Saturday, April 22, 2017

Brandeis Tournament 22apr2017

High 30sF and cloudy when we left Hanover became 40sF with drizzle in Waltham when we arrived around 10:40am. We always look forward to playing here because the competition is high-quality and the turf playing surface reliable no matter what weather we face.

We were greeted warmly by Lizzie's family and Izzy's folks, who both brought amazing treats!


Without GK Laura, we were rescued by the immense generosity of Sarah A, Mel and Maria! 


G: Sarah A, Mel, Maria

CD: Mari+Christina
OD: Julia+Katie, Izzy+Mel
CM: Sarah L+Caroline+Namya, Elise+Maria
OM: Mel+Lizzie, Meredith+Jenna
F: Rose, Haley

v Bentley


Bentley looked very sprightly and had five shots in the 35-minute game. Sarah came up big for us in goal, saving two hard on-target shots and almost preserving our shut-out. But Bentley was rewarded with some luck in the very last minute after Sarah saved their first shot but they scrambled for the rebound to score the only goal.


Shots 0:5 Saves 2:0


2 Bentley shot wide

10 Bentley corner
11 Bentley shot saved by Sarah for a corner
13 Bentley corner
18 Dartmouth free kick
19 Bentley shot over
31 Bentley free kick wide
33 Bentley corner
34 Bentley first shot saved but got rebound --> 0:1

v Emmanuel


After an early Dartmouth corner, Emmanuel got off their first shot on a free kick that went wide in the 8th minute. Haley, Elise and Namya all made good shots on target but neither team could score. 


Shots 3:2  Saves 0:3


2 Dartmouth corner
8 Emmanuel free kick wide
10 Haley shot saved
12 Dartmouth free kick
14 Elise free kick saved
19 Emmanuel shot wide
21 Namya shot blocked for a corner
29 Dartmouth corner
34 Emmanuel free kick

v Brandeis


Our hosts are always very strong and difficult to beat, and their high quality showed immediately when they put a ball out wide right to their winger who got in behind for their first goal in the 3rd minute.


Sarah came up big again, with three saves in the first ten minutes! After one of Sarah's brilliant saves, the Brandeis left winger made a cross for a tap-in at the 13th minute. 


We had many sequences of effective give-and-go passes that showed our quality against a great team, and Lizzie got off a good shot that was saved in the 23rd minute.


After another one of Sarah's saves in the 25th minute, Brandeis beat us soundly for their last two goals in the 28th and 29th minutes. 


It was good for us to play such a strong team and to see that we had periods of great passing and could often match their strength. And the treats that Izzy and Lizzie's parents brought were a wonderful touch for us!


Shots 1:9  Saves 4:1


3 Brandeis right wing  got in behind us --> 0:1

6 Brandeis shot saved by Sarah A
   Brandeis shot hit cross-bar
   Brandeis shot saved by Sarah A
10 Brandeis shot saved by Sarah A
13 Brandeis cross from left wing for tap in --> 0:2
20 Brandeis corner
21 Dartmouth corner
23 Lizzie shot saved
25 Brandeis shot saved by Sarah A
28 Brandeis shot from right to left netting --> 0:3
29 Brandeis one v one --> 0:4 

Sunday, April 9, 2017

at Yale 8apr2017

With snow piles still on campus, we were lucky to be invited to play at Yale, whose fields were open. We saw snow flakes when we left around 8am but good 10C/50F temps welcomed us in New Haven. The wind, however, made it feel much cooler, but it was good playing weather.

The field was very bumpy and the grass extremely short, so the ball moved erratically. Because of the wind, we spoke about making passes on the ground in hopes of keeping possession. 

Nat's dad and Caroline's parents and sweet puppy Rosie joined us! We had been invited to play both of Yale's club teams, so games were scheduled for noon and 1:30. We accepted Yale's offer to play shortened halves -- 30' each.

Mel offered to play in goal (Laura's off campus this term) because she picked up an injury during our indoor game at Grantham last week. Very brave of her! We decided to reuse our 4-5-1 (4 defenders - 5 midfielders - 1 striker) formation because it seemed to work well last fall for controlling the game and maintaining the most possession.

The C1 team seemed the more skilled of the two Yale teams, and they got off the first shot, but Namya and Christyn both got off shots before Katie (in left defense) got way forward (GOOD JOB) and crossed the ball to Namya, who fed it to Lizzie for the only goal of the game in the 26th minute. The goal was proof that we learned how to overcome a very organized Yale defense that crowded their goal -- coming from the left side made it much harder for Yale to defend.

Yale had some chances after that, and Namya and Elise got off more shots. Our back line was impenetrable and very well coordinated. They showed composure in our third by connecting good passes (sometimes even back-passes) and sometimes making attacking dribble-runs out of the back that were exciting to see!

Our midfield was energetic and quick. Yale put up immense pressure, so it was difficult to keep possession, but we earned the ball back by working hard. 

The C2 team seemed very feisty and more physical, but we maintained our composure and kept our pace high. We had more shots on target in this game. After Namya, Jenna, Lizzie and Haley got off a series of shots in the first half, Yale got their only shot just before the break. 

We spoke about stepping to the ball sooner and making more diagonal runs and passes. After only two minutes into the 2nd half, Caroline hit a cracker of a shot from something like 30 yd out, coming from the left side of the field and hitting the far side net for our first goal.

Yale kept working hard and at times were pretty physical, perhaps due to frustration, but we maintained our work rate, too, and were rewarded late in the game when Sarah's corner found Lizzie for our 2nd goal.

For not playing very much all winter we looked sprightly and sharp! Perhaps our team was just excited to be outdoors in bright but windy sunshine. Our fitness looked great, too, playing two hours with only 5 substitutes and not looking at all tired!

GK: Mel
CD: Mari+Christina
OD: Izzy+Katie
CM: Sarah L+Namya+Meredith, Caroline+Elise
OM: Haley+Jenna, Nat+Christyn
F: Lizzie, Morgan

Shots 6:6  Saves 1:2

v Yale C1
4 Yale shot wide
11 Namya shot wide
18 Yale shot wide
19 Christyn shot saved
20 Yale shot wide
23 Namya shot wide
26 Katie to Namya to Lizzie --> 1:0
28 Yale shot wide
34 Yale shot blocked
50 Namya shot wide
54 Yale corner
55 Elise shot saved
56 Yale corner
59 Yale shot saved

Shots 8:1  Saves 0:5

v Yale C2
5 Namya shot wide
6 Jenna shot saved for a corner
6 Katie shot saved
18 Lizzie shot saved
19 Haley shot saved
24 Lizzie shot saved
29 Yale corner, shot wide
32 Caroline from 30 yd! --> 1:0
48 Dartmouth corner
52 Yale corner
53 Yale corner (2)
56 Dartmouth corner 
56 Sarah corner to Lizzie --> 2:0
57 Yale corner