Week #30 - Protecting Home Field: Badgers Win a Close One on Their Home Pitch!

Girls Varsity Soccer - Ruthie used her body to keep the defender on her back as she turned her body to make a precise pass into the middle of the field to Maeve. With excellent field vision, Maeve used a beautiful touch to move the ball into the box... and Althea did the rest. She dribbled right past her defender, planted her left leg, and drilled that ball into the back of the net past the outstretched arms of the goalie! Althea's goal gave the Badgers a 1-0 lead 31:00 into the first half. By that juncture of the game, RMA's goalie had seen over a dozen shots. Hadley had two breakaways early, getting deep into the box. Hattie was constantly pushing the ball forward, putting enormous pressure on the opposing defense. Late in the half, Catriona made a perfect throw in that landed right on Zoey's foot. She centered the ball to Nieve, who dribbled through traffic with precision. Nieve connected with Althea, who passed it wide to Zoey, who delivered it to Hattie in the box!  
Ruthie, attacking the goal, forced a corner kick, which resulted in Taylor's great pass to Althea for another shot. On the rare occasion that RMA cleared the ball out, Juli would force it right back in. Annie patrolled the middle, getting a cleat on the ball and resetting the Tandem offense. Sam also fought to keep the ball in the Tandem offensive zone.
 
Late in the half, Zoey earned a free kick. RMA was able to flip the field, but eventually ran into Sophie - and you know the rest. Sophie tackled the ball away from her opponent, eliminating any space she might have had. On the other end, Maeve set up Ruthie for a shot, and Althea and Hadley worked together for another!  Annie even scored a goal late in the half - but it was called back for off-sides. The Badgers led 1-0 at the break.
 
Tandem used a lot of energy to spend the whole half on offense, and RMA was able to make a bit of a push in the second half. Oliver had an incredible save early, sending the ball wide to Maeve, who found Nieve getting deep into the box. After an RMA save, RMA came down to the other end of the field on the attack. Closing their space, Juli and Annie forced an RMA shot over the goal - and the Tandem shutout was intact.
 
RMA earned a free kick, but Catriona thwarted the ball away. The Badger defense was incredible, but RMA made a deep run and scored with 26 minutes left on the clock. RMA wouldn't score again. Annie took away every possible shooting angle, flipping the field back to the offense. Tandem had a number of strong attacks, but the game remained locked at 1-1 with under 15 minutes left.
 
"Keep pushing! You will get one," shouted Coach Nemanja. Nieve heard that message loud and clear. She was about 30 feet away from the goal when she gained control of the ball. She dribbled to her left, using her body to shield the ball from the defender as she moved her way towards the box. The defense collapsed, but were not quick enough, as Nieve earned enough space to fire her second game winning goal in as many home games! What a move!
 
The crowd could only marvel at this extraordinary effort, as Nieve, the "Badger Ball" recipient, continues to put relentless pressure on the opposition. With the lead and 11:00 to go, Ruthie and Taylor worked together to keep the ball away from RMA. Sophie was dominant as left back, keeping RMA's strikers on the outside of the field. RMA earned a late free-kick, but Nieve broke it up, deflecting the ball out to Juli who did the rest. 
 
In the home stretch, Juli cleared the ball to Catriona who worked with Maeve and Hattie to flip the field. On another occasion, she won a huge tackle, giving Tandem the ball and solidifying the victory. The Badgers improve their record to 3-2 and 2-0 on their home field! 
Back
Tandem Friends School is a co-ed Quaker day school for grades 5-12 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
 
Copyright 2016 Tandem Friends School