MNJYSA game #4
Saturday the 12th was gorgeous; sunny and 75 degrees and we were hoping for the same for the FC Copa game, but it wasn't to be. A front came through giving us clouds, drizzle and temperatures barely hitting 50 at kick-off. The Wildcats were reminded of their tendancy to start slowly and encouraged to take it to the visitors early.. which they did. Within a minute we had earned a DFK about 15 yards outside their penalty area, which Bri drove to the spot, but after a scramble the defense was able to clear. The ball remained in the Aventura end for most of the first ten minutes, which helped us identify the speed and skill of the FC Copa keeper and their strategy to funnel the majority of their attack through their dominant midfield, #17.
On the 10 minute mark the first real chance on goal was given by the Wildcats on a transition to their #17 who received the ball about 10 yards outside the box, saw that we weren't closing quickly allowing her to get a solid shot off that was hauled in by Lindsay. Lin immediately returned the favor with a long punt over half-way, that was fed up the wing to Siobhan who was running on. The defender was closing, and had a good angle to prevent the cross, but Siobhan alertly played the ball off her to earn a corner kick, which Amy served nicely high across the goalmouth, narrowly missing a couple of on-rushing Wildcats, and rolling to safety on the far side of the box, where the defense cleared well.
FC Copa came right back and earned a corner of their own, which landed at the near post and bounced to the foot of their #17 just outside the six. Fortunately for us, the middie leaned back a little and blasted the ball just over the bar. For the next 15 minutes the game flowed back and forth between the boxes, with both defenses and keepers absorbing pressure well. With 5 minutes left in the half, the Wildcats stepped it up... with the speed and quickness of their keeper, we were sending our lead passes wider... Bri fed a beautiful ball through to lead Jules, who was in a collision course with their keeper. The keeper slid, but Jules touched the ball away from her grasp and dribbled around her to the goal-line, but the keeper was up again and cutting off the line to goal, so Jules played the ball back across the face of goal to Hannah who got a solid foot on the ball, but their keeper had recovered well enough to be in exactly the right spot to receive the shot right into her chest, which she handled very well. With our pressure still mounting, a minute or so later, their central defender couldn't clear hard up-field, and had to use her left back as an outlet, but Hannah read the play and sprinted in to intercept the pass, touched it once upfield away from the defender almost to the goal line, and launched a sweet powerful waist-high cross at the penalty spot. Reb reacted on Hannah's first move and was coming in square from the left side of the box and met the ball in stride and one-timed it hard, low near post to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead with less than a minute to play in the half.
The second half started as the first half ended, with the Wildcats pressuring hard. 8 minutes in Amy found herself with a lane to goal from just outside the left side of the box. She dribbled forward, then with a central defender closing she blasted a left footed shot the caught the new keeper by surprise, and the ball went through her gloves and fell behind her.. but fortunately for Copa, the keeper was well off her line, and her full back swept in behind her and cleared the ball off the line.
The game ebbed and flowed in the mid-field as it had in the middle of the first half, with neither team looking like they were going to score, but neither team looking like they were going to concede a goal either. Looking to salvage a point late in the game, the Aventura pressed forward which gave us an opportunity to counter, and right on the stroke of 35, Amy received a ball in own half, and flew upfield by making 1-2 passes with three different teammates to put herself 1-on-1 with the keeper. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, the ball scooted a little bit ahead of her stride and her lunging shot went just wide. The referee blew the final whistle on the insuing goal kick giving the Wildcats their third win in 4 games and keeping us at the top of the table, ahead of Flemington by two points (but they have a game in hand, and would be tied for 1st with a win)
GO WILDCATS !!!
