It is thought that women have been playing soccer for as long as the game has existed as they were painted in frescoes playing a similar game called tsu chu dating as far back as the Han Dynasty. In the UK, the “first golden age” of women’s soccer occurred in the early 20th century with some matches pulling in 50,000 spectators. This abruptly ended in 1921 when the UK Football Association declared that the game was “quite unsuitable for females” and effectively banned it by not allowing women to play on fields used by its member clubs. Since the ban was ended in 1970, the women’s sport has exploded in popularity, both in the UK and globally. Closer to home, the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) was formed in 1985 and has dominated global soccer ever since, winning 4 of the 9 World Cup trophies since 1991. The players have become household names, successfully fought for equal pay, and have become an inspiration to many young girls at Acalanes and elsewhere to play the sport.
After a 2-4 road trip to begin the season, the JV Girls Soccer team played at home for the first time on Monday, taking on the Deer Valley Wolverines from Antioch. The outcome of this game was never in question. Nina Bundy got the party started with the first goal. Maya Shinaman scored the next two goals (the first on a great assist from Michela Barbano). Elodie Jensen had a booming shot off the crossbar, and then had another shot that bounced off the goalie to teammate Michaela who converted the 4th goal.
About 20 minutes into the game, Coach Alex instructed the team to ease off the gas pedal and pass the ball around. Despite the attempt to limit further scoring, the team scored four more times over the rest of the game. Lidia Stahl scored on a shot off the cross bar that managed to sneak in the goal, Edie Berzansky scored, Nina scored again seemingly on accident, and Helena McGinley scored the last goal.
About the most exciting thing from today’s game was trying to teach a few of the out of town fans (aka grandparents) how to access the YouTube livestream, and trying to see if Helena McGinley’s mom Piper could stop the clock at exactly two minutes (which she did). We also established a new Booster Article rule, which is I am now allowed to write critically about a player, but only if I get written consent from the parents in advance. Just kidding – won’t happen!
“Get to Know Coach”: Coach Alex played 4 years of high school soccer at Clayton Valley Charter School, and also played indoor and club soccer while attending Sacramento State. He was a striker because he “loved scoring.”
The team plays at home again today (12/12) at 5pm against Benecia