U14 competitive soccer team heads east
by Brandon Mayer
North Dundas players (in yellow) fight hard for the ball in Alexandria on August 6
The North Dundas United Soccer Club’s U14 competitive team had a game in Alexandria last week, its first game east of Chesterville. The August 6 game ended in a 3-0 loss for the local team, but coach Evan Porteous is optimistic about the performance of his team overall despite a couple of tough losses recently. The Alexandria game was the first game since July 16, owing to a 2-week mid-season break for all teams in the league. The North Dundas U14 team did anything but rest during the mid-season break, instead doubling up their practices.
Referring to the North Glengarry (Alexandria) team, Porteous commented: “In a game before our mid-season break, they were a strong team ahead of us in the standings. They showed us why they were ahead of us.”
Porteous explained that his team used the break to work on changing their approach of moving the ball up the field. They also worked on some set plays, such as free kicks and corner kicks. “I thought our game Wednesday would have gone in our favour, but I thought wrong,” said Porteous. “Maybe we had too long of a break and our rust was showing. We were just off – like a couple extra steps – on our passing and positional play.”
Porteous vowed to have a strong practice on August 11 in preparation for the next game, which took place yesterday, August 13 – too recent to be covered before the Times print deadline.
It’s clear that the U14 team is holding its own on the field. Reflecting on the team’s successes so far, Porteous notes that a game in Kemptville on July 9 was “by far” the team’s best game. “The ball movement as a team was at its best,” he added. “We deserved to win that one against an undefeated team. They kind of set the bar that game as far as potential. I'm confident we'll see that type of play again.”
The local U14 is a 50/50 split of 13 and 14 year old boys and girls. This is the first year North Dundas has offered competitive soccer in many years, and so far, North Dundas places 6th out of 15 teams in the division, providing some incentive for the team to push for a spot back in the top 5.
“We aren't playing rec soccer anymore,” Porteous added. “This is competitive. We don't get to be rusty!”