Photo of the remaining team members after the trophy presentation
On Saturday June 18, the CPSC Cobras played in the 2016 Burnt Hills Fathers Day tournament at the Ballston Lake - Burnt Hills High School. It was a beautiful June day in the Capital District with bright sunshine and afternoon temperatures approaching 90F.
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2016 US Youth Soccer Eastern NY U12 8v8 Champions
The final games of the US Youth Soccer Eastern New York Tournament was played Saturday June 4, 2016 at Stringham Park in Lagrangeville, NY. The U12 Clifton Park Soccer Club Cobras played GJOA in a rematch of Game 02 in which the Cobras won 3-2 after GJOA posted 2 scores in the closing ten minutes of the game.
Walking out before the game
The two teams kicked-off at 9:00 AM under a very sunny sky and seasonably warm temperature. The first half was a back-and-forth with GJOA scoring first. A few minutes later the Cobras scored on a header delivered from a corner kick. At the half, the game was tied 1-1.
To open the second half, the Cobras quickly scored in succession to go up 3-1. The Cobras kept possession throughout the half, yet GJOA made several runs throughout the second half and threatened to score, but was ultimately denied.
In addition to winning the game, the Cobras also received the Howard Rubenstein Sportsmanship Award.
For their efforts, the Cobras will travel to West Virginia in late June to participate in the US Youth Soccer National Championship - Region I.
All photos were shot handheld with the Canon 7D Mark II and either the Canon EF 100-400 F/4.5-5.6L IS USM or Canon 50MM F/1.4 USM lens. Color correction, exposure correction, and cropping was completed in Lightroom CC.
The complete Game Album, all 250+ images, can be viewed at my portfolio site.
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Pre-game lineup
A size advantage?
The defense is challenged
Going to goal and meeting a wall!
GJOA scores first. 0-1
Acrobatic possession. 0-1
Getting pumped-up at half time tied 1-1
A cross into the middle for the go-ahead goal
Celebration! 3-1
Defense!
Matched stride for stride
The keeper doing his job to keep it 3-1
The keeper with a punch away. 3-1
Punting
Celebrating! Final 3-1.
Victory lap
Post game cheer
Howard Rubenstein Sportsmanship award
Raising the hardware: 2016 U12 8v8 Eastern New York Champions
Selfies ... with a little help from another parent!
Next up...West Virginia!
Eye on the ball at 0-0
A punt in the first half at 0-0
Sunday March 20th was the Clifton Park Soccer Club Cobras first out door game of the year. It was also Game 1 of Round 1 of the 2016 US Youth Soccer Eastern NY State Championship U12SS played at Colonie, NY. The weather was chilly, but thankfully there was no wind making it very tolerable with a light coat and gloves.
The game kicked-off at 1 pm and it was moderately overcast making for very favorable shooting conditions with minimal shadows. It was a very exciting game resulting in a 2-2 tie at half time and the Cobras ultimately pulling away in the second half to win 5-2. Interestingly, the Cobras had lost to the Colonie team twice in a row during indoor play including a game the day before...go figure.
I shot with the Canon 7D Mark II and the Canon EF 100-400 F/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens from the parents sideline. Unfortunately in these games, parents are only allowed on one side of the field making for limited camera angles. In all, I took some 900+ photos ultimately culling those down to approximately 200 images. Of those 200 images, I've pulled my favorites into this post. I must say, of those 900 images I found less than 10 photos out of focus or back-focussed; the Canon 7D Mark II does a really great job in this environment.
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Skying for a header at mid-field down 0-1
Fighting for possession of the ball (out of frame above the players) down 2-1
Sprinting to run the ball down at 2-2
Working hard for possession at 2-2
Working hard for the go ahead goal at 2-2
A Defender clearing the ball knotted at 2-2
Making a run, but called off-sides at 2-2
The keeper tracking the ball after the opposing team's forward slid behind the defense...ultimately making the save to the Keeper's right to maintain the 2-2 score
Still working for that go-ahead goal at 2-2
Looking for a cross to center in the second half ahead 3-2
Waiting for a throw in ahead 3-2
Header off a corner kick saved by the keeper at 4-2
Working hard for another score up 5-2
After game celebration ... Final 5-2
After game walk through
Good sportsmanship
Run to the parents
Run to the parents
Run to the parents
The 2015 Clifton Park Fall Classic was held this past Columbus Day weekend in perfect weather...for playing soccer, not so much for taking great pictures. Both Saturday and Sunday was cool and very sunny with only a few clouds.
The Clifton Park Soccer Club U12 Cobras entered their first tournament since forming the new 2015-2016 team this past August and were able to win the tournament with 3 wins and a 0-0 draw.
All photos were taken with the Canon 7D Mark II and the Canon EF 100-400 F/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens.
Link to complete photo gallery and embedded slide show below.
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We attended the Essex Vermont soccer tournament in June. I rented the Canon 70-200 F/2.8L IS USM II lens from LensRentals.com for the tournament weekend.
Saturday was a gorgeous summer day without a cloud to be found in the sky; unfortunately this weather did not make for very good photos.
On Sunday morning however, it was quite a different situation. We awoke to tropical down pours and when we arrived at the fields we found they were quite flooded in locations. Thankfully the rain slowed as the game started and I was able to rig my umbrella within my backpack straps such that I could shoot unimpeded.
The rain and standing water made for some fantastic action photos and the kids had a blast!
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Some times it is better to be lucky than good, or so the saying goes.
The plan was to take a team photo before the game when they were clean and neat. After scouting a location in which the sun was obscured by trees. After setting up the Canon 7D Mark II with the Canon EF 50MM F/1.4 USM lens on a tripod, we scratched that plan owing to a couple late arrivals. So it was after the game (approximately 7:30PM), that we got the boys sweaty and dirty together for the team photo.
I chose to use the same location I had picked earlier owing to the uncluttered background. Now, the sun was low in the sky and casting wonderful light from the players right. While I don't often use a flash, I opted to use the Canon Speedlight 430EXII as fill in this instance alternating between using the flash and not.
The boys were terrific and I, as well as all the parents, were able to snap away for about two minutes resulting in the above image.
A version without flash is below.
And given that they are 10 and 11 year old boys, two minutes was about all we were going to get.
Thankfully, two minutes was all we needed.
Have a great day!