Northview Titans Junior Varsity Girls Game Summaries
Northview v Milton - 0-0
March 12th, 2007
After the offensive fireworks of their previous game, it was the Lady Titans defense’s turn to star as they blanked Milton on a warm afternoon in mid-March. Northview came away from the Eagles’ stadium with a 0-0 tie, in a match that saw stellar defense from both squads. Shorthanded with Lisa Johnson on the bench nursing a sore knee, defenders Mara Hamilton, Caitlin Swindall, Michelle DiPietro, Kylie Janusek and goalie Hannah Riddle rose to the occasion, giving Northview their fifth shutout in six games. Unfortunately, on the offensive side of the ball the Titans failed to score for the third time.
The first few minutes of the contest saw both teams struggling to establish any advantage, with the ball traveling back and forth in the middle of the field. Eventually, the Eagles began to settle in to a possession game, while Northview was plagued by errant passes and a little too much boom ball. Milton also was consistently winning the 50-50 balls. Forwards Shelby Apps and Daria Gound did get off a couple of shots each, but all were handled by the Milton keeper.
As the first half wore on Milton began to use their size, playing a more physical game by knocking Northview off the ball and yet drawing fouls from the Titans. Several breakaways, however, were thwarted by heads up defense from Hamilton and DiPietro. The half ended with no score, but Milton controlled the flow of the game up to that point.
The second half saw the intensity pick up even more, and Northview was whistled twice for fouls deep on their defensive side of the field. And though both free kicks failed to find their mark, this style of play favored the home team. At the 29:00 mark, the Titans had pushed forward to where Carly Martini jumped high to receive a cross inside the box. She was leveled by a Milton player, but no foul was called. A minute later Milton was called for a foul – and the ensuing free kick sailed over the wall of defenders, but just out of the reach of a hard charging Kellie Aarons.
Northview began to assert itself a bit more offensively while the defenders continued to shut down the Milton attack, seemingly at the last possible moment. Martini was able to break free down the near sideline and fire a pass to Gound, who volleyed the ball towards the goal but right in to the hands of the waiting goalie.
Milton continued to have the advantage in the possession game, stringing together passes that consistently found their mark. With about 10:00 remaining, and the game still scoreless, Milton received a free kick from a Northview penalty about 25 yards out from our goal, only to see the kick bounce of the crossbar – the American football crossbar. Two subsequent corner kicks for Milton yielded nothing as the Titan defense continued to tighten.
With about 6:00 to go, the Northview offense came alive and mounted multiple attacks on the Milton defense. Perhaps our best opportunity to score came with 4:30 remaining. Anna Kornmayer launched a rebounded shot from about 30 yards out – a carbon copy of the play she scored on just a few days before – but this time her long shot went just over the top of the goal. Less than minute later Apps fired a shot from the far left, only to see it sail high and away. Our last scoring opportunity came with 1:20 on the clock when Apps crossed a pass to Gound in the middle, but her volley shot went wide.
The closing seconds of the match saw Milton with a couple of good looks on goal, but the Titans defense was not going to relent at this point. The game finished with the score tired, 0-0. The Lady Titans next travel to Wheeler to take on the Wildcats on March 13.
