The Lady Dons had a very busy week with three games, dominating two of them and barely falling in the only non-league game of the week. One of those games was Senior Night, which had a bit warmer weather than normal, a wonderful ceremony honoring this year’s 11 seniors, a starting lineup consisting of all seniors as field players, and a dominant win over the rival Cougars!
Their busy week started on Tuesday February 3 in Martinez at Alhambra HS. The confidence was high as the Dons were coming off their recent win over Las Lomas. Alhambra dominated possession of the ball in the first five minutes, but that was all the Dons would allow. They took over! The Dons midfield and defense would only allow a single shot from Alhambra the entire game. Yet, the Dons fired off 23 shots!
Acalanes would win the match by a score of 2-0, but that score didn’t fully illustrate the dominance the Dons showed in possession, ball movement, and hussle to win the 50/50’s. Both of the Dons’ goals came courtesy of Stella Beuchotte, one off a beautiful assist from Cate McCormick and one off a free kick rocket of a shot. The rest of the Acalanes 23 shots came from Beuchotte (4 more), Caroline Tumilty (3), Averly Ammerman (3), Michela Barbano (2), Casey Lerch (2), Reese Tierney (1), Tatum Keely (1), Grace Eppinger (1), Edie Berzansky (1), Tori Hiatt (1), Danica Green (1), and Lily Polkinhorn (1).
On Thursday February 5 the Dons were at home for Senior Night against rival Campolindo. Prior to kickoff the 11 seniors and their families enjoyed a very nice tribute ceremony with lots of cheers coming from teammates, JV players, and plenty of fans in the stands! The match started with all 10 field positions filled by seniors, while injured senior Cassidy Smith cheered loudly from the sideline.
Coming off dominant play at Alhambra, the Lady Dons picked right up where they had left off – very good control of the ball, efficient passing, and controlling possession in the middle of the field and in their offensive third. The Dons were consistent throughout the match with outstanding positioning that set them up to cut off Cougar passes and the ability to sprint to win 50/50 balls. The Dons defense limited Campolindo to only two shots, one blocked by Keely and the other saved by goalie Maria Statnikova. The Cougars had two very open threatening runs that seemed like they would result in one-on-one challenges for Statnikova, but on each occasion McCormick and Hiatt had identical amazing sprints to catch up and clear the ball away before the Cougars could get a shot off.
The Dons beat the Cougars 2-0. Eppinger and Beuchotte scored for the Dons, one coming off an assist by Ammerman. Multiple shots on the night came courtesy of Ammerman (3), Keely (1), Eppinger (1), Beuchotte (2), Hiatt (1), Evelyn Lee (1), and Samantha Murdin (1).
The third and final game of the week was the only non-league match and was on Saturday February 7 against visiting Liberty HS out of Brentwood. From the kickoff it seemed the match would be more of a challenge than the previous two, as Liberty initially dominated possession in the midfield and their own offensive third.
Play throughout the match would continue to be very physical and tough to get any momentum as Liberty’s defense was quick to swarm any Dons player that presented an opportunity to move toward their goal. Part of the difficulty was the aggressive play of the Liberty players that would result in their team receiving a number of foul calls, three yellow cards, and a red card. Unfortunately, the aggressive play also knocked two of the Dons players out of the match early with injuries.
Beuchotte (5), Ammerman (2), and Claire Hawkins (1) would get the only eight shots for Acalanes, but Liberty would get plenty more, keeping the Dons defense busy and also requiring Statnikova to make an impressive five saves on the night. Unfortunately, one shot (off a free kick) would prove too efficient and snuck into the upper corner as Liberty ultimately won the match 1-0.
Come out this week as the Lady Dons face College Park at home on Tuesday and travel to Northgate on Thursday for their final two league matches in a tight DAL race for the playoffs!