Working on my Day Off, Game 2...

The second game I was shooting was after Cooper's game. It was nice that I had time to edit and send my photos from game one and take my time getting them sent, then have a little time to relax before the next game. I was told the game between Midland High and Arlington Martin was going to be a dogfight, and boy was it. The first half was kind of uneventful, both teams were playing good defense but the intensity level just wasn't as high as I was expecting.

In the second half things changed a lot. Especially as the clock was winding down. Both teams had chances for goals, Martin had one that hit the top crossbar and went straight down before Midland could clear it away, but no goal was scored. After the full 80 minutes there was no score and we were going to overtime. During the first overtime, there was again no score. In the final overtime, I was hoping for one team to score, I didn't have time for a shootout, plus that's never a great way for a team to win the game, it's better decided on the field. Well, with about three minutes left Midland finally got the ball down the field with a player going one on one with the keeper. Martin's keeper got a hand on the ball but couldn't hold on to it and the Midland forward was able to just tap the ball in the goal. After that Martin really turned up the pressure but Midland was able to keep clearing the ball down the field and kill the clock. For a game that had no scoring for the first 97 minutes it turned out to be a really nice game.

Working on my Day Off, Game 1...

Mondays are usually my day off, but when I get a call to do freelance work, I'm always happy to take it. So last week when I got a call from a friend in Midland to shoot a playoff soccer game in Abilene I was happy to do so. Then later in the week, I got another call to shoot a second game, nice. So, in game 1 was Midland Lee playing Arlington Sam Houston. I hadn't really shot a whole lot of soccer this year and I think this was only the second boys game I'd shot this year.

So, for most of the first half I was just trying to get my timing down. I made a couple of decent shots but missed a few too. In the second half I went and shot from my familiar spot in the stands. I really enjoy shooting soccer much, much more from up high. The backgrounds are so much cleaner and I just get a better view of the action from up there. And the higher vantage point helped out I got a few more shots that I liked, including one of a guy getting the ball kicked into his head. Lee ended up losing the game 2-0 despite keeping it close before allowing a late goal. Game 1 down, now it was time to go to the press box to send and wait for the next one to start.

Soccer Time Again...

Last Sunday Hardin-Simmons was playing UT-Dallas in the championship match of the American Southwest Conference tournament. I ended up having to work, since ACU was playing in their conference championship match. It was cool, the last time I had shot college soccer was after HSU had won the national championship last year. The cool thing about having to shoot on my day off (other than overtime pay) is it's usually only one assignment and I don't have to worry about getting a shot and heading to my next assignment.

Since I didn't have to worry about time it allowed me to set up a remote behind the goal that HSU was driving to. Remotes are great and make for some really nice photos when they work. However, they often don't. There are plenty of games that I set one up and come back with a couple hundred pictures of nothing. But, it still fun to set one up and see what happens. Plus, when they do work, it usually makes a great lead photo. For this game I'd say it half worked. I was really happy with the celebration shot at the top, but I also had the header of the girl hitting the ball into the net, sadly the net cut her head in half. Oh well, I think I'd rather have the jube shot anyway... at least that's what I'm going to keep telling myself. The bottom photo, by the way, is the same moment that I shot at the same time with the camera I was shooting with.

Getting a Kick Outta Soccer...

After having followed Hardin-Simmons team through the NCAA tournament to the school's first-ever team national championship, I was kind of looking forward to shooting a little more soccer this year. But, other than a scrimmage game and another half-game I shot in January I hadn't gotten too much until now. But, with the crosstown game coming up I had two games back-to-back. Well, I quickly realized what I didn't like about high school soccer, especially when the two local teams are having a down year!

The game was really slow, and all through regulation there was no scoring. Ugh, I hate games like this. However, the good thing about no score, or just any tie in general, is that the games go to a shootout, and since this was the crosstown game, it would mean there would be no shortage of emotion after one of the teams pulled out the win.

For the boys game, I had other assignments that needed to be done, so I wasn't going to be able to stay the whole game. Luckily, less than a minute into the game Abilene High made a quick score and there was a lot more action in the game, or at least a lot more contact on the side of the field that I was. So, missing the end of the game wasn't as bad as it would have been to miss the girls game, plus the boys didn't go to a shootout either.

National Champs...

This has been a pretty weird year. Normally weekends in November and December are reserved strictly for football. However, with Abilene High and Cooper making earlier than anticipated exits and the ACU football team (which was ranked #2 in the country) losing their lone playoff game, I was running out of teams to cover very fast.

Two weeks earlier the Hardin-Simmons University womens soccer team qualified for their first trip to the NCAA Division III Final Four. They were ranked #2 in the country in D3 and were playing only 4.5 hours down the road in San Antonio. So, unlike a lot of the teams that were coming from the northeast, this was practically a home game for them.

The semifinal game, was far from being my best. There wasn't a whole lot of action and ended in a 0-0 tie with HSU winning in a shootout. Part of the problem was the light kind of sucked, the other part was I was probably relying a little too heavily on waiting for a reaction shot either from a goal or from the loss. Then by the second half I was frustrated and while I got a few decent shots, it just wasn't what I wanted. Luckily they won the game and I'd have a chance to redeem myself in the game that mattered.

The next day I went in ready for the bad light and knowing I needed something better. The first few minutes I shot from the field, but planned as the light was going away quick I'd get up high and shoot before it got dark. The night before I was needing to jack up my ISO pretty high, and shooting from the stands I wanted to shoot really long so I had to have some daylight to keep stopping action. By the time the sun had gone down I was happier with the shots I had from 10-15 minutes of shooting up high than I was with anything I'd gotten the night before. So, instead of going back down to the field and shooting without the teleconverter, I figured I'd just slow down my shutter and try some pan stuff for the rest of the half.

It didn't hurt that, not only would I have the whole second half to shoot from the field, but I also knew the main shot we were going to run would be a reaction from the win/loss of the game. Well, luckily it worked out well going up high because in the second half HSU backed up and just protected their 2-0 lead, only giving up one goal which in the end didn't matter, but added to the drama. As the clock expired it was time to find the front page shot. One of the reasons I love shooting championship games is there is never a shortage of emotions. And with them winning the school's first team national championship in school history, they were certainly making the big deal out of it that it deserved. Ironically, the shot we ran isn't here. Although, I wasn't in love with the trophy shot, it was the iconic one that I still think was the best choice. But I like the group celebration shot better from right after the clock expired and the shot of them "guns up" better.

What a Bloody Game...

A day after Wylie missed out on playing for a state title in volleyball I was back in Abilene shooting Hardin-Simmons trying to make a trip to the NCAA Division III Soccer Final Four. They were playing a home game of the NCAA tournament against Emory University. It was a pretty good game, HSU went up by two goals early and then shut them down allowing one goal in the second half. Qualifying them for their first soccer final four in school history.

The top photo never actually ran in the paper, I was afraid it was a little too graphic. The player wasn't hurt bad and she didn't even need stitches, they just glued it. But it looked a lot worse that it actually was. The funny part about it was the HSU sports information director called me and asked me to email him a copy of the shot. And even though it was one of the Cowgirls' top players, it really didn't have any effect on the game's outcome, so I decided not to use it. The jube shots told the story of the situation a lot better than the girl on the ground.

Heads Up....

While working a rare Sunday shift (well not so rare these days), I shot Abilene Christian University's soccer game against Southwestern Oklahoma. The game wasn't all that great ACU won the game pretty easy. I usually prefer a closer game, there is a lot more emotion plus both teams are a lot more intense. One thing I hate about shooting soccer, is if a team gets a decent lead, the last 20 minutes of the game the winning team is spent mostly playing defense and killing the clock. Luckily, ACY was doing most of their scoring in the second half and spent most of the half in SWO's side of the field. I ended up getting a few decent header shot, but I almost wish ACU would have lost since I liked the goalie shots the best. Oh well, I guess the goalie wouldn't have had so many saves if she had a decent defense behind her... which is why ACU won.

Still Waiting for a Goal...

Cooper played Brownwood for the second soccer game I shot in the week. I got there about 7 minutes into the game and the score was 1-1. I figured great, there have been 2 goals in the first seven minutes that's gotta be a good sign. Well, I later found out that both goals were scored on penalty kicks. Cooper later scored another penalty kick goal and finally Brownwood did score a goal... while I was on the other side of the field. But I was still optimistic about some more scoring happening. Well, that wasn't such a great idea. Through the whole second half and two overtimes, there were no more goals. Luckily, unlike the Abilene High game the game was early and I wasn't sweating over a deadline. Not to mention the overtime period had some really nice light. But there were still no goals until they went to the shootout. Which also was short on goals. Sadly, between 10 shooters only ONE was able to get one past the opposing team's goalie! I'm not sure if that meant the goalies were that good or the shooters were that bad. Well, at least it made for a nice celebration photo.

Waiting for a Goal...

Last week Abilene High played a home playoff soccer game. Since soccer crowds aren't usually big I normally get there about 5 minutes before the game since I don't have to worry too much about fighting crowds. That and most of the time it takes at least 30 minutes for a goal. This time it took even longer. After two 40 minutes halves and two 10 minute overtime periods neither team scored a goal. There were a couple of missed opportunities, but those don't really make great photos. So they went to a shootout. It worked out ok, the bottom shot of the ball getting by the goalie is the winning shot. The funny part is the kid's family was sitting behind me and said, "Hey, make sure you get a shot of the goalie in the newspaper." I don't think this is the shot what they wanted... how ironic. But, the photo did tell the story.