who narrowly lost to Stow earlier in the season, knew their opponents' game and was ready for the challenge in this winner-take-all, loser-go-home sectional final. Unfortunately for the Riders, Stow was also ready, also knew their opponents, and had the home field advantage. Despite goals by Emily Hook (woot!) and Becca Thomas, Stow was too much for Kent, and the Bulldogs sent us packing 4-2.

To Rider fans and Rider players and Rider coaches, it is surely a letdown to not get to the District level and have a chance to upset (probably) Jackson. It's always a letdown to end the season with a loss to Stow, whose team operates at about the same skill level as Kent. The difference is, in my opinion, the quality of schedule. Stow (whose schedule can be found here: http://www.highschoolsports.net/de faultcal.cfm?t=s&schoolid=OH442247168&spt=7&lvl=1&division=2) plays teams like CVCA, Hudson, Tallmadge, Western Reserve, Brush, Solon, and others consistently. Their quality of schedule is very high, which serves them well as they enter the playoffs and are more used to pressure games. Now, you'll argue with me, but Chris, Kent Roosevelt had the toughest non-conference schedule in school history this year! Yes, that's true, but in between playing Hudson and  and Cloverleaf, we were playing Coventry and Field and Norton and Southeast, teams we beat by a combined score of 22-3, including a 7-0 whomping of Southeast. It's NOT like we did awful against the tough teams in our schedule. Yes, the losses to Revere (4-1), Hudson (3-0), and Cloverleaf (5-0) were pretty severe. But look at the Green game: 1-0 loss. Boardman, a 3-0 win. Wadsworth, a 2-2 tie. Twinsburg: 1-0 win. Cuyahoga Falls: 2-0 win. Stow: 1) 2-1 and 2) 4-2. The losses were not unwinnable. The wins were impressive. The bottom line is, we play in a tougher conference or have a tougher non-conference schedule, we inevitably will elevate our soccer program. Credit Mitchell with seeking a tougher schedule for the girls... I would like to see us play even tougher games, like the boy's team plays.

This season will be just another season next year, just another fond memory that may inevitably get lost in the shuffle. I prefer to think of it, however, as a moment in time, a moment when we the fans could sit, freezing in the stands and scream our heads off at referees, huddle together with crossed fingers during a penalty kick, and shake cowbells at opposing team's fans as they sit, stunned by a Rider victory. For the girls, especially the seniors, these are the memories they will have as they embark on other journeys. For these seniors, they will remember wearing spray-painted shirts to school advertising for the game, they will remember uneven fields at Norton and turf fields at Green. They will remember last minute goals against Ravenna and Crestwood, and obnoxious fans (thank you, thank you) screaming from across the field. Some of the senior girls will remember playing with teammates with whom they've played since sixth grade or earlier. I will remember screaming at refs for what i thought were ridiculous offsides calls, only to be tsked by people who know soccer (thanks Mr. Bialik and Mr. Sampson) that yes, indeed, it was offsides. I will remember Erin Waples' fastest hat trick probably in the history of the universe, three left foots into the goal against Boardman in under 50 seconds. I will remember chaperoning six girls across the parking lot to the McDonalds that looked like a chinese restaurant in Norton, and trying to sneak back in without Coach Mitchell knowing. I will remember my sister walking across the field with my parents in tow during Senior Night. This team and each of its members are so full of heart and spirit, I will miss it, and I know you all will too.

Thanks for the memories girls!

Coventry downed 3-0

Kent took the fight to a scrappy Coventry last week, defeating them 3-0, with goals scored by Rebecca Thomas, Annie Kenney, and Erin Waples, the three you would probably expect to score. These three have definitely been the most consistent this season, and the exciting thing is, two of the three come back for next season! The first half, as always for the Riders, was a struggle to get focused, especially with Stow looming as their next opponent in the sectional finals. Many of the girls in the eyes of the fans saw their lack of genuine hustle and motivation in the first half of this game to be a problem of taking the game seriously. Coach Mitchell and the staff set them right at halftime, and the Riders came out firing, scoring two quick goals to start the half. Very few penalties or free kicks were awarded in the game; when they were called against their team, the hostile Coventry crowd went nuts. When they were called against Roosevelt, our crowd went nuts. At one point, the ball appeared to come off one of the Coventry player's hands... we erupted in cries for the field referee to make a call, loudly enough I guess that the referee looked over at us and said "She didn't touch it with her hands!" That was a funny moment. A late goal was added, securing a Rider victory. Thanks to Mr. Breiding, the girls had some leftover pizza, albeit cold pizza, at the end to celebrate.

Twinsburg and Green

Twinsburg came to town on Senior Night looking to prevent Roosevelt from getting its tenth win of the season. The game was closely contested. The game got more and more physical, especially on the Twinsburg side (they accumulated two yellow cards). A scary moment occured when goalie Abby Bradford got nailed in the stomach by an errant Twinsburg knee with ten minutes left in the game and Roosevelt and Twinsburg tied 0-0. Bradford had the wind knocked out of her, and couldn't breath well on the field. She had to be taken off and replaced with junior goalkeeper and occasional field player Jocelyn Schmidt, who has learned a lot from the adept Bradford through her years playing as Bradford's second-in-command. Schmidt commanded the goalie box well after Bradford came out, making several nice plays, especially with balls in the air and making a few nice punts. We know that next year when Bradford graduates we'll have some solid talent in her stead. Anyway, with 3 minutes or so left in the game, freshman Annie Kenney buried a goal in the left corner, giving Roosevelt a 1-0 lead they would not relinquish. When the clock ticked down to 0:00, Roosevelt got to celebrate its 10th win of the season, which is a rarity in Mitchell's tenure as head coach. Afterwards, the seniors were honored with delicious cake and punch. Cheers to the Roosevelt mom's for putting together nice photo montages of the six seniors.

Not to bring the mood down from the happy news of a Roosevelt victory, but Roosevelt fell last Saturday at Green 1-0. There were several factors that went into the loss. One was Coach Mitchell's absence. His absence was largely felt, especially at the end with some questionable substitutions that kept some bench players on the field for a longer period of time than normal in the 'meat' of the second half. Another element to the game was the turf on which the game was played. In my opinion, and this was supported by many to whom I talked afterwards, it gives a real distinct advantage beyond regular "home-field advantage" when a team like Roosevelt who has played on grass all season goes away to Green and must automatically adapt to a very different surface. It changes the game. I would argue that every team should play on the same surface, regular ol' grass. It's not fair, is what it is. Because Roosevelt had little experience on the turf, players had a harder time controlling the ball, clearing out of the box, making successful offensive ventures, and finally scoring. Though Roosevelt only lost one to nil, it was obvious some ball handling skills went out the window. I just hate that it partly came down to this. Another element was the loss of Michaela Kline to a concussion. Though the offense performed fairly well in the first half, they didn't have the depth at forward they would have had with solid consistent performer Kline. Kline would have brought some good ball handling skills and maturity to the field. The offense has been lackadaisical all season, but this concussion just adds insult to injury. A few good points: the defense performed very well, save for letting in a lucky goal with about ten minutes left in the game. Specifically Audra Parrish and Savanna Kirtley had great games, but everyone on D performed well, seriously.

Tomorrow (Monday) we got the tournament draw, followed by three more games (two at home!), then playoffs. I'll update accordingly as we get more info on our tournament draw.

Ravenna, Field, and Wadsworth

So a brief update about what your busy blogger hasn't gotten around to writing about.

The Ravenna game on September 30 was of HUGE importance. The PTC Conference title was on the line-- if Roosevelt lost to the visiting Ravens, they would tie with Crestwood and Ravenna for the title, something no one wanted. There is no substitute for victory, especially for this team. They love to win, and when they don't, you can almost hear their hearts being ripped in two. Or maybe that's the audiences' hearts... either way, the Ravenna-Roosevelt game was by far the most important game of the season. The Riders were up to the task. They countered a physical Ravenna team with some serious hutzpah. With Roosevelt winning 2-1, a Ravenna midfielder was tossed out of game by the referee for mouthing off after a yellow card. This was huge for Roosevelt. After this, Ravenna had no chance again to tie. Bottom line, Roosevelt wins 2-1, and the title is ours!!!

The Field game on October 1 was a bit of a joke, considering the team is about 0 and schedule. Roosevelt had some difficulty winning this game, surprisingly, but handled the Falcons just fine, winning 4-2. What was surprising is that Roosevelt was losing 1-0 early on. Bradford and the defense usually don't give up goals so quickly. The coaching staff of the Riders were incensed about the team's play, to the extent that the players were glowering by the end. I think Mitchell et al. were concerned about the team's apparent slacking after beating a tough Ravenna team, then coming to Field with a win kind of assumed. All the same, the coaches might have been a bit hard on the team, to the extent that they might have been played worse after half time in the face of a lot of harsh criticism. Roosevelt wins, nonetheless. Woot. 9 wins! Sad point: junior attacker Michaela Kline went down HARD midway through the second half. She left the game, and after a doctor's visit, she was revealed to have suffered a concussion. High school's sports are pretty serious about concussions, so Michaela will be forced to sit on the sidelines for a few after that game until a doctor clears her to play. No doubt she'll be raring to go.

October 3 against Wadsworth, Roosevelt worked the visiting Wadsworthians to a 2-2 tie, which was frustrating for many of the girls, as they had been winning at half time. Ah well. First tie of the season.