10/9/10 Game Recap (1-0 Loss)

The Devils faced off against a familiar opponent on Saturday, dropping a close 1-0 decision to the Orchard Valley Rampage at the Sunnyvale Soccer Complex. The contest was a typical Devils-Rampage affair, well played and tightly contested. The Devils would come up short, but the score didn’t do their performance justice. There was no reward for the solid play turned in by the girls.

The Rampage would capitalize early, scoring the game’s only goal on a shot that found the upper left corner of the goal at the 7 minute mark.

The remainder of the first half was a cat-and-mouse game between the two teams. The Devils defense would settle things on a strong performance by Christene, who shut down two Rampage strikers by blanketing them.

Clara would make the save of the game with a diving stop in the 19th minute. A sure goal was headed toward the left side of the goal, when she snared the shot by leaping to her right.

Lindsay took control of the ball with time winding down in the first half. Trapping the ball along the left sideline, she recognized there was open space and made the decision to carry it up the line, pushing the play into the offensive zone. She would get a cross off after taking the initiative to move up from her defensive position.

The Devils offense would kick things into gear in the 2nd half. Courtney would fire a shot that just cleared the top of the crossbar in the 43rd minute. Akayla would miss just wide of the right post 3 minutes later.

Kelly would turn in a solid performance in goal in the second half, denying the Rampage any space to maneuver the ball in front of the goal.

With time winding down, the Devils would get one last crack at tying the game. Akayla would intercept a clearing attempt, before launching a shot that just cleared the crossbar.

Game Positives—

Defensive Adjustments: The girls made the necessary defensive adjustments to suppress a very talented Rampage offense.

Generating Chances: The girls did a better job at generating scoring opportunities, especially in the second half.


Development Areas—


Controlling the First Touch: Maintaining possession is critical as the level of play increases. Controlling the ball off the first touch is something the girls will focus as part of technical training.

Finishing: the scoring chances were there, but several shots were rushed when there was time to settle the ball and setup a higher quality shot.