Late November temperatures were in the middle forties with grey skies arriving from the west as the Commack Blasters returned to tournament play for the first time since June 2008. The Commack Blasters hosted the Middlepath Xtreme from upstate New York at Mitchel Field and walked away with a 1-0 opening group play victory.

First half action saw the Blasters in dominant field position, outshooting the Xtreme by a margin of 8-2. Katie G. rejoined us from Virginia-Wesleyan with a shot over the net at the midpoint of the half. Nicky served one corner that struck the crossbar and went wide at the eight minute mark. Two corners that were served by Katie were placed just wide of the target. Kiersten was manacing inside the eighteen and good chances were generated for Tori, Carly, and Saulty. Outside, Katie was having numerous touches and overlapping runs with both Jen and LB aggressively attacking from the back. Liz and Nicky controlled the midfield with Taryn while defensively the team was playing a high pressure, first-to-the-ball match. Stephanie was in goal during the first half and a hard collision took her out with three minutes in the half. Caroline took the reins from there and handled five balls in the win.

Action was more balanced in the second stanza and the game was decided ten minutes into the second half as Tori was taken down in the box on a break-in at the ten minute mark. The resulting penalty was planted into the net by Nicky for the 1-0 final score. Defensively, Campy was solidly anticipating balls throughout the match. Meghan was sweeping in a diamond formation and kept the play in front of her throughout the game. Mere and Brooke played the tough outside midfield roles in the match.

Approxmately twenty coaches logged in for this match at the field including American, Providence, Buffalo, Connecticut, Iona, Marist, Rider, Sacred Heart, St. Peters, Binghamton, LIU/CWPost, Dowling, Columbia, Skidmore, Adelphi, Assumption, Queens College, and Northeastern.

Date: November 29, 2008     Venue: Mitchel Field - Uniondale