Wednesday, April 27, 2011

4/23/11 Game Recap (6-0 Win)

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Jess carries the
ball up field
The Devils extended their hot streak with a resounding 6-0 victory over the Santa Cruz County (SCC) Breakers on Saturday at the Sunnyvale Soccer Complex. As the Bay Area weather begins to heat up, so goes the Devils offense, which was firing on all cylinders. Five different Devils contributed to the scoring in the goal-fest.

Early indications suggested that the field was tilted in the Devils favor. The offense pushed deep into the Breakers zone immediately after the opening whistle and created a pair of scoring chances that were suppressed by the visitors.

Audrey kicked off the scoring in the 8th minute after Courtney sent a diagonal pass from the right side. Audrey gathered the ball at the top of the 18 and rifled home her 4th goal of the season.

She would score a minute later after Karsyn sent a long free kick from the Devils side of midfield. The Breakers had been called for a handball, and the lofting drive by the Devils stopper caught the Breakers back-liners off guard.

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Hazel secures a shot
Courtney punched home the Devils 3rd goal in the 12th minute after Kelly carried the ball up the left sideline and sent a cross to the box.

The play of the game came right before half. Kelly and Audrey connected on a four-pass combination play along the left sideline that was a sight to behold. It was a great demonstration of the girl’s small ball skills, but more importantly it showed the maturity of the players as they unselfishly worked off each other to advance the ball.

The Devils picked up right where they left off to start the 2nd half. Marlene sent a blast from the right side in the 33rd min that was gloved by the Breakers keeper.
The Breakers regrouped to mount an offensive charge, but the defenders, led by Ruhi snuffed out the attack. Jess Jess used some deft ball handling to navigate around three attackers on one sequence to move the ball out of the Sunnyvale zone.


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Darcie maintains possession
Clara chipped home her 1st goal of the season in the 44th min after Courtney bounced a shot of the keeper. The midfielder pinched from her spot on the left side, streaking past a Breakers defender before one-timing the shot into the SCC net.

Grace made it 5-0 after chipping a long rebound over the keeper from 45 feet out. The center midfielder intercepted a ball 10 yards inside the midfield line then sent a high arching shot on goal that sailed over the keeper’s outstretched hands for her 2nd goal of the season.

Christene capped the scoring in the 55th minute by chipping home a deflection from the left side. Darcie and Clara worked the ball into the box before creating a scoring chance that the SCC keeper was able to get a hand on. Christene followed it up to record her first goal of the season.

Getting a chance at forward, Lyndsay put together a nice scoring chance with a long breakaway that was followed by a shot on goal that just missed wide of the right post.

Game Positives—

Scoring was the name of the game, and the girls were relentless when given the opportunity. Putting shots on net paid dividends. This has been a point of contention early in the season, but they answered with a strong showing. The combination plays are becoming a more frequent occurrence, which is showing the development of the girls as soccer players. Much of the scoring was setup by very accurate passing, which is also starting to show great improvement.

Development Areas—

With the opportunity to move players around to different positions, it was apparent that some of the girls were out of their element. This led to a breakdown in fundamentals, like basic defensive positioning. As the girls advance to higher levels of play, they need to be prepared to take on any position, and with it the responsibility of maintaining basic fundamentals.

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