eUSL Week Three Rundown

The biggest news to come out of week three was that a pro player was joining the league. After not being able to get a hold of my opponent, the league decided to drop that player. It had been at least 2 weeks since anyone got a hold of him. Surprisingly the replacement they found was Diego Restrepo. He is the first pro player in the league. He is the goalkeeper for Austin Bold FC.

Week Three Results

Week three started with my game vs Diego Restrepo on Sunday, April 12. This was the most hyped match of the season for me. Everyone’s eyes were on what Diego would do. I was just trying to snap my losing streak. I didn’t know how Diego was going to play. Going into the match I was just trying to stick to my game plan.

Diego would start scoring in the 21’ minute. He passed the ball in front of the net. He moved around my defender. I overcommitted. He took the shot. There was nothing my keeper could do.

He would score again in the 27’ minute. He crossed the ball in off of a corner. His header landed right at his player’s feet. The first shot was saved by my keeper. The rebound ended up right in front of his player. He took the shot and scored.

He scored again in the 35’ minute. He was one on one with my defender. He used the skill stick to get around him. Again, I over-committed with the defender. He went one on one with the keeper. He took the shot from inside the box. There was no way he wasn’t scoring on that play.

In the 40’ minute he scored again. It was a simple header off of a corner kick.

He scored again in the 62’ minute. He brought the ball down the wing. He moved into the box. Skill moved around my defender. he passed the ball to a player running at the net. He would pass it to a player who was closer to center. He would shoot it. I tried to block it. It was too late.

In the 80’ minute I would get a red card. He stole the ball from my player close to the centerline. He got a breakaway. I ran after him. I challenged for the ball. I didn’t touch the ball; his player went down. The game gave me a red card.

At the end of the day, my offense wasn’t there. I only put four shots on target the entire game. I had a shot accuracy of 44%. On defense, I couldn’t stop him either. I was overcommitting and not timing my challenges right. I let him take 17 shots. I gave him 7 corners. I just couldn’t stop him. At some point during the second half, I gave up. I changed my strategies during half time to reflect that I wasn’t getting offensive chances. When I stopped pushing I think Diego could tell. It seemed like he stopped pushing after his 5th goal. I don’t think my first win will come anytime soon. I’m not close to winning games yet.

The second game of the week came on Monday, April 13. That game was supposed to be played on Sunday following my game but ended up being postponed. This was Antonio’s game vs @Regal_Begul who was playing for San Antonio FC. Antonio was looking to push his winning streak to 3 games. @Regal_Begul was trying to get his second win of the season.

Antonio started the scoring in the 13’ minute. He got the ball just past the halfway line. He was able to outrun the defender to get the ball. @Regal_Begul closed down Antonio in the box. Antonio took a shot that was blocked. The blocked ball went into the air behind the defender. Antonio got to it first and headed it into the net.

In the 22’ minute @Regal_Begul would score to tie the game. He took the ball down the wing. He stopped to lose his defender. He passed it towards the box. He would then pass it into the box. Antonio didn’t challenge the player with the ball. @Regal_Begul was left wide open to score.

The tie would come to an end in the 63’ minute. @Regal_Begul took his player unchallenged towards the box. He passed it into the box. He took a one-touch shot that would find the back of the net.

@Regal_Begul Almost scored again in the 87’ minute. @Regal_Begul put the ball in front of his player behind Antonio’s defense. They battled back and forth for the ball. @Regal_Begul broke free. Antonio’s keeper came out of his net and won the ball.

In the 90+2 @Regal_Begul scored the game’s final goal. @Regal_Begul put the ball in front of his player behind Antonio’s defense. He would get the ball uncontested. The keeper came way out of his box to try and win the ball back. @Regal_Begul lobbed the ball over the keeper and into the net.

The game ended 1-3 handing Antonio his first loss of the season. It was a close match. Antonio just had a few unlucky breaks on defense than he normally has. Looking at the match facts, Antonio didn’t generate as many offensive chances as he normally does. He had 56% of the possession but only 4 shots. He also had a pass accuracy of 90%. I think this was a match he could have won but just didn’t. We’ll see if he will be able to get back winning this week.

eUSL Top Ten Goals Week Three

Here are your #eUSL goals of the week for week 3. Thanks as always to our players and @Nutmeg_State for putting it together! pic.twitter.com/qUHcsYgJDy

— eUSL (@eUSL_) April 15, 2020

My favorite goal from this list is number two. @jamiedawe950 showed some amazing moves with that goal.
Antonio didn’t make this week’s list. I made the list twice. Not for scoring but for being scored on. At number 9 was the goal I let in 62’ minute. Then at number 8 is the goal I let in in the 35’ minute.

Antonio’s week four match will see us face each other in the Biggest Little Derby. I think he will win but after his performance in week 3, I might be able to pull off an upset. That match will be Saturday, April 18 at 7 pm PST.

My favorite goal on this list is number 6. The player was not only able to get free under pressure but took a shot and it put it in the top corner from outside of the box.

@antwnzrr made the list twice. At number 7 with his goal from the 86’ minute, and number 3 with his goal from the 45+2’ minute. 2 Congrats to him. I think we will see him on the list a lot more as the season continues.

Standings

Full @eUSL_ standings after week 3 pic.twitter.com/8dmkROveem

— Zac Electrifly (@ZacElectrifly) April 15, 2020