Girls soccer’s second game against the Sundevils this season ended with a 3-2 loss for the Wolverines, Feb. 4.
The Sundevils pushed forward early on, dribbling across the field while advancing towards the Wolverine’s goal. The team concentrated their players around the goal, blocking every shot the Sundevils took. Winger Jordyn Vales (11) pushed out any approaching offensive players, hindering any chance for the Sundevils to score. Goalie London Davis (12) caught constant attempted goals and re-located the ball to midfield.
To combat the Sundevils’ strong offense, defender Camrynn Beal (10) said the team tried to hone in on defense and persist against their attacks.
“Our main focus was defense, so we tried to shut down any through balls we could,” Beal said. “Our coach had been telling us to really run through the ball when pressing because [the Sundevils] make mistakes when under pressure.”
Vales said the MC offensive players were fast, so she assumed a more defensive position as a winger to shut down any advances as quickly as possible.
“I usually play forward, but [my coach] played me as a wingback [this game], so I worked more defensively because we only had three in the back, [and] we had two forwards,” Vales said. “I kind of just stayed back and helped out and defended. When I had my chance I would try and dribble up and create chances for our forwards. We try to close their [offensive] space fast and just focus in on their middle. They’re really good at moving around, so we also focused on defense and to lock down a lot of players.”
As the Wolverines entered the second half of the game behind the Sundevils, 1-0, Beal said they transitioned to an offensive style of play in an attempt to gain the upper hand, scoring their first goal only five minutes in.
“I think in the first half we were focused more on possession,” Beal said. “Whereas in the second, we tried to get the ball up more and we started kicking it for the forwards to run onto which was how [our] second goal was scored.”
After the Sundevils’ third goal which put them ahead 3-1, Mya Omisore (12) took advantage of an open ball and kicked a long pass to Ally Damron (10) who advanced towards the goal. With Mt. Carmel defenders behind her, Damron shot straight at the goalie who dived for the ball but missed, putting another goal on the board for Westview.
“Our second goal [stood out] because they scored the third goal and we were like, ‘shoot, we have to do something,’ and it was 3-1 so we had to score,” Vales said. “Mya just yelled at everyone to get up and she played a really good long to Ally [Damron] who was able to get it and put it in the back of the net. No one was ready for that ball. I was just jogging on the side and [suddenly] saw [Damron] scoring.”
Compared to the previous game where the Wolverines struggled to keep the ball and find opportunities to shoot, Vales said this time, the team was able to maintain more possession.
“I feel like we were able to settle down and really just try and find feet to each other, so I do feel like we’ve had a lot of possession this time rather than last time,” Vales said. “We usually don’t have as many shots, but we really tried to get it up and score. Our purpose was obviously to win, so we just took as many chances as we could get.”
According to Vales, the team’s persistent pushback muddled the Sundevils’ offense.
“It was a really tough and competitive game,” Vales said, “We were able to move the ball a lot and really attack Mt. Carmel. We did lose 3-2, but it was a good game and we played really well.”
