Day three at the 2008 CASL/Raleigh Shootout Showcase saw overnight rains freeze on car surfaces, cold breezes with a forty-degree day, and a sixty mile drive, one-way, to face the Livonia United at Barton College. This site was so obscure, so far from the main complex, that aside from the teams themselves, there were five other people attending : four referees and one gentlemen who sat near the field gate with six bananas, a bottle of water, and a roll of toilet paper.

Both teams played a spirited, skilled opening half and a couple of injuries to Liz and Jen forced the short bench to play an exceptional half. Scoring opened in the thirty-sixth minute as Katie served a right-to-left cross that was handled by Carly and her resulting shot was just inside the right post for a 1-0 lead. Just two minutes later, Livonia was on the counter attack when one of their players when down clutching an ankle. The referee was over to the fallen player and our Blasters girls effectively stopped playing. However, one Livonia player decided to shoot and put the ball into the net which the referee allowed since he did not blow the whistle. So, the half was on the board at 1-1 in a very controversial manner. Lesson learned : play the whistle.

The second half opened with a terrific save by Caroline on a shot from ten yards to keep the score level. A defensive miscue which saw LB and Ashley miscommunicate in the revised back alignment was exploited by Livonia for a 2-1 lead. Another great save came in the fifteenth minute. Unfortunately, three unanswered goals followed to open a 5-1 Livonia lead in a lackluster performance. As Livonia grew in confidence, so did some of their tempers as one of their key players was awarded a yellow for outright pushing Nicky in frustration. With five minutes remaining, Nicky fed Saulty who shot over the keeper for a 5-2 final score and the final word.

In essence, without coaches for this "showcase event" the game lost much of its appeal.

Date: December 7, 2008     Venue: Wilson Barton College Field - Wilson NC