Our team first got to Regionals in 2013, when Amanda Flugstad-Clarke's family hosted the entire team for dinner and overnight in Morristown, NJ, and we played games in Downington, PA. We had chances to return to Regionals a couple times but had exams or homecoming preempt a trip.
This fall, there was early energy around attempting to return, and we even squeezed in a game before classes started in order to gain enough points to qualify. We had great season of undefeated games in our division, and we qualified for Regionals in an "at-large" bid.
It was not an easy decision to accept the invitation to go, because there were a slew of injuries and conflicts that prevented many players from going, but with only two subs (and two who wanted to come even if they couldn't play), we made the decision to go. We thought it would be a great experience to play high-level teams and get more practice playing smart -- good passes and quick decisions.
We were paired with West Virginia University, Penn State, and Fordham. We played Penn State four years ago in a playoff game at Regionals and found them physically strong, fast and technical. We didn't know what to expect from WVU or Fordham, but since they were in the middle of the ranking of the 24 teams here we thought we might have a chance to play up to their level.
The trip down from 4pm to about mid-night went smoothly, with good weather and not too much traffic. We checked into our rooms at the New Castle Super 8 and after a night's rest woke up around 8 to be ready for our 9:30 game with West Virginia.
Meredith Srour's mom, Stephanie, was spotted as we walked into the Kirkwood Soccer Complex around 8:30 -- she put her finger to her lips to signal that it was a surprise visit. Meredith let out a shriek when she saw her mom, and her dad was close behind with food for the team! Dani's mom arrived in time for kickoff, too!
West Virginia -- 9:30am Saturday
West Virginia looked physically taller and bigger than our players, but we suggested that if we kept the ball moving and made good passes we would be able to play with them.
At first, we looked sprightly, earning a free kick and having Claire get a shot off that went wide. But then in the 4th minute in our trying to clear a WV cross they earned a corner that was lofted perfectly over everyone and into the far side netting. Pretty stunning goal!
Then in the 8th minute on another counter-attack WV got a cross off that their player on our 18 yd line slotted one-time into the lower left corner of our goal.
Bri saved a WV shot in the 21st minute, then Mari made a long dribble up the middle of the field and passed to Claire, whose shot was saved.
After Tina's free kick in the 25th minute, Claire took a corner kick and they sent a cross wide of their net. She had another corner kick a minute later then had a shot saved and another blocked in the 32nd minute.
WV got a free kick in the 35th minute before we earned one four minutes later that Katie took.
At the half-time break, we spoke about how we are playing well against West Virginia and just need to be a little quicker with the ball.
In the first sixteen minutes of the 2nd half WV was very active, earning a free kick, a shot over, two shots wide and a shot saved by Bri.
Then in the 57th minute Claire had a shot glance off the cross-bar before she her shot from the left side of the field hit the right side-netting. That goal gave us needed energy and optimism!
West Virginia had a shot go wide in the 61st minute and a free kick do the same. After Tina's free kick, Dani had a great scoring opportunity and struck the ball firmly but their keeper saved it.
WV had another shot go wide and another free kick go wide before Dani did her magic again in the 71st minute with a sweet spin to elude her defender so she could slot the ball to Claire, whose shot caromed off the right upright and spun with some sweet "English" (as they say in billiards) into their goal to tie the score.
WV sent another shot wide before Lindsey's strong shot was saved. Namya had a great dribbling escapade almost rewarded, but her defender read her moves and squelched her attempt in front of the West Virginia goal in the last minute.
It felt like a win to come back from two goals down against a strong team!
G: Bri
CD: Mari+Julia F-O'L
OD: Tina+Katie, Izzy
CM: Lindsey+Namya, Jenny, Meredith S
OM: Sarah A+Meredith S, Jenny, Dani, Sarah J, Jenna (Sunday)
F: Claire+Sarah J, Dani
Shots 9:11 Saves 2:5
2 Tina free kick
Claire shot wide
4 WV corner off far side netting --> 0:1
8 WV cross to the 18, shot lower left --> 0:2
13 WV free kick
21 WV shot saved
24 Claire shot saved - pass from Mari who had dribble upfield
25 Tina free kick
27 Claire corner
Claire cross wide
28 Claire corner
30 Claire shot saved
32 Claire shot blocked
35 WV free kick
39 Katie free kick
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41 WV free kick
49 WV shot over
51 WV shot wide
56 WV shot saved
57 Claire shot glanced off the cross-bar
60 Claire shot from left to right side netting --> 1:2
61 WV shot wide
WV free kick wide
64 Tina free kick
65 Dani shot saved
68 WV shot wide
70 WV free kick wide
71 Dani spin around defender, pass to Claire, whose
shot from the left hit the right upright and bounded into left
side-netting --> 2:2
74 WV shot wide
76 Lindsey shot saved
80 Namya dribble squelched
Penn State -- 2:30pm Saturday
We knew from our last visit to Regionals that Penn State well deserved their spot as the number one team here -- they beat us 0:5! So we spoke about keeping the ball moving and making good passes on the ground since it was windy.
Penn State did not waste any time getting of their first shot after only 58 seconds, but we showed our promise with shots on target by Claire and Lindsey that were saved in the 4th and 7th minutes.
Penn State hit a shot wide and had a shot blocked in the 8th and 10th minutes, around which time players on the bench who witnessed how vocal the Penn State players were said "we could talk more."
Penn State sent another shot wide just before Meredith set up Claire in the 17th minute for her shot into the upper right corner of the Penn State net to make it 1:0!
Bri saved us by coming quickly out of our box to clear a ball that got enough ahead of the Penn State forward for Bri to get her foot on. The attack continued with another shot, but Bri saved it.
In the 23rd minute just after Penn State took a free kick, one of their attackers dribbled the ball into our box and shot it from the left side of the field into the upper right corner of our net, equalizing the score.
Only three minutes later, Penn State had a shot deflected for a corner kick that looked like it would go into the upper area of our net, but Bri tipped the ball over our cross-bar for another corner. They earned another corner from a well-placed cross but didn't convert.
Claire had a solid shot saved in the 31st minute, seven minutes later, Sarah J (we've come often to call her "SJ") earned a free kick that Katie took, and in the last minute of the half Claire drew a foul.
At the half we spoke about talking more, taking on their back line and using give-and-go passes to get in behind their defense.
After Katie's free kick, Claire got far up in a space just in front and to the right of the Penn State net, saw Namya ahead of her and passed her the ball for a tap-in goal. But Namya was offsides so the goal in the 43rd minute didn't count.
Only a minute later, we had another great chance, but their goalkeeper got her hands on the ball just in time to prevent a goal. We actually got the ball out of her hands, but that resulting goal was disallowed since their goalkeeper was touching the ball.
Bri saved a free kick that was headed toward our net before Lindsey's shot went wide in the 53rd minute. After Tina's free kick a minute later, Bri saved another shot from Penn State and Katie took a free kick for us.
Jenny almost converted on Claire's well-placed diagonal cross from the right side of the field toward the left upright in the 57th minute. After Claire took a corner kick for us in the 61st minute, Penn State got a free kick, Tina took one for us and Penn State sent a shot wide.
Claire struck the ball so well in the 66th minute that the Penn State keeper couldn't keep it, so it rebounded back out to Claire, whose second attempt was prevented as the Penn State keeper caught the ball.
Bri saved another Penn State shot ten minutes from time.
Claire earned us a free kick from about 40 yd out, and Tina sent it diagonally from the left side of the field to the far (right) post, where Jenny got her foot on it for the game-winning goal in the 71st minute.
We didn't let up after that! Meredith had a shot saved, Tina took another free kick, and Claire had another shot go wide before 80 minutes were up.
It was clear that we had worked harder and been more effective than Penn State, and we could not have been happier that we played so well against the team that usually wins the Regional Tournament!
We celebrated by taking many organized and candid photos and going out for Mexican food for dinner in the Christiana shopping district.
Shots 11:11 Saves 6:6
1 Penn State shot over
4 Claire shot saved
7 Lindsey shot saved
8 Penn State shot wide
10 Penn State shot blocked
16 Penn State shot wide
17 Meredith S set up Claire, upper right corner --> 1:0
21 Bri out to clear a Penn State breakaway
Penn State shot saved
23 Penn State free kick to dribbling attacker whose shot from left to upper right corner of our net --> 1:1
26 Penn State shot deflected for a corner
Bri tipped their cross over our cross-bar for another corner
30 Penn State corner off a cross
31 Claire shot saved
38 SJ earned free kick taken by Katie
40 Claire drew a foul
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42 Katie free kick
43 Namya goal on pass from Claire disallowed (offside)
44 we kicked the ball from their GK hands, goal disallowed
47 Penn State free kick on target saved
51 Penn State free kick
53 Lindsey shot wide
54 Tina free kick
56 Penn State shot saved
Katie free kick
57 Jenny almost got to Claire's cross
61 Claire corner
62 Penn State free kick
63 Tina free kick
64 Penn State shot wide
66 Claire shot saved twice
70 Penn State shot saved
71 Claire earned free kick taken by Tina
Jenny at far right post converted --> 2:1!
75 Meredith S shot saved
Tina free kick
78 Claire shot wide
Fordham -- 9am Sunday
Games today were shorted to two 20-minute halves in light of the rain (forecast to be heavy at times), so we got to the field in time to warm up. We spoke about passing to feet and to expect the ball to skip.
Jenna removed the boot from her foot and played outside mid! A very welcome return after a week from being injured by Northeastern last Saturday.
Fordham got off the first shot, but it went wide. Sarah A took the corner kick we earned in the 6th minute, and four minutes later Lindsey had her shot saved. Right after that, Claire took a corner kick for us, and Sarah J ("SJ") had her shot saved.
Fordham got a free kick and sent a shot over our cross-bar before Namya's shot was saved in the 20th minute for a corner Jenny took.
During the half-time break we felt confident that we could win the game if we kept pressing and making good passes.
SJ earned a free kick for Tina to take in the 25th minute, just before Fordham's corner and Bri's painful fall while clearing a ball in front of our net. It was remarkable that, while face-down on the pitch in agony, her instruction was to "Win the Game"! The trainers took her off in a cart for more evaluation.
We took her advice to heart! With Sarah A subbing into goalkeeper for Bri (thankfully!), SJ sent a pass upfield for Claire to slot into the Fordham net for the only goal of the game!
WE WON OUR GROUP in the tournament with two wins and a draw! And we were the last-seeded team (24th)!
But our elation was tempered by Bri's pain, so Meredith's dad, David, a physician, and I went to see her after the game. She was handling it well, but the Kirkwood trainer, also a Navy veteran, recommended she be transported by "truck" ambulance to Christiana Hospital for an evaluation and medication to make a trip home less painful.
Shots 4:3 Saves 1:3
3 Fordham shot wide
6 Sarah A corner
10 Lindsey shot saved
11 Claire corner
12 SJ shot saved
14 Fordham free kick
19 Fordham shot over
20 Namya shot saved, Jenny corner
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25 SJ earned a free kick taken by Tina
26 Fordham corner
Bri fell on her back clearing a ball out
30 Fordham shot wide
35 SJ pass to set up Claire --> 1:0!
Northeastern -- 11am Sunday quarterfinal
Northeastern has established a reputation with us for being physical, feisty and strong, so we spoke about keeping the ball moving quickly so we don't get tackled.
The field was very soaked, so we expected the ball to exhibit some crazy behavior.
Katie took the first free kick of the game, in the 3rd minute, and Meredith S got off the first shot (wide) in the 5th minute. She subbed in for Julia F-O'L, whose foot was agony.
Claire had a shot skim the cross-bar and Namya had a shot go wide, in the 8th and 10th minutes, respectively.
Northeastern got lucky in the 13th minute when dribbling toward our net the ball bounced just the right way amid the bumps in the field so they could get in behind our back line to slot the ball into the lower right corner of our net.
After Tina's free kick in the 15th minute, Sarah A came up with a big save for a corner in the 17th minute. The game was very back-and-forth, with neither team enjoying very much possession.
At the half we spoke about keeping up our work rate because we still felt we could come back from the one-goal deficit.
Northeastern earned a free kick in the 21st minute, and Namya had a great scoring chance in the 24th minute, but her shot went wide. Meredith had a shot right after that, but hers was saved.
SJ's nose got broken by a forceful-flying Northeastern elbow. After getting the official's permission to leave the field, she set her own nose (can you say "med school"?) and got ice from the trainers. She was back on the sideline in no time, reporting that "this has happened a couple other times" and not to worry. Fierce competitor!
We couldn't be disappointed by our loss on that fluky goal since we never expected to do this well in the Regional Tournament! Besides, we had Bri to worry about and we were down to one sub!
After drying off and eating bagels and drinking coffee offered to us by the Penn State men's team (!), and loaded with more treats from Meredith's folks, we headed to pick up Bri and Izzy, who had been so kind to offer to go with Bri to Christiana Hospital.
The drive home was nine hours of intense rain and wind, but we didn't rush -- we even stopped for dinner at Panera in White Plains, NY.
Worry about so few players turned into elation as probably everyone was surprised how well we did!
Shots 5:2 Saves 1:1
3 Katie free kick
5 Meredith S shot wide
8 Claire's shot skimmed off the cross-bar
10 Namya shot wide
13 Northeastern after dribble on crazy surface, lower right --> 0:1
15 Tina free kick
17 Northeastern shot/Sarah A save for a corner
21 Northeastern free kick
24 Tina free kick, Namya shot wide
25 Meredith shot saved
35 Katie free kick
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