United Quest Blue '85 Athena (U-13) - 1998 Athena Finale -

1998 Athens Finale Tournament:

We played in the 1998 Athens Finale tournament in December. We had played in a few local tournaments previously, but this was our team's first ever travel tournament.

We were in the U-13 Athena Division II, Group A. Our opponents were all from Georgia's U-13 Athena program. We would face the Brookwood Steamers White (winners of the Athena "D1" division), the Augusta Lady Vipers (from the "D2" division), and the GSA Phoenix White (2nd place in the Athena "C" division).

The Quest really came together as a team during this tournament. The girls played well in their first game and very well in their second game, then played their best soccer of the year in game 3. Here are our game-by-game results (you can click on the result for a detailed game report):

Game 1 vs. Brookwood Steamers White (Won 1-0)

• This was our first-ever game against Brookwood. They won the U-13 Athena "D1" division with a record of 8 wins and 1 loss. We knew that a good "D" team can compete with and win against "C" teams (because we were a good "D" team ourselves during the spring). And a team with 8 wins will play with confidence, so we expected Brookwood to be a challenge.

Sure enough, Brookwood immediately took control of the game and dominated the first few minutes. The Quest then found a rhythm and controlled most of the first half. But we weren't able to score, so the half ended with the score tied 0-0.

Brookwood had another surge at the beginning of the second half, but the Quest soon regained control and kept Brookwood on the defensive. At the 43 minute mark, Christina settled a Brookwood goalie punt with her chest (she seemed to win every loose ball all weekend), then played a quick pass to Sarah, who scored with a very skillful first-time side volley shot to give the Quest a 1-0 lead.

The next few minutes went back-and-forth, then in the final minutes of the game, Brookwood went on an all-out attack and barely missed the tying goal. Sally had to make several saves, and she was up the challenge. Brittany deserves special mention for her heroics as a defender. She cleared a rebound off the goal line and also headed a dangerous ball out of the penalty area in the final seconds to help us preserve the 1-0 win.

Return to top of page

Game 2 vs. Augusta Lady Vipers (Won 3-0)

• This was our first-ever game against Augusta. This was also our first night game of the year, and the result was our most dominating performance of the season. We're a "C" level team and Augusta is a "D" level team, so we were expected to win. But winning isn't guaranteed ... a team has to play well to win, and the Quest played very well. The girls won the loose balls, they consistently found teammates with their passes, and they defended aggressively. This all led to a 3-0 win in which our goalies (Lauren, Katie and Rachael) only touched the ball once all game.

Rachael scored in the 14th minute (assist from Margaret) to give us a 1-0 halftime lead. Margaret scored early in the second half (assist from Lauren), then Lauren scored late in the game (assist from ?) to close out the win.

Margaret deserves special mention for her play on the right wing. She consistently beat her defender with fakes and change-of-pace dribbles, and she served several dangerous crosses into the box.

But this win came with some unfortunate costs. Sally (playing as a midfielder) injured her leg late in the first half and wasn't able to play any further during the tournament. Late in the game, Margaret suffered what appeared to be a serious injury to her left knee. She wasn't able to put any weight on her leg, and it looked doubtful that she'd be able to play in the "big game" the next day.

Return to top of page

Game 3 vs. GSA Phoenix White (Lost 3-2)

• We've played GSA three times before. During our U-12 days, we tied them 1-1 in the fall season (1997), then lost 3-0 in the 1998 Canterbury Cup tournament (in a game that was much more competitive than the score indicates). We played again this past September ... we'll tell you about that game in a moment.

The Quest and GSA both came into this game with 2 wins, no losses and 18 points to share the lead in our group. (The tournament scoring system gives 6 points for a win, 1 point for each goal [up to 3 per game], and a bonus point for shutout win.) A Quest win would put us into the tournament championship game. GSA had scored more total goals than us in their two games, which was the first tie-breaker. So a GSA win or even a tie would put the Phoenix through to the final.

GSA had had an excellent fall season. They won 6 games, tied 2 games and only lost 1 game. They finished 2nd in the Athena "C" division (behind Macon), which earned them a promotion into the "B" division. Their lone loss? A certain United Quest Blue team (yes, us!) posted a hard earned 2-1 win over the Phoenix back in September.

The combination of all of these factors gave this a "game of the year" feel. Too bad we couldn't get ESPN to televise it!

There were some additional pre-game factors involved. We had to work through the soreness that goes with playing two games the previous day. We'd also have to overcome the loss of Sally (our main goalie, who hurt her leg in our game against Augusta last night). On the "plus" side, Margaret must have slept on a magic bed, because after suffering what appeared to have been a serious knee injury in the Augusta game last night, she was OK and able to play! So you want to know about the game? Here you go:

The Quest totally dominated the first half. Lauren, Margaret, Meghan and Rachael kept the Phoenix defenders on their heels with their attacking runs. Alex, Christina, Jessica and Lindsey supported from midfield, winning almost every loose ball, then making consistently well-timed and accurate passes. Brittany, Katie, Lee Maree, Sarah and Shelby played outstanding defense, pressuring every Phoenix possession and winning most tackles. The performance was so strong that Jillian (filling in at goalie) only touched the ball a few times during the half.

We took a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute when Rachael alertly scored on a rebound after a well-placed free kick by Alex. The Phoenix had a promising attack in the last minute of the half that finished with a shot that was just wide of the goal, so we took a 1-0 lead into halftime.

We knew the Phoenix would come out strong in the second half, and that we would be in for a big challenge. Sure enough, GSA scored early in the half to tie the game 1-1. They continued to attack and got another goal (on a nice low far-post shot) a few minutes later to take a 2-1 lead. This was definitely "crunch time." The Quest rallied and soon the game became an exciting, tense, end-to-end event. The Phoenix won a corner kick on one of their attacks, and they scored via a header into the top of the net! This is a rare event at our age group and level, so we give credit to the Phoenix player who scored this goal.

Now we were really in a jam! We were down 3-1, and since we were seeking a win to move on to the championship game, we'd need to score 3 goals in 10 minutes. That's a mighty big challenge! Lo and behold, Margaret scored two minutes later (with a hustling assist from Katie) to cut the Phoenix lead to 3-2. Soon afterwards, the Phoenix goalie made a great save on a high far-post shot to stop what everyone thought was Quest goal #3. The Quest kept battling, but the clock was on GSA's side now, and time ran out on us.

The Quest didn't win the game, but they won the respect of everyone in attendance with their combination of skilled play, hustle and determination. If the team can build on this during the spring, watch out "C" division!

Return to top of page

Final Notes

• GSA played Athens United Illusion in the U-13 Division II championship. Athens won the game 1-0 to win the title. (I guess we wore out GSA.)

Return to top of page

Created: 12/06/98 Revised: 10/24/99