Spring 05 Tournaments & Game Archive
RAVENS Spring Tournaments:
May 27-29; RANDOLPH MEMORIAL DAY TOURNEY -
Game 1: Ravens 1 Randolph Thunder 0
Game 2: Ravens 0 Abington (PA) Fusion 2
Game 3: Ravens 0 Rockaway Fusion 2
Game 4: Ravens 1 Ringwood Rovers 1
Game 1 vs. Randolph Thunder – Ravens dictated play throughout, but only found the net one time in the 31st minute. After a scramble in front of the Thunder net, Alina Vitencz was able to get enough foot on the ball to provide the winning margin.
Game 2 vs. Abington Fusion – Two first half goals found the Ravens trying to mount a comeback against this northeastern PA team. One goal was softly lofted out of goalie Randi Pesci’s reach, while the other was the result of a footrace to goal from almost mid-field. The Abington striker won it. This was a very winnable game for the Ravens, as again they had the better of the play for most of the game. The Fusion came in second in the tournament flight.
Game 3 vs. Rockaway Fusion – The Ravens were set to get even with the Fusion, even if it was another team. Again, the Ravens were victimized by two early goals and then settled into their game. Two times, two Fusion players were left unmarked for relatively easy pops into the goal. From then on, the game was very evenly played, with the Ravens getting a number of opportunities, but just couldn’t finish. Rockaway eventually went on to capture the tournament flight championship.
Game 4 vs. Ringwood Rovers – 1:27 into the game, Ringwood went on top after a sloppy defensive mishap by the Ravens. Then … it was an entirely different game altogether. The Ravens played with the intensity, focus and drive that was demanded of them by the coaching staff. And, it paid off. At the sixteen minute mark, Isabel Tan neatly found a seam on the left flank and converted for the game tying goal. That goal propelled the Ravens to a new plateau for the rest of the game, and one that we’ve only seen glimpses of during the spring season. The game featured a straight-up mark between a very strong and fast Ringwood striker and Ravens' stopper/midfielder Jordan Valori. Valori carried out her assignment well, and neutralized the bigger and stronger Ringwood player for the entire game. The team seemed energized and enthused by their performance, as they should. If we hadn’t lost focus for just a couple on minutes in games 2 & 3, this game would have been played for a chance to win some hardware. Now the question is, can we stabilize at this new plateau, and strive for the next level ... and how quickly can we do it? To be continued!
Click here for the U-11 Girls Red Flight Results.
June 10-12; OCEAN TOWNSHIP TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS -
Game 1: Ravens 1 Toms River YSA Asteroids 2
Game 2: Ravens 0 Colts Neck Mustangs 0
Game 3: Ravens 4 Berkeley Galaxy 0
Game 1 vs. Toms River YSC Asteroids
The first game of the tourney was vs. MOSA National 2 first place Toms River (5w 2L 3t), and was being played in the heat of the afternoon. With Toms River only giving up 7 goals all season, the Ravens were going to have to make every opportunity count, along with a solid defensive effort.
The Ravens game to play! In only the second minute, attacking middie Stephanie Logan took a pass from Carly Stagl and put a shot on net that slithered through the Asteroid goalie and into the net. Everything was looking up, as the Ravens continued applying pressure, and even survived a missed TR penalty kick in the 17th minute.
However, in the second half, Toms River slowly and confidently took command, as the Ravens started to stand around which resulted in them losing their aggressive edge. In the 43rd minute, the Ravens had an indirect restart from inside their own 18. However, the kick failed to make it over the first wave, and a scramble ensued. Eventually, a Toms River player struck the ball, which hit the crossbar. Instead of deflecting over the crossbar and out of bounds, the ball went straight up in the air, and came down directly in front of the goal. Before the ball hit the ground, an Asteroid player aggressively charged the net and managed to hit it home with a header.
In the 53rd minute, with time winding down and the Ravens trying to hold on for a draw, a miscalculation by the Ravens’ defense resulted in Toms River driving home the game winner.
This was a well played game by both sides, but the Ravens weren’t satisfied with the result. This was not the time for moral victories. The Ravens wanted to end the season with a strong performance in all tournament games, and hopefully a chance to take home some hardware. With two games to go, the team re-committed and everyone re-enrolled to achieve that goal. Now it was up to them!
Game 2 vs. Colts Neck Mustangs
Colts Neck, MOSA National 6, came into the game sitting in first place in their flight, with an 8W 1L record. More impressive was their goal differential – scoring 20 goals for the season, and only giving up 2. So, much like the first game, the girls needed to take command right from the first whistle, knowing that opportunities were going to be few and far between.
Well, the scouting report was faulty in some respect, as the Ravens came out hungry, and subsequently forced the play from start to end. The passing was crisp, the girls worked well together, and the aggressiveness level was way up. Additionally, the defensive effort was outstanding, as there were only a handful of Colts Neck chances at the Ravens’ net. The Ravens had numerous excellent scoring chances, and some glorious opportunities throughout the game, with some of the spectators watching in amazement as to how that ball didn’t wind up in the net.
But it didn’t, and the Ravens fell just a little short of scoring one of their most impressive victories of the entire year. Again, in tournament play, not a time for moral victories, but a tie is better than the lesser alternative. However, everyone had a feeling that this team was on the verge of breaking out, and with one more game to go, we would see if the Ravens would rise to the next level, prior to breaking for the summer.
Game 3 vs. Berkeley Galaxy
If this was going to be THE game, the Ravens were going to have to do it without the benefit of knowing anything about the Galaxy. What we did know was that the comparative scores in the tournament were favorable towards the Ravens. But, you still need to execute, and eventually you HAVE to put the ball in the net. Would this be the game?
After a rather slow and sluggish start in the mid-morning heat, the Ravens got on the board in the 20th minute after taking over full command of the game. Jordan Valori lofted a nice cross from the right side to striker Alina “Crash” Vitencz, who managed to settle the ball and deposit it into the Galaxy net. That seemed to light the fire … finally!
In the 22nd minute, middie Valori found the net with her first goal of the season. Now up 2-0, the Ravens were looking for more!
A chance to make it 3-0 in the 25th minute on a penalty kick wasn’t realized, as the kick died in the thick heavy grass. So, after halftime, and still in a commanding position on the scoreboard and on the field, the Ravens were feeling very confident, with everyone wanting to get on the score sheet.
In the 33rd minute, the Ravens were again awarded a penalty kick. This time, Krystal McClean converted on a nicely placed kick in which the Mustang goalie had no chance. Now up 3-0, the Ravens were going to net on every opportunity, and the Mustangs were watching the evolution of a team achieving and surpassing the “next level.”
In the 43rd minute, Isabel Tan broke free from a converging Mustang defense from about 25 yards out. Tan neatly pushed out in front of the defenders and easily placed the ball to the left of the oncoming Mustang goalie and into the net. 4-0 Ravens and they weren’t done yet! But shortly thereafter, and unfortunately, a Mustang player went down with what appeared to be a serious arm or elbow injury. About 10 minutes of playing time was lost as the ambulance was called to field.
When play resumed, the Ravens let the clock run out in what was their most dominant and highest scoring game of the season. The final of 4-0 does not accurately reflect the dominance displayed by the Ravens in this tilt.
“If you keep the pressure up, work together, play smart and aggressive, talk, and apply your skills and what you’ve learned in practice, the goals will come!” More than that, the Ravens now know that you need to commit to yourself and your teammates that you have responsibilities with and without the ball, and that you will live up to those responsibilities. This is the game in which everything came together, and is the game that we waited for all season. Now it’s one that we’ll just have to keep fresh in our memory to remind ourselves that when we want to … we can play with anyone!
Job well done girls !!
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