Saturday, October 12, 2013

UMass 12Oct2013

Due to our three wins and two tie games with UConn and UVM, we had 11 points, while UMass had 9 from three wins and two losses. Both teams wanted to win in order to gain a chance at an at-large invitation to Regionals later in October.

Mostly cloudy skies at ~60F/15C, the weather was perfect for a noon match after the bonfire the previous night. Alumnae came! Annie Saunders, Ally Gittens, Jenn O'Donnell, Emily Niehaus! Jenn commented that when she arrived at the field she noticed how much better our passing was than last year!

Many families were here to see us play, too! Liz's folks and siblings, Katherine's mom and dad and puppy, Molly's folks, Lindsay's grandparents, Hannah's family, Amanda W's parents and brother, Melanie's mother and sister, Julia's parents -- maybe others!?

We had 24 out of 25 players available! There was a discussion about switching to 3-5-2 defense-midfield-forwards from our usual 4-4-2 -- we decided to wait to consider trying that in the 2nd half. We spoke about keeping it simple (passes) and holding onto the ball as much as possible.

Both teams were extremely energetic and put high pressure on each other. UMass did a good bit of kick-and-run, and for some time we did some of that too -- giving up the ball perhaps too easily and not always seeing the easy passes.

In the first half, Natalie, Mila, Allison, Molly and Julia had some great chances, and UMass tried several long shots that mostly were off-target -- Hannah only had to save one of their shots.

At half-time we spoke again about making better passes and having more possession. We also decided to try 3-5-2 in hopes that it might help us get more service through the midfield and provide more scoring chances.

Our passing was much better in the second half, but we found that the new formation wore out the midfield very quickly and put more pressure on our back line. We celebrated when we saw Molly's indirect free kick go in the net, but it was disallowed because it was deemed not to have been touched by another player on our team.

Julia D made 9 saves in the second half! We decided to switch back to 4-4-2 because it led to so many chances for UMass. In the 71st minute, Natalie's shot (that was saved for a corner) set up Katherine's corner kick that found Amanda FC's sure foot for the first goal.

We saw a great deal of pressure from UMass after that, and we could not put much offense together. Finally, in overtime, they converted on a long-distance lob that just snuck under the crossbar to tie the game.

We were disappointed to give up a goal, but a point from this game gives us 12 points -- enough to keep us in 3rd place in our division. We smartly decided not to play any extra time to see if we could get the win -- good! (link for league results: Region 1)

We were DELIGHTED that Ron Cima was there again to take great photos of the team and the action! Thank you, Ron!

GK: Hannah, Julia D
CD: Tessa+Kristin, Caroline V+Lindsay
OD: Annie+Liz, Christine+Kate
CM: Julia+Molly, Shelby and Amanda FC
OM: Sarah+Mila, Amanda W+Katherine, Mari+Summer
F: Nat+Allison, Sophie+Caroline G, Summer

Shots 17:21  Saves 13:9

9 Natalie shot saved
   Natalie shot saved for a corner
10 UMass shot over
13 Natalie shot saved
     Mila shot saved for a corner
15 UMass shot over
19 Molly shot blocked
20 Allison shot wide
22 UMass cross saved
24 Mila shot wide
25 Julia shot saved for a corner
27 Natalie shot wide
35 UMass shot wide
36 UMass shot over
38 Lindsay prevented a UMass shot for a corner
41 UMass shot wide
44 UMass shot saved
45 UMass shot saved
46 Allison shot saved
47 UMass shot saved
48 Molly indirect free kick went in but disallowed
51 Amanda FC free kick wide
57 Dartmouth corner
58 UMass shot saved
60 UMass shot saved
     UMass shot over
61 UMass shot saved, Mila cleared rebound
64 Allison header wide
69 Mila shot saved
71 Natalie shot saved for a corner
     Katherine's corner converted by Amanda FC-> 1:0
75 UMass shot saved
83 UMass shot saved
85 UMass free kick hit the wall 
88 UMass shot saved
89 UMass shot saved for a corner
91 UMass lob from distance --> 1:1

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