Games 3 and 4

September 12th, 2008
Okay sooo I’m not so great at this keeping upage of the BLOG… but I PROMISE I will get better because some of the girls seem to enjoy picking on me for it.
So lets get up to speed. Since Game 2 we have had it a little rough losing both to IUP and Cal. First IUP….
It seems to be known that we don’t do quite well at IUP… we were hoping to change that, but we were unable to overcome the many factors that contributed to the game. The trip down there went smoothly and we felt good…. The first half was a tough one - going down 3-0 by half. Shortly after their goal our center back Caitlyn Slattery was injured and unable to return to the game, adding to the confusion on defense was their impressive offensive attack. The second goal came off a cross and beat Hayley Zinn (who started her third collegiate game) far post. The third goal of the half came off a through ball that snuck behind the defense and placed in the back of the net… far post. Coming off the field at half our backs were against the wall - how do we change it around? We didn’t feel like we were out of it…. The second half was an entirely different story, our team was driven and focused. Kim Bentley lead the team by coming up with some critical saves. Being a “retired” GK I know the pressures of stepping into a game with a quick warm-up and some shoes to fill. Lindsey Blessing and Angie Rineer played HUGE roles in the second half - shutting down their midfield and adding to our attack. Unfortunately those offensive chances weren’t finished… but that half of soccer was GREAT!!! Coming off the field the girls were frustrated but it was a good thing - they realized that they can play that way but it needs to be 90 min of great soccer rather than just 45... The game ended 3-0 in IUP’s favor… but the bar was set.
Ride home was smooth thanks to Coach Davis’s wonderful sense of direction, believe me without her we may have been in WV.
Now the Cal game…
We started off the way we finished the IUP game, coming out hard and ready to fight. Going down by 1 goal with 32min left in the first half but Freshmen Bree Orth scored an AMAZING goal off a long range shot tying up the game 1-1 at half. Bree’s goal was CRAZY GOOD!!! (I was extremely impressed). The first half was great soccer but the second half was a different story. Cal came into the half pressing and finishing opportunities and we weren’t able to convert our scoring chances… we went down 2 then 3 and lastly 4.… we ended the game 4-1, but it certainly didn’t feel like a 4-1 loss. Kim Bentley (who had her first collegiate start) had a great game making some key 1 on 1 saves that kept us in the game from the beginning of the game to the end. Caitlyn Slattery stepped back into the swing of things and left it all on the field… as did numerous members of the team.
We left both games with a number of positives but also some things that we are excited to improve on in our game vs. Edinboro tomorrow…. 9/13/2008.
As always feel free to send comments: Kfish@lhup.edu