I thought Dorman played the prettiest soccer I've seen all year -- there were almost no mistakes in their passing, they moved the ball all over the field and had very well organized attacks, drops, field changes. Dorman's defense did a nice job of taking penetrating passes away from Lexington, aided by less than stellar passing at times by the Wild Cats. I missed the first 20 minutes, but thought Dorman dominated the last 20 of the first half with lots of play in and around the Lexington box. 0-0 at the half.
A wicked shot from an undefended Cavalier forward 1 minute into the second half hit the left post and rolled back across the entire frame before it was cleared by a Lexington defender. I thought Lexington then did a nice job of applying offensive pressure over the next 20 or 25 minutes and took over the pace of the game. A number of balls played into the Dorman box were bogged down by the sheer number of defenders and forwards trying to occupy the same space.
Dorman was the more physical of the two teams and, to my eye, bigger on average. In my opinion, the center ref allowed an excessive amount of "take down" contact, which played to Dorman's advantage.
Play in the first OT was very even. 4 minutes into the second 10 minute OT period a lexington foul was called on contact that seemed minimal compared with the muggings we had seen all night. From about 30 or 35 yards out the Dorman player lofted the ball into the right side of the box and a player put a perfect head on it sending it soft, high and out of reach over the Lexington goalie. Lexington came back with 6 of the most intense minutes of offensive soccer I have seen -- a heroic effort to even the score, but too late. The game ended as Lexington was setting up for a corner, I believe.
It was a great night of soccer in the midlands. I particularly enjoyed watching the play of #13 for Lexington, a deceptively fast bulldog of a defender who frequently advanced the ball down the left side when overrun by Dorman. #3 for Lexington had a nice run at the left side of Dorman goal late in the game but the Cavalier goalie played her approach aggressively and blocked the ball. #9 on Lexington is a joy to watch. Great speed and very nice changes in speed to move past and through players, beautiful passing and first touch.
Dorman should match up well against Irmo but I'm betting on Irmo to take the state 4-A trophy back to the midlands.
