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July 25th
Message from Dale Davis,
"We are out! Got beat 2-1 by a Swedish team. We came out slow in the first part of the match and we paid the price for it.
We showed something in the final 10 minutes after going down 2-0, but it was too late. Alan Kim scored from a set piece about 25 yards out but it was too little too late for the team and we lacked the energy to win or even tie it to send the match to penalties.
It has been a great learning experience for the team and hopefully all the players will bring back the lessons learned from here into our season starting in September.
Tomorrow everyone is heading out to the beach in Lokken for some down time. I’ll be watching all the quarter final and semifinal matches as the competition is better down the stretch and the matches are played at a furious pace.
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July 24th (Entry 2 of 2)
This morning at 11:00AM Central European Time, we kicked off against Byneset IL from Norway in the round of 32. It was the best performance of the event so far for our boys. We played with more determination and passion than we have shown in months. A loss at this stage and you are finished and the boys really showed they are not ready for this to become just a vacation in the final days.
Chris Therrell netted a hat trick with three fine goals. Lloyd Mohney and Bradley Robertson each had one as we went on to rout our opponents 5-1.
The team is being interviewed now by a Television group, so we will be in a Dana Cup video in the future.
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July 24th (Entry 1 of 2)
Wednesday night we played with purpose in a hard fought contest against our final Norwegian team in the group. The score was 0-0 at halftime and with about 10 minutes left in the match Zach Behnke came on the right side of midfield and made an immediate impact beating players down the flank and providing us with the final spark we needed to put the ball in the net and 1-0 win.
With a few minutes remaining the Norwegians threw more men forward and Josh Slepicka made a brilliant save to keep the game for us. He sprained his thumb in the process but continued to play it out. This match was a really turning point for the guys as they stepped up and are now in the round of 32 this morning. The Norwegians were devastated to lose to Americans and they were yelling at one another as we celebrated.
In the round of 32 we play another Norwegian club and a win there gets us into the round of 16 against a Swedish team. Today is a pivotal day because a loss now and the event is over for us.
We have seen some tremendous football over the last couple of days and watched a U18 girls team from Norway that were just brilliant with the ball at their feet. They were the most impressive of the girls’ teams I have seen so far. Prior to the match a couple of twins in their team were juggling the ball, resting it on their foreheads and doing several other tricks. The boys were amazed but I think they could see what more practice does for you as a player. The girls even came over and took a photo with several of our boys which made the kids day. They were constantly glaring at them like they do all the Scandinavians. It’s funny!
The team enjoyed the disco last night and the types of fair rides they have here as well. I think overall this has been a great experience so far for them and many are asking to return next year.
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July 23rd
It was a better performance than yesterday as the team came out strong and determined. Our boys went ahead 1-0 on the legs of Andrew Hubeli. Hubeli broke through the defense and beat the Norwegian keeper 1v1. Seconds later the Norwegians from Djerv drew level 1-1, after the Lazers defense lost concentration after the Lazers’ goal.
Prior to halftime Chris Therrell, put the ’94 boys in the lead 2-1 as he raced past the Djerv defense and slid the ball into a bottom corner of the goal.
Dale Davis added, “Our play was solid in the first half other than the lapse where we gave up the goal and we were dominating our opponent.”
In the 2nd half, the boys started to slow down some and lost possession of the game. Josh Slepicka was beaten twice over his head and we were beaten 3-2.
We were the better of the two teams but a lack of concentration for periods in the match cost us the chance to go forward into the A-final round. Hopefully with a win tonight against another Norwegian team we can finish 3rd in the group, be in the B-final group, and have a bye in the round of 32.
Coach Dale Davis is working to get some of the boys to send notes back from Denmark. James Dunn had this to pass along. “It is very fun over here. The weather is very nice and cool. The games have been fun, although we could have won today. Everyone here is having a great time and the girls are also very pretty.”
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July 22nd
Today we played the Metallurgist team from Russia and were beaten 6-1. The Russians scored in the third minute after a mistake by Goalkeeper Josh Slepicka. Josh took too long on a back pass and the Russian striker came through and picked the ball from his feet for an easy tap in.
Minutes later, Josh went off injured with a hamstring problem so Bradley Robertson took over and performed well in goal. At halftime the match was level at 1-1, as Chris Therrell beat two defenders and finished a great effort passed the Russian keeper.
In the second half of the match, we were over powered by the Russians who kept possession well and utilized there speed and solid technical abilities to break down our midfield and defense. The Russians scored five brilliant goals in the second half to win easy.
On Wednesday, we play the two Norwegian teams with a chance to reach the 2nd round if we win both. It is likely as we are fairly well matched with these two squads and should be able to bounce back from the match today.
Later this afternoon we are heading out to watch the Under 19 Hertha Berlin professional team play. It should be an entertaining match as well as a great learning tool for the boys as many of these players will turn full professional next year in top German Bundesliga teams.
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July 21st
The boys arrived in Denmark on Sunday at 4:30 PM Denmark Time, and played their first two exhibition games within the last 24 hours. They played their first within an hour after they arrived. They have lost both training matches to two Norwegian teams 1-0 each.
Coach Dale Davis, is very pleased with their efforts as they adjust to the weather and the six hour time zone change. "I think we could have some success here against the Norwegians on Wednesday because we are able to handle their style of play", added Davis.
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The Dana Cup tournament in Denmark kicks off on July 22 at 12:30 PM Central European Time for our 94 Lazers Premier Team against Metallurgist from Russia. The next day, July 23, the team will play against two Norwegian teams in the group phase—Ullensaker-Kisa IL and Djerv SK.
The U15 age group has 20 brackets with a total of 80 teams competing from all over the globe. There are teams from Kenya, England, Germany, Israel and several more; a complete list can be found at
www.danacup.com. The Lazers are the sole representative from the United States in the age group. In the latter stages of the tournament the team could end up facing English professional club Ipswich Town. The final two teams will play at Hjørring Stadium on Saturday, July 25th in front of over 20,000 people.
Unlike American tournaments, Dana Cup does not have separate playing divisions based on teams playing level. All 80 teams are broken down into groups of four and only the group winner advances on to the next round of knock out matches.
For the last two months the 94’s have been training almost daily to prepare for the tournament. They have endured 90 degree temperatures in the afternoon during sessions and will certainly welcome the cooler 60-70 degree weather of Denmark. The team departs on July 19th for Copenhagen and will then transport by bus up to Hjørring where they will live in cabins for a week during the tournament. While in the Dana Cup village they will have many opportunities to socialize with players from all over the world.
The players and parents of the ‘94 Lazers Premier team would like to thank Delta airlines for supporting the team on the journey to Denmark and also to all of you at the club who took part in the various fundraising efforts over the last year. We appreciate your support and will work hard to make all of you proud.
