Two Soccer Domain Academy Teams Win League Titles

Print Story | Email Story
It was a weekend full of entertaining soccer action capped by two of the seven SDA teams clinching the league titles in the New England Championship earlier this month. A total of three victories 1 tie and 1 loss made up the results from the first weekend of November.
 
U11 Boys Saturday
After looking like this game would not go ahead, SDA travelled to FC Bolts for the title deciding match. A slow start to the game saw a limited amount of chances in the first five minutes, but soon the visitors started to breakdown the Bolts. As SDA settled into the game they started creating chances and converting them well, a dominant first half performance saw them go into the break up 4-0 and in impressive form. 
 
SDA came out for the second half very confident, playing flowing and positive soccer, they immediately started to add to their commanding lead, throughout the second half SDA continued to create and add several goals to the already impressive goals tally to win, 12-0.
 
U11 Boys Sunday
After clinching the league title the previous day, SDA travelled to Westfield to conclude its season, hoping to finish the campaign undefeated. SDA once again started the game very dominant and soon got the scoreboard ticking over, as the visitors took a commanding lead individual positions were rotated to give the players experience of playing in different spots. Throughout the whole of the first half, SDA created chances and looked good in possession. When positions got rotated, the visitors lost a little shape but still limited their opponents to very rare goal scoring opportunities. 
 
The second half was very similar with SDA very dominant and positive in possession of the ball, the game was uncontested throughout and the U11 Boys finished the season relatively to their form throughout. A great season with many positives to be taken, the biggest being finishing the season unbeaten.
 
U13 Girls Sunday
On the first weekend of November, SDA U13 girls traveled to Connecticut for their final game of the season. With an opportunity to win the league, SDA traveled with confidence, needing a minimum of one point to confirm their league title.
 
Spirit of Liverpool, short of players, resorted to using players from their title challenging championship team to fill the roster, and this made it a difficult challenge for Soccer Domain Academy. The SDA players knew they had to work hard to achieve a good result from this game.
 
The game started very evenly with, both teams looking good with possession of the ball, SDA playing their normal positive style of soccer, using their wingers and strikers to attack their opponents with speed. The visitors started getting into dangerous areas of the field and wasted a few chances before converting a ball scrambled across goal for a well anticipated tap in for the winger. The game continued to be very tight with SDA continuing to create chances but unable to extend their lead throughout the duration of the first half.
 
The second half began in the same vein. SDA getting into threatening positions but were unable to convert their chances, midway through the second half momentum swung as Spirit of Liverpool started putting the visitors under relentless pressure, testing the resilience of SDA’s defense. The hosts started picking the ball up in too much space behind their opponent’s midfield line and causing the top placed team all-sorts of problems. Sooner rather than later, they got their reward, leveling the score. After the goal, Sprit of Liverpool continued to apply constant pressure to the SDA back four. Resilience, discipline and determination kept the hosts out.
 
After 10 minutes of being tested at the back, the momentum of the game swung again with SDA starting to create chances and push to win the game. Although a draw would have been enough for SDA, they were on top of the game so continued to push on to get a winner and seal the title. With five minutes of the game left, SDA hit the crossbar, the ball bounced back into play for a follow up to be saved by the goalkeeper. The visitors remained on top for the remainder of the game, the final whistle went, sealing the title for SDA U13 Girls.
 
U14 Boys Friday
Another Sunday and another SDA U14 game, still with a chance of winning the league. SDA welcomed GPS West to Berkshire Community College under the lights for a cold Friday night game. 
 
From the start of the game it was very apparent GPS was in for a tough day as SDA dominated the game playing some very positive soccer. The hosts were more physical than their opponents, making it hard for GPS to win thitseir 50/50 battles. Soon SDA opened up the scoring and some quality and good movement off the ball from the wingers and strikers saw the home side continue to create chances. The half-time whistle went with the game all but sealed, however SDA still had the task of increasing their goal difference to maximize their chance of sealing the league title. 
 
The second half started in a very similar light, with SDA dominating physical battles and playing some positive flowing soccer to progress the ball into dangerous areas of the field. GPS continued to struggle to contain ferocious SDA attacks, although the score line continued to increase over the course of the second half. SDA wasted some chances and frustratingly was unable to keep a clean sheet after conceding from a rare GPS attack but took away a 7-1 win..
 
U14 Boys Sunday
Going into the final game of the season, the SDA U14’s required a 5-0 win to be in with a chance of winning the league. This time its challenge was a physically game against a strong Best FC team.
 
In a fairly even first half SDA appeared to have the better of the possession but appeared to force too many direct passes up field into the forwards to take the lead. SDA seemed to be very rushed with moving the ball which led to a lot of errors in ball retention and demonstrated SDA’s frustration with playing their quick moving soccer style of play. SDA started gaining greater momentum come the 20th minute of the match and was unlucky not to take the lead through three quick fire shots in target in a five-minute spell, the goalkeeper producing two great saves. This momentum continued becoming stronger and stronger as the half came to an end with only the half-time whistle halting this surge in play with the score tied, 0-0.
 
The second half took a different turn of events with Best FC beginning to show its strength and quality of play and began to dominate the possession. Best FC then managed to turn this play into two quick fire goals in a four-minute spell leaving SDA with an uphill battle. SDA, although continuing to work hard, was unable to replicate their quality of play from the first half with uncharacteristic errors occurring when in possession of the ball. Best FC continued to knock on the door and earned a third goal coming from a goalmouth scramble. SDA continued to work hard but as time was running out it become harder and harder to get the cutting edge of grabbing a goal to get back into the game, and Best FC prevailed, 3-0.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

North Adams Regional Reopens With Ribbon-Cutting Celebration

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

BHS President and CEO Darlene Rodowicz welcomes the gathering to the celebration of the hospital's reopening 10 years to the day it closed. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The joyful celebration on Thursday at North Adams Regional Hospital was a far cry from the scene 10 years ago when protests and tears marked the facility's closing
 
Hospital officials, local leaders, medical staff, residents and elected officials gathered under a tent on the campus to mark the efforts over the past decade to restore NARH and cut the ribbon officially reopening the 136-year-old medical center. 
 
"This hospital under previous ownership closed its doors. It was a day that was full of tears, anger and fear in the Northern Berkshire community about where and how residents would be able to receive what should be a fundamental right for everyone — access to health care," said Darlene Rodowicz, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems. 
 
"Today the historic opportunity to enhance the health and wellness of Northern Berkshire community is here. And we've been waiting for this moment for 10 years. It is the key to keeping in line with our strategic plan which is to increase access and support coordinated county wide system of care." 
 
Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, under the BHS umbrella, purchased the campus and affiliated systems when Northern Berkshire Healthcare declared bankruptcy and closed on March 28, 2014. NBH had been beset by falling admissions, reductions in Medicare and Medicaid payments, and investments that had gone sour leaving it more than $30 million in debt. 
 
BMC was able to reopen the ER as an emergency satellite facility and slowly restored and enhanced medical services including outpatient surgery, imaging, dialysis, pharmacy and physician services. 
 
But it would take a slight tweak in the U.S. Health and Human Services' regulations — thank to U.S. Rep. Richie Neal — to bring back inpatient beds and resurrect North Adams Regional Hospital 
 
View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories