United
Quest Blue
'85 Athena (U-14)
- Spring 2000 Game 2 -
Tied 1-1 vs. AYSA Blue Stars Nova
|
United
Quest Blue |
This page was last updated on March 20, 2000.
Game 2 vs. AYSA Blue Stars Nova:
This was our first game against the Blue Stars Nova. They are the top U-14 team from the Atlanta Youth Soccer Association. They won the U-13 Athena "B" division last spring to earn promotion into Athena "A" for the U-14 fall season. But they finished at the bottom of the "A" division and were relegated back to Athena "B." Their season in the tough Athena "A" division was bound to help their speed of play, so the Quest expected a stiff challenge.
The Quest had a strong wind at their backs in the first half. The combination of the scrappy, narrow field and strong wind meant this wasn't going to be the day to play controlled possession soccer. Quick attacks with long passes to the corners would be the rule of the day.
AYSA's midfielders were quick, and they were able to help their team gain the early advantage. The Quest defenders did their usual solid job, though, keeping AYSA out of the danger zone.
After one AYSA attack was stopped, the ball was cleared toward the left midfield. An AYSA defender beat the Quest forward to the ball, which started a chain of passes that led to a cross from the right side to an unmarked AYSA player on the back post. She scored on an easy tap-in to give AYSA a 1-0 lead about 13 minutes into the game.
The Quest quickly shrugged off the goal and started creating some attacks. In the 20th minute, Meagan tracked down a long pass in the right corner. She beat her defender and found Elisa with a short pass near the goal line. Elisa tried to cross the ball, but an AYSA defender blocked the cross. The ball caromed back to the top right side of the penalty area. Jessica was first to the bouncing ball. She took a touch into the penalty area, then lined up to take a shot. And what a shot it was! She hit a dipping volley over the keeper's head into the far corner of the goal. Goal Quest and a 1-1 tie!
Both teams had a couple more chances in the first half. The Quest had two close calls. Alex and Lindsey worked a nice short corner kick play, with Alex's shot going just wide. A few minutes later, a teammate found Elisa in the center of the AYSA penalty area in what became a 1v1 with the AYSA keeper. But the ball took a bad hop (a common occurrence on this field) and she wasn't able to hit a shot.
AYSA's best chance came when they played a ball from the right side of the Quest penalty area toward the unguarded back post, but no AYSA players were in position to capitalize.
Halftime came with the score tied 1-1. The two teams were pretty evenly matched. But the Quest would have the very stiff wind in their faces in the second half, so AYSA would have a clear advantage for the rest of the game. The Quest knew they'd have to play strong defense to keep AYSA from scoring.
As expected, much of the second half was played in the Quest's half. But the Quest held AYSA at bay, with excellent work from the defensive quartet of Charlsey, Christina, Jillian and Lauren, and the midfield trio of various combinations of Alex, Amanda, Jessica, Lindsey and Meagan. The Quest gave up some shots, but they were all from bad angles. Charlsey's goal kicks were excellent; she consistently sent the ball 30+ yards upfield into the strong wind.
Games like this are often decided by a little luck and a lot of will. With 15 minutes remaining, the Quest got hit with a piece of hard luck. Amanda cleared a loose bouncing ball from the Quest penalty area with a high volley. The referee ruled it a dangerous play, even though the closest AYSA player was behind Amanda. This meant an indirect free kick for AYSA only 15 yards out from goal. The Quest quickly setup a wall. AYSA did a short touch followed by a shot. The shot cleared the wall, but cleared the crossbar too. So the Quest's case of hard luck was followed immediately by a case of good luck. Whew!
This play energized the Quest, and the team came back with their best attacks of the second half. Elisa, Kaelen and Rachael got deep into the AYSA end several times. But the Quest couldn't find an open shot.
As the game wound down, AYSA regained the advantage. The Quest defenders and midfielders did great work in denying shots, blocking shots and clearing loose balls. Could they keep it up for the remaining minutes?
With seven minutes left, a loose ball dropped to an AYSA player at the top of the penalty area, and she shot high toward the left side of the goal. But Big J was there, and she jumped to save the ball over her head. Whew again!
The next close call came with four minutes left when an AYSA player hammered a shot from well outside the penalty area. The ball was coming in hard and on target. Jillian showed her guts (figuratively and literally) by blocking the shot with her stomach. This was a huge play, because Big J appeared to be screened, and she may not have had time to react if the ball had gotten past Jillian.
The Quest tried to mount some more attacks, but none of them got anywhere. Now there was less than a minute to play and AYSA was on the attack. With 35 seconds left, AYSA won a corner kick. The Quest dropped all 11 players back to defend. Meagan blocked the corner kick, but the ball went out for another corner kick.
AYSA saw the packed Quest defense and played the corner kick back toward a defender. But the choppy field wasn't about to make this an easy play. A Quest player rushed forward to pressure her and force a loose ball. As players from both teams scrambled toward the ball, time ran out and the referee blew the final whistle.
The game ended in a 1-1 tie. All things considered, this was a good result. The Quest had overcome a 1-0 deficit in the first half, then successfully defended a barrage of second half AYSA attacks when faced with the big headwind.
Goalies: Big J (full game). Jessica was tested several times and played very well. She made two huge saves. In the first half, she blocked a corner kick shot, and with only minutes remaining in the second half, she cleanly saved a high shot that was headed into the top of the goal. Great job Big J!
With today's win, the Quest's spring regular season record is now 1 win, 1 tie and 0 1osses. The Quest earned 2 points for the tie and now has 7 points after 2 games. (Click here to see U-14 Athena "B" standings and results.)
 |
Created: 09/11/99 Revised: 03/20/00 |