The JV soccer Rangers took on the Holland Dutch on Monday, September 16. The game started off slow for the Rangers, but Holland was on the attack right away. Holland had many chances in the first four minutes, but in the fifth minute, the Rangers conceded a goal.
Captain Joe Emerson stated, “Holland transitioned quickly, breaking through our midfield. Our defense was stepped up and couldn’t get back fast enough.”
After this goal, the Rangers started playing with more possession of the ball, sharing and trying to look for simple passes. After possessing the ball for a few more minutes, Central had gotten a few shots on goal by Ulrich Dongmo but unfortunately missed. Through the rest of the first half, the Dutch and the Rangers split possession somewhere near 50/50.
Going into halftime, freshman Mikey Wells said, “I think most of us were disappointed with how we played, but we were only down 1-0, and coach Rob had said if we want to win this game, we are gonna have to play together and use 1-2 touch passes.”
Prior to this game, Central had just beaten Northern in a very energetic and wild game, with the final score being 2-0. They won that game by playing 1-2 touch passes.
Coming out of halftime, the boys looked like a whole different team. They were high-pressing and playing way more aggressively than they did in the previous half. Central had a shot right out of the gates from Ahmad Ayesh, but it went wide left.
Towards the end of the game, Holland turned it up a notch, taking a lot of shots and getting the ball into the final third multiple times. The goalie for FHC, Kason Schneider was trying to go quickly every time he got the ball and punted it so that the boys could score before time ran out. In the final minutes, Wells got a shot at the Holland goal, and was the best chance all afternoon for the Rangers but unfortunately, the Dutch goalie saved it.
The final whistle blew and the final score was, Forest Hills Central Rangers 0, Holland Dutch 1.
Emerson stated at the end of the game, “Overall the team put on one of our greatest performances of the season, especially in the second half, are ball movement, possession, and work rate was the best I’ve seen all year. We passed, moved, made runs, and kept the ball very well. We could have tied or won the game if not for a couple of mistakes. In terms of room for improvement, the biggest area for growth is just consistent focus and effort. Holland’s goal came off a mistake from our defense, so our focus needs to be maintained throughout all the moments, and in some instances, teamwork, effort on defense, and getting back to mark up players when being counter-attacked could be improved. Otherwise, we simply need to finish our chances and leave no room for doubt”.
