Eaglestix is more concerned with winning vs letting their girls develop and play the game. Everything is micromanaged on offense. They just hold the ball and don’t really do anything with it. No 11/12 year old game should end in a 3-2 final score.
On one possession early in the 2nd half they passed the ball around for 9 minutes. 😴
Why did M&D allow them to do this? Remember the 4th pool play game was meaningless for Eagle Stix unless they gave up 18 goals. M&D needed to win and should have tried to push the pace and tempo.
Both teams prefer a slower pace with great execution. Reality is that Eagle Stix is a much better version than M&D.
If you watched the first game, HHH (a much inferior team) was able to create some turnover in Eagle Stix's settled play offense. They just couldn't win a draw and didn't get enough possessions.
After watching parts of 3 ES games this weekend, I think the game plan to beat them in the summer is pretty clear.
- Win at least 40% of draws. they have the best 28 draw girls. Need at least 40% to have a chance. At a minimum teams should be trying to play draws low to give their circle girls a chance.
- Double aggressively against ES to slow down their motion and "jump" all of their high picks. If you sit back, they will eventually pick you apart.
- When you get the ball via clear or turnover, push aggressively when you have numbers. If there is a weakness in Eagle Stix, it is team speed and transition defense. Aces was able to create some cheap goals and this is needed to have a chance.
Obviously, this is all easier said than done and if this goes wrong, the score could get out of control quickly.
If a MD teams beats them this summer, I think Coppermine probably has the best chance just based on speed and athleticism. I would expect M&D to try to add some speed this summer.
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