The Acalanes Varsity Women welcomed the Concord High Bears to our home pitch Thursday evening. The Dons came out strong with Freshman Stella Hamilton taking 3 shots on goal before scoring Acalanes’ first goal at the 5-minute mark. Reese Tierney, Avery Ives, & Leila Hamidi dominated the midfield, feeding our offenders to keep up their attacks on goal. Defender Tatum Keely had a great drive downfield with a shot on goal, followed by another goal attempt by Megan Yee. More tenacious midfield & defensive play by Hamidi, Tierney, Avery DeMent & Keely sent the ball to Hamilton whose drive towards the net was finished by Megan Yee for Dons’ goal #2. Within minutes Stella fed another pass to Taylor Mikalis who put the third ball in the net for Acalanes. More shots on goal by Sisi Houston and Zoya Acuna, and when the Bears made a rare rush downfield, Sof Cerruti was ready on defense & keeper Melisa Adatepe was there to make the save. Acuna sent multiple crosses: to Tierney who headed an almost goal, to Livi Foster for another shot attempt. Houston made 2 corner kicks near the end of the first half, with Mikalis nearly sending the ball into the net. With less than 30 seconds on the clock Acuna sent a pass to Foster who scored the 4th and final goal of the half.

The Dons continued to dominate possession in the second half. Hamilton wasted no time sending a cross and then a shot on goal, followed by another cross by Houston. Hamidi and Tierney controlled the midfield, with Tierney launching the ball into the net for the Dons’ 5th goal of the night. Houston was quick to follow with another beautiful cross to Foster who scored goal #6; within minutes Houston scored the 7th goal for Acalanes. Throughout the night, the Dons exemplified teamwork and communication with clean passes almost never intercepted by the Bears. With less than 16 minutes on the clock, Yee sent a cross to Tierney who had a nice shot on goal. Under the 10-minute mark, Foster drove the ball downfield to Taylor who completed the play for goal #8. Close on their heels, Houston sent a cross to Hamilton who scored the Dons’ 9th goal. Yee had another shot on goal over the goalie’s head, unfortunately blocked by a Concord defender. DeMent and Tierney once again defended for the Dons and enabled Yee to score the 10th goal to close out the evening with an Acalanes victory over Concord High 10 – 0. 

Next up the Dons travel to neighboring Moraga for a bonus, non-league match up against crosstown rivals Campolindo tonight, Saturday at 7pm. This game will be an appetizer for the actual DAL match up hosted by Acalanes on Thursday, January 25th at 7pm. Let’s go, Dons!