By Garrett Pog
Goal scorers Amanda Palmer (left) and Jada Rivera (right)
This team is scary when the confidence gets going.
The Michigan Burn (0-3) got their first taste of the horror show when they got smoked by Troy City WFC (1-2-2) 5-1 in a humid Evolution Sportsplex on Thursday evening.
Troy City was in control of the game from start to finish, in a match where some former Burn players were itching to get on the field against their former team. I imagine it was a good feeling to see the result play out the way it did.
The TC girls started out a little relaxed before working their way into it, a product of playing 2 games in 3 days, with Wednesday being focused on technical training, a regular practice that takes place regardless of what the schedule looks like. You could see it took some time to work out the sore muscles, but it wasn’t long before Troy City made their mark. With a few slick passes, Madi Bajis (Saginaw Valley) found Jada Rivera (Milwaukee) just a few feet in front of the goal with no defender in sight.
The Burn would make several runs towards the goal, but didn’t get far without immediately being pressured by a defender stepping in. If they had possession, the shot had to come quick, otherwise they couldn’t get it off.
Rotations came and went for Head Coach John Arndt’s club, as they had enough players to sub 10-for-10 every 15 minutes. This allowed for the groups to get comfortable with each other, and the legs to stay fresh.
When Rivera found her way back in, Sydney Hewer (Heidelberg) rocketed a ball over the top of the midfield to give her a 1v1 opportunity, which she knocked in with ease. Just 6 minutes later, Rivera fought through heavy traffic in the 18-yard box to score another goal by sheer will, giving her the hat trick in her 23 minutes played up to that point.
As the halftime whistle blew, the confidence continued to exude from the Troy City bench, and it didn’t take many words from John Arndt to put the game in perspective. He talked about the standard that was being met from the previous game, and told his team that with this kind of play, they can compete against anyone.
That standard continued to be met, as the defense continually had GK Amy Sidaway’s (Christopher Newport) back, not allowing clean shots for the majority of the match. All except for one possession, where a breakdown in communication and rotation gave the Burn an open look, and they capitalized in the 59th minute to score their only goal of the evening.
Amanda Palmer (Grand Valley) wouldn’t have it, being subbed in after the goal and taking only a few minutes to crack a shot from distance that nailed the top left frame to extend the lead for Troy City. In the 69th minute, Palmer would crack another one from an even greater distance to give her another goal on the night. She was very confident and proud of her shots following the match.
“It definitely took a while to get my rhythm, I didn’t have a lot of shots in the beginning of the season. My teammates gave me a lot of open space, and I know I’m good from distance, so I took the shots,” Palmer said gleefully.
It’s difficult to single out only a few players when everyone had a good night. The defensive pressure from the back line was always consistent, the outside backs ran more miles than I’ve ran in the last year combined, and the forwards took too many shots for the Burn’s keeper to ever get comfortable. The midfield was always in sync, something that Arndt pointed out as the major difference between the first game and now.
The constant in Troy City throughout the season has been the type of coaching we’ve seen from John Arndt. I’ve seen too much coaching that looks like berating or nagging towards your players, and the way Arndt is able to keep a positive energy while still pushing his players to do more is a breath of fresh air. The response from his team has also shown that they love Arndt’s coaching style, and want to play hard for him. I asked him about that.
“I think it’s so important [to coach with positive energy] these days, especially in the women’s game. I’ve never met someone who played the game that got any better by being yelled at. There’s a way you can bring about your philosophy in a positive manner, and I’ve always coached that way. I like being a positive, demanding coach, and that’s the way you can get the best out of every one of these girls. When coaches start yelling at their players, 95% of them resist, and that’s not how you build trust with them,” Arndt said.
Just a few hours before game time, Arndt posted a quote saying “You may have the title, but your players determine if you are their ‘coach’.”
Well said.
This team will look to keep the positive energy going on an away trip to Pass FC this Sunday afternoon, a game in which they will look to play conservative due to the lack of players available. The next home match will take place Wednesday, June 19th vs Pinnacle in the MPSL, that match starts at 7pm in Evolution Sportsplex.
You can follow Garrett Pog on X and Instagram @itsGarrettPog. You can email him at garrettpog@gmail.com for any inquiries.
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