AV Girls LAX - Varsity

Some of the best weather of the young season presented itself on Tuesday night. Cool, crisp, and refreshing when compared to the recent days of damp rain. The Piedmont Highlanders came rolling into Amador with an undefeated 3-0 record, including a 13-8 victory against Foothill. The Dons would break out of the initial draw rotating the ball around the circle looking for openings. Amador would take a few stabs in and out of the 8 meter. Mady Sweeny was finally placed on the penalty line and converted for the first goal. Mady Sweeny would swipe the draw and outlet to Bella Mayo. Mayo would drive from the top of the 8 and fade to the right as she elevated for a high arcing shot. Mayo would find the back of the net with her powerful shot. Piedmont would finally get a turn on offense. The defense would deflect multiple attacks but surrender a shooting space violation to give the Highlanders a response. Amador has seen improved draw success in recent matches. The Dons would get Sophia Shiblaq in close to goal but her shot would be saved. Isa Clark would quickly get a check out and ground ball recovery before the Highlanders could escape their side of the field. Amador would patiently cycle their offense. Sweeny finally takes a strong drive and passes back in during her retreat. Mayo appears to fade out, but sends a strong shot back in for goal. Piedmont would regroup during a timeout. The Highlanders found a very quick response as they drove the draw directly in. Amador gets a boost from Kalena Johnson who takes a post reception and drives across the middle for goal. Sophia Shiblaq would follow with a twirling drive from the top of the 8 to keep the score flowing. The next goal would see Mayo connect to Sweeny out of the draw. Sweeny would charge up and pass to a waiting Victoria Frenz in the low right post. Frenz would curl and bounce the ball into the net for her first Varsity goal. Katherine Murphy would squirrel her way into the center of the 8 meter but be denied by Piedmont’s goalie. Quick reaction would see Murphy recover her own shot and get sent to the line on a foul. Her penalty would score. Amador started feeling their offensive groove by executing a complex play. Lily Manos arced from the right wing as Mayo counter-arced underneath her. A quick transfer pass between the two resulted in Mayo driving hard down and into shooting position to make it 8-3. Lily Manos would next find herself at X and firing to Shiblaq cutting down the center. Shiblaq would score as she fell forward due to contact. Piedmont would finally respond by setting up multiple high screens to free their agile cutter. The Amador defender would find herself just a step behind as Piedmont would find the net, 9-4. Amador’s defense made a nice stand against the Highlanders only to have the ball forced loose and sent right back at the goalie to make the game 9-5. Piedmont would build even more momentum as they score before the half despite multiple defensive stands by the Dons. Amador held on to a tight 9-6 lead at the half.

Amador would start the frame on defense. A loose ground ball would be scooped by Mayo. Defense would almost lose the transition but finally break through. Shiblaq would attack from the right wing and begin her twirling drive once more. Unfortunately, her shot would sail high. Mayo would take her turn only to be saved out. Amador would intercept the outlet only to send the ball out of bounds during a pass. Piedmont would make the Dons pay by executing a coast to coast drive for goal. Murphy would take the ball in and see her shot saved. Offense would recover and attempt multiple plays without success. Isa Clark’s shooting space shot would sail high. Clark would earn a second trip to the 8 meter, shortly thereafter, and drive in for a goal. Where Amador’s scoring seemed methodical and play oriented, the Highlanders were finding opportunity with fast break points. Piedmont would drive quickly out of the draw and fire for goal. Amador would defend the next attack only to surrender a bad transition pass with the goalie behind the net. Piedmont would easily score during the open net attempt. Bella Mayo would be sent out with a two-minute yellow penalty placing the Dons on their back. Piedmont would tie the game on the next penalty goal. Piedmont would call timeout to take a breather after battling hard to knot up the game. Not only were they on a run of quick strikes their goalie had saved numerous attempts from the Dons with athletic saves. Rumor has it that the Piedmont goalie was playing in her 5th career game as she was traditionally a soccer goalie. High tension crept into the Amador stands in anticipation of how the Dons would respond. After the St. Ignatius collapse anything could happen. Amador would earn a second yellow only seconds after the first placing the Dons with two down for 1:30. Lily Manos would strike the pipe during a penalty shot and Piedmont would break through the Amador defense to take their first lead of the game. Amador would come back to full strength in the next possession. The Dons escaped double jeopardy with only one goal scored against during that time. Senior captain Isa Clark would drive in from the right wing to tie the game and fuel hope. Piedmont would save the ball only to have their transition defense lose it to a Clark check. The ball would cycle and land back to Clark in the low right post. A hard driving Grace French would streak in from the top of the key to receive a bullet pass. French would receive and shoot for goal, reclaiming the Don’s lead. Catherine Murphy would earn a trip to the penalty line but have her shot saved. Mayo would recover and fire the ball back in to cushion the lead. Amador would once again take possession from the draw. Clark would return to the penalty line off a hard-working drive. The Highlander goalie would earn another incredible save. Amador would buckle down and make a tight defensive stand. Piedmont would drive strong against Shiblaq but she would send them away and create a loose ball. Mayo would scoop and run the ground ball. Kalena Johnson would drive the transition to Manos in the low right post. Manos would go 1v1 with the goalie to drive a dagger into the Piedmont hopes for an upset. Amador would seal the game by possessing the next draw. A final shot would be saved by the goalie. The highlander outlet pass would be intercepted by Manos and fed to Mayo. Mayo would easily convert an empty net to close out the game. Amador Dons finish with a 15-11 lead. This was a hard fought win, against a plucky opponent. Piedmont came in ready to play and executed their coach’s adjustments. Luckily, the Dons have a plethora of talent and their own excellent coaching staff, able to contribute for a victory. Friday’s matchup will be the first game at the new Carondalet athletic center in Walnut Creek. The Carondalet Cougars only have a 2-3 record but they have only lost by a combined total of 4 goals in several high scoring matches. They also have a notable win against a strong Miramonte squad. See you underneath the Friday night lights!