April 19, 2001
Memphis Shock vs LFC Eagles

Starting the game we had 3 subs. The last 2 came right around halftime. So, we had a full team tonight!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations to everyone. That might be a first. Anyway, we started off playing a flat 4 back-line instead of playing a sweeper. Our defense did a really good job adapting to it. Roughly 85% of the first half was played on the Eagles side of the field. We were dominant but just couldn’t seem to get anything in the goal, much less around the goal. The first good chance of the game came actually for the opponents. Barrett was running down one of their forwards who sprung loose. They got their feet tangled and the forward went down. Our guys were saying that it was outside the box, but the ref called a penalty kick. So Baxter in his spiffy new goalie jersey and super glue gloves set up for the kick. The Eagle taking the PK choked and missed the goal totally. Baxter guessed correctly so had it been near goal, Baxter woulda gotten it. So we decided to pick up our play knowing we just got a gift.

That was really the only time they had a chance to get a good shot on goal the first half. Us, on the other hand, were keeping their defenders and midfield on the defensive the whole half. We were doing a great job passing the ball and a good job being aggressive. We had a few great chances for a goal. The first one was when Bishop was dribbling with the ball and laid it off to Winters. They work very well together. Winters sent a ball in the box which Nathan put a head on and it just missed the goal by inches. Later in the half in a scramble in the box, Ryan headed another ball that was bouncing around that hit the bottom of the crossbar. The ball bounced right back to him. Micah following the shot was about to bury the ball in the goal until someone just touched it out of his way. Later, on a kick when the goalie was out of position, Bishop got the shot up in the air that the keeper had to run back for and mishandled, but recovered. Many other times we had a good shot on goal that was just wide by a foot or two. Baxter had a shot on goal on one bounce from a punt. I wonder what would happen if he really got into one. Or if the wind picked up a little more than regular. After a little melee fighting for the ball with an Eagle, Sharp lost his cool and got the first yellow for our team this year.

So at half we were tied nil-nil. Last time the score was like this we ended up tying without a goal scored. The first half seemed to fly by. Someone who had a clock going said at half the clock showed 42 minutes played. We started on time so I don’t see why the half was stopped early. Because of what’s on the line we were discussing what we had to do to win this game. We had to get a win to keep giving us a chance to be D4 Champs. Not to mention a couple of guys had some bodily “steam” they had to get out.

We made some changes in personnel in mid and up front to start the second half. For the most part they worked out very well. A couple of near through balls almost got us a goal. Early in the 2nd Micah had a through ball from Dennis that he got a shot off that deflected off of a defender that was heading for goal. Again, about 80% of this half was played in the Eagle side of the field. Plain and simple, our defense was unbeatable tonight. They played a tremendous game keeping the ball from getting to Baxter. Our mids and forwards were basically playing a 6 on 9 game all night long. For a few minutes this half, the momentum shifted to the Eagles. Once we got it back we were playing with more determination trying to get the win. We were pressing their defense even harder giving us better shots on goal. Midway through the half Sharp took a shot on goal from about 30 yards out that faded just to the left of the goal. Another good opportunity was when Bishop had the ball at the center stripe and sent the ball for a streaking Dennis. He collected the ball and his shot went high that the keeper jumped to get and landed behind the goal line, but was holding the ball out as not to cross the line.

In this half, Jordan was sending a ball out and got upended. When he came down he landed n his left shoulder hard. With guys yelling to kick the ball out of bounds, no one could seem to do it. Finally an Eagle graciously caught the ball a minute after the injury. Thank goodness, all it was was a separated shoulder.

Like last week, the game got interesting in the last 10 minutes. From a throw in, Bishop was dribbling around trying to find someone to pass to. He sent the ball up to Sharp who split a couple of defenders and took a hard shot on goal. His low shot beat the keeper and hit the right post and deflected to the left. Nathan was standing there waiting for the deflection and easily put the ball in the back of the net for the goal. Shock up 1-0. There was much celebration.

So with just under 10 left we knew the Eagles would be pressing. We did give them 1 good shot on goal, which Baxter knocked up and over the goal. Finally, at the 49th minute, the ref decided to call the game after looking at his watch for the last 3 minutes. He seemed to be giving them a couple more chances to tie the game, but once we had a break towards their goal, he called the whistle 3 times. Memphis Shock with the tough win 1-0.

This was a hard fought game on both sides. They impressed me. Even though the Eagles played rougher than other teams, they were good sportsmen about it, offering the helping hand if you were on the ground. That’s good to see. Other than us, them and the Zebras are best about this part of the game.

Tonight, we were the better team. As said earlier, much of the game was played on the Eagles half of the field. Too many Eagles in defense and not enough Shocks on offense made it hard for us to many shot of goal. Our goalie didn’t have much to do tonight due to the play of the defense. The defense did a wonderful job tonight running down balls and being aggressive. Not to mention, they got a whole 2 off sides tonight. That’s a record for us this season. In mid, they are really starting to gel, learning each others strengths and playing to them. We did start spreading the field out better in the second half. The only thing we still need to work on with the midfielders, is getting back on defense. Forwards were doing well pressuring the defense and keeping the goalie honest. Like our mid’s, the forwards have started to play better together. Now if we can keep up the winning streak all would be well in Shockland. Good game guys!

Dennis Thompson