THUNDER 1 - SUNRISE THUNDERSTORMS 1

Thunder equalizing goal !!!

TEAMWORK!!! That one word is what best describes the action of our girls in the first league game. The VV Thunder team opened up their regular season schedule in beautiful sunny weather at Tempo Park in Citrus Heights, against the Sunrise Thunderstorms. Our team looked aggressive and anxious to start the season. There was a good crowd of supporters on hand to watch the action. Today we celebrated Valerie's Birthday !!!

Our girls played an awesome game, starting the Metro League season with a tie that gave a taste of victory. Our team had a dominating first half and an impressive come back on the second half to equalize the game. Right from the beginning, our players had the determination to set the pace of the game. Most of the action moved from the middle of the field toward the rival's goal. Our players outshot the opponents by a wide margin.

"Beanie" started as a goalie. She was just an observant of the game with only a couple of touches to the ball. Coach Rick instructed her to come out of her box just to be part of the action. "Tiger" played a relentless game outsmarting her opponent. The other player was bigger than her, pushing and elbowing not only her but other players also; however this was not a deterrent for Tiger who with a great determination kept this player at bay. Ashley P also played an outstanding game, closing down the rival's advances and sweeping across the defending area. Courtney followed constantly her assigned player blocking the advance of the Sunrise strikers. "Kat" shined on the left side, also sweeping and covering Ashley's P defending area, her strong shot allowed her to clear the ball sending it out of the danger zone.

Thunder constant attack !!!

Our midfield consisting of Melinda, Lexi, Erica, Beth, Valerie, Ashley Y, Rummit and Macy, was busy pushing the rest of the team forward. They were not letting anything get past midfield. In fact, "Beanie" only touched the ball in goal a couple of times during the first half. Melinda was all over the field in this game, intercepting shots and sending the balls to the open field. With her unique strong and decisive style of play, Melinda sent the message early on the game to the opponent, showing that toughness is the name of the game in the Thunder midfield. Erica anticipated some plays, pushing the ball to the sides, keeping closed mark on the opponent, and recovering loose balls. Rummit was busy controlling the right side, sending the ball forward and also defending with a sense of anticipation. Ashley Y was able to keep the ball on the grass, made some nice moves and distributed the ball to the front line. Valerie played her best game so far. Today was her birthday. Valerie pushed hard during the game and was determined to win the ball, passing the ball really well and fighting to retrieve it from the opponent. Valerie's speed also contribute positively to our team's efforts.

The second half was hard fought and evenly matched. Erica played goalie and "Beanie" came out of the box to play. "Beanie" was able to get and anticipate the ball with her speed, she also had to close the defensive line at the center of the penalty area. "Lexi" started to take more control at midfield and showed determination closing down the right channel and moving the ball forward and to the sides to initiate the Thunder attack. 

The Sunrise Thunderstorms came out very aggressive in the second half, pounding several quick shots. Erica, who took over in goal had her hands full as she made several nice saves and the defenders were busy trying to contain the Sunrise strikers. A fast run on the left side took our defenders by surprise. The Sunrise player sent the ball to the middle of the Thunder defending area, and with a first touch, the opponent shot the ball to the left side of Erica, beating our brave goalie.

However, our girls kept their heads up and were determined to come back and win this game. The front line was busy pounding the Sunrise's goal, Katie made several runs on the left side, taking shots at goal and also creating several scoring opportunities for her team mates. Katie's speed left her opponent with just a view of her back, as Katie run fast to the end line to cross the ball to her team mates and make the attempt to score. With a little bit of luck, our team will score more goals in the future. It seemed like we had several chances to score, however the ball did not go our way. Hazel create havoc among the Sunrise defenders, with her speed and determination to win the ball, taking shots at goal, and also becoming the first defender of our team. Hazel also had the opportunity to face taller, stronger and also rough and tough defenders; however, with her fast run and strong shots she was successful in beating them and contributed greatly to our team efforts.

With about 10 minutes left in the game, Bethany took a corner kick on the left side of the field. The corner shot was deflected by a Sunrise defender in her effort to clear the ball. However, the deflection came back to the direction of the corner. Bethany did not hesitate to send the ball back to the box with a high shot that sailed on top of the goalie. Macy was waiting hungry for the ball at the box, and with a great sense of anticipation won the ball among two defenders and just pushed it into the Sunrise goal line for the equalizing !!!

Just like the Thunder players have been practicing that set play in corner kicks! That goal would be all that the Thunder would need, as they hung on to the 1-1 tie. This was a real team effort.

Even though the game ended in a 1-1 tie, this really felt like a win. Everyone contributed to this tie with a taste of Victory. Great Job Thunder!

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