Despite the ongoing atmospheric river Thursday night, the DONS supporters SHOWED UP to honor our 11 AMAZING SENIORS: Melisa Adatepe, Taylor Mikalis, Lucca DeBiasse, Sisi Houston, Leila Hamidi, Livi Foster, Alex Salazar, Sofia Cerruti, Demi Woods, Reiney Fish, and Nicole Nguyen! HUGE thanks to our Senior Night Committee for making this night so memorable for our seniors and their families!!
In the driving rain, the Dons met the Northgate Broncos on a soggy pitch, with all 11 seniors starting the game, injured and all! After a quick subbing for the Dons, Northgate sent a cross in that was broken up by Edie Berzansky and Cassidy Smith.
The Broncos followed with a free kick shot that went wide right, which allowed the Dons to counter by Nguyen dribbling up the field and feeding an assist to Mikalis for a shot and GOAL #1 for the Dons!
After some nice defense by Tori Hiatt and Nguyen for a couple of clears, DeBiasse took a free kick to get the ball to Salazar for a long shot that was saved by the keeper. Not long after, the referees suspended the game due to a flooded field…ironically just as the rain slowed to a trickle. The players made the most of their soggy uniforms and got in a little play in the flooded corner!
On Saturday, play resumed where it left off, despite the Dons already having played an extra makeup game on Friday – Dons up 1-0 with (per the League and refs) 25:30 left in the first half. Being a holiday weekend, the Dons were down 9 players. JV players Julia Munter and Ella Culbertson were called up for reserve.
Right away it was obvious that the Northgate Broncos were rested and fired up. It started off and stayed a physical match all evening; the referees letting play occur by very few calls either way. Northgate pressured the Dons defense often, but goalie Sara Tarnai stayed aggressive and got determined play from Tatum Keely, Avery DeMent, Smith, and Hiatt. Play in the midfield was back-and-forth and often where much of the action in the match occurred. Both teams made it difficult for the other to get any kind of momentum due to a lot of cut off passes, challenges in the air, and physical play. The Dons held strong through the work of DeBiasse, Leila Hamidi, and Lily Polkinhorn.
The Dons did manage to push and gain a bit of momentum up front as Mikalis and Stella Hamilton battled and Salazar fired off a couple of shots, one saved by the goalie and one sailing just wide of the post. Nguyen gained a corner kick that was unfortunately broken up by the Broncos defense. Hiatt even got in on the offensive action with a shot that was caught by the goalie. The first half came to a close after a Nguyen shot was deflected out for a corner kick, but the referee didn’t allow the corner to take place and blew the whistle.
In the second half, the Broncos appeared to come out even more determined and prepared for physical play. They seemed to challenge every free ball, every pass, and every kick knowing first place in the DAL was on the line. The Dons managed a few attacks as Salazar, Keely, and Hiatt fired off shots that unfortunately didn’t find net.
The Broncos were on the offensive and challenged our defense multiple times, gaining at least four corner kicks in what seemed like rapid succession. Tarnai wouldn’t let the first one drop as she got a punch on the ball, it dropped to DeBiasse who kicked it up a bit and Houston ultimately cleared it out. Unfortunately, the Broncos got another corner kick that did drop in as the winger punched it inside the far post to tie the game at 1-1.
Northgate wouldn’t let up and had multiple header shots bounce off the crossbar, very nearly goals that would have put them ahead on the scoreboard. The Dons defense stayed strong and matched the physical play of the Broncos. Unfortunately, what occurred next was extremely confusing as DeMent was chasing down a ball in the box and got pushed and crashed into from behind, falling and getting injured, yet somehow got called by the ref for a foul that resulted in a penalty kick. The Dons fans had a mix of emotions as they waited to be sure DeMent was ok and at the same time angry and anxious for the penalty kick. As the whistle blew, the Dons fans were witness to a phenomenal fully-outstretched dive by Tarnai who tipped the ball just enough to bounce off the post and out for a SAVE! Dons players and fans were fired up! Players finished strong and didn’t allow the Broncos to challenge the goal again.
As time expired, on the field it was a bit of an anticlimactic finish to the season as the players seemed exhausted and maybe a bit disappointed with the tie-game. However, hold those heads very high… with the draw, the Dons became CO-CHAMPIONS OF THE DAL with Las Lomas. CONGRATULATIONS Varsity Girls Soccer and first-year Varsity Coach Alex!
Next up, a battle of the Co-Champions as the Dons face off at Las Lomas on Wednesday 2/19 at 7:00pm in the first round of the NCS playoffs. In the last match between these two teams, Las Lomas played very well and the Dons were down 10 players due to injury or illness and the Dons fell to the Knights, 1-3. Go DONS!