United Quest Blue
'85 Athena (U-14)
- 1999 Top Gun Tournament -
Pensacola, FL
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United Quest Blue |
This page was last updated on February 27, 2000
1999 Pensacola Top Gun Tournament
We were in the U-14 "Blue" division, which included six teams:
- Slidell United (Louisiana)
- Mandeville Lakers (Louisiana)
- Red Star (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
- Attack White (Birmingham, Alabama)
- Niceville Sting (Florida)
- United Quest Blue (Atlanta, Georgia)
The division was divided into two groups. Each team played three opening round games. The two group winners advanced to the championship match on Sunday afternoon. Group standings were based on the tournament point system: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie.
We didn't come away with any wins, but we competed on even terms with the Red Star team and the Mandeville Lakers (who both advanced to the championship match), and we dominated Slidell United. But our offense wasn't quite clicking, and as they say, you can't win if you don't score.
Here is our schedule. You can click on a result to see a detailed game report.
| Date | Time |
Location | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Nov. 6 | 11:00 AM |
Pace Complex #4 | Red Star (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) | Lost 3-0 |
| Saturday, Nov. 6 | 2:00 PM |
Pace Complex #5 | Mandeville Lakers (Louisiana) | Lost 2-0 |
| Sunday, Nov. 7 | 10:00 AM |
Pace Complex #8 | Slidell United (Louisiana) | Lost 1-0 |
The Red Star team comes from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The Red Star scored three minutes in to take a 1-0 lead. Red Star player #6 got open for a pass near midfield, then went on a great dribbling run, beating three Quest defenders before shooting far post from just inside the penalty area. Sally made a wonderful save, diving to her left to knock the ball away. But a Red Star player was first to the rebound and she had an easy tap-in goal.
The teams played on even terms most of the first half. The Quest had plenty of possession, but never mounted a dangerous attack. Anytime the Red Star #6 had the ball, they looked dangerous. She was easily the best player the Quest has ever faced. She was a dribbling wizard. She had great control, a great change of pace and all sorts of moves.
Halftime came with the Red Star leading 1-0.
The Quest put a shadow on #6 in the second half to try to deny her the ball. This shut down much of the service to her. But the few times she did get the ball, she usually beat the first defender, and sometimes the second one too. The Quest defense did an excellent job of covering for each other, though, and they kept #6 from being dominant.
The Quest again had plenty of possession in the second half. Most of the attacks fizzled outside of shooting range. When the Quest did get within shooting range, players would fail to take a decent shot in hopes of getting a better shot, but would then get stuffed before getting any shot at all.
With five minutes left, the Red Star won a corner kick. They sent the ball into the center of the box. A Quest defender was first to the ball, but she couldn't clear it. A Red Star player swooped in on the loose ball and knocked it in from close range. The Red Star scored another goal two minutes later to seal the 3-0 win.
Between the penalty areas, the game was even. But inside the penalty area, the Red Star created chances and finished them. That was the difference in the game.
Regarding Red Star #6, we don't want anyone to get the idea that she was a one-girl team. She was a team player all the way. She had a gift for dribbling, but she used it as a dangerous offensive weapon, not as a sideshow.
Speaking of Red Star #6, Charlsey deserves special mention for a spectacular goal-saving slide tackle on her in the first half. She made the very difficult "reverse" slide tackle where she slid on her right side and knocked the ball away with the outside of her right foot. This was great stuff, CT!
Game 2: Lost 2-0 vs. Mandeville Lakers
Mandeville is on the north end of Lake Ponchartrain, about 25 miles north of New Orleans.
This game wasn't an artistic masterpiece. The Florida sun was beating down, and the Quest had only had a brief break since game 1. Both teams' offense was mostly boom-ball (which translates to "kick it long and hope that something good happens"). The Quest didn't play badly, but they didn't play up to their normal standards.
The first half was mostly even. Each team had a shot bounce off the goalpost, otherwise neither team looked dangerous.
Mandeville took a 1-0 lead midway through the first half. A Laker player on the right side crossed the ball into the Quest penalty area. The Quest keeper came out for the ball on what looked like an easy play. But she stopped a few yards short of the ball, and a Laker player came from much farther away to be first to the ball. The goal was open, so she alertly shot and scored an easy goal. Mandeville held the 1-0 lead through halftime.
The second half was again mostly even. At one point, the Quest had a flurry of offense and came close to scoring. The Lakers' keeper had to come out to clear a ball, and her clearance fell to Lauren, who was making her first-ever appearance at center midfield. The keeper was way out of goal. Lauren saw this and alertly took a first-time volley shot from about 35 yards out. Her shot barely missed the top left corner of the goal. But she deserves big-time credit for seizing the opportunity.
The Quest had plenty of possession the rest of the way, but never really threatened goal again. Mandeville scored an insurance goal on a well-struck high shot late in the game to take a 2-0 win.
Game 3: Lost 1-0 vs. Slidell United
Slidell is located on the east side of Lake Ponchartrain, about 20 miles northeast of New Orleans.
Saturday's results had put the Quest out of the running for the championship match. So this was a classic "play for pride" game. The Quest had played fairly well in Saturday's game 1, and had a so-so (not good, not bad) performance in game 2. But the Quest had not yet played up to their normal level. That was about to change.
The Quest got off to a strong start and controlled much of the play in the early stages of the game. The Quest's quick passing game was in gear, and the Quest consistently worked the ball into the Slidell end. When Slidell had the ball, they concentrated their attack on the right side of the field. But the Quest defense was in excellent form and kept Slidell well out of danger.
Slidell player #5 was called for several fouls early in the game. She was very physical and tested the boundaries between fair play and foul play. The end result of one of her fouls was Lindsey on the ground with one shoe off. We mention this because it will come into play later in the game.
In the first half, the Quest attacked deep into the Slidell end several times. Meagan came close to scoring on a header from a corner kick (her second close call on corner kick headers this weekend). Slidell had some attacks, but only one was dangerous, and that was due to a deflection and a strange hop.
A Slidell player took a routine-looking shot from the right side. Sally was near the right post and appeared to be in good position to catch it on the first bounce. But the ball must have taken a deflection. It had a ton of spin, and it took a very weird hop, bouncing high and wide toward the center of the goal. Sally reacted very quickly and jumped to get her hands on the ball and deflect it. The ball bounced off the left goalpost and back across the goal mouth. Charlsey had alertly followed the Slidell shot and she barely beat a Slidell player to the ball to clear it off the goal line.
This was a great play by Sally to adjust to the bad bounce, and an equally great play by Charlsey to follow the shot and be in position to make a "save" on the loose ball.
The game was still scoreless at halftime. But the Quest had looked to be the better team in the first half. In the second half, the Quest would have a tailwind, which would extend their shooting range by 5-10 yards.
The Quest came out strong in the second half and again controlled more of the play. About 10 minutes into the half, Elisa came close on a breakaway. Slidell's #5 was still being very aggressive. But the referee was letting play continue now, so she wasn't getting called for any fouls. This soon came to haunt the Quest.
After getting roughed up yet again by #5 near the sideline, Lindsey finally pushed back and the referee whistled her (Lindsey) for retaliation. Lindsey is a model of fair play, but everyone has a limit, and #5 had pushed (and kicked) Lindsey past hers.
A few minutes later, Slidell's #5 got open for a pass near midfield and took off down the right side. Lindsey was tracking her, and she caught up and got into the desired inside position. As the two of them neared the penalty area, they were leaning into each other shoulder-to-shoulder, then Lindsey tumbled to the ground. The referee blew the whistle. To the astonishment of Lindsey and the rest of the Quest, he pointed to the penalty spot! To add more confusion, he presented a yellow card to Slidell's #5.
The referee later explained that Lindsey had prevented an obvious goal scoring opportunity. Shoulder charges within playing range of the ball are totally within the rules of the game. The whole purpose of a shoulder charge is to unbalance the opponent and try to turn a good chance into a bad chance or a "no chance." But there's no point belaboring this issue. The penalty kick call was made, Slidell scored on the PK, and they had a 1-0 lead with about 15 minutes to play.
The Quest players were noticeably frazzled. The Quest had been controlling the play, and Slidell had only gotten the ball into the Quest penalty area one other time in the half, yet Slidell was now ahead 1-0. But the Quest players soon regained their focus and turned the pressure up even higher on Slidell.
The Quest would attack, and when Slidell would win the ball and try to get out of danger, the Quest defense would steal the ball and start another attack. This happened again and again and again. The Quest was in "power play" mode now: Sally was 35 yards out of goal and one of the defenders had shifted up into a midfield position.
Up until this point, the Quest had been held scoreless throughout the tournament. With seven minutes left, the Quest fortunes appeared to change. A Quest forward and a Slidell defender converged on a loose ball just outside the right corner of the Slidell penalty area. The Quest player got there first and tried to shoot, but the defender partially blocked it. The ball caromed forward into the penalty area. Elisa ran onto the loose ball and quickly shot, hitting it strongly into the goal to tie the game.
Goal Quest! As the Quest players celebrated, the referee's assistant (the linesman) raised his flag to indicate an offside violation. So it became No Goal Quest! The Quest players couldn't believe it, particularly Elisa, who had run forward onto the ball after the deflection.
The Quest players rallied from this setback even more quickly than the prior one, and they turned the pressure up to an even higher level. Slidell was in full bunker mode. The big question was "What comes first: a Quest goal, or the final whistle?"
With seconds remaining, the Quest earned a corner kick from the right side. Elisa took the kick and sent the ball to the near side of the goal area. A Quest player was first to the ball, but she faced a wall of defenders, so she wisely passed back outside to Elisa, who was wide open on the right. As Elisa moved to the ball, the referee blew the final whistle. Slidell had prevailed 1-0.
The Quest has no reason to hang their heads after this game. The team played with skill and spirit, and they showed tons of heart to come back and dominate after the the adversity of the PK and the goal that wasn't.
The Quest defense deserves special mention. Meagan dominated at sweeper, Christina was her usual loose-ball magnet at stopper, and marking backs Charlsey, Lauren and Jillian totally shut down their opponents.
The Baton Rouge Red Star and the Mandeville Lakers (our first two opponents) advanced to the championship match. The result has not yet been posted.
We thank the Pensacola Samba Soccer Club for a well-run tournament. The field complex was excellent. (We played at the Santa Rosa club's home, also called the Pace Soccer Complex.) The complex had indoor restrooms, bleacher seating at most fields, and it even had large practice areas, which we've never seen before at any other complex.
While we came for a tournament, we didn't forget that we were in Florida. The first letter in Florida is also the first letter in Fun. And we had plenty of fun.
We stayed at a hotel right on the beach. The hotel had a heated outdoor pool. We didn't get back from Saturday's games until dusk. But that didn't bother anyone. The girls had a great time swimming in the gulf in the dark, and when when they'd get cold, they'd jump into the pool to warm up, then jump back in the gulf and back in the pool, etc.
We hope to post some pictures from the trip later this month. We'll put a note in the Team News section of the team's home page as soon as the pictures are posted.
The players also offer a big "thank you" to the parents for their support both on and off the field. Our team is blessed with a wonderful group of parents. They keep the proper perspective and understand that their daughters play soccer for fun, not as a job. They want to see the team try hard and play well, but they also realize that the earth doesn't revolve around the result of a soccer game. We invite the entire youth sports community to share this perspective.
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Created: 11/02/99 Revised: 02/27/00 |
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