Northview Titans Junior Varsity Girls Game Summaries
Northview v Collins Hill - 1-2
April 17th, 2006
The Northview JV girls’ soccer team hit the road to take on the Eagles of Collins Hill, who came into the match sporting a 7-2-2 record. A little pre-game scouting indicated that the Collins Hill squad featured speed on the outside wings, an aggressive midfield proficient at winning 50-50’s, and a tough defense with the knack of forcing opposing forwards out of their game. And they came as advertised.
The first few minutes of the contest were played in the middle of the field, with neither team able to break through to mount any serious offensive threat. The Eagles displayed some nice possession skills, only to be turned away by the Northview defense. The first shot on goal came about four and a half minutes in when Collins Hill strung together some nice passes and found a forward free on the left side unmarked. The subsequent shot however was handled easily by goalie Olivia Alonso.
The first big break of the game came at the 24:30 mark when midfielder Lisa Johnson, on an extremely heads up play, forced a corner kick by hustling past a Collins Hill defender (who was content to let the ball roll out of bounds) and played the loose ball off the opponent and over the end line. The subsequent corner was another picture perfect offering from Rae Mueller, who found forward Hillary Millard waiting in front of the goal. Millard sent a one touch volley shot past the Collins Hill goalie for the score and a 1-0 Northview lead.
The lead proved to be somewhat short lived. About five and a half minutes later, the Eagles sent a low shot toward goal – but some miscommunication by the Titans defense resulted in the ball not being cleared far enough away. Instead, the ball was sent lightly to the middle and directly to a Collins Hill girl who shot it right back into the net for the equalizing goal.
The rest of the half featured several scoring opportunities for both clubs, with neither able to convert. The 1-1 score was a true indicator of how evenly matched the two teams were in the first period – with perhaps a slight advantage to Collins Hill due their aggressive play and consistency at being first to the ball.
Another scouting note stated that the Eagles typically get more physical as the game wears on – and half number two bore that out as fact. At the 30:00 minute mark, new goalie Gracie Kessenich scooped up a shot ahead of the hard charging Collins Hill girls, was able to hang on even after being knocked down with clear possession of the ball.
Offensive opportunities proved hard to come by for the Lady Titans (despite some nifty play from midfielder Kellie Aarons), and what appeared to be a go ahead score by Millard was waved off by an offside call. But continued strong defense kept Northview in the game. Sweeper Kate Dixon matched up evenly with the speedy strikers, and Kessenich made several plays to keep the score knotted at 1—1. With 14:00 minutes remaining, the Eagles quickness paid off as the left striker got open and fired a shot on goal. But Gracie just got a hand on it and lifted the ball over the bar.
As the game clocked ticked on, the contest grew tenser and tenser and the raucous Collins Hill supporters grew louder and louder. In fact, girls for both teams were given warning for rough play, but no cards issued. (The only card of the game came against a Collins Hill player for not leaving the field in a timely manner during substitution.) Then, with just eight minutes remaining, the Eagles gained an advantage in front of the Lady Titans’ goal and after a flurry of passes, scored the go ahead goal.
Northview fought on, but could not even the match up. With 10 seconds to go, the ball crossed over in front of the Collins Hill goal, but time expired before any shot could be taken. The final score stood at 2-1 in favor of the Collins Hill Eagles. But Northview never backed down and gave them all they could handle, coming up just short. The Lady Titans will take their 6-2-1 record into the season finale against Milton on Wednesday, April 20.
