Comments by David Sullivan - thanks David!
Game 1
TYSA - 4 Tophat - 0
Maximum points (10) !
Goals - Ali (2), Beth (1), Tiffany (1)
We took immediate control of the game. I think the first 20 minutes were
played on the opposing team's end of the pitch, with no viable offensive
threat at all.
Ali's first goal came as she took on the opposing goalie one-on-one and put it
in the far corner on the ground. Next, Beth took a nonchalant chip shot from
the right side -- weird angle -- none of us knew for sure whether it went in
the goal or not, including our players. Two-nil at half time.
In the second half, Tiffany swerved one in directly from a corner kick --
high, far post, no one touched it!
Lastly, from the penalty mark and with her back to the goal, Ali took a
perfect feed from Lauren W, turned and shot (low to the left of the goalie) --
one of those practice drills you do a hundred times but rarely see in a
match. Bingo! TYSA 4, TH 0.
Thanks to Laura/Lisa's older sister, Dana, who is coaching a RYSA U13 team was
there and was a great help with game coaching. She has just graduated from
Georgia Southern where she played soccer.
David Sullivan
Game 2
Second match was better than the first!
TYSA: 5 - EC YMCA: 1
Goals: Kristin - 1, Sallie - 1, Ali - 3
Our first goal kind of set the tone for the match,
as it came about 3 minutes into the game. Ali took the ball wide left and
crossed to the far post where Sallie tried to settle it and shoot. It glanced
off Sallie's ankle as a perfect pass to Kristin, who promptly tapped it low
and to the left past the goalie.
Sallie and Ali both scored on break-aways bringing
the score to three-nil at the half. Our opponents had some speed up front but
they couldn't seem to find a way to get the ball up to their strikers. On the
few occasions where they did, our defense managed to fend them off.
EC YMCA scored three minutes into the the second
half, and I began to wonder if we'd simply gotten them made during the first
half. Their goal was well played, but it turned out to be the only defensive
breakdown we had all afternoon -- a speedy striker managed to get behind
Jessica with the ball and she just couldn't catch her. Shelly got a hand on
the shot, but couldn't control it and it rolled past her into the net.
Then Ali went back to work. She got loose on
another break-away, playing 1 v 1 with the goalie. The goalie's feet seemed
to be nailed to the ground, as she simply waited for the shot and made no
effort to move out and cut down the angle. Ali put a hard, on-the-ground shot
past her into the far corner.
Later, with everyone on both teams tired and ready
to call it a day, Ali chased down a loose ball rolling toward the far left
corner on the opponent's end of the field. Almost from the touchline, she
lofted what I thought at first was a cross, but turned out to be her third
goal. The goalie could only wave to it as it passed by her and entered the
far side of the net just under the cross bar.
TYSA 5, EC YMCA 1!
The tournament web site has the scores. We are
currently in first place in our group, with 19 points. Second place, Metro
White, has 15 points and is our opponent tomorrow morning. This afternoon
they tied the team we shutout this morning so, logically, at least, we should
be playing in the championship match tomorrow evening.
Game 3
TYSA 2, Metro White 0! Sallie recorded both
goals.
The girls were a little sluggish this morning, but
fortunately, so were our opponents. The first ten minutes were a mish-mash of
bad soccer -- missed touches, no communication, and a lot of throw-ins for
both sides. We finally woke up and settled down, and took control of the
match. Midway through the first half Sallie received a cross from Laura P and
promptly put it in the net. The rest of the half was pretty evenly played,
with our defense being tested more that yesterday. Metro had a couple of
speedy strikers that put a scare into us a couple of times, but Lauren,
Stephanie, Myra and Jesse K held them off. I moved Jesse K to Stopper and
Lauren out to RFB to mark the striker making the runs. Both girls held their
positions well and shut down the threats.
Ali pulled up with a sore thigh muscle that seemed
to tighten up and Kristin's stomach was still battling a cold, so neither
played as much today. No worry! Sallie came through and scored once more in
the second half on a break-away. By this time, both squads were wearing down,
although we managed to control the match and run the clock.
We play this evening at 6:30 for the "B" Division
Championship. Most likely, our opponent will be the Tophat Navy team. They
were ahead of Group A with 20 points at the close of yesterday's games.
Final
TYSA 1 Tophat Navy 0
Goal - Beth
We played a much tougher team tonight for the
championship -- Tophat Navy. They were older and more experienced than the
Tophat White team we played yesterday. Fifteen minutes into the first half
Beth put the ball into the net for the only goal of the match. After that it
was simply a well-fought on both sides of the ball and we managed to hold on
for the win. Not nearly as active offensively as our earlier games, but much
more satisfying at the end.
We will play this team again during our season and
I reminded the girls of this.
Champions!
