The final season game for Girl Power was a great one. The CSA squad we faced were tougher and more engaged than they had been in our first meeting and it seemed to me that their coach had prepared them better for our "style" of play. The CSA players were anticipating that we'd be keeping our dribble when ever possible so they were coming in fast and challenging hard for most of the game and from what I could hear of their coach's instructions that is what he'd been preparing them to do. When you face a team that likes to dribble more than pass that's the right way to go. Fortunately for our girls they have recently become so much better at taking up good supporting positions away from the ball that every time a CSA player made a good tackle or steal one of our other girls was there to pick up the ball and press forward again. The final result was 2-0 Girl Power and we definitely created many more chances on goal than they did but it was an exciting game that felt close the whole way.
Ashley had the first goal for us and it was kind of textbook. I can't remember which of our players was on the ball, Anna or Abby I think, but in any case one of the girls had taken the ball up field and cut diagonally to their right. A few yards out from the goal line she crossed the ball beautifully in a situation where two teammates, one being Ashley, were actually strung out across the penalty line in just the right position to take advantage of a crossing ball. As the ball came to Smashley she was right in front of the keeper. She smartly let it pass her a step and then, running to her left, took one controlling touch then popped the ball into the net with her left foot. This was a scene the team recreated many times throughout the game. One player would lead with the ball while two more would track along roughly parallel. Meanwhile our two defenders would flow as a unit to the side of the field where the ball was, one of them pressing up behind the ball to be close enough to help the attack, the other moving into the middle of the field in a high position. It was very smart play and the girls were demonstrating it in every combination of players.
The insurance goal came late in the game courtesy of Hailey and it was really a matter of pure skill and determination. In the second half our girls had done a great job again of continuously pressing the ball into the CSA squads final third and usually into the right corner. At one point Zoe was doggedly maintaining possession while basically trapped in the corner and then somehow managed to get the ball out to Hay. With what seemed like just three little touches Hailey sliced through three defenders and easily passed the ball into the net. It looked sort of effortless really.
The girls played some really excellent defense in this game too. In the first half Ava got caught in a 1v1 and it looked certain that CSA would score. Ava charged out of goal to close the space and as the CSA player took the shot Scout managed to lay out to her right a bit and get a hand on the ball. Even so the ball was still headed for the goal and amazingly Ashley, who had been sprinting to catch up to the play, was able to run past Ava and get to the ball before it crossed the line. She spun and drove the ball out of the box with a strong kick just like a pro center-back. Then in the second half with Smashley stuck in a similar 1v1 situation where it looked for sure that CSA would score Abby came out of nowhere to run the ball off the attacker's foot. It was a perfectly timed diagonal run for Abby and not only did she prevent the shot but she ended up with the ball and got turned around to bring it up the right side for a counter. It was a very high energy day for the girls as well as a day of really smart team play and honestly I think that if we'd had Olivia too we'd have managed a couple more goals.
There were also two excellent teachable moments in the game that I want to point out. The first involved Hailey in a situation where Anna was doing some fabulous work bringing the ball up the left side of the pitch. As she engaged the first defender I could see that while Hailey was tracking her in the middle of the field she was also lagging behind too far, just jogging along rather than sprinting into the penalty area. I called out to her to hustle and she gave me a bit of a look. Then Anna managed to beat two defenders in the corner and cross the ball beautifully right to the penalty spot...and Hailey was about six steps late. As she turned back up field to rejoin the defense she glanced over at me with an "okay, I get it" look. That recognition on her part that she had missed an opportunity was, I think, a lesson for Hailey as to what I mean when I'm constantly harping on "anticipation".
The second moment occurred for Emily. As I mentioned in my last post, Emily has developed a very fiery attitude on the field lately which is great but sometimes that emotion can actually distract you from seeing opportunities. Emily was having a great game Saturday and I could tell she really wanted to get to goal. At one point in the second half Legs was carrying the ball up the left side near the bench and managed to win a 1v1 and as she turned into the open space you could see that she knew how close the goal was. A second CSA player caught up to Emily coming from the center of the field and stole the ball, carrying it toward the touch line. At that point Emily lost her temper a bit and blindly chased after the CSA player. Emily was pressing the girl so hard from behind, really looking to make contact rather than focusing on the ball, that the CSA player was able to easily shield the ball and spin back into the center of the field. Emily ended up stuck between the touch line and the CSA player, who, once she got clear of Emily, did just what you'd expect her to do. She looked up to make a pass rather than continue dribbling. The pass she attempted was a weak roller right along the eighteen. If Emily had been thinking there rather than reacting emotionally she'd have anticipated that turn to the center of the field and been in a position to intercept that pass for an easy shot. As she was angrily chasing the CSA player initially I called to Emily to "focus on the ball, please" and once that weak pass rolled wide open in front of goal Emily could see what she'd missed. Like Hailey, she turned and looked at me, a bit sheepishly, as if to admit that she got it. I think that moment will stick with her.
