Competition Fierce in Columbus Classic
Bexley, OH (July 20, 2004) Prepared to face some of the best schools around, the Lady Spartans traveled to Columbus Bexley for a tournament this past weekend.
"It's a nice town, but if people wanted to see a lot of goals then they went to the wrong place," Stiver said.
Valley View went up against some strong schools, but Stiver was pleased with where the team ended up.
"At least two of the schools were division one schools. It was a continuation from Xenia last week," Stiver mentioned.
The tournament opened for Valley View when they went up against Thomas Worthington and snagged a 1-0 victory in the final second of the game.
"With 20 seconds to go Casey Whitaker made an unassisted goal. She got the ball playing outside-middle and started to take it down the sidelines around the goal area. She got a little step on her defender and had a nice shot that went right over the goalie's head," Stiver said.
Although the girls pulled out of the Worthington game ahead, Stiver knew there were still a lot of things the girls need to work on to get to the level that this tournaments competition was played.
"They were an excellent team and they passed the ball really well. I could say that about all the teams there. We were strong enough defensively, but in soccer it isn't always about the score. They missed shots, our goalie stopped shots and our defense stepped up," stated Stiver.
"We left there knowing that as far as the skill levels were, we weren't there. You can tell by watching that these teams are just loaded with phenomenal players, but I'm not saying we're bad. These are just really experienced teams and we are good," Stiver said.
One of the obstacles during the tournament was the wet field. The Spartans had to play in the puddles during three of their four games.
"There was a lot of rain and that effected most of the play. If the ball got kicked in a puddle, it would just stop. Three of the games had a lot of heavy water play. Teams that could pass the ball well, handle the ball a little better than us in those circumstances. It slowed the game down a lot because it slowed the ball down. Overall I was pleased with the outcome in all three games," Stiver said.
The team recorded a 1-0 loss in their second game. The game ended just like their first game, except this time the last minute goal was earned by their competitors.
"They were an excellent team, scoring with about 30 seconds to go. It was the same thing we did the first game. Overall I think this was a more evenly played game," Stiver noted.
"We weren't necessarily disappointed. We want to win and we play to win, but that's not the only reason why we enter these tournaments. There are a lot of other things we have to learn. All in all it was a good game. We just happened to let one go. Our goalie actually had the ball, but it slipped due to the wet conditions and went in," added Stiver.
The final score in the Spartans third game against Hilliard Davidson mirrored the previous games, 0-1.
"We played them on Berkley's Stadium field, with artificial turf, so the rain factor wasn't there. Davidson is just a phenomenal team and they just gave us fits. We gave up one goal at the end of the first half," Stiver said.
"I just can't say enough about Davidson, they are excellent. Honestly we were content with playing defense," added Stiver.
Looking back to the big game Stiver said he noticed a big change in the Spartans game during the second half.
"They were winning every ball and it was hard to defend them. We seemed slow and sluggish in the first half, but in the second half we played much better. I was disappointed to have another 1-0 loss, but to be able to play better as the game progressed was definitely a positive thing." Stiver commented.
The Lady Spartans final game was against Westerville South, falling 1-0. That one goal continued to hurt them, but the girls also continued to improve.
"They scored in the first half. It was a nice game. There again we had moments. I thought we played a better first half though. We had some opportunities to get a goal. We have to work on our decision making and execution. We would shoot when we should've passed and pass when we should have shot," said Stiver.
Although the girls went 1-3 at the tournament, Stiver was very pleased.
"We went up there to play some pretty good schools. All four of them were full of varsity players. We still have some freshman just getting their feet wet. Some of our sophomores are just now starting to see a lot of varsity time. We are still trying to decide who can do it. And we are still trying to get the best combinations for our team out of the juniors," Stiver stated.
The team is looking exceptional defensively. The goalies are doing a great job transitioning to their new duty since Junior Karlee Blosser was injured during the track season.
"Laura Tipton has really done a great job and Brittany Kramer has also saw a lot of time. She's also done really well," Stiver noted.
As the Lady Spartans strong point is defense, this weekend Stiver and the other coaches felt several girls did a remarkable job defensively; Sam Buehner, Holly Karn, Linley Clark, Sarah Burris, Abby Burns, Christie Jones, and both goal keepers (Tipton and Kramer).
"We thought they all had an excellent weekend defensively," noted Stiver.
The tournaments seem to be helping push the girls into the regular season with a solid game and Stiver is pleased to see the great efforts.
"We played four games against strong schools and only gave up three goals. We have to work on some things offensively but we're getting there," Stiver said.
The Lady Spartans return to action this weekend in the Northmont Invitational. They will be playing at the Hoke Road Soccer Complex on Saturday at 12:30 and 5:45 p.m. and on Sunday at 8:00 a.m. and 1:15 p.m.
