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Spring 2009 Pre-Season Avalanche Have a Field Day Early this morning, a group of the Avalanche players and parents showed up at our home field not with cleats and shinguards. No, the tools of the day were rakes, shovels, chainsaws, and good old-fashioned work. The end result was a remarkably refreshed soccer facility, and the Avalanche were the first to christen it with a solid victory over Loudoun Silver.
 Dana, Sammy, and Shelby. They labored on this cool, crisp spring morning to clear out
brush, rocks, and trash from wherever they could find it. And now they know that they have given back to other boys and girls who will play on these fields. No other LFC team had so many young people participating.We knew it would be a tough match mostly because we only had eleven players on this day. That meant that everyone would have to play the whole game and some would have to go for it in positions that were unfamiliar. In the early-going, Loudoun Silver easily pushed the ball into the Avalanche defensive end. Anna, Ashley, Dana, and Goose repeatedly tried to clear the ball, but much of the first few minutes had the team's defenders on their heels. As is often the case in matches that start like this, all it took was one break to turn things around. On virtually the first opportunity to score, the Avalanche did so. Alyssa outhustled the Loudoun defense and put her team ahead with a nice ball tucked into the left corner. Once that first goal was scored, the team's midfield took over. Sammy was brilliant and totally dominated the central third of the field. She was supported by Shelby and Kaitlyn, who shared the other central spot, and the team got huge contributions from Steph, Alyssa, and Emily, who all took stints at the demanding outside midfielder role.But it was Allyson who lit the game up in the second half. She repeatedly raced down the outside flank and either shot or crossed beautifully. When she wasn't igniting the attack she was turning the Loudoun defense in circles with nifty moves developed by hard work and dedication over the winter.
The day brought one very hopeful sign, a return to the field by the injured JPeg. Although she didn't play, she was a welcome sight and inspiration to her teammates. On to the IceBreaker tournament. Think snow. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
