Monday, March 29, 2010

Xtreme 98 Red Dominates at Liberty Cup

The Xtreme 98 Red squad took the field four times the weekend of March 27-28 and demonstrated consistently that they were ready to pick up the Spring season exactly where they left off in the Fall season.

Xtreme let their opponents score first in three of the four games, but rather than get knocked back on their heels, it fired the squad up.

First up was a team from rival club, FASA. (Recall a FASA squad beat Xtreme Red in the Championship game of the VIP Tournament in Fall 2009.) This was a different FASA team, but the black uniform still made our girls see red. They controlled the ball and punished the FASA keepers, punding in 6 unanswered goals to win the game 6-1. (Goals from Reina and Belle were pulled back across the goal line by the FASA keeper, but the referee was too far away to see them, so she called no-goals.)

Next up was one of the host teams, FPYC Flying Monkeys. A team we faced off against indoors this winter. The first half was a back and forth affair with the teams trading goals and swapping the lead, but with hat tricks from Belle and Emma, the game was placed out of reach for the Monkeys and the final recorded score was 7-3.

Sunday morning saw what was correctly predicted as Xtreme's toughest game. The girls faced off against a Vienna team we've seen in both the regular season and off season winter program. Like in the two previous games, Xtreme controlled the flow of this game with good passing and poise. The girls showed patience, testing the Vienna defense from all sides, breaking through several times and peppering the goal keeper with shots. The teams were well-matched and traded socring chances and goals, until finally Belle put Xtreme up 2-1, where it remained for much of the game. But the Vienna team rallied late in the second half and were able to put together a three goal run late in the game to take the lead. Xtreme pressured until the very end, sending 4 or 5 shots on net in the final minute of the game, but it would not be enough, and it would be Xtreme's only loss of the tournament.

The final game of the tournament pitted Xtreme against old frenemies, Team America United. Xtreme bounced back from the earlier defeat and came out owning the field. The controlled the ball and put on a passing clinic for all in attendance - breaking the tradition of the tournament and scoring first. But then TA scored two lucky goals to go into half time leading 2-1. As one official remarked during the break, "Why is Xtreme controlling the ball for 80% of the game but down 2-1?" Xtreme would answer with their feet, scoring two quick goals to take the lead back. But Team America wasn't done yet. They would tie the game mid-way through the second half.
But finally, Xtreme took final control of the game, going ahead 4-3 and staying there. They would add an insurance goal that was disallowed on a questionable offsides call and bear the physical abuse of a frustrated TA team, but in the end, Xtreme prevailed, winning 4-3.

Xtreme's excellent record of 3 wins, 1 loss, and no ties put the club in a three-way tie for second place, but with the most explosive offense of the tournament by far, we assumed we were guaranteed at least second place and a trophy, with a shot at first place if Team America Freedom could knock off VYS Vienna.

First of all, TA Freedom could not knock off Vienna. Vienna won 2-1 to go undefeated in the tournament. Secondly, we learned later that ties in the standings would not be broken by straight goal differential. The first tie-breaker would be Goals Allowed. The next tie-breaker would be Goal For. So, Xtreme with 19 goals for but 11 against, was pushed from the podium by host team FPYC Jaguars that had an idential record and 10 goals for, but only 2 goals against (3 shut outs).

Despite not receiving a physical trophy from the Liberty Cup, the girls have much to be proud of. They truly controlled all their games, showed great passing skills, and were able to practically execute the things Coach Lance has been teaching them for the last year. Every single player contributed, from Kendall running down countless breakaways; to the tic-tac-toe passing in the box from Laura, Reina, Aiden, and Hannah; from the giant boot of Caitlin keeping the offense attacking, to the smart, heads-up play of Anna and Erin G.; and from Amalia controbuting at both ends -making saves and scoring goals, to newcomer Megan cutting her teeth in travel admirably and fitting seemlessly into the line-up, these girls worked their hearts out. They had fun, they demonstrated that they are learning and growing, and that they can run with any opponent as long as they play their game.

Xtreme heads into the Spring 2010 season warmed up and hopefully hungry - the schedule is out and we'll be sending it around shortly. Good work, Xtreme! Shoot it!