4/17/11 Game Recap (1-1 Tie)

Ace battles for the ball

The Devils played their second consecutive game on the road on Sunday and battled the Los Gatos Wildcats to an entertaining 1-1 tie. The Devils scored early in the opening half then surrendered a goal right before halftime, before trading plenty of scoring chances in the deadlock.

The big story of the day was Hazel, who made her Devils debut in goal. The Sunnyvale goalkeeper made an impressive first impression, making several big saves to help the Devils secure a point with the tie.

The Devils set the tone early in the contest, controlling the offensive zone for the better part of the opening half. A Wildcats handball was called 30 feet out in the 8th minute. Karsyn launched a high free kick that skipped through the small box before skipping wide left. Sunnyvale failed to put a body on the ball for a deflection.

Audrey would find the back of the net in the 11th minute after drilling a shot from the top of the 18 after Grace slid a pass to the slot from the left side of the field.

Kelly made a spot start at the sweeper position, playing the position for the first time in a while. She helped control the backline and quarterbacked the defense. Lindsay and Jess used their respective strengths to keep the Wildcat forwards in check on the outside for the majority of the opening half.

Hazels' BIG save

Los Gatos chipped the ball past the Sunnyvale backline to create a break in the 20th minute, but Hazel made a massive save, deflecting a chest-high shot by extending her left arm over the crossbar.

The Wildcats tied it in the 24th min after a pass similar to the one that netted the Devils their goal was slipped from left to right across the top of the 18. A Wildcats forward gathered the ball and ripped a shot inside the left post.

Both teams had a chance to go ahead in the 2nd half, but the defenses stood tall. The Devils best chance came in the 41st minute when a pin-balling chance found its way to Darcie who drilled a shot that barely cleared the crossbar.

The midfielders played an excellent controlled game, leaning on their small ball skills, especially under heavy pressure.

Grace and Courtney would team up for a nice wall pass sequence that created a scoring chance early in the half.

E setup another scoring chance by applying an aggressive dose of pressure in the left corner after the Devils pushed a ball deep. She would force a turnover before sending a centering pass to Grace near the top left corner of the big box.

Audrey with the pull-back

Darcie and Christene would send a constant stream of through balls to Courtney on the right side all game long. The trio teamed up for tree nice offensive chances in the 2nd half.

A centering feed from the Wildcats midfield setup another scoring chance late in the game. Once again, Hazel came up big, deflecting a ball safely out of bounds with a sliding tackle after a Los Gatos forward got a step on the Devils defense.

Clara got a big foot on the ensuing Wildcat corner kick to steer the ball safely out of the Devils end.

Game Positives—

The girls applied plenty of pressure in the opening half, which resulted in an early goal. They generated most of their offense by stringing together short, accurate passes. The midfielders led the way, utilizing some nifty dribbling to keep possession of the ball. The goalkeeping was super!

Development Areas—

Defensive positioning allowed several scoring chances for the opposition. Some of this was caused by an urgency to overload one side of the field, and forget about forwards on the weak side of the field.