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2009 IceBreaker Tournament - Game 1 Ferrara Leads the Way It was a good thing the Avalanche started its Spring 2009 pre-season on a cold, misty day because this tournament would be played in very similar conditions. It wasn't quite as cold, but it was even more wet. Perfect for a great soccer tournament.
When I saw the Arsenal I quickly counted one, two, three, four, five, six players taller than our tallest. In fact, I thought for a moment that I was looking at the wrong age group. After a few minutes of observation, I felt that we could stay with both teams, but beating them would be another thing. And, to be truthful, I felt like my team might be a little too confident heading into their first match. Their warm-up was loose and fun, for sure, but it didn't have the kind of zip I normally like. I wondered what we were in for. The first half was a tense and scoreless affair. Keeper  Kaitlyn and the defense of Ashley, Anna, Goose, Dana, and Nicole held their line and kept the Arsenal scoreless. But the Avalanche
 fared no better at the other end as the Arsenal defense maintained their own shutout.Guest player Sydney and regulars Shelby and Alyssa put solid pressure on the Arsenal goal, but shots and finishes were hard to come by in the first half. They applied pressure, but this was a solid opponent with an excellent keeper of their own. Maybe the best area of the field to watch was the middle third. The Arsenal had a very strong player who was as dominating as Sammy typically is. The talented center was a vocal field general shifting her teammates around and keeping them motivated. But Sammy and Tyla were up to the challenge and held her mostly in check.This game, and the whole tournament, asked a lot of the outside midfielders. With so many players missing, and with the unexpected loss of Allyson midway through this game, more responsibility fell on Steph and JPeg, who was nursing an injury. Both players stepped up to maximum minutes and contributed in a big way.
The Avalanche score seemed to light up the Arsenal and they began putting intense pressure on our defense and goal. Our girls in blue were tough, but they couldn't clear the area completely and finally surrendered a goal. Avalanche 1, Arsenal 1. That looked like it was going to be the final result. And then, just when we thought the game was over, Kaitlyn broke through again for another thrilling goal and the win. Brilliant! What a start! Think snow! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
