Game #1 vs Northgate
A storm was raging during the early morning hours of Saturday, December 14. But on this day, it wasn’t the torrential downpour or the gale force winds leaving a path of destruction in its wake.
It was the Frosh and the Furious.
From the moment they stepped onto the pitch, the home team made it abundantly clear that a little weather wouldn’t stop them from doing what they do best: Scoring goals and shutting down opponents.
Before this sports reporter could even open an umbrella, the onslaught had begun. Led on offense by Avery Titus, Allie Schofield, and Ruby Coy—not to mention Audrey Tseng simply carving up the Northgate defense for a score—the Dons took a 4-0 halftime lead. Hannah Hoover and Alexa Wall anchored a tenacious defense.
In the second half, the scoring continued with goals by Ruby Coy and an absolute cracker from Penny Haslam. The defense kept up its strong play with Courtney Hamill stopping a late run, helping Maria Statnikova retain a clean sheet. Final: Acalanes 7, Northgate 0 (Storm 0)
Game #2 at College Park
The rain subsided just in time for an afternoon roadie against the College Park Falcons.
While the Dons were finding success offensively—including runs by Ruby Coy and Sofie Kemper—they just couldn’t find the back of the net. A one-timer from Eva McGinley sailed over the crossbar and a shot by June Natal catching the keeper out of the box just missed wide left.
Meanwhile, the Falcons offense relied on quick counter attacks to go up 2-0. The Dons were not shaken. Just before the halftime whistle, relentless pressure from Avery Titus led to a crucial goal by Ruby Coy. Both the sideline and sizable away crowd erupted in cheer.
“I think one of the keys to victory was the girls believing they were the best team on the field, even when we were down 2-0,” said Coach Peter Bonfanti. “Getting a goal just before halftime really lifted their spirits going into the break, and they brought that energy back out to dominate the second half.”
And dominate they did.
With Hannah Hoover continuing to set the pace in transition and Audrey Tseng constantly winning possessions on the right side, you could sense a score was imminent. Right on cue, Allie Schofield cleverly knocked in a loose ball to tie things up 2-2.
Defensively, Alexa Wall, Delphine Fisher, Shelley Khan, and Talia Tichenor led the way with keeper Maria Statnikova making a huge save with 13 minutes left. Avery Titus then crushed one off a deft pass from Avila Payne, and you could sense it was only a matter of time before another score. With the clock approaching the two-minute mark, a through ball from Audrey Tseng found Avery Titus for what proved to be the winning goal as the crowd went wild. Final: Acalanes 3, College Park 2