Strong Week for Saber Soccer: Wins Over New Prague and Chaska
By Jon Poppen
After an opening day loss, the Shakopee boys soccer team rebounded this week with two wins. We are now 2-1-0.
The first win this week was against New Prague. We had 22 kids travel to New Prague and play in this match. The rotations were fast and furious, and everyone contributed. We got off to a good start. We were on the ball, in their half, and getting chances. The first goal finally came off a corner about 20 minutes in. Our two forwards off the bench worked together to make it happen. Jean Carlo (Chavez Fernando) got the near-post header on frame and into the mix. There was a scrum in front of the net, and Jesus (Zarazua) battled to get a foot on the ball for our first goal. Later in the half, New Prague got a corner goal of their own, and we were tied at half, 1-1.
In the second half, it turned into a really entertaining match. Again, we were on the ball, in their half, and getting chances, but the goal was not coming. New Prague was countering and getting opportunities too. The game got tense and exciting. The fans in attendance were engaged. Finally, our goal came with about 15 minutes left. It was a beautiful team play that started all the way in the back. Otto (Sunde) found our captain and leader, Dominic (Voeung), just inside our own half. On a half-turn, he took on a defender with acres of space to run. The transition was on, and no one is better in those moments than Dom. Dom dribbled the half, got to the edge of the box, committed two defenders, and slotted a ball to the middle for Otto, who was on a dead sprint from the back. Otto then found Marc (Houndji) on the backside, wide open, for the game-winning goal. The last 10 minutes, the boys held off New Prague and walked away with the 2-1 win.
On Thursday, we hosted Chaska. This is a section opponent. This game always carries a lot of weight for seeding meetings later in the year. Both teams are young and talented, and this was a battle as well. They got on the board first. We responded quickly. We got our captain and leader, Dominic Voeung, isolated 1v1 on the edge of the box, and he pulled out a double scissors to break into the middle and create a pocket of space between two defenders. Then he shelved a ball in the upper corner of the net. You could hear the crowd ooh and aah! It happened in the blink of an eye, but it left the bench and crowd in awe before the celebration erupted. This tied the game up 1-1 going into half. Momentum built for us as the second half went, but Chaska had chances as well. It was back and forth and a fun watch. After numerous offside calls against us, we finally stayed on, broke through at half field, and our speedster Jean went 1v1 against the keeper and scored.
Jon Poppen is the varsity boys soccer coach for Shakopee High School.