Atlantic vs. Pacific
“We did not come into this competition looking to defend,” said Weston Head Coach Alvin James at halftime. “We have just been very unlucky in missing goal scoring opportunities. We missed four or five yesterday and I felt we could have finished here, one or twice today. You cannot miss chances at this level and expect to win.”
Infused by James’s halftime discussion, Weston came hard out of the gates to c ontrol the early part of the second half. Their best weapon was out wide in Brian James, a crafty midfielder with a game-changing cross.
“Technically Brian James is the complete package,” said Alvin James. “He is in the National Pool for players at his level and a lot of what we do works through him. He is the designer of what works for us on the pitch and when he is on we are very tough to beat.”
Weston continued to push their attack down the right flank in hopes that someone would find their way to the other end of one of James’s crosses. Mustang’s goalkeeper, Kyle Price seemed equal to anything James could come up with, plucking several of Weston’s crosses out of midair before they could hit their target. The goalkeeper withstood the initial test, even saving a breakaway with a knee-save when Weston looked to attack the side of the net away from James but eventually a ball found its way past Price.
On the play, James earned one of several corners and served a good ball into the area. The ball was knocked around for a split second before it found its way to Weston’s Sami Salim on the back post. Salim instinctively did what no other Weston attacker could do for nearly two days when he found the back of the net with a near post blast past a defender hugging the frame.
Mustang rushed striker’s forward but could not muster any true attack late on and Weston’s defense and goalkeeper held on for their second clean sheet of the U13 North American Finals.
“The competition here is great,” said James after the match. “Any time you bring together teams from all over the U.S. and Canada the competition is going to be tough. We have to continue to be very effective defensively and pick up our goal scoring percentage if we want to advance with a win tomorrow.”
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