The U11 Boys Revolution capped their successful season on November 22 with a dramatic 4-3 victory over the North Plainfield Firestorm.  The Revolution finished the Fall 2009 season with a record of 8-1-1, their only loss being in week 2 against the same North Plainfield team.  The flight championship came down to the last game, with North Plainfield ahead in the standings by one point going into the game.  It was an exciting and close game, well-played by both teams.  With no score at the half, the Revolution quickly went up 2-0 early in the second half.  North Plainfield chipped away at the lead and eventually went up 3-2, but the Revolution fought back to tie on a free kick and then pulled ahead for good with about 5 minutes left to go.

In this game and throughout the season, the key to the Revolution’s success was its balance and depth both offensively and defensively.  The defense was anchored at goalkeeper by the excellent play of Connor Langdon, Andre Sierra and William Hopper.  Excellent defensive work was shared throughout the season among Franklin Huang, Marcus Trenfield, Benjamin Yang, Daniel Yang, David Delmonico, Andre Sierra and William Hopper.  This aggressive and hard-working group held most opponents to no more than one goal.  The first season playing on a full-sided field is particularly challenging for the midfielders, but the Revolution was fortunate to field a fast, hard-working group at that position.  Shaun Robinson, Dima Tymofyeyev, Jess Sabin, Jamie Donato, Aditya Chugh and Kyle Mani all contributed significantly at midfield throughout the season.  The strong offensive attack was completed all season by the excellent play of forwards Matthew Zupancic, Kai Zheng and Connor Langdon.

While the final game was certainly the highlight, the Revolution displayed depth and teamwork throughout the season.  As an example, every regular midfielder and forward contributed multiple goals this season.  In fact, during one game each of the 5 goals was scored by a different player!  All in all, the team’s offensive and defensive balance is best shown in the combined score of 45-18 by which the Revolution outscored its opponents this season.  The team has made tremendous progress with its trainer John King this season, and is looking forward to a challenging and successful spring season in 2010!