Match Reports 9/28/2008

Girls U11 Fuller Hamlets vs. Inter SC

The Romeo G-11 Hamlets were in top form Sunday September 28th, winning 3 – 0 at home against an overmatched Inter SC (Acton, MA) side. Wearing their “dress whites” for the afternoon, the hosts took control from the start, applying constant pressure, and demonstrating solid footskills and passing. It was perhaps their best tactical game yet. They rarely played in the defensive end, and when balls traveled over the centerline, defenders such as Symantha Brothers, et. al. made sure that Hamlet keepers would remain distanced from the action. That only three balls found the back of the net was a testament to the visiting keeper’s astute positioning. Only a 19th minute deflection kept the game from being level entering the second half.

The game’s first score came off a corner kick. McKenna Kennedy sent an arcing ball to the top of the 18 box where it was met by Sidney Rogiers. Rogiers then tapped it along to Devyn Jacobs roaming free just inside the Goalie area. From 15 yards out, and centered on the net, Jacobs let loose a liner that caught the body of a retreating defender and was redirected past the goalie. The breakthrough goal proved the law of averages eventually hold, even in youth soccer. To that point the hosts had outshot their opponent 12 -2 and had little to show for it. When play resumed so did the Hamlet offensive surge but despite a couple more nice chances in the half, they could not add to their lead.

The second half was more dominance by the Hamlets, punctuated by unselfish sharing of the ball in the attack zone. With midfielders Fallyn Hippert, Jacobs and Rogiers locking in the action, the front four began stringing together clever combinations. One such sequence led to the prettiest tally of the day. The scoring play started with a ball worked wide to Rachel Healy from the center of the pitch. The right midfielder, who put on a crossing clinic all afternoon, cut back early and deposited a diagonal ball to Baroni. Squaring herself 10 yards from the goal mouth, the forward touched the ball from her right to left, and then slid it back across the grain when the keeper committed to the far post. The strike came in the 45th minute and was the icing on 15 minute stretch of stylish, possession-based soccer.

For a long time it looked as though the game would end two – nil, despite the consistent salvo of shots, but in the 59th minute Rogiers struck for number three. Sheer determination earned her the tally on a great individual effort. The midfielder was first-to-ball on a goal kick but bodied it too strongly, sending it back 10 yards to the Inter SC backline. She refused to give up on the play though, and closed quickly with long, purposeful strides eventually stuffing the clearing effort. The ball cooperated, dying at her feet, and she was able to muscle past two more collapsing defenders finding just enough daylight for a shot. Draped with blue-on-blue players desperate to stop her, Rogiers got off a right-footer from the top of the six yard box just beating the goalie, and tickling the back net as her teammates celebrated.

The victory moved the team’s record to 3-0-1 for the season.