AV Girls LAX - Varsity

NCS round 1 would open against the Dougherty Valley Wildcats. The Wildcats kept the league match close for ¾ of the game before the Dons went on a furious run to close the game in comfortable fashion. The Wildcats would not be making it easy for the Dons. The opening draw looked routine for the Wildcats as they charged right, then slipped inside for a quick goal. Mackenzie Riddle would control the first offensive set. Her inside pass would be broken up by the Wildcats. The intended target, Lily Manos, would scramble for the loose ball and immediately convert for a goal. Amador would seize the draw and begin rotating the ball and probing with drives. Eventually Bella Mayo would be placed on the line for shooting space and convert. Catherine Murphy would take a strong drive in and have her shot deflected. Both teams would go back and forth with defensive turnovers. Eventually the Wildcats would break through to tie the match. Despite losing the draw Amador would benefit from a Kylie Racer interception during transition. Mayo would take the rock the rest of the way on a center drive for goal. Dougherty Valley would quickly claw back with consecutive goals to make it 3-4. Amador would be patient on their next possession and rotate the ball. Miley Smith’s cut to center would be rewarded with a long pass. Smith would draw a sphere penalty and convert her shot for goal. Lily Manos would pick off an interception against the Wildcats but an errant pass would send the ball out of bounds. Defense would hold and earn another turnover. Alexis Bayani would scoop the ground ball and aid in transition. Manos and Racer would earn shooting space calls that would be turned away. Mady Sweeney would then take the ball from X and roll the crease for goal. Amador would threaten again but a goalie save would send the Dons redefending. A poor goalie clear would have Marley Diligent swipe an interception. Catherine Murphy would drive in then pass to Lily Manos at the wide right post for goal. Bella Mayo would stack another goal as she curled inward at the top of the 8 meter. The Amador offense worked furiously to tack on another goal but were turned away each time. A bad transition pass by Dougherty Valley would be picked up by Catherine Murphy. Murphy would dish out to Lily Manos who would drive, pump fake, and shoot for goal, 8-4. The Wildcats would finally take the draw but would be rejected on a save by Risa Gough. The Dons would turnover to the Wildcat goalie. The goalie would be hounded into the corner by Kalena Johnson. A turnover would occur and Bella Mayo would take the rock for shooting space. She would fire a rocket into the high right corner to extend the lead to 9-4. The Wildcats would take two shots on goal only to find the first sail wide right and the second get saved out by Risa Gough. Marley Diligent would scoop the loose ball and pass over to Alexis Bayani. Heavy pressure would force a turnover out of bounds. The Wildcats had a difficult time against the Don transition defense and had another bad pass. Amador would take the opportunity and convert a penalty shot by Bella Mayo with 30 seconds left in the half.

The Wildcats would not surrender despite a 6 goal deficit. They would open the half refreshed and earn back to back goals. Amador would pick up a loose ball on transition. Grace French would push the ball forward. The ball began cycling to Mackenzie Riddle, Lily Manos, and eventually Anna Ford who would sneak inside for goal. The sequence would see Kylie Racer take the draw pickup toward the 8 meter. Racer would pass to an open Bella Mayo who would slide pass defenders and send a brush shot low for goal. The following draw would be a battle in the center that would see the Wildcats drive strong, 12-7. Amador was being patient and looking for opportunities. Unfortunately their pass inside from X would be intercepted. Mackenzie Riddle would quickly respond by checking the ball out. Bella Mayo would shoot after a pump fake for goal. Marley Diligent would drive and shoot from distance and send it wide. Catherine Murphy would rotate in from X to earn a shooting space violation. Instead of shooting she would feed Marley Diligent who would take a strong shot. The Wildcats goalie was able to save the shot. Diligent would track down the goalie pass and intercept it. She would finally earn her goal with a low shot to give the Dons a comfortable 14-7 lead. Just as they had so many times, the Wildcats would rail off three goals to keep the match interesting. Lily Manos would crease roll and send a low shot in to keep the Wildcats at Bay. Amador would get a little sloppy and pick up one yellow card then another two minutes later. The Wildcats would create tension by closing the gap to 15-12. Amador would wisely call a timeout to reset the troops with 5 minutes still remaining. Out of the draw Amador would slow the pace and rotate the ball. Dougherty Valley took a big risk in running double teams immediately. Then an even bigger risk as the goalie came out of the circle to contest. Mady Sweeney was able to roll the crease quickly and shoot into an empty net. The same scenario repeated itself as the goalie was desperate to create a turnover for her team. Bella Mayo’s goal to put the Dons up 17-12 sealed Dougherty Valley’s loss. There would be a bit of excitement as a long bomb pass would thrown by the Wildcats, only to be saved by Risa Gough. The match would end 18-13 and send the Dons to round to against the San Ramon Valley Wolves.