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Fall 2011 - Game 3 Home Cooking
Starting with a tournament on Memorial Day last spring, and including two tournaments in August, the Avalanche played a total of fifteen matches. Do you know how many were played in the friendly confines of KMO? Two.
The answers came very quickly as the Avalanche moved the ball effortlessly around the field and controlled the match from the opening whistle. It was quite clear that this was going to be a performance to behold even with an inexperienced keeper in the net. Jennie did a remarkable job in that role and pitched a shutout in her second straight stint as keeper. The domination by the home team was dramatic as Holly, Steph, and Caris peppered the opposing keeper. She was up to the task, however, as she blocked and saved just about everything that came her way in the first half. But she couldn't handle one of Sammy's patented left-side drives that went in just under the crossbar. With Alyssa and Hailey back from injury and able to make a positive impact at outside midfield a new partnership was forged with Danielle and Jillian, who have begun to excel in the same role. All four players moved the ball smartly forward to help give the team chance after chance. Normally stationed defensively, stopper Anna continued her recent string of impressive play by forcing the issue and confidently taking the ball deep into the attack.
As the match wore on, I started to get a nervous feeling in my stomach. Despite the dominating performance the Avalanche showed, a 1-0 lead was just too precarious. And, in fact, my concern turned out to be prophetic as an unlucky handball led to a penalty kick that was easily converted for a 1-1 tie. This is the way soccer goes sometimes. Despite the very best efforts the girls in light blue could give, they walked away with only a tie. Still, I will take this recipe any day, any time. It sure was fun to witness a great performance from start to finish. We were so close to a much needed victory, but the positive feeling that everyone felt more than overcame any disappointment we might have had. Our schedule shows us finishing the season with three straight home games. I'm predicting that we'll have three more great performances. Think snow! |
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