Devils take 4th at Spring D2 Cup - Gold Division

The Devils wrapped up the Spring soccer season with an impressive showing at the D2 Cup Tournament this past weekend, taking 4th place. The girls landed a spot in the Consolation Final on Sunday night and would battle to a 2-2 draw with the Alpine Bobcats, before losing 3-2 in the shootout on a dark Mountain View High School field.

The Devils seemed poised to make a dent in the Gold flight of the U13 Girls tournament, but a rough start prevented the girls from qualifying for the Championship game. Sunnyvale dominated play in the tournament opener against the Los Gatos Wildcats, but they couldn’t capitalize on several chances in front of the Los Gatos goal.

Courtney missed what should have been a gimee in the fifth minute of the game after a shot slipped past the Los Gatos keeper, but her shot on an empty net sailed wide of the goal. Audrey missed on another golden chance in the 18th min putting a shot from the top of the box into the keepers chest.

Los Gatos scored in the 45th minute on a free kick from just outside the 18 after the Devils were whistled for a foul.

The girls would bounce back in Saturday’s nightcap, taking a 2-0 decision over the Santa Cruz Breakers. Audrey chipped home a deflection in the 45th min after E started a run on the left side to provide the Devils with all the scoring they would need.

Christene punched home a second goal in the 54th min after a throw in. Audrey worked the ball from right to left, slipping a pass to Christene near the top of the 6. The subsequent shot hit the diving Breakers keeper in the hands before deflecting in to the goal.

The Devils secured their spot in the Consolation Final with an exciting 1-0 win over the MVLA Typhoons on a late goal.

The scoreless opening half was controlled by MVLA, but the game was reminiscent of the Devils opening round loss 24 hours earlier. The Devils started to turn things on at the 40 min mark, creating a series of scoring chances.

Marlene deposited the game’s lone goal off a corner kick in the 58th minute, after the ball was chipped across the middle of the big box.

The Devils were forced to play an abridged game to decide who would take the 3rd spot in the tournament after the Championship game ran late. With darkness approaching, the Devils and Bobcats played two 20-minute halves.

Sunnyvale took the early lead after Courtney ripped a shot from 15-feet out after chipping the ball past a defender past midfield and racing in on net. Alpine countered in the 2nd half streaking past the Devils defense before chipping a break into the net in the 31st minute.

It looked as if Sunnyvale would take the game in regulation, when Audrey punched home a goal with under 5 minutes to play, but the Bobcats converted a long shot with 2 minutes left in regulation.

Overcast skies and a setting sun denied the two teams from setting things in an overtime session, so the two teams immediately went to the shootout, where the Bobcats converted on 4 of 5 shots. The Devils converted on 3 of 4, before their final shot hit the crossbar to end the tournament.

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.

Spring 2010 Los Gatos Scrimmage Photos

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Spring 2010 Los Gatos Scrimmage Photos

[Click here] for a slideshow

[Click here] for all photos

11/7/09 Game Recap (1-1 Tie)

With the league championship on the line, the Devils squared off against the second place Los Gatos Wildcats on Saturday afternoon at the Sunnyvale Soccer Complex in match that would determine the Delgado Class 3A title. The early morning affair pegged two teams that had tied each other 0-0 in their previous meeting back in September.

On a slick Sunnyvale field, the two teams would trade goals and complete the season series with a 1-1 tie. With a four point lead in the standings and one game remaining after the Saturday showdown, the tie secured the crown for the Devils.

The two teams probed tentatively in the opening two minutes of the game, but Akayla would send a crossing shot that was deflected by the Wildcats keeper in the opening minute.

The Devils would receive some assistance from lady luck just three minutes into the game when a shot attempt bounced out to the top of the box. Kelly was perfectly positioned for the rebound and sent a return shot that skipped off the wet grass, slipping past the Wildcat keeper on a tricky hop.

The goal seemed to jump start Los Gatos, who turned up the heat the remainder of the period. The Devils defense continued their solid play, anchored by Ruhi who calmly swept away several Wildcat chances before the intermission.

Los Gatos narrowly tied the game right before half on a shot that sailed over the crossbar.

That pressure continued in the second half, but this time Los Gatos would take advantage on a tricky hop that skipped over Karsyn’s head and through her hands at the 40 minute mark.

The momentum had clearly swung in Los Gatos favor, but the Devils paid particular focus on getting in front of shot attempts while in the defensive zone.

Katrina and E made a couple of nice plays to move the ball out of the Sunnyvale zone. E in particular used her speed to clear dangerous Los Gatos possessions after claiming ownership of the ball.

Karsyn made two diving saves later in the period to preserve the tie. She was forced to pounce on the ball deep in the goalie box with 6 minutes to play

Christene and Marlene teamed up to put one last run on the Los Gatos net, but the Wildcats speedy fullbacks denied another shot on net.

In an attempt to keep things loose, the coaches made no mention of the implications of a win, loss or tie, which seemed to allow the girls to play a more relaxed game. When the final whistle sounded, both teams congratulated each other on a second consecutive draw.

Both teams played extremely well, but the Devils would celebrate their first league championship in the team’s short history.

4/4/09 Game Recap (2-0 Loss)

The Devils started their 2009 Spring campaign with a hard fought game against the Los Gatos Wildcats on Saturday morning. Having been elevated to a bracket consisting of some teams that were in the higher Class 3 – A Group last fall, the Devils will face stiffer competition this season. That was evident from the opening whistle.

Los Gatos struck early, taking the opening kickoff and driving up field and scoring in the game’s first minute. A Wildcat forward pumped a shot from the right corner of the box across the goal mouth from 40 feet. Starting in goal, Karsyn lunged to her right in an effort to stop the shot, but the ball slipped under her right arm and into the net.

6 inches lower and Karsyn makes that stop.

The remainder of the half was spent shaking out the cob webs of a long winter break, although the girls looked good in the season opener. The coaches started most of the returning roster players in an attempt to let some of the new Devils get to track the pace of the game before being cast into a live game situation.

Our five new Devils looked great....

Coach Sonya subbed in the new Devils over the first two substitutions, and the girls looked right at home in their first league game donning the red, black and white.

Clara and Grace rotated at center-mid and played exceptionally well. Both girls were aggressive to the ball, and let their natural instincts keep the Wildcats in check for a majority of the game.

Katrina and Jessica played at the outside mid, and both played well. Holding position is a difficult concept for rec players to grasp when they make the move to comp level play, but the pair did a great job.

Elizabeth (E), played dual roles, first at outside defender, then at goaltender in the second half of the game. She used her speed effectively, helping to stave off several chances by the Wildcats. In net, she looked like a seasoned pro, but fell victim to a crazy hop on a long shot that skipped over her shoulder. There was little she could do to stop the shot, which was skipping across the grass, before it jumped on her at the last second.

Having scrimmaged the Wildcats last fall, the coaches elected to go with two taller players in net, to offset the high shots we saw last October. That strategy backfired as both goals were low line drives. Hats off to both our goaltenders for being the first to get the call in net this season.

Our veteran players continue work hard and gelled well as a team with the new comers. Ruhi once again anchored a solid backline that spent much of the game clearing chances safely to the outside. The defensive corps was spearheaded by Shivani, Jess, Lindsay and Karsyn (Clara and Grace both took turns in the back as well), who all helped suppress a very potent Wildcat offense.

Sammie continues to build on her aggressiveness at mid and helped ease the newer mids into the fray. The forward rotation of Marelene, Audrey, Christene and Courtney got off to a slow stat, but by the start of the second half, they began to formulate scoring opportunities by making passes that were on target and directed to open space.

While the score wasn’t in their favor, the girls played exceptionally well. It was clearly a testament to their progression as a team.

As is the case with all game recaps, the coacheds try to identify areas that we want to commend and focus some attention on areas of development:

Game Positives:

Good line movement – The girls did a great job of moving the ball up the lines, and moving laterally when necessary. This has been a focus for the backs, mids and forwards, and it was applied well in this game.

Solid defensively – The defense continues to be a strength for the Devils. They kept a very talented offensive team in check for a majority of the game.

Free kick situations – The entire team reacted well to defensive free kick situations, which has been an Achilles heel in the past. The girls also had two free kick opportunities that turned into scoring chances.

Development Areas:

Defensive marking - Marking the middle of the field on defense created several chances for the Wildcats, who figured out how to generate breaks. The girls were drawn to the ball, rather than playing goal-side and eliminating these chances.

Moving to the ball – We will be focusing more attention on being assertive in attacking the ball. This is not a natural trait in young players, who need to be aggressive to the ball. Fast teams take advantage of this, as was the case on Saturday.

Passing to space - Rather than always directing passes directly to a teammate, we need to focus on leading the pass. This is typically done by mids to forwards who have open space in front.