After taking yesterday off to be a tourist I am ready to report on the Gothia Cup activities as I know them. 

Although I missed both the C2 and Girls team games I do know that both teams lost yesterday.  The C2 boys game ended with a score of 3-1.  I was told that they played a good game and were not just in a defensive mode for the game. 

I did not get to see the C2 Boys play today as their game time was the same as the C1 Boys.  I was told that they lost today's game 14-0.  You can check the Gothia Cup website to comfirm any and all scores that I am providing. 

The C1 Boys took on Sweden at 10:50 AM.  After yesterday's win the boys were ready for another good game.  Based on Sweden's scores against Brazil (2-1) and England (1-0) we knew were a team that we could beat. 

The C1 boys came on strong in the first driving on the opponents net.  They had some good shots but nothing that really had a chance to go into the net.  The defense kept Sweden from even having any serious shots in the first half.  The first half ended with no score. 

With the teams being evenly matched the second half was a continuation of the first half with plenty of ball movement but no great shots.  Half way through the second half Paul received a great pass that allowed him to break past the defense.  He drove to the net pulling the goalie to his side.  He passed the ball and Joe did a perfect header of the ball into the goal.  It was the type of combo that we would like to see more often. 

This goal seemed to fire up the Swedish team.  They started to drive hard on the hawks net.  The defense stepped up and kept them out of the box area.  There was one tense moment where Sweden broke away to drive on our net.  Sam was able to block the kick through a great effort.  The game ended 1-0.

The C1 boys end the regular play with a 2-1-0 record.  Unfortunately there were 3 teams in their group with that record.  The deciding factor after that was goals for versus against.  Using this approach the boys finished 3rd in their group.  Their first playoff game is at 12:30 PM.  They will play a 4th place team that will be decided in a game at 7:00 PM tonight. 

For anyone who did not catch the girls game on Facebook, they came out ready to play.  At the start of the game it looked like the teams were evenly matched and the lady hawks would be able to score on Sweden.  They were able to drive the ball down the field well to within range of the opponent's net.  Unfortunately they could not get the shots at the net though.  Sweden was able to score in about the first 10 minutes of the game.  Then late in the first half Sweden did a break away to score a second goal.  If you saw the video then you know that the Sweden player was way offsides and the goal should not have counted.  However I am not the ref and therefore my opinion does not count.  (Interesting point on the Gothia Cup, the boy's games had line refs as well as the field ref.  The girls games only had a field ref.  Not sure why the girls games were not important enough to have 3 refs.). 

The first half ended with the In the second half the girls team seemed to take a more defensive position.  They did not move the ball across the mid-field line very many times.  Sweden was able to score 2 more goals in the second half.  The game ended with a score of 4-0. 

The C2 boys should be playing their first playoff game at 7:00 PM.  (I believe it would take 2 wins for the C2 boys and one win for the C1 boys for our 2 teams to match up.  I am not totally sure of this so check the B bracket playoff schedule to cofirm if I am right.)

Both Boys teams did come out to support the girls team for their last game.  There was a large and vocal support group for the lady hawks.  The boy's did get some body paint to spell out BLACKHAWKS.  I believe they probably showed up during the game video as the announcer directed his attention toward them at one point. 

That is enough about the games.  As we left the Girls game the C1 boys were given some free time to be on their own.  The C2 team should be getting ready for the next game tonight.  Not sure when the girls next game is so they may be preparing as well. 

Most of the players went the discoteque last night I was told.  We heard that it was fun.  However I do not think that i will be able to sneak and do any photos.  Security seems to be pretty tight which is good. 

Some of the players are talking about going back again tonight.  Beyond that I am not sure what else the players have planned. 

That covers everything that I know at this time.  I will add some more pictures later today.