On Saturday January 11th the Varsity Women traveled to San Ramon to face the Grizzlies at Cal High. This was a physical game from the get-go with these well-matched teams! The Dons defense was ready with Reese Tierney and Cassidy Smith breaking up two early Grizzly runs. Our offense responded with Nicole Nguyen sending a through ball to Taylor Mikalis, then later Mikalis passing to Nguyen for a shot, both offensive attempts foiled by the Cal defense.
Lucca DeBiasse followed with a shot on goal caught by the Cal keeper. Tori Hiatt and Edie Berzansky traded off breaking up Cal charges, while Stella Hamilton joined in the offensive fight with Nguyen and DeBiasse. A Cal corner kick was punched out by keeper Melisa Adatepe only to rebound to a Grizzly for a roll-in goal for Cal High.
A reinvigorated Dons’ offense responded. Alex Salazar had one shot on goal deflected out. Hamilton later passed back to Salazar for another goal attempt off the post. Hiatt followed with a shot saved by the Cal keeper. Shortly thereafter, Tierney passed to Salazar who then passed to Hamilton for a shot and the Dons’ first goal of the day!
The Grizzlies and Dons continued to battle back and forth. Adatepe saved a free kick by Cal High, Salazar countered with a shot just left of the net, and Cal sent another free kick over the crossbar. Despite two offsides calls, the Dons offense kept up their attacks and were rewarded: Debiasse sent a through ball to Salazar, who capitalized on the keeper out of the goal box with Acalanes’ second goal of the game to close the first half.
In the second half, the Dons’ defense was ready for the Grizzlies with Edie Berzansky, Sisi Houston, and Nguyen breaking up the Cal offense. Sadly, Cal unfortunately managed to head in their second goal off an early corner kick.
The Aca offense responded with a nice pass to Debiasse for another shot on goal, but stopped by the Cal keeper. Tierney followed with a nice through ball to Houston, but just out of her reach. Another through ball from Debiasse to Nguyen was disrupted by a Grizzly. Nguyen followed with a corner kick that deflected to Debiasse, whose shot went off the post. Salazar followed with a long shot that was saved by the Cal goalie. Hamilton kept up the offensive pressure with a pass to Salazar for another shot on goal, followed by a shot just wide by Hiatt. Lily Polkinhorn sent a beautiful cross for another offensive attempt, but the ball was retrieved by the Cal keeper.
Avery DeMent kept up the Dons’ defensive fight, enabling our offense to make another run down field. Salazar and Dani Green put on the offensive pressure forcing the Grizzlies to kick out of bounds. A Dons throw in led to a nice DeMent free kick assist to Salazar for the Dons’ 3rd goal!
Cal High responded with a solid shot on goal saved by a diving Adatepe. A Dons’ foul in the box unfortunately led to a Cal penalty kick, allowing the Grizzlies to tie up the score – 3 all. The Dons didn’t let up their guard as the minutes ticked down, with Tatum Keely adding to a strong defense and Adatepe preventing even more goal attempts. Despite more shots by Nguyen and Hamilton, assisted by Salazar and Debiasse, this fierce match up ended in a 3 – 3 tie.
The Dons will look for a win on Tuesday at home against Benicia!
