Mass Young Gunners - Generals vs. REAL Boston

 Forekicks - Marlboro, Ma

Sunday, September, 12, 2021


First Official Game

After a few seasons of indoor soccer and training sprinkled in here and there, the Generals had their first official game at Forekicks. The players were excited to play, but after a long day and late night at Gillette Stadium the boys started off a bit slow. A mixture of being tired, new outdoor atmosphere, or the size difference of the other team, the Gunners had a slow start. The first ten minutes of the game the Gunners stood watching as the other team took free shots on our keeper and scoring four goals. Without at least six incredible saves from Cam Darlington, the score could have easily been 10-0.


Pep Talks

After the slow start the boys were encouraged to play more aggressively and tackle the ball with more power since 95% of the challenges were won by the opponents. Markens and myself have preached this to the Lady Gunners the past few years that it only takes “one Player” willing to fight and give it everything they got to spark a team rally. Ryan Chandonnet was that player on Sunday, as he won several hard challenges in a row and was non-stop sprinting for several minutes. This seemed to motivate the rest of the team as more individual challenges were won. The half ended at 4-0.


Half-Time Adjustments

The plan was to start the second half the same way we finished the first by winning more individual battles than their opponents. The boys fought hard the rest of the game, having several of the bigger players on the other team limp off after our boys won the ball with force. By winning more of the ball, we were able to create more offensive opportunities. We earned two penalty kicks after some skillful play and converted on one with a strong shot from Alvyn Trotta. REAL Boston did manage to sneak in three more goals but these weren’t easy to get. The final score was 7-1.


Players of the Match

The entire team made significant adjustments during the game, but Ryan’s aggressiveness on defense was contagious as the rest of the team followed his lead. The combination of Cam and Alvyn in goal the first half and creating multiple scoring opportunities in the second half as both players were using their skills to challenge the keeper. They each earned a penalty kick for the Gunners!

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