Finally…some warm weather, sunshine and a little breeze. Sounds like perfect weather for some soccer! It has been a slow start to the season for High School Girls soccer with multiple games cancelled or postponed due to cold weather, snow and unplayable fields. Practice time has been limited and that makes it tough for teams to find their rhythm early in the season. Tonight’s cross town rivalry game between Memorial and North was played with high energy, passion and lots of fight. You could tell it was a rivalry game. As well, maybe both teams were a bit rusty and needed a game to find their way early in the season. Memorial had only played once, back on April 12th, so it had been awhile for a competitive game.
You can see talent all over the field for Memorial. Individual players look big, fast, strong, athletic and skilled. The combination play and possession will take a few games to develop in a new season. Seemed the field and the wind did not help either…the ball was not rolling as smooth as a possession team prefers. Memorial controlled a majority of the possession in the first half, found some shots and managed 1 goal, but never really took control of the game. North was stout on Defense, stepped into passing lanes aggressively, put a lot of bodies behind the ball and in the box, and prevented Memorial from getting into a comfortable flow offensively. There were nice moments and spurts, but that last key pass or clinical shooting was missing.
In a tight cross town rivalry game, with lots of wind and two rusty teams, I guess you would expect a close game. North only had a few moments near Memorial’s final third but did find some good fortune when they pressed Memorials defense, won a ball in a dangerous place and found the net on I think their first shot of the game. One of the few shots Memorials defense has allowed this year. Still early in the game and now a 1-1 score. North’s strategy to sit back defensively and counter attack produced a 1-1 halftime score. Pretty confident the Memorial fans were disappointed and North’s were feeling a bit optimistic. North was playing well and although lacked possession, it felt like a fair score. Although Memorial controlled possession, it did not turn into a ton of dangerous chances. Likely the shots on goal stats will be very lopsided in the official box score, but only a few tough saves for the North GK.
The second half provided Memorial the wind advantage and their energy picked up in the second half. With the wind, possession in the North half was pretty consistent. But still no goals. North tried to throw balls over the top and into space to counter attack, but Memorials defense was up to the task and limited any shots. It felt like it was just a matter of time….shots were coming at a pretty regular clip, but no goal. Multiple corners and balls pinging around the box…but no goal.. Tick tock tick tock. Moving past the 75th minute and the crowd is feeling a bit anxious…but no goal. North started to spend a bit more time in Memorials half as we entered the last 15 minutes and I think that actually was the difference in the game. North got stretched a bit and now, guess what, Memorial started to counter attack with success. They actually looked much better when counter attacking than sitting back in possession and trying to break down North’s defense. I forgot to mark down the time, but I think the winning goal was between 75-80 minute mark. The crowd erupted, both cheering and letting off some anxiety I think. A solid, blue-collar 2-1 victory. Not pretty, but sometimes you just have to win a game ugly, knock off some rust, and move on.
Let’s check out some highlights. It was a pretty physical game. Expected in a rivalry game. This sums up the game pretty well. A tough battle.
Memorial had their chances. Their build up play created multiple shots on goal and their width was causing some problems for North.
As the counter attack game kicked into gear late in the game, Memorial found a lot of space out wide creating some good chances.
You just knew it was coming, the quality of players and the experience, you just knew there was a game winner out there. No surprise who delivered in a tight game.
Key Take Aways from the Game
Lauren Carmody is a handful up top. Carmody was strong in her hold up play and distribution. Her physical play and energy allowed her to win the ball on the winning goal. Strong all night. As well, it would have been pretty easy for her to take the shot on the winning goal….pretty impressive she made the pass, and made the perfect pass…perfect weight, perfect location, perfect roll. She is off to a strong start to the season.
More Games and this team will look different. Just a bit rusty. More practice, more games, more learning their new system and I think this team will look completely different the next time they face North.
Special players deliver when needed. Abigail Stow delivered tonight when the team needed a goal. Two goals and both were solid strikes. Hitting that one time shot to the side net is not as easy as she makes it look. Well done to finish off the game.
Big Game Thursday vs. Hudson. Likely a match up of the top two teams in conference and a road game. Memorial will need to play big. Go Abes!