United
Quest Blue
'85 Athena (U-14)
- Fall 1999 Game 7 -
Lost 2-1 vs. Coastal Ga. Shockers
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United
Quest Blue |
This page was last updated on October 19, 1999.
Game 7 vs. Coastal Georgia Shockers:
This was the Quest's first game against the Shockers, who are from Savannah. The game was originally scheduled for mid-September, but it was postponed due to Hurricane Floyd. Both teams were on day 2 of a multi-game weekend:
- On Saturday, the Quest held off a furious last-minute goal line scramble to win 1-0 against the DSA Red Hots Red.
- The Shockers were on game 3 of a 4-game weekend! On Saturday, they played two games, winning 1-0 against the Roswell Santos Blue in the afternoon, then falling 3-0 to the United Quest White (our "sister" team) in the evening. After their game with us Sunday morning, the Shockers would have a 4th game later in the afternoon against Tophat!
The Quest got off to an excellent start, scoring in the 2nd minute. Alex won a ball in midfield and played a quick pass to Amanda on the right wing. Amanda beat her defender around the outside, drew the sweeper out of the center, then hit a high cross into the center. Meagan rushed in, beat the Shockers keeper to the ball, then hit a glancing header toward the left side of the goal. Jillian was rushing in from that side and knocked the ball home. Goal Quest and a 1-0 lead!
The lead didn't last too long, though. In the 11th minute, the Quest gave up a corner kick. The Shockers knocked the ball into the penalty area. A Quest defender was first to the ball, but she hit a low clearance and a Shocker midfielder intercepted the ball just outside the area. She shot quickly, hitting it high into the top of the Quest goal to tie the game.
The Shockers had one other close chance a few minutes later. A Shocker player took what looked to be a routine-looking shot from outside the penalty area. But it was deflected inside the area. Quest keeper Sally scrambled over to snag the deflected ball just off the goal line.
The Quest had many promising attacks in the first half. Wingers Meagan and Amanda caused all sorts of problems for the Shockers defense. But the Quest couldn't find a finishing shot, and halftime came with the score tied 1-1.
The Shockers and Quest traded attacks in the early stages of the second half. The Quest had a great opportunity early in the half when they worked the ball in close to the Shockers goal on the left side, but the Quest attackers couldn't get their foot on the ball to get a shot on goal.
The momentum slowly changed, and midway through the half, Savannah started winning loose balls and creating more attacks. At one point, a Shocker player got open and had an excellent chance to score, but she hit her shot over the crossbar.
The Shocker defense was tightening, and they were able to stop Quest attacks well away from shooting range. The Quest defense rallied themselves, denying any good chances for the Shockers attackers.
With seven minutes left, the Shockers looked to have taken the lead. A Shocker player got open for a shot near the right corner of the Quest penalty area. She hit it high and hard. Big J (Quest keeper) jumped and got just the tips of her fingers on the ball. The ball carried past her, but she had deflected it just enough, and the ball hit the crossbar. It bounced straight down in front of the goal. Big J quickly recovered from her jump and calmly caught the rebound. (This was the 2nd straight game where Big J made a huge late-game save.)
The Quest realized their good fortune and turned the intensity knob to "max." Both teams started playing faster and with more determination. But both defenses were tough, and it looked as if the game would end in a tie. But if you saw yesterday's game, you know that the game isn't over until the final whistle.
With less than a minute left, Savannah had the ball in the midfield area. This wasn't a quick counter-attack, so the Quest had plenty of players in defensive positions. The Shockers passed the ball wide right to a midfielder, who quickly played a ball into space behind the center of the Quest defense. This pass was perfectly placed, just out of the reach of the Quest sweeper. A Shocker forward and Quest defender raced for the ball, which landed about 12 yards away from the goal a little left of center. The Shocker player won the race, and knowing she was about the be shut down, she hit a nailed a first-time shot into the top left of the Quest goal. Wow!
This goal gave the Shockers a 2-1 lead with only seconds remaining. The Quest had time to take the kickoff, but the final whistle blew before the Quest could generate one final attack.
Just yesterday, the Quest had performed last-minute heroics to hold onto a win, now today they fell to the Shockers last-minute heroics. We credit the Shockers for their spirited second half play (especially considering this was their 3rd game in 24 hours!) and the very nicely developed final goal. They earned their win today.
Goalies: Sally (1st half), Big J (2nd half). Sally didn't have much action. Big J stayed busy and had several saves, including the incredible save mentioned earlier.
With today's loss, the Quest's fall regular season record is now 2 wins, 2 ties and 3 1osses. The Quest still has 14 points (5 for each win, 2 for each tie) in its quest to "stay in B." The Quest has two games left. One more win should be enough to insure our spot in the "B" division for the spring.
The Quest parents showed a nice touch by preparing a picnic lunch for the Savannah team and their parents. Both teams met at the Noonday Park pavilion right after the game and shared lunch and laughs. It's great to see the two teams laughing and joking with each other after such a spirited game ... this speaks well of the players and their parents and coaches.
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Created: 09/11/99 Revised: 10/19/99 |