After three tough losses in a row, the Lady Dons took to the Benicia pitch looking to get back to form for their Tuesday night match. The players were hyped and determined, the visiting stands were filled with cheering parents, and there was an aura of optimism in the air – this team was due!
From the start it seemed like it may be a steep uphill battle as the first ten minutes of the game were mostly spent in the Aca defensive half of the field. Benicia showed they had a fast front line and were a physical team. Although I personally tend to stay very neutral on refereeing, it seemed the officiating would be a bit “confusing”. These were all themes that would remain for the entirety of the match.
The Aca defensive line of Tatum Keely, Edie Berzansky, Claire Hawkins, and Tori Hiatt would not allow any threats on goal though. This included an early Benicia corner kick that resulted in a shot that Hiatt easily blocked from her position on the far post. The Dons’ midfield covered a lot of ground as Reese Tierney, Evelyn Lee, and Michela Barbano worked together to try to turn the momentum, and it worked. The front line of Samantha Murdin, Stella Beuchotte, and Cate McCormick managed to get some nice crosses and shots on goal. Credit to the Benicia goalie for some nice diving saves. The half ended in a 0-0 draw, but you could almost feel the momentum building. Benicia had three shots, two coming off free kicks awarded by the officiating; compared to Aca’s six shots, five being on goal and having to be blocked.
There must have been some inspiring halftime conversations because the Lady Dons came out in the second half and immediately appeared to have their winning rhythm again from earlier in the season. The midfield, now including freshman Averly Ammerman, looked even sharper with nice ball movement and utilizing spaces. The uphill battle of officiating continued, but proper respect to the players for keeping their cool and playing their game – there certainly was an air of frustration (and worry for injury) building in the stands. The first 30 minutes of the half were predominantly played on Aca’s offensive half of the field – dominance!
Aca first got on the board by a nice center assist from Murdin to Ammerman for a shot that deflected slightly off a defender and found net! 1-0! Aca continued the attack and kept the shots coming, shortly adding to their lead on a beautiful corner kick assist by McCormick to Murdin for a one-touch shot and goal! 2-0! Caroline Tumilty and freshman Casey Lerch subbed in and kept the momentum going as Aca continued to put together some nice attacks and rattle off a number of shots. The Lady Dons scored their final goal of the night as Tierney took a nice corner kick that Tumilty deflected, resulting in another Ammerman shot and her second goal of the night! 3-0!
It was a total team effort as goalie Maria Statnikova recorded two saves and McCormick, Berzansky, Keely, Beuchotte, Tierney, Hiatt, Murdin, Barbano, Tumilty, and Ammerman combined for a total of 16 shots! My humble estimate is that at least 75% of them were on goal and required blocking by a defender or the Benicia goalie. The Lady Dons will look to build on their win when they take on Clayton Valley on Thursday at home. Go DONS!!