Corwin’s game was another repeat but with a better final score of 1-0.
The game was well played on both sides. The defenses in particular were strong. The coach told me later that the other team took only one shot at Corwin’s goal the entire first half, getting stopped by the midfield every other time. Corwin’s team had several shots at the goal but they were either stopped or too harried by the defense to score. The best one was a long shot from outside right which hit the top cross beam square on and bounced off.
Both offenses picked up (or the defenses got tired) with significantly more goal shots. Late in the third quarter the same kid who bounced one off the cross beam made another outside right shot when the goalie was out of position and while not the best shot, it rolled in for the score. One of the other players actually followed it in to the goal just in case the goalie made it back to block it.
Corwin had a number of good kicks and clears, being part of the midfield defense that kept the other team from direct attacks. He seemed to be doing better about compensating for his not top-of-the-line foot speed in reading the plays and helping with offside traps, which nailed the other team multiple times.