United Quest Blue '85 Athena (U-14) - Spring 2000 Game 6 - Lost 6-0 vs. Coastal Ga. Shockers

This page was last updated on May 03, 2000.

Game 6 vs. Coastal Georgia Shockers:

• Saturday, April 29, 2000, 2:30 PM at Chatham Soccer Complex field 4 in Savannah. Weather conditions: sunny and hot. Field conditions: fair: thin but tall grass. It looked like it had been a while since a lawn mower visited the field. But the grass was thin, so this didn't really have an effect on the game.

The Shockers are a U-14 Athena team from the Coastal Georgia Soccer Association in Savannah. We've played them once before, losing 2-1 on a last-minute goal in game 7 of the fall 1999 season.

The Quest got off to an excellent start, working the ball deep into the Shockers end on the opening kickoff play. The Quest looked sharp in the early minutes.

Then disaster struck on the Shockers very first attack. A Shocker forward dribbled into the Quest penalty area but didn't have any teammates nearby to support her. Two Quest defenders were back, along with Big J in goal. A Quest defender made a tackle, knocking the ball loose in the center of the penalty area, just outside the top of the goal area. The ball was now in the middle of four players (2 Quest defenders, Quest goalie and Shockers attacker). As the Quest players had a moment of hesitation, the Shocker attacker got her toe on the ball to nudge it through the crowd into the goal. This gave the Shockers a 1-0 lead.

The Shockers scored three more goals to take a 4-0 halftime lead:

• Goal #2 came when the Shockers played a long ball into the Quest penalty area. Big J came out strong for the ball, but a Shocker player got to it at the exact same time and they collided. The ball popped loose, and before the Quest could react, the Shockers had knocked it into the open goal.

• Goal #3 was a quality goal that started with a perfect touch pass into space behind the Quest defense. A speedy Shocker attacker took off on a breakaway. Big J came out nicely to cut the angle, but the Shocker attacker calmly slotted the ball past her into the bottom right corner of the goal.

• Goal #4 came late in the half on another hopeful long ball. A Quest midfielder tried to settle the ball in the Quest penalty area. The ball bounced a couple of feet away from her. A Shocker player was right there and hit a first-time volley shot into the Quest goal.

The Shockers scored two more goals early in the second half to take a 6-0 lead. One goal came from a well-struck high outside shot by a midfielder who had gotten open for a drop pass. The other was much like the Shockers' 4th goal: a Quest player settled a high ball directly to a Shocker player, and she hammered it home.

To the Quest's credit, the team never quit. The Quest created some good scoring chances. The Quest twice beat the Shockers keeper with shots, but other Shockers defenders were covering behind her and cleared the balls out of danger.

The final score was a 6-0 Shocker win. This is the Quest's worst-ever loss. When the Quest was a U-12 team, the IAYMCA Eagles (next week's opponent) totally dominated the Quest on their way to a 5-0 win. Today's loss looks worse on paper, but unlike the 5-0 game at U-12, the Quest were competitive with the Shockers everywhere except on the scoreboard.

The Quest team has had more than its share of good fortune over the years. Today's game definitely served to even the scales.

Goalies: Big J (full game).

With today's loss, the Quest's spring regular season record is now 2 wins, 1 tie and 3 losses. The Quest earns 0 points for the loss and now has 12 points after six games.

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Created: 09/11/99 Revised: 05/03/00