On Thursday night the Dons took on the Knights at home and emerged victorious!  The match started as the Acalanes vs Las Lomas matches always do – physical, aggressive, fast, and significant hussle from both teams.  There was a lot of back-and-forth play, but the defensive line of Tatum Keely, Edie Berzansky, Avery DeMent, and Tori Hiatt would have to adapt to the Las Lomas strategy of long balls sent to their wingers.  These long balls resulted in a few crosses that goalie Maria Statnikova would come out and cut off.  There were also a few shots blocked by Keely and Hiatt to keep the ball out of the box.

The Dons showed a new lineup formation spreading out their midfield, including a bit more subbing to keep fresh legs on the pitch.  The strategy seemed to work as Reese Tierney, Evelyn Lee, Lily Polkinhorn, Averly Ammerman, Casey Lerch, and Caroline Tumilty showed tremendous ball movement and were able to strongly challenge the Las Lomas midfielders to win many of their opportunities.

The Dons’ attackers also subbed a bit to keep up their speed and strength.  Stella Beuchotte, Grace Eppinger, Michela Barbano, and Ammerman had a number of close attacks on the Las Lomas box, but the Knight defense would prove very good at denying scoring opportunities.  The Dons’ closest chance in the first half came from a nice cross by Tierney to Beuchotte for a shot that the goalie had to challenge and managed to deflect off the post to deny a goal.

As the match progressed, some standout defense by Berzansky and DeMent continued to deny Las Lomas from any challenges in the middle of their offensive third and Polkinhorn, Ammerman, and Lerch challenged the midfield.  The sole Acalanes goal, and the only one they needed, came from a precision passing assist by Hiatt to a streaking Beuchotte who outran the Las Lomas defenders and surgically shot past the emerging goalie for a clean goal into the lower right corner of the net; 1-0.

Goalie Statnikova made two amazing diving saves to record her shutout on the night.  All in all, Las Lomas managed 11 total shots and Acalanes only needed 4 – two by Beuchotte, one by Barbano, and one by Ammerman.  The efficiency was on display for the night and the Lady Dons emerged victorious for their second league match win!

Come cheer on the Dons as they hit the road on Tuesday to face Alhambra and return home on Thursday to take on Campolindo for SENIOR NIGHT!