United Quest Blue
'85 Athena (U-13)
- Game Reports -
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United Quest Blue |
Game Reports:
United Quest Blue vs. FCYSL Lightning Silver: (November 7, 1998)
The Quest played a strong first half and took a 2-0 half-time lead on a goal by Meghan (assist by Alex) and a long-distance "bomb" by Jillian (assist by Meghan). The Lightning gave us a good battle during the 2nd half, but we were able to keep them off the scoreboard to preserve the 2-0 win.
This was our final game of the fall 1998 season. The Quest finished the season with a record of 4 wins and 5 losses. We had been promoted from the "D" division to the tougher "C" division prior to this season. Our goal for the fall season was to preserve our spot in the "C" division for the spring season. (The bottom two teams are relegated to the "D" division after the season.) Our four wins put us in a tie for 5th place (out of 10 teams), so we achieved our goal. Congratulations, girls! This was even more impressive considering that we lost Sally, our primary goalie, to a broken arm the week before the season started, and she wasn't able to play in goal until today, our last game of the season!
United Quest Blue vs. Central GA Strikers: (March 20, 1999)
The game was played at the lush Noonday field 4 on a sunny, breezy, warm day. The Quest came out hot and took a 2-0 lead on a long-range goal by Alex and a breakaway goal by Rachael. The Quest started to tire midway through the 2nd half, and the Strikers scored to cut the lead to 2-1. But the Quest held on the rest of the way to post a 2-1 win.
United Quest Blue vs. Roswell Lady Santos Blue: (March 27, 1999)
We started very slowly and Roswell immediately put us under heavy pressure. The Santos scored about 10 minutes into the game on a well-struck high, far post shot. The Quest created a few chances later in the first half, but never quite had a good goal-scoring opportunity. Halftime came with Roswell ahead 1-0.
The 2nd half saw more back-and-forth play. Both teams had some "almost" chances, but again, nothing too dangerous. Margaret came closest to scoring when she hit a high shot toward the far post midway through the 2nd half, but the Santos goalie had time to get behind it and make the save. Roswell held on to win 1-0.
Our spring season record is now 1 win and 1 loss.
United Quest Blue vs. Brookwood Steamers White: (April 17, 1999)
The Quest had the wind in the first half. The Quest intercepted the opening kickoff and proceeded to keep the Steamers on the defensive for most of the half. Jillian barely missed a goal early on, and the Steamers goalie saved several other Quest shots. At the 26-minute mark, Margaret received a ball in the midfield area near the right sideline, then took off on a run down the line. She beat two defenders, then crossed toward the center of the box. Sarah, Jillian and the Brookwood keeper all converged on the ball. Jillian barely won the race and knocked the ball past the keeper and into the corner of the goal. Quest up 1-0.
Sally and Rachael shared goalie duties in the first half. They both had a few touches on the ball, but were never really tested. The first half ended with the Quest up 1-0.
Brookwood had the wind at their backs in the second half. But the Quest continued to have more possession and attacking play than the Steamers. But the Quest just couldn't quite get a much-needed 2nd goal. With 10 minutes left in the game, the Steamers right wing beat the Quest defense wide, but she was running out of space as she neared the goal line. She took a very narrow angle shot, and it somehow found its way into the goal. Game tied 1-1 now, even though Quest was dominating play.
The Quest showed good character by shrugging off the goal and going right back on the attack. Sarah hit a promising high, far post shot from the right side, but the wind bent the ball just outside the post. Katie also barely missed on a rocket shot from the left side. The clock was running out on the Quest, though and the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
The Quest's overall performance was excellent today. Now we just need to get a little quicker and more accurate in the scoring zone.
Our spring season record is now 1 win, 1 loss and 1 tie.
United Quest Blue vs. Cherokee Lady Knights: (April 24, 1999)
The Quest started slowly, and Cherokee had us on our heels the first 10 minutes. The defense held on, though, and didn't give the Lady Knights any open shots. The Quest started to come together midway through the first half, and had several attacks, but no really good shooting chances. Halftime came with the score tied 0-0.
Both teams had an equal share of attacks in the early stages of the 2nd half. 10 minutes in, we had a quick case of bad luck/good luck. We were called for an inadvertent handball in our penalty area, but the Lady Knights missed the resulting penalty kick! Whew! A few minutes later, there was a scramble for a loose ball at the top of our box. A Lady Knight player got there first and lofted a high shot just under the crossbar to give the Lady Knights a 1-0 lead.
This goal only served to motivate the Quest, and the team proceeded to take control of the game. The Quest launched attack after attack. With 10 minutes left, Margaret forced a Cherokee defender to give up a corner kick. The corner flag was bent, which prevented a normal long corner, so Lindsey played a short corner to Sally. The Lady Knights defense didn't come out to pressure, so Sally took a couple of touches toward the goal, then launched a shot. The shot rose and curled toward the top corner of the goal ... looks promising ... curling, curling ... it's in the net! It's in the net! This was a classic unstoppable, upper-90 shot and it tied the game 1-1.
The Quest kept attacking and controlled more of the final 10 minutes, but the Lady Knights defense kept us out of the danger zone. The game ended in a 1-1 tie. Considering that both teams had periods of dominance, this was a fair result.
Our spring season record is now 1 win, 1 loss and 2 ties.
United Quest Blue vs. Jesup Lady Hawks: (April 25, 1999)
Jesup is in southeast Georgia about 5 hours away. Rather than subjecting several parents to 10 hours of driving, we rented a charter bus. Our driver Robert met us at Noonday at 7:15 AM. After a brief wake-up period, the girls got their "spirit mojo" working. The team spent the early hours of the trip decorating banners, posters, faces, arms and legs, and they also created a new team cheer. (We think we lead the league in quantity and quality of team cheers. Click here for details.)
A lunch stop led to the spotting of a true hall-of-fame big-haired lady. If you've seen the Longhorn's lady, you've got the general idea! This inspired the girls into styling each other's hair in new and unusual ways. This led to the style shop of Ladies Jo and Rhonda creating a radical new "do" for coach Ward. We were determined to make a memorable entrance.
We realized that we were running late, but we weren't going to let the artwork go unnoticed, so we stopped a mile from the field to frantically tape the banners and posters onto the bus. We arrived at the field at exactly 1:00 PM, which happened to be the kickoff time. The bus driver laid on the horn to start the spectacle, then the wild-haired players and coach piled out of the bus, jumped a fence, ran onto the field and proceeded to start a whirlwind warm-up. Did we mention that we were determined to make a memorable entrance?
The weather was mild and overcast and the field was in excellent shape. This was a welcome change from the choppy field we played on in yesterday's game against the Cherokee Lady Knights.
The referee gave us some extra warm-up time, so we were plenty ready by the time the game started. Jillian intercepted Jesup's opening kickoff, the Quest launched an immediate attack, then proceeded to dominate the first half. The Quest created numerous scoring chances, but couldn't find the net.
Coach Ward had issued a "hair" challenge before the game. If the Quest scored two goals in the first half, and won the game, he'd keep his new hairdo for the rest of the day, which would include his own men's league game that night. Otherwise out with the horns and back to normal hair.
Midway through the half, the challenge looked in doubt, because the score was still 0-0. Then at the 19-minute mark, Alex found Rachael open at the top of the box, and Rachael hammered her shot home to give the Quest a 1-0 lead. The Quest continued to attack, but shots either went wide, high or right to the Lady Hawks goalie. With 6 minutes left in the half, Lindsey beat her defender on the left wing and hit a dangerous centering pass. Nisha was first to the ball and her close range volley beat the goalie on the left post. Quest up 2-0, which meant the first part of the hair challenge had been completed.
In the past, the Quest has often come out flat after a dominant first half. But not today! The team kept the intensity and kept attacking. A nice midfield passing sequence finished with Sarah finding Rachael open on the right side. Rachael finished nicely for her 2nd goal, but it was called back (correctly) due to offside.
The Quest kept attacking, and 11 minutes into the 2nd half, Nisha scored her 2nd goal. This was another pretty goal ... the Quest passed from defense to midfield to Rachael, who attacked up the right wing, then found Nisha at right midfield with a drop pass. Nisha dribbled toward the goal and launched a hard low shot to the far post. A Lady Hawk defender tried to clear the ball, but it caromed off her foot into the goal to give the Quest a 3-0 lead.
The Lady Hawks never quit, though, and they started several attacks late in the game. Rachael was making a rare appearance at sweeper, and she and her defensive crew (Shelby, Sally, Christina and Jillian) thwarted most of the Lady Hawks attacks. By this point, Nisha was in goal (she had a busy day!), and she reacted quickly to make a lunging save inside the goal area to thwart the most promising Lady Hawk attack. The Lady Hawks goalie made several impressive saves in the final minutes, and the game ended with Quest winning 3-0.
Our spring season record is now 2 wins, 1 loss and 2 ties.
The Quest performance was impressive, and earns extra credit considering that the girls endured a 5 1/2 hour bus trip a day after having played a physically challenging game against the Cherokee Lady Knights. Good job Quest!
The trip home was highlighted by ... Oops, there may not be a trip home! The bus's battery died during the game, and we ended up having to wait an hour and a half for help. The girls passed the time by working on cheerleading lifts, jumps and head juggling. Help finally arrived and we headed home. The trip home was highlighted by Katie teaching several players a dance routine that she learned through cheerleading. Oh yeah, coach Ward did indeed play his men's game that evening with his wild new hairdo, which generated a whole new set of stares and odd looks.
Click here to see pictures from this memorable trip!
United Quest Blue vs. Athens United Illusion: (May 1, 1999)
Today's game was a home game at Canterbury field 6. The weather was warm and sunny, with a slight breeze. The field was in good condition. The 3:00 PM kickoff was delayed a good 15-20 minutes as we had to scramble to find a referee crew.
We finally found refs and got started. The Quest came out hot and dominated the early stages of the game. The Quest defense and midfield won almost every loose ball. The team kept the ball in Athens' end much of the first half, but never really got any dangerous shots. Margaret injured her ankle in a collision with the Athens keeper 10 minutes into the game, and she had to sit out the rest of the way. Shelby was already out with a shin injury, so this left the Quest with only one substitute for much of the game.
With 4 minutes left in the first half, Christina won a ball just inside the Athens half, but was fouled as she started to dribble. The free kick was spotted a good 40 yards from goal. Alex lined it up and struck it high, hard and deep. This was one of those moments where time seemed to stand still. Everyone watched as the ball sailed toward the goal ... it's still going ... still going ... gooooaaaaallll! An awesome 40-yard shot that came down inches below the crossbar, just out of reach of the leaping Athens goalie. Amazing!
The second half was a totally different story. Athens immediately went on the attack and had the Quest on their heels. Sally was in goal for the Quest, and twice she came up with excellent goal-stopping saves. Much of the second half was played in the Quest defensive half, but the Quest defensive four of Katie, Jillian, Christina and Lauren shut down the Athens forwards the rest of the way, denying them any more dangerous chances. The Quest held on for the 1-0 win, which is the team's first-ever win against Athens.
Our spring season record is now 3 wins, 1 loss and 2 ties.
This was definitely a game of two entirely different halves. The Quest dominated the first half, while Athens dominated the second. Thanks to Alex's incredible free kick and the "never quit" play of the defense, the Quest was able to pull out the win. Congratulations girls!
United Quest Blue vs. Cobb Union White: (May 8, 1999)
Today's game was at Metro North field 4. The weather was warm and sunny, with a light breeze. The field was in excellent condition, which was a bit of a surprise after two days of heavy rains.
The Quest started strong and controlled much of the first 15 minutes of the game, but couldn't find the net. Then disaster hit when Cobb Union scored twice in three minutes. Cobb Union hadn't put any real pressure on us up until that point, but now they were ahead 2-0. The Quest kept their composure, though, and the girls never showed any signs of being discouraged. They kept attacking, and good things finally started happening.
5 minutes before halftime, a Quest attack led to Rachael passing to Lindsey on the left wing. Lindsey sent a dangerous cross into the center. Margaret darted in from the right wing and hit a perfect first-time, left foot shot. The goalie didn't have a chance as the ball whizzed by her into the goal. The Quest were back in business now, trailing 2-1. The combination of the nice buildup and strong finish made this the goal of the game.
The Quest kept the pressure on Cobb Union. Two minutes later, Jillian sent a pass to Rachael at the top of the box. Rachael turned the ball behind her defender into open space, then she beat the keeper to the ball and hit a low corner shot to tie the game 2-2.
Jessica sprained her ankle late in the first half, and wasn't able to return to the game. Sarah was already out due to a school event, so we'd be playing the 2nd half with only 1 substitute. Katie (big toe smashed by a car door) and Margaret (bruised heel) were already nursing injuries, so we knew the 2nd half would be a challenge.
The 2nd half started mostly even ... both teams had their share of attacks. Cobb Union had the best chance, but Sally made a good save on a close-range shot from a Cobb Union corner kick. With 10 minutes left, the lack of substitutes started to take effect, and the Quest started to fade. Cobb Union had the Quest on the defensive for most of the final part of the game. But the Quest always managed to have a defender in position to prevent any dangerous Cobb Union shots. The Quest mounted a couple of attacks in the final minute, but weren't able to get a clear shot on goal. The final whistle blew and the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
Our spring season record is now 3 wins, 1 loss and 3 ties. The team deserves credit for staying positive and focused despite falling behind 2-0 ... good job girls!
United Quest Blue vs. AYSA Blue Stars Galaxy: (May 13, 1999)
We had difficulties agreeing with AYSA on a mutually acceptable reschedule date. The short story is that we were ordered to play the makeup on a weeknight when four of our players would be unavailable due to school activities. So at best, we'd field a short-handed team of 10 players. And that's assuming nobody got stuck in rush-hour traffic during a long drive from Marietta to the AYSA field at Agnes Scott College in Decatur.
The Agnes Scott field is large, over 110 yards long and almost 70 yards wide. We normally like large fields, but not when we're short-handed. The field was in good condition: all grass, no dirt and very smooth. Heavy rains earlier in the day caused a wet surface, but there weren't any puddles. The weather was mild but humid.
So what happened? A few minutes before game time, we had 8 players. The referee graciously gave us a 10 minute grace period, during which Katie showed up to give us 9 players. Our goalie (Sally) wasn't there yet; a victim of Atlanta traffic. So we started with 9. The AYSA coach showed admirable sportsmanship by only sending 10 players out for his team. So we'd play 9 vs. 10 instead of 9 vs. 11. AYSA had 16 total players, so they'd have lots of subs. (During our U-12 days last year, we won 4-0 in a game in which we played 9 vs. 11 plus several subs. This memory gave us confidence that we could do it again.)
The first 15 minutes was played mostly in the midfield. The Quest seemed a step quicker than the Galaxy, so the Quest controlled more of the play. Neither team was able to create any dangerous chances. Lauren was in goal for the Quest. She had to make a few plays, but nothing too difficult.
The game was still 0-0 when Sally arrived midway through the first half. This gave the Quest a boost, not only because Sally is an excellent goalie, but also because Lauren would move onto the field, giving the team 10 players.
Halftime came with the score still 0-0. The Quest had played a solid first half, looking a bit more dangerous than AYSA. This gave the team a healthy amount of confidence for the second half.
Three minutes into the second half, the Quest won a throw-in on the left sideline about 30 yards from goal. Normally the team would have its left defender take the throw, but Christina alertly left it for Sarah, the left midfielder. Sarah normally plays sweeper, so she rarely takes throw-ins. But she can really "hum that tater" (that's Quest-speak for "throw the ball strongly"). Sure enough, she threw it over the last Galaxy defender. Rachael was ready and raced after the ball. She got a controlling touch inside the penalty area, then the AYSA keeper came out to try to win the ball. Rachael didn't back down, so the keeper was forced to play it with her feet. The ball caromed off Rachael and it floated lazily toward the goal. The ball appeared to be either on the goal line or just over it (in the air), but it was too close to call. A Galaxy defender rushed over to clear the ball, but she didn't have time to set her body, and she sent it into the side of the goal. Goal Quest!
The lead allowed the Quest to shift a forward back to defense. But the goal inspired the Quest and led to a sustained period of dominance, even with one less attacking player. Sarah found Rachael with another long throw-in. Rachael hit a clever outside-of-the-foot shot toward the far right post, but the AYSA keeper made an incredible diving save to knock it out! Soon afterwards, a Quest pass sent Margaret on a breakaway. She had to fend off two defenders, and she wasn't able to set up her preferred right foot. So she shot left-footed, and hit a beautiful shot toward the left corner. The goalie didn't have a chance! But the goalie's best friend, the goalpost, saved the day. The ball bounced back across the face of the goal, but no Quest player was able to reach it before AYSA cleared it out of danger.
These two near-misses gave AYSA a boost, and they started their own period of dominance as the shorthanded Quest started to tire. A Galaxy player had an open shot from the left side of the box, and she shot low and toward the corner. It looked dangerous, but Sally was able to make the save to preserve the 1-0 lead. AYSA continued to keep the pressure on the Quest defense, but the defense was alert enough to prevent any more clear Galaxy shots.
With 10 minutes to play, the Quest launched a much-needed attack. Margaret won the ball just outside the right side of the penalty area, took a touch into space, then hit a beautiful lofted shot toward the back (left) post. The keeper jumped, but Margaret had lofted it perfectly, and the ball carried over her outstretched hands into the far corner. Goal Quest and a 2-0 lead with nine minutes to play!
Christina took a knock and had to come out for a few minutes, so the Quest was now back to 9 players. The team shifted formations again to further shore up the defense, which left only one attacking player. As expected, the Galaxy controlled most of the play, but the Quest defense kept them out of danger. A Quest handball in the last minute led to a Galaxy free kick from about 25 yards out. The Galaxy player hit a dipping shot. Sally was ready, but the ball skidded on the wet field and stayed low to find the corner of the goal and cut the Quest lead to 2-1. But the Quest knew that time was about to expire, and sure enough, the final whistle blew seconds after the Quest kickoff.
The team continues to show heart, focus and spirit. This was a game where a lesser team could have focused on any number of negative issues. But the girls rose above this and stayed positive, played hard and believed in themselves and each other. Congratulations Quest!
Our spring season record is now 4 wins, 1 loss and 3 ties. Today's win keeps us alive for 2nd place in the Athena "C" division, which would allow us to move up to Athena "B" for the fall.
United Quest Blue vs. Tophat 04 White: (May 14, 1999)
Today's game was a Friday night make-up game (originally postponed due to spring break) at the Tophat field in Buckhead. The weather was sunny and mild, and the field was in excellent condition. Field dimensions were 110 by 70 yards.
This would be our second game in two nights. We had played a make-up game the previous night, winning 2-1 win over the AYSA Blue Stars Galaxy despite only having 10 players and no subs. We had 13 players for tonight's game, so we had the luxury of a full team plus 2 substitutes.
Tonight's game was a "big" game for both teams. If United won, the Quest would finish in 2nd place in the Athena "C" division and win promotion into Athena "B" for the fall. This would be quite an achievement for a team that was a mid-level Athena "D" team after it's first season in the fall of 1997. If Tophat won or the game ended in a tie, they'd finish 2nd and qualify for promotion themselves.
Tophat had the opening kickoff and attacked down the right side. They kept the ball in the Quest end for the first few minutes, but weren't able to create any dangerous chances. After a few minutes, the Quest adjusted to the faster tempo and increased pressure (compared to last night's game) and started creating some attacks. Margaret cleverly beat two Tophat defenders with one touch to send herself on a breakaway, but the Tophat goalie played it perfectly, coming out to the top of the penalty area to block the shot.
The Quest struck at the 18-minute mark. Meghan intercepted a pass from Tophat's left defender about 35 yards from goal near the sideline. She beat the defender and dribbled into the top right corner of the penalty area. As another Tophat defender came to cover, Meghan shot high and hard to the far (left) post. The goalie didn't have a chance ... the ball flew over her head with authority into the far corner. Goal! Quest leads 1-0 midway through the first half. (This goal is one more in a series of amazing goals the Quest has scored this spring. In recent weeks, Sally hit an upper-90 shot against Cherokee to tie the game, Alex hit a 40-yard bomb just under the crossbar against Athens to win the game and Margaret hit an upper-90 shot against AYSA to give the Quest a lead.)
A few minutes later, Rachael hit a beautiful pass to send Nisha on a breakaway down the left side, but the Tophat keeper had the angle covered and made the save. Tophat took control in the final minutes of the first half and had their first real scoring opportunities. Sally (the Quest goalie) had to make several saves, one of which was a gutsy tackle at the top of the penalty area on a Tophat breakaway.
Halftime came with the Quest ahead 1-0. Tophat had looked dangerous late in the first half, so the Quest knew they'd have to play a strong second half in order to hold onto (or increase) the lead.
As expected, Tophat came out strong in the second half and had the advantage for the first 5-10 minutes. The Quest defense was under near-constant pressure, and Sally was forced into action several times. It seemed that every time the Quest tried to clear a ball, a Tophat player was there to win it back.
The Quest only created a few attacks in the second half. One of them looked like goal #2. Rachael tracked down a loose ball just outside the Tophat penalty area. Tophat had two defenders just inside the box. Rachael powered through both of them and headed toward goal. The Tophat keeper came out quickly to meet her about 8 yards from goal. Rachael touched the ball to the right and tried to round the keeper. But she was running out of space and didn't have a good shooting angle. Rachael left the ball for Jessica, who was rushing in from right midfield. Jessica shot, but the Tophat keeper had quickly recovered her position and made the save. (Credit to the Tophat keeper for her excellent saves on Margaret's breakaway and on this play. An average keeper wouldn't have made either play, and the Quest would be leading 3-0 instead of 1-0.)
The Quest couldn't sustain the attack, so Tophat regained the momentum. They attacked in waves for most of the final 10 minutes of the game. The Quest defense of Sarah, Katie, Christina and Shelby were under constant pressure. Shelby took a Tophat cross directly in the face, but she showed her toughness by continuing after the ball until it was clear of danger before even acknowledging the pain.
The pressure was so intense that the Quest had to concede several corner kicks. At one point, Tophat had three consecutive corner kicks before the Quest was able to clear the ball upfield.
Even though Tophat was attacking in waves, the Quest defense was mostly preventing them from getting the truly dangerous shots. Tophat had a couple of near-misses, and Sally had to make several saves, but she was never forced into any scrambling saves.
As the clock wound down, Tophat won another corner kick. All 11 Quest players came back to defend. The Quest won the ball due to sheer numbers, and a few seconds later, the final whistle blew. Final score: Quest 1, Tophat 0.
There was nothing easy about this win. Tophat put the Quest defense under incredible pressure during the second half, even after the Quest shifted players around to add more defenders. But the Quest showed their typical never-quit spirit and did everything they could to prevent Tophat from getting a clear goal scoring chance.
With today's win, the Quest finishes the spring season with a record of 5 wins, 1 loss and 3 ties. That's good for 2nd place in U-13 Athena "C," so when the Quest moves up to U-14 for the fall season, they'll earn promotion into the more challenging Athena "B" division. We congratulate the team for an excellent season!
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Created: 11/07/98 Revised: 10/24/99 |