Saturday, April 18, 2015

Brandeis Tournament 18apr2015

Clear skies, warm 60+F and a great fan base greeted us in Waltham, MA! Lindsay's grandparents Doug and Ginger (with a generous gift to the team -- thank you!), Lindsay's aunt and uncle, Julia's parents, Hannah's family with lunch provided to the whole team by her dad Joe, Christyn's folks with more lunch goodies!

Four half-hour games go by so quickly!

We spoke about making good passes, and we looked sharp versus Emmanuel! Shelby, Julia S and Claire got off shots before Claire converted in the 12th minute. Claire got off another shot right after that, and Nat had a chance in the 15th minute. Emmanuel only got off only three shots, but they put one into our net in the 22nd minute. 

Azzurri, a club team of former college players, always shows their skill and experience, so we were happy to see shots by Claire, Rose, Shelby and Julia before Azzurri could get off a shot in the 14 minute -- thankfully they were offsides and were not awarded a goal. Christine got her shot saved, and Hannah saved an Azzurri shot at the end of the game.

Bentley looked much improved from last year. They got off the first two shots before Claire's free kick and Rose's shot in the 5 minute. Hannah saved one of Bentley's shots before they scored in the lower left corner of our net in the 7th minute. Claire had another of her shots saved in the 10th minute, and Hannah made a huge save at her left upright in the 19th minute. Bentley fired a rocket of a shot into the upper right corner of our net in the 21st minute. Still working hard, after Caroline G's shot and Julia S's shot were saved, Christine put the ball into their net.

We usually play Brandeis last, but this time it was newcomer Babson, who looked strong and sharp with their passes. Claire and Julia S had shots saved, and Hannah saved a Babson shot early in the game. A questionable call gave Babson a free kick, that Hannah got her fingers on, but an aggressive Babson player stole the ball away to put it into our net in the 11th minute. Claire and Julia S had three more shots, and Babson had a shot over our crossbar before Elise made a huge save by blocking a Babson shot for a corner in the 22nd minute. Babson converted a penalty kick 4 minutes before time was up.

We felt humbled by playing varsity teams, but we did well to be competitive with these teams -- creating many chances and getting off good shots in every game!

G: Hannah
CD: Tessa+Lindsay, Elise
OD: Mari+Annie, Kate, Elise
CM: Shelby+Julia, Christine
OM: Christyn+Julia C, Nat+Caroline G
F: Claire+Rose, Summer+Caroline G

Emmanuel 1:1

Shots 6:3  Saves 1:3

2 Shelby shot wide
7 Dartmouth corner
8 Julia S shot saved
10 Emmanuel shot saved
11 Claire shot saved
12 Claire scored 1:0
14 Claire shot saved for a corner
15 Dartmouth corner, Nat shot over
22 Emmanuel shot to upper left corner 1:1
23 Emmanuel shot wide
24 Dartmouth corner

Azzurri 0:0

Shots 6:2  Saves 1:5

2 Claire shot saved
2 Rose shot saved
2 Shelby shot saved
12 Julia shot saved
14 Azzurri shot in our net disallowed for offsides
18 Azzurri corner
22 Christine shot saved
23 Azzurri corner
24 Azzurri corner, shot saved

Bentley 1:2

Shots 6:8 Saves 2:3

2 Bentley shot wide
4 Bentley shot over
5 Claire free kick
5 Rose shot wide
7 Bentley shot saved
7 Bentley shot left corner 0:1
9 Bentley corner
10 Claire shot saved
11 Bentley corner
14 Dartmouth corner
15 Dartmouth corner
18 Bentley shot over
19 Bentley shot saved at the upright
20 Bentley shot wide
21 Bentley shot upper right 0:2
23 Caroline Gell shot saved
23 Julia S shot saved
23 Christine scored 1:2

Babson 0:2

Shots 5:6  Saves 2:3

3 Claire shot saved
4 Babson shot saved
8 Dartmouth corner
9 Julia S shot saved
11 Babson free kick 0:1
13 Claire shot wide
14 Julia S shot over
15 Claire shot saved
16 Dartmouth corner
17 Babson corner
21 Babson shot over
22 Elise blocked a shot for a Babson corner
22 Babson shot wide
26 Babson penalty kick 0:2

Sunday, April 12, 2015

at Harvard 12apr2015

After a long very snowy winter everyone was eager to run outdoors! Blue sky, 60+F and windy, we spoke about passing quickly because Harvard is usually feisty and keeping the ball on the ground (wind).

So many fans! Sarah (still in rehab for her ACL repair) and her friend Annie. Molly! Lindsay's grandparents, Christyn's parents, Hannah's family complete with VW bus! And a very welcome addition in Caroline Vanacore!

Harvard insisted on 40-minute halves. We came out strong with crisp passes and quick to 50/50 balls. Julia got off a shot right away, and Shelby almost scored in the 10th minute. Harvard had a couple shots that Hannah saved, and we had three corner kicks in the span of only 6 minutes. 

Caroline Gellman (Gell) had a great shot saved in the 34th minute, and there was no score at half-time. At the break, I congratulated the team on their passing and energy getting to the ball quickly. Claire suggested more diagonal passes in the final third, and Julia recommended more shooting.

After only five minutes, Sophie fed Claire a great pass, and Claire was able to beat the Harvard keeper even at a very acute angle. Claire had planned to come off due to an injury from an over-zealous Harvard tackle in the first half, so her goal was her last play, unfortunately. 

Hannah saved two more shots, and Harvard had two shots off-target before they got away with being offsides for a through pass to even the score four minutes before full time.

It was a good game with both sides having chances to score. Our passing looked better than theirs, but their energy served them well in the end.

F: Claire+Allison, Rose+Summer
CM: Julia+Shelby, Ro (Caroline)
OM: Christyn+Sophie, Gell+Julia C
CD: Lindsay+Tessa
OD: Annie+Kate, Mari
G: Hannah

Shots 5:6  Saves 3:2

5 Julia S shot wide
8 Harvard shot saved
10 Shelby shot saved
11 Harvard shot saved
13 Harvard corner
18 Dartmouth corner
23 Dartmouth corner
24 Dartmouth corner
24 Julia S shot over
34 Gell shot saved
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41 Dartmouth corner
45 Claire from Sophie 1:0
52 Harvard corner
58 Dartmouth corner
62 Harvard shot saved
63 Harvard corner, shot over
73 Harvard shot wide
76 Harvard offsides goal 1:1
77 Harvard corner