Saturday, November 15, 2014

BC 15nov2014

Championship game! BC won their league (New England East) and we won our league (New England West), so this game was for awarding an automatic berth to next year's Regional Tournament. We expected BC to be good based on how well they did versus Tufts and Northeastern (we tied Tufts and lost to Northeastern).

Sunny, 0C/32F! But the field was in perfect condition. Fans included Christyn's folks and Claire's grandmother!

We spoke about making the simple close passes, and we looked sharp with Shelby getting off the first shot. But BC also had a couple good chances early in the match. They put high pressure on us, but we put good passes together just as we had in practice.

In the 21st minute, Claire made a cross that was blocked for a corner. Sophie was in just the right spot in front of the far post to control the ball and slot it into the BC net for the first goal of the game.

BC had a free kick and a shot wide in the 23rd minute and Caroline V got off a shot that was saved in the 26th minute. 

We were lucky to have Julia Dressel back in net since Hannah was not available, and she made a save in the 28th minute. BC continued to threaten and were awarded a penalty kick in the 32nd minute, evening up the score.

Three minutes later, BC was awarded a free kick from 25-30 meters out that drifted into the upper left corner of our net to put them ahead 1:2. After that. they got another free kick and a shot that Julia D saved. 

In the 42nd minute, Leah did her magic up the left side of the field and got off a shot that was blocked by the BC defense. Right after that, Julia D made another crucial save for a corner.

Rose put a free kick on target for a BC save just before the half. We spoke about getting our passes off quicker in light of the high BC pressure. We also noted that BC did not seem unbeatable. 

Claire set up Sophie for what seemed like a certain goal, but the BC goalkeeper did well to put it out for a corner taken by Christine. In the 50th minute, BC put a shot over our crossbar, then they slotted a through ball in behind our defense to put them up another goal 1:3. 

Usually teams have trouble coming back from being down two goals, but we kept working and believed we could rally. Claire got a shot off in the 53rd minute, but it sailed wide. BC had a free kick and two shots wide of our goal.

In the 60th minute, Claire's corner kick found Christyn at the far post, but her shot was just wide of the BC goal. BC got another free kick in the 64th minute.

In the 68th minute, Claire broke loose of the BC defense on the left side of the field to put a shot/cross from an acute angle in front of the BC net. The ball could have gone any direction with so many players in front of the net. It bounced off a BC player into the net to put us at 2:3. 

Leah set up Claire right after that, but her shot went wide. Christine had a free kick in the 74th minute. BC got dangerously close to scoring four minutes later when their shot hit and bounced off the upright. 

Rose made a perfectly chipped pass into the path Claire was taking to the BC goal in the 81st minute. Claire chested the ball down and one-timed it into the BC net, but the goal was disallowed due to offsides.

Julia D made another crucial save in the 82nd minute, and five minutes later Shelby had a great chance -- but her shot was saved. 

Two minutes before 'time' Claire sprang loose again in the same fashion as before, putting a dangerous ball in front of the BC net from a difficult angle. A BC player was the last one to touch it before it landed in the BC net to tie the score.

In the 90th minute, Rose almost got us the win with her shot that sailed over the BC crossbar. 

The two teams huddled and gave the ref's their decision to play two 5-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if needed. Which ever team scored first in the extra time would be declared the sudden-victory winner.

BC got off a shot in the 92nd minute, but it was wide of our goal. In the last minute of the first 5-minute overtime period, Claire sent a pass to the far post for Shelby to collect before calmly slotting into the narrow space between the post and the BC goalkeeper. 

It was astonishing to see a team come back like that, and BC was in a state of shock -- rightfully so! What an incredible way to celebrate the seniors' last fall game and to put Regionals solidly on next fall's schedule!

GK: Julia D
CD: Lindsay+Tessa, Caroline V, Elise
OD: Annie+Christine, Rose, Julia D
CM: Shelby+Julia, Caroline V+Elise
F: Claire+Caroline G, Mel+Allison

Shots 16:18  Saves 4:4

2 Shelby shot over
7 BC shot over
8 BC shot wide
21 Claire cross blocked for a corner
    Sophie two-touch --> 1:0
23 BC free kick
     BC shot wide
26 Caroline V shot saved
28 BC shot saved
32 Tessa tackle got ball+leg
    BC pk --> 1:1
35 BC free kick into top left corner --> 1:2
41 BC free kick
    BC shot saved
42 Leah shot blocked
43 BC shot saved for a corner
45 Rose free kick saved
46 Claire cross to Sophie
     Sophie shot saved for a corner
50 BC shot over
52 BC through pass --> 1:3
53 Claire shot wide
55 BC free kick, shot wide
57 BC shot wide
60 Claire corner
     Christyn shot wide
64 BC free kick
68 Claire shot/cross BC own goal --> 2:3
73 Leah to Claire shot wide
74 Christine free kick
78 BC shot hit the upright
81 Rose chip over BC defense to Claire
    Claire chest-trap, shot into net disallowed offsides
82 BC shot saved
87 Shelby shot saved
88 Claire shot/cross BC own goal --> 3:3
90 Rose shot over

Extra time
2 BC shot wide
5 Claire pass to Shelby, slotted in near post --> 4:3 

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Tufts 1Nov2014

Rainy, cloudy, cold 40F/5C, but fans came to see our game with Tufts: Julia S's parents, Claire's grandmother, Hannah's mom+dad+sisters, Shelby's mom, many others!

Since the pitch was so wet, we spoke about making quick ground passes, as we had worked on in practice. Last year we drew 3:3 with Tufts, so we expected them to be a strong side that would provide a good game. It appeared that Tufts might have had more players at our field than we did!

We took early control of the game, and after Mel's shot on target was saved, Claire broke away to score in the 4th minute. Hannah made a critical save in the 11th minute, and Tufts had shots over the bar and one that hit the cross-bar. 

Julia S had a shot saved in the 16th minute, then Claire's shot from the left side of the field hit the side-netting. Claire had another shot over the bar in the 27th minute. 

Leah made a piercing dribble in the 35th minute into the middle of the field, fiercely tackled at the Tufts 18 yard box, awarding us a free kick taken by Rose. The Tufts GK saved Rose's kick, and Leah got her head on the rebound but it sailed over the bar.

Hannah made two more saves before the half, when we spoke about keeping it a little more simple by making the easy, close-range passes in order to keep possession.

During the first minutes of the second half, it appeared that we were doing exactly that -- we kept possession as we switched the ball across the field. Shelby got off a great shot in the 51st minute that was saved by the Tufts GK.

Amanda FC made a crucial tackle soon after that, but the tussle left her in agony with a twist to her left knee. Sarah kindly took her to DHMC. It was the last thing we wanted to have happen!

Claire took over for FC in our flat-back formation, next to Tessa, and Summer went up top where Claire was. Mel and Julia S had great shots, with one of Mel's hitting the cross-bar after Hannah made another crucial save in the 63rd minute.

Tessa made a critical tackle in the 70th minute before Mel and Shelby made excellent shots that were saved. It looked like we were the stronger team and would score again, but Tufts seemed to get new energy around the 80th minute. 

The officials awarded Tufts a free kick for a tackle we thought Tessa made legally by getting the ball first with her feet. Hannah punched the Tufts free kick out but they put the rebound into our net for the equalizer. 

After that, Tufts hit a shot off our cross-bar, and Hannah made another key save to keep us even. Rose had a shot saved in the 87th minute, and just before full time Hannah made another save, bringing her total to 6 vs Tufts 8 saves.

At 15 shots for both teams, it was a very busy game. Credit to Tufts to keep working deep into the second half, giving us a great game that we could have won, given all of our chances. But they had good chances, too. Thanks to Amanda FC, Tessa, Claire and Hannah for keeping us level!

Shelby's mom's carrot cake and the Nolans' cookies were great treats after the game! Our possibly last game of the season seemed marred by the injury to Amanda FC, jarring not only because she is such a strong player but also because we already had suffered Sarah's injury at Yale. Our thoughts went with her as she joked about how strong Rose was in carrying her off the field.

GK: Hannah
CD: FC+Tessa, Claire
OD: Julia C + Christine, Amanda W
CM: Shelby + Julia S, Elise, Summer
OM: Christyn+Sophie, Leah+Natalie
  F:  Mel+Claire, Rose, Caroline G

Shots 15:15  Saves: 6:8

3 Mel shot saved
4 Claire breakaway --> 1:0
5 Christine corner
11 Tufts shot saved
12 Tufts corner, shot over
13 Tufts shot hit cross-bar
16 Julia C shot saved
20 Claire shot side-net
22 Tufts corner
27 Claire shot over
28 Tufts corner
31 Tufts shot wide
35 Leah dribble, tackled for a free kick taken by Rose
    rebound to Leah header over
41 Tufts free kick saved for a corner
44 Tufts cross(shot?) saved
51 Shelby shot saved
54 Tufts corner, header over
55 Mel shot wide
58 Mel shot saved, Julia S shot over
63 Tufts shot saved
64 Tufts corner
67 Mel shot hit cross-bar
68 Christine corner
70 Tessa blocked a shot for a Tufts corner
72 Mel shot saved for a Christine corner
74 Shelby shot saved for a corner
78 Tufts cross, shot wide
79 Tufts shot over
80 Tufts free kick saved but scored on rebound --> 1:1
84 Tufts shot hit cross-bar, Tufts corner
86 Tufts free kick saved
87 Rose shot saved
88 Tessa blocked a shot for a Tufts corner, shot saved

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Northeastern 18Oct2014

Number 3 in the Region 1 Power Rankings, we expected Northeastern to be strong, physical and motivated to see this as their warm-up for Regionals next weekend. Although they stand 3rd in New England East and we are first in New England West, we have had great difficulty beating them in the past.

The rain stopped! It was a nice 65F/18C or so. We LOVED seeing so many fans! Allison's mother, Mel's parents, Lindsay's mother, brother and grandfather, Christine's mother, Christyn's whole family including Courtney, Claire's grandmother Lillian, Sophie's sister Mila Sheeline, Liz Niehaus, Molly Grimes, Natalie Salmanowitz, Katherine Cima, Jenn O'Donnell, spring indoor player and US Ski Team skier Nolan Kasper, and even a bunch of Alpha Phi's supporting Lindsay!

We spoke about being quick with good passes to feet rather than launching long passes. The field was still wet from rain, so we expected the ball to skip and be fast on bounces. We expected Northeastern to put us under a lot of pressure.

They did, and Hannah saved Northeastern's shot in the first minute!

In the 6th minute, Claire's shot was saved. Our passing was GOOD, and we looked like we would be able to score first, but Northeastern got a rebound from their corner in the 15th minute for their first goal.

Leah got off a shot in the 19th minute, and Christine had a free kick saved four minutes later. Claire had a breakaway in the 27th minute, but the Northeastern goalkeeper grabbed it.

Northeastern scored again in the 38th minute with a shot in front of our goal.

At half-time we spoke about making good passes to feet rather than launching hopeful long air passes and to build passes through the mid-field rather than sending long balls out of the back line. Julia S said, rightly, that we could come from behind, just as we did at UMass the previous Saturday.

Amanda W almost got a result from Christine's corner in the 46th minute. Hannah saved us again in the 48th minute. Julia S got off a shot in the 55th minute.

After Northeastern got a yellow card for an infraction in the 58th minute, they slotted a low shot into the left side of our goal from about 18 yards. Immediately after that Hannah saved another of their shots.

Claire's shot was saved in the 47th minute, and right after that another shot she made was blocked for a corner. Caroline V made a shot on target from a long distance, but it was saved. 

Claire got another breakaway in the 79th minute, but the Northeastern keeper saved her shot again! A minute later she took the corner, and Caroline V got her head on the ball but it sailed over the crossbar. 

After a Northeastern free kick Hannah saved and a shot Northeastern sent wide, Claire got off another shot that was saved in the 88th minute. Northeastern made another shot wide before Elise made a shot over the crossbar.

With so many great scoring chances, we didn't deserve a 0:3 result, but that paled in importance to the huge benefit of seeing so many family and alumnae! We were happy to have a chance to play a really good team and to see so many friends again!

G: Hannah
CD: Lindsay+Tessa, Amanda FC, Julia S
OD: Annie+Christine, Julia C, Natalie, Rose
CM: Julia S+Shelby, Caroline V+Elise
OM: Christyn+Sophie, Leah+Caroline G, Julia D, Natalie, Mel, Summer
F: Claire+Allison, Rose, Summer, Amanda W, Mel

Shots 13:14  Saves 4:8

1 Northeastern shot saved
4 Dartmouth corner
6 Claire shot saved
Northeastern shot wide
9 Claire corner
13 Northeastern shot wide
15 Northeastern corner, put rebound in --> 0:1
19 Leah shot over
23 Christine free kick saved
25 Northeastern shot wide
27 Claire breakaway shot saved
38 Northeastern shot almost saved --> 0:2
44 Northeastern shot wide
46 Christine corner, Amanda W shot wide
48 Northeastern shot saved
55 Julia S shot wide
58 Northeastern yellow card, Dartmouth free kick
61 Northeastern low, driven shot from 18 yards --> 0:3
62 Northeastern shot saved
67 Claire shot saved
68 Claire shot blocked for a corner
73 Caroline V long shot saved
76 Northeastern shot over
79 Claire breakaway shot saved
80 Claire corner, Caroline V header over
83 Northeastern free kick saved
86 Northeastern shot wide
88 Claire shot saved
89 Northeastern shot wide
90 Elise shot over

Saturday, October 11, 2014

at UMass 11Oct2014

Cloudy with some rain on our way south to Amherst, it felt bone-chilling ~10C/50F when we arrived at Boyden field by the high-rise dorms. Christyn's parents were there, and I heard maybe Joe Nolan was there, but I couldn't spot the microbus or the Corvette. Christyn's dad said he met a Dartmouth '82 parent of a UMass player unsure which team to support (HA!).

We played at UMass in April 2010, losing 1:2, they beat us 0:1 in Hanover in September 2011 and we tied 1:1 in October 2013 thanks to Katherine Cima's cross to Amanda FC. They are usually strong, so we braced ourselves and talked about making the simple, close passes since the field was still wet. 

Although we got an early corner and had shots by Allison, Christyn, Claire and later Amanda W, UMass seemed to dominate play by putting on immense pressure. We had trouble getting the ball into the UMass half.

Hannah kept us in the game with key saves in the 17th, 18th, 25th and 32nd minutes. Tessa also made at least three key clearances. But UMass broke through our defense in the 26th minute to slot a shot into the left corner of our goal. 

At the 40-minute half time we spoke about better, quicker passes -- that the ball moves faster than the opposition -- and to find feet with our passes (not long passes that can come right back at us).

In the 42nd minute, Claire set up Caroline V whose shot went over and a minute later Claire got all the way to the UMass end line to make a cross that was blocked. 

Hannah prevented a UMass chance in the 47th minute, Julia S had a shot wide, then Hannah made another save before Claire got off a shot that was blocked in the 50th minute. Right after that UMass had a free kick opportunity that looked threatening but rolled wide.

We seemed to turn a corner at the hour mark: Claire had a shot wide then another shot blocked for a corner, and Julia (who, with Shelby, ran the whole game without a sub!) was rewarded for her never-ending work-rate by a foul in the UMass box. Claire converted the PK to even the score in the 61st minute.

Five minutes later Shelby and Julia S had shots saved. UMass responded by sending the ball to the right corner of our half for a cross that was easily tapped in to put them ahead in the 66th minute.

Then we seemed to get MORE energy! Claire had two corners, Leah had a shot that went wide and Claire had another threatening cross blocked. In the 72nd minute, Caroline V sent in a cross from the far right of the field perfectly placed in front of the UMass goal to create a melee in which Julia D capitalized to bring us even again. 

At the end of the game, Claire broke away from three UMass defenders and slotted home our game-winner. She got another breakaway in the last minute, but her shot went over.

This was a tribute to the incredibly hard work from the team! This is what Gary Neville (best man in David Beckham's wedding and Manchester United teammate) said is required if you want to win games -- teams have to work hard the WHOLE game! We did that, most of the team without a sub the entire game!

It is very difficult to come back from being down a goal, but the team's calm demeanor and self-confidence paid off surprisingly well. We owe a lot to Hannah and the back four, also, for keeping us in the game!

Wow, another incredible season -- this time all victories in league games and the one non-league game with Middlebury. It will be huge if we can keep that record vs Northeastern over homecoming!

GK: Hannah
CD: Lindsay+Tessa
OD: Annie+Caroline V, Amanda W
CM: Julia+Shelby
OM: Christyn+Sophie, Leah, Julia D
F: Claire+Allison, Mel, Amanda W

Shots 14:12  Saves 6:3

5 Claire corner
10 UMass shot wide
13 Allison shot saved
16 Christyn shot wide
17 UMass shot saved
18 UMass shot saved
22 Claire shot wide
25 UMass ball cleared for a corner
25 UMass shot saved
26 UMass shot to left corner of our goal --> 0:1
29 Tessa cleared a UMass attempt -- UMass corner
30 UMass shot blocked for a corner
31 Tessa cleared a UMass attempt -- corner
32 Tessa cleared another UMass attempt
32 UMass shot saved
39 Amanda W shot wide

40 half time
42 Claire pass to Caroline V shot over
43 Claire cross blocked for a corner
45 UMass shot wide
    UMass corner
47 UMass shot saved
48 Julia S shot wide
49 UMass shot saved -- corner
50 Claire shot blocked -- corner
58 UMass free kick wide
60 Claire shot wide
    Claire cross blocked -- corner
61 Julia fouled in the box for PK
    Claire converted --> 1:1
65 Shelby shot saved
    Julia shot saved
66 UMass cross tapped in --> 1:2
67 Claire corner (2)
    Leah shot wide
70 Claire cross blocked -- corner
72 Caroline V sent in a cross from the right side
     Julia D converted --> 2:2
78 UMass cross blocked -- corner
79 Claire breakaway --> 3:2
80 Claire another breakaway, shot over

Saturday, October 4, 2014

at UVM 4Oct2014

Setting out for UVM on a very rainy day with only 3 subs seemed crazy. UVM is usually our strongest competitor. The driving was even intense because of the rain -- perhaps an omen about how intense UVM would be. 

The turf field we usually play on at UVM was allocated to a different team, so we were instructed via email to find Centennial Field. Tessa did well as navigator -- even with some circular driving we still had an hour to get ready and warm up.

The UVM coach, whose son, Deejae Johnson, coached my son at Green Mtn Valley School, told me that the field had seen a lot of use by his team, the boy's club team and some local club teams. It was pretty cut up and bumpy.

After keep-away, stretching, shooting on Hannah and some passing drills, we were ready. We spoke about making the easy passes to feet in order to try to keep possession under pressure. The rain was fairly light and the temperature around 15C/60F, but both teams had agreed on 40-minute halves due to expected heavier rain later.

Neither team could keep the ball very long because of the immense pressure both teams put on each other. The field condition and weather also contributed to making the ball do crazy things.

UVM created more chances than we did, but we had HANNAH in goal! They out-shot us 9:5 in the first half, but a few minutes after Christine and Claire both took free kicks, Christyn set up Claire for the first goal, in the 21st minute.

Christyn and Claire both had chances later, and we had a succession of good passes as we seemed more confident after our goal. We looked fit and able to withstand their pressure even with very little subbing. UVM seemed frustrated by being down a goal and were getting more physical in their play. One UVM forward who seemed to put a great deal of pressure on herself committed a foul that gave her a yellow card -- unusual for us to see. She was very upset by being unable to score! Credit to our defense and Hannah!!

At half-time we spoke about being quicker to pass in order to avoid having our legs kicked! 

After a few shots by UVM, Annie got a free kick, Claire had a corner kick, and Caroline V and Allison got shots off before Christyn made one of her trademark dribbles down the left side of the pitch, changing speed and finally cutting the ball back to make a perfect cross to meet Claire's run down the middle for a tap-in goal in the 57th minute. 

After that, UVM peppered our goal over and over. Hannah saved us over an over! Elise got a shot off, but mostly we were defending and trying to keep the ball. UVM seemed to get more energy as the game went on! But we continued to defend well and finished with a clean sheet.

Sophie and Mila Sheeline were with us at the sidelines! Sadly they were in town for a grandparent's funeral, but it was wonderful to see them and their mom. 

Elise's parents from CA were there, too! It was impressive to have fans for an away game in such poor weather!

GK: Hannah
CD: Lindsay+Tessa, Caroline V
OD: Annie+Christine, Julia C
CM: Julia S+Caroline V, Claire
OM: Christyn+Elise, Natalie
F: Allison+Claire, Rose

Shots 9:17  Saves 10:1

1 UVM shot wide
5 Christine corner
10 UVM corner
10 UVM shot over
11 UVM shot saved
14 Christine free kick
18 Claire free kick
20 UVM shot saved
21 Christyn set up Claire --> 1:0
26 UVM free kick saved
27 Claire shot wide
29 UVM shot saved
30 UVM shot saved
33 Claire shot wide
34 Christyn shot blocked
38 UVM shot over
39 UVM shot saved
40 Claire shot wide

41 UVM shot wide
42 UVM shot saved, UVM corner
43 UVM shot wide
44 Annie free kick
46 Claire corner
48 Caroline V shot wide
51 UVM shot wide
54 Allison shot over
57 Christyn dribble + cross to Claire --> 2:0
59 UVM corner
60 UVM corner
61 UVM corner, shot saved
66 Elise shot wide
70 UVM shot saved
73 UVM shot saved
73 UVM corner
73 UVM shot wide

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Middlebury 1Oct2014

Busy with so many women's club league games on the weekends, it was difficult  for us to schedule a game with Middlebury, but they were very congenial and willing to travel to us during the week. 

Cloudy but warm 15C/60F with our field in excellent condition, we were delighted to see Christine's mom and dad and Claire's grandmother! Several players had late classes and arrived with only a few minutes to prepare. 

We spoke about making good passes -- our focus in training this week.

Middlebury's team, one of the few remaining JV teams, was fired up (their first game!) and pressured us intensely, but Claire got off the first shot of the game in the first minute. A minute later, Middlebury almost scored with an open net with an errant shot wide.

Caroline V had a shot wide in the third minute, followed by another wide Middlebury shot. Mel had shots wide and on target, as did Middlebury, before she set up Shelby in the 20th minute for our first goal.

We recovered from looking a little dazed and shaky from Middlebury's intensity, and began to take control of the game. In the 25th minute Rose had a shot over then soon after that a shot wide.

In the 35th minute, Claire's shot was blocked for a corner that she took; Leah got her head on Claire's cross but it was saved. A minute later Claire set up Rose with a brilliantly placed rolling cross for Rose to tap into the net for our second goal. 

In the 40th minute, Claire had another shot saved for a corner, followed by a Middlebury shot wide and Christyn's shot that was blocked just before the half.

At half-time we spoke about being quicker with our passes, since Middlebury had not let up their pressure whatsoever. We also noted their use of long, diagonal air passes in behind our defense, who dealt well with those tactics. And we thanked Hannah for her bold movement out onto the field to prevent a few key plays Middlebury made.

In the first minute of the 2nd half, Allison had a very solid shot saved, followed by the same for Christyn. Julia S had a good chance in the 54th minute but her shot was saved. 

Six minutes after Middlebury's shot in the 60th minute, Caroline V made a sweet diagonal dribble to elude a few Middlebury players and put a long air ball into the space just under the crossbar that might just have snuck into the net if their keeper hadn't jumped just enough to prevent it. On its way off her gloves it hit the crossbar and then fell to Leah who rammed it into the net for our third goal. 

Soon after that Julia Dressel pounded a shot toward the near post that forced a save for a corner. After the 70th minute Natalie, Claire, Rose and Leah all had shots prevented, and Hannah saved a shot from Middlebury in the 80th minute.

After another shot from Julia D that went wide, Claire made a blistering dribble past several Middlebury defenders and fired an extremely firm shot into the far side of their net for our 4th goal. Right after that she almost repeated that experience but her shot went wide.

We were delighted to have a strong opponent on such a nice day for playing soccer. Both sides showed good respect for each other by playing very cleanly, with few fouls called. 

Shots  Saves 

G: Hannah
CD: FC+Tessa, Lindsay
OD: Annie+Christine, Julia C+Elise
CM: Caroline V+Claire, Shelby+Julia S
OM: Christyn+Sophie, Leah+Natalie, Amanda W
F: Allison+Mel, Rose+Julia D, Claire

1 Claire shot wide
2 Middlebury shot wide 
3 Caroline V shot wide
Middlebury shot wide
8 Christine corner
10 Mel shot wide
12 Mel shot saved
13 Middlebury shot over
16 Middlebury shot wide
20 Mel pass to Shelby --> 1:0
22 Christine corner
28 Rose shot over
29 Rose shot wide
35 Claire shot blocked for a corner
     Claire corner to Leah header saved
36 Claire cross to Rose for a tap in --> 2:0
40 Claire shot saved for a corner
     Claire corner
41 Middlebury shot wide
42 Christyn shot blocked
44 Middlebury free kick
46 Allison shot saved
47 Christyn shot saved
49 Middlebury corner
54 Julia S shot saved
55 Christine corner
60 Middlebury shot saved
66 Caroline V shot saved, fell to Leah -->3:0
69 Julia D shot saved for a corner taken by Rose
70 Natalie shot blocked 
75 Claire shot saved
76 Rose shot saved
77 Leah shot saved
80 Middlebury shot saved
81 Julia D shot wide
85 Claire long dribble + shot --> 4:0
86 Claire shot wide
88 Middlebury shot wide

Sunday, September 21, 2014

at Yale 21sep2014

After a short break following the game with Fairfield, we faced our hosts Yale. We played them in the spring of 2010 and narrowly won 2:1, so we expected them to play well. We reiterated making good passes.

Yale was more skillful than Fairfield and equally scrappy. They made good diagonal passes and were quick to ball. 

Shelby, Mel, Julia and Claire all got off shots in the first half before Christyn finally dribbled through what seemed like a jungle of Yale players to score our first goal in the 33rd minute. Yale had a lot of chances with many corner kicks, and Hannah was much busier in goal, making several key saves.

In the second half Mel, Claire, Elise, Leah and Amanda W all had shots before Julia Conway's rebound found Christyn's foot for our second goal in the 59th minute. Yale created chances, too, and Hannah saved us again.

We were delighted to have such a good game in warm, humid weather. Hannah's dad helped us celebrate by treating the team to ice cream afterward!

Shots 13:6  Saves 3:4

G: Hannah
CD: FC+Tessa, Lindsay, Julia S
OD: Annie+Christine, Julia C+Elise
CM: Julia S+Shelby, Caroline+Claire
OM: Sarah+Sophie, Lean+Amanda W, Natalie
F: Mel+Summer, Allison+Caroline G, Rose+Christy

2 Shelby shot wide
4 Yale corner (2)
4 Yale shot saved
9 Mel shot saved
10 Julia shot wide
11 Yale corner, Yale shot wide
14 Yale corner, shot over
23 Claire shot wide
26 Allison corner
33 Christyn dribbled through a jungle --> 1:0
2nd half:
36 Yale shot saved
37 Mel shot over
42 Yale header wide
50 Yale shot saved
53 Claire shot saved for a corner
55 Elise corner, shot blocked
57 Leah shot over
58 Amanda W shot wide
59 Julia C shot saved, Christyn got rebound --> 2:0
64 Claire shot saved

Fairfield at Yale 21sep2014

We had a 3-hour drive through some light rain showers, arriving around 11:20 for our game at noon. It felt warm and humid -- 20C/70F or so.

There were so many fans!! Hannah's dad, Amanda FC's folks, Julia's and Julia C's parents (who brought wonderful drinks), Natalie and Caroline Gellman's folks (who brought sandwiches!), Caroline V's family, Christine's dad all the way from CA, Annie's folks, Shelby's dad, Christyn's parents, maybe others! The treats they all brought were WONDERFUL!


After beating Fairfield 7:0 last year in our first game, we expected an easy win. But Yale's score vs Fairfield before we arrived today was a close 2:1. So we knew we'd have to work hard. We spoke about making good passes and keeping possession of the ball.


Yale told us the halves would be 35 minutes since we had two back-to-back games today.


Fairfield was feisty! They were quick to ball and quick to tackle and kick our legs! They got off the first shot, but after that we dominated with 29 shots to their three.


Shelby, Mel, Summer, Amanda W, Allison, Claire, Caroline G, Caroline V and Rose all got off shots in the first half. Fairfield had two in the first half, neither on target. 


At half-time we spoke about making better passes. Julia had too early shots, and Mel capitalized on Julia's second, putting the rebound into the Fairfield net in the 40th minute. Sophie and Allison had shots over, then Caroline Gellman put in shot for our second goal in the 48th minute. 


Following shots by Caroline V and Amanda W, Fairfield hit a shot off the upright, and Elise made a powerful clearance to prevent another shot. After Claire's corner to Allison, whose header went wide, Claire set up Allison again for our third goal in the 59th minute. 


After that, Caroline V, Claire, Christyn, Rose and Leah all had chances.


We were psyched for our second win of the season!


Shots 29:3  Saves 0:8


G: Hannah

CD: FC+Tessa, Lindsay, Julia S
OD: Annie+Christine, Julia C+Elise
CM: Julia S+Shelby, Caroline+Claire
OM: Sarah+Sophie, Lean+Amanda W, Natalie
F: Mel+Summer, Allison+Caroline G, Rose+Christyn

3 Fairfield shot wide

4 Shelby shot saved
6 Mel shot over
7 Summer shot wide
9 Summer shot wide
14 Dartmouth corner
15 Amanda W shot saved
16 Allison shot saved
18 Sarah corner (2)
19 Claire shot saved
24 Claire shot saved, Caroline G rebound wide
26 Fairfield shot wide
31 Claire shot over
32 Claire shot wide
34 Rose shot over
2nd half:
38 Julia shot saved
40 Julia shot, Mel rebound --> 1:0
45 Sophie shot over
46 Allison shot over
48 Caroline G --> 2:0
54 Caroline V shot saved
55 Amanda W shot wide
56 Fairfield shot hit the post, Elise cleared the ball
57 Claire corner, Allison header wide
59 Claire set up Allison --> 3:0
61 Claire corner, Caroline V shot wide
63 Caroline V shot over
64 Claire shot hit the post
64 Claire corner
66 Claire corner, Christyn shot over
67 Rose shot saved
69 Rose corner, Leah shot saved

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Wesleyan 13sep2014

Cloudy, cool 45-50F/8-10C -- our first game! Always a little nervous excitement and concern over only two subs, but we had a nice long warm-up and felt ready for a team we hadn't seen before.

Fans came! Hannah's dad, Summer's mom, Caroline's mom, Steve's wife Martha Hennessey '76, daughter Kj Hennessy '02, son-in-law Greg Hill '02 and granddaughters Louisa '34? and Georgia '37?

We were composed and had a majority of possession, but in the 17th minute Wesleyan sped past our defense for the first goal. In the 20th minute, Christine's free kick found Julia for our equalizer.

Then two minutes later Julia set up Shelby for our second goal. Summer and Julia both hit the cross-bar, and Julia D had a shot saved before Julia set up Allison in the 36th minute for our third goal.

Caroline, playing in left defense, brought the ball into the middle of the field and shot from something like 25 yards for our 4th goal, and just before the half Mel got the rebound from Allison's shot for our 5th goal.

At half-time we spoke about how the diagonal passes and movement are working well, and we agreed not to score more than 6 goals.

We continued with good passing and good possession, but credit Wesleyan for not giving up -- they kept attacking and had a majority of the shots in the second half. 

Sarah scored our sixth goal in the 58th minute. We were happy to play well with so little practice. Some of the fans remarked that they could tell that our players had played together often since they played so well with each other.

Shots 20:9  Saves 7:5

G: Hannah
CD: Christine+Tessa
OD: Lindsay+Caroline
CM: Julia+Shelby
OM: Sarah+Sophie
F: Sarah+Summer, Julia D+Allison

3 Shelby shot wide
4 Sarah shot over
5 Sophie shot over
10 Christine shot saved
12 Dartmouth corner
13 Dartmouth corner (2)
15 Wesleyan corner
17 Wesleyan sped past our defense --> 0:1
18 Shelby shot over
20 Christine free kick to Julia --> 1:1
21 Caroline shot saved
23 Allison shot over
25 Summer's header hit the cross-bar!
26 Julia's shot hit the cross-bar, Sarah's shot wide
29 Julia D's shot saved for a corner
    Christine's corner to Julia header over
35 Julia shot saved
36 Julia to Allison --> 3:1
38 Dartmouth corner -- Christine
40 Caroline dribble and shot from outside! --> 4:1
43 Allison shot wide
    Allison shot blocked, Melanie got rebound --> 5:1
48 Tessa tackle prevented a shot, Wesleyan corner
53 Wesleyan shot saved
55 Wesleyan shot saved
    Wesleyan shot saved
57 Julia shot saved
58 Sarah upper 90 6:1
60 Wesleyan shot saved
61 Wesleyan shot saved
62 Wesleyan corner
73 Wesleyan shot saved
90 Wesleyan shot wide
93 Wesleyan shot saved

Sunday, April 27, 2014

UVM 27apr2014

Cloudy, 50F/10C, our strong adversary UVM had asked to play Sunday rather than Saturday. Many fans came! Katherine's dad with his wonderful camera, Shelby's mom, Sarah's parents, Kate's mom, maybe others!

We talked about the ball's being faster than the players -- to keep the ball moving. But neither team could hold onto the ball very long in the first half; both teams hustled to get 50/50 balls.


UVM had no hesitation shooting from distance, and they had more chances than we in the first half. We only had a couple shots; UVM defended well. Julia D, Kristin, Tessa and Kate kept away their best shots. They did a lot of kick-and-run soccer. We spoke at half-time about not wanting to copy their approach!


We had better passing in the second half than we did in the first half, but UVM did well to keep their energy and pressure high. In the 50th minute they got in behind us to slot a shot into the lower-right corner of our net.


Later, Kristin, Julia and Lindsay had their shots saved, and Kristin cleared another UVM shot off the line in the 77th minute. Julia D kept us in the game with more key saves in 80th and 85th minute. Then in the 86th minute, Nat used her hustle and intelligence to slot a diagonal pass to Mila, who was running up the right side of the field. Mila made a cut to her left, which left the UVM defender on the floor, then shot with her left foot -- a brilliant 30m shot into the upper left corner of the UVM side-netting to even the game!


Julia D made another save in the 87th minute to prolong the draw, and in the last minute of play UVM hit our cross-bar with a shot that easily could have put them ahead.


We were delighted with a draw against a strong team that also did well at Regionals in the fall. It is always a pleasure to play a strong team and come away with a good result! No doubt UVM felt robbed!


It was a great send-off for graduating seniors -- boo hoo! And we did really well to keep our undefeated record in all games but the last Regional quarter-final game!


Shots 6:23 Saves


GK: Julia D

CD: Kristin+Tessa, Lindsay
OD: Mari+Liz, Annie+Kate
CM: Julia+Shelby, Christine
OM: Katherine+Mila, Caroline V, Sarah
F: Nat+Sarah, Lindsay, Caroline G

1 UVM shot saved

8 Mila corner out
9 UVM shot wide
10 UVM corner out
12 UVM shot saved
12 UVM shot saved
13 Sarah's corner 
13 Dartmouth shot saved
13 Sarah's corner
25 Julia shot saved
34 Tessa blocked UVM shot --> UVM corner
34 Kate saved a UVM shot
34 Julia D saved a UVM shot
40 UVM shot way over
41 UVM shot wide
42 UVM shot saved
46 UVM corner, header wide
48 UVM shot blocked --> corner
50 UVM shot into right corner of our net --> 0:1
54 UVM shot saved
55 Sarah's corner
57 UVM shot wide
58 Mila corner
59 UVM shot over
62 Kristin's shot saved
63 Julia shot saved
65 Lindsay shot saved
69 UVM corner
70 UVM shot wide
74 UVM shot over
77 Kristin saved a UVM shot --> UVM corner
80 UVM shot saved
81 UVM corner
85 UVM shot saved
86 Nat pass to Mila who beat a defender, left-ft shot --> 1:1
87 UVM shot saved
90 UVM shot hit the cross-bar!

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Brandeis Tournament 12Apr2014

Our first time undefeated at Brandeis! And with only one sub! Incredible!

Hanover was near-freezing, but on our trip to Waltham the sun appeared and we had glorious weather at Brandeis.


It was great to see so many fans! Molly's parents, Julia's parents, Shelby's dad, Lindsay's grandparents, and puppies, too!


Our warm-up was fairly limited -- we had to wake up some players and got a late start -- but Bentley served as a good warm-up game. Games were shortened to 35 minutes, so we knew they would go by quickly!


Bentley was quick with pressure, but neither team could string very many passes together. Julia almost scored on Bentley in the 13th minute.


Azzurri lived up to their fine reputation by making many great plays and outshooting us 3:10. Julia D kept us in the game by making three key saves. Nat almost scored with three shots, and Molly's free kick in the last minute almost crept in the upper left corner of their net but hit the side netting instead.


Emmanuel showed good energy but not as much skill as the other teams. Nat, Julia and Sarah all had really good scoring opportunities in the first 8 minutes, and in the 11th minute Nat showed great composure as she scored after getting in behind the Emmanuel defense. Lindsay's shot in the 16th minute was saved.


Brandeis was very strong, giving us a lot of trouble with 9 shots. But Julia D, and Lindsay and Kristin in center defense saved almost-sure goals for Brandeis. We showed our usual learning ability by playing smarter, as the game progressed, with better on-the-ground passes to feet rather than long lofted balls that require a lot of energy and often become 50/50 balls. We were delighted with 0:0! 


It was the first time we went undefeated at this tournament! What a GREAT DAY! And with only one sub! AMAZING!


GK: Julia D

CD: Kristin+Liz, Lindsay
OD: Mari+Kate
CM: Molly+Julia
OM: Katherine+Sarah
F: Nat+Shelby, Lindsay

v Bentley 0:0


Shots 1:3 Saves 1:0


13 Julia shot wide

16 Bentley shot over
18 Bentley corner
25 Bentley shot saved for a corner
27 Bentley shot wide
34 Bentley corner (2)

v Azzurri 0:0


Shots 3:10  Saves 3:2


Azzurri shot over

Azzurri shot saved
8 Nat shot saved
Azzurri shot wide for a corner
10 Azzurri corner
10 Azzurri shot wide
13 Azzurri free kick
15 Azzurri shot wide
18 Azzurri shot over
22 Azzurri shot saved
23 Nat shot saved
27 Azzurri free kick, corner
30 Nat shot wide
31 Dartmouth corner
33 Azzurri shot saved
34 Azzurri shot wide
35 Molly free kick hit the side netting

v Emmanuel 1:0


Shots 6:1 Saves 1:1


7 Julia shot hit the post

8 Nat shot hit the cross-bar
8 Sarah shot hit a defender
11 Nat 1v1 with their GK --> 1:0
16 Lindsay shot saved
18 Sarah shot wide
20 Emmanuel corner (2)
24 Emmanuel shot caught by Julia (not sure it was on target)
34 Emmanuel free kick

v Brandeis 0:0


Shots 0:9 Saves 5:0


Brandeis shot saved

Brandeis shot wide
Brandeis shot wide
22 Brandeis shot wide
24 Brandeis shot saved by Julia
24 Brandeis shot saved by Lindsay
27 Kristin blocked Brandeis shot for a corner
30 Brandeis shot saved for a corner
31 Brandeis shot wide
32 Julia D caught Brandeis cross