The Commack Blasters opened their 2006 Kirkwood Premier Tournament against the Middletown Tornadoes from New Jersey. The uncooperative Columbus Day weather from 2005 carried over to this event as showers greeted everyone with temperatures in the lower fifties.

Commack maintained dominant field position throughout the contest and there were substantial runs taken from the back which featured Ashley, Alyssa, Campy and LB. The central midfield opened with Nicole and Meghan which stiffled the Tornadoes attack throughout the opening half. Many crossing chances in the first half were left incomplete as approximately eight potential scoring opportunities were on the left foot for our forwards. Aggressive play from Tori, Saulty, Katie, and Carly helped to build the attack and excellent play from Jen Melon in the middle helped. Jen Brennan had a nice touch pass inside late in the first half that was saved by the Middletown keeper. Meredith's throw was deadly for the Blasters in the first half.

The second half pressure did not fade as the Blasters converted in the twenty-first minute. The corner served by Gina was greeted by three Blasters header attempts and it was Alyssa, returning to the scoring column for the first time since February, finishing the play. Middletown's best chance came about midway through the half, but Sara made the one demanding save of the game clearing the ball far to the outside preserving the clean sheet.

Overall, this was a dominant opening round match which serves the Commack side well for the remainder of round-robin play. Congratulations to Gina for winning the "MVP Patch" in this game, awarded by the Middletown coaches.

Date: October 7, 2006     Venue: Kirkwood Soccer Complex - New Castle, DE