As we sulked off the field Friday afternoon following our double overtime tie against the Sacramento State Hornets, our hearts were as unsatisfied as our bodies were dehydrated. The game must have been very painful to watch, with each team struggling against the blistering 104 degree Californian heat as much as they were playing against each other. After being scored on midway through the first half, Jamie Coe, having a knack for being in the right place at the right time, cleverly tracked the movement of a deflected corner kick by Kahlyn Keilty-Lucas and was able to level the playing field in the second half. No longer struggling to equalize, our nerves settled and we began knocking the ball. A combination play from the defense to the center mid, out to our right midfielder and up the field to a charging Kara Kuttler almost gave us the win. Whether half chances struck by an ultra composed Megan Fogarty, a volley attempt by our skillful freshman Kassandra Riozzi, or the breakaways by, well, myself, it seemed as though it were only a matter of time before we scored again. However, 110 minutes wasn’t long enough, and the final whistle came more as a curse than a blessing. Thanks to hotel ice baths and partner stretching our second game against San Jose State was surprisingly very dynamic. Everyone took the field looking fresh and strong. Jordan Salisbury, our freshman forward turned defender, denied every air ball and offensive threat in her zone despite a pulled hamstring. Kate Edstrom, as athletic and aggressive as they come, frustrated the Spartan offense so much that even their fans were irritated with how well she was playing. Our two center backs held down the defense, with Maria cleaning up every 50-50 ball and Nance starting the offense with her precise distribution. This back four deserve all the credit in earning us our first shut out of the season. However, those of us who had our nose around the goal all game long were frustrated beyond belief. In addition to numerous corners and set pieces, I was taken out in the box by the goalkeeper, Coe had a forceful header that barely sailed wide, and Kara actually scored a great goal that was called back.
This weekend was like kissing your sister. Two double overtime games, and two ties. Some may consider the weekend a moral success, and in the end it may be, but we certainly walked off the field with our heads hanging low. We didn’t care that Sac State is favored to win the Big Sky Conference or that San Jose was fresh off two preseason games against nationally ranked teams. After our second game one of our defenders remarked that she was “embarrassed” we didn’t win. This coming from an integral part of our defense that just earned a shut out! The silver lining to this trip is that we’re proving very responsive as a team. After a pregame speech about being better on set pieces, and a team talk about taking pride in our defense, we converted on a corner kick and earned a shutout. As we’ve yet to score first, our training session this week was focused on running attacking and combination plays. You can image what page we’re on …WIN and WIN.
UPDATE: Maryann scored the winning goal as SU topped Idaho 1-0 on September 5th! Way to go you blogger!
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