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Good showing by Stars at WAGS Tournament
The Stars traveled out to Falls Church Virginia to play at the WAGS Tournament. The team was looking to continue the growth and development process by playing competitive soccer against some great teams. The Stars would face three very good teams from different parts of the country including Tophat, a State Cup finalist based out of Atlanta, Georgia , Medford Strikers Spirit, a Premier level team based out of New Jersey and the D’Feeters 96G, a Premier level team ranked #1 in Northern Texas and #3 in their Region. The weather would start out cloudy with showers in the forecast to begin the Tournament but would turn into perfect soccer weather, clear and cool, for the rest of the weekend.
The Stars would have their full roster with the exception of Rachel who just had her cast removed. The first team they would face would be the Atlanta-based Tophat. The teams were evenly matched to start, each falling short on quick scoring opportunities. Erica was able to get a breakaway that was pushed aside by a great save by the Tophat keeper. Tophat missed a scoring opportunity with a great crossing shot that was shunned by Kara on a great sliding save. In the second half, the Stars would get on the board first after a great sprint by Kristen down the sideline to reach a ball in the corner. She was able to get off a strong cross, hitting Erica about 18 yards out. Erica quickly turned and got off a shot with enough spin to hit the crossbar and fall in for a 1-0 lead. Tophat would come back off a corner kick. The kick fell into the box and a shot would hit the crossbar, ricochet out a couple of feet and get knocked in tying the score 1-1. The Stars would finish it up after Amanda made a great run down the left sidelines, sending a pass right to Erica's feet. Erica would turn towards the net and pass it up to Taylor, who with one great touch, gave it back to Erica who was then able to knock it in for the eventual game winner as the Stars win 2-1.
In the second match, the Stars would face the New Jersey based Medford Strikers. The Stars started out very strong, aggressively attacking the Medford goal. Erica would get the first opportunity as she avoided the keeper but was turned away after a slick slide tackle by a Medford defender. They would strike first on a corner kick by Amanda. The kick sailed high to Taylor who sent a volley over the keeper’s head to give the Stars a 1-0 lead. They would get a second goal after Sam was able to make a run down the right sideline and send a deep cross to Amanda on the left side of the field. Amanda was able to find Erica in the middle who took a clean strike and score giving the Stars a 2-0 lead. As the half came to a close, Taylor was able to shake a defender and send a shot from about 15 yards out that would have gone in if not for a full length reach by the keeper who got enough of her fingers on the shot to just send it over the crossbar. The whistle blew just as the ball hit the ground. In the second half, Erica would get an early breakaway that was challenged by the keeper. The keeper made a hard slide that was able to catch the ball and send it back about 30 yards. Unfortunately, there were no Stars following up on the play and the Medford team was able to grab the possession as well as the momentum. They were able to get a quick goal following that great save. The inability for the Stars to clear the ball out of their own end ultimately cost them a second goal as the Medford team pressed the entire second half and kept the ball on the Stars end. The Stars would be unable to get any offense going ending with a 2-2 tie.
That would set up the Sunday match as a must win for the Stars if they wanted to advance. They would face the D’Feeters from Texas. The two teams were again evenly matched with very little scoring opportunities until the D’Feeters sent a pass to one of the forwards who had split the Stars defense. She clearly appeared to be offside but the line judge was out of position and was unable to make a call. That breakaway would result in the first goal scored to give the D’Feeters a 1-0 lead. The Stars were not able to get many good shots off while on the other side, Kara was doing a great job in preventing the D’Feeters from scoring any other goals. In the second half, with the score still 1-0, the Stars would finally get their chance. Madison was able to tackle a ball away deep in the Stars end and sent a shot at least 50 yards that Erica took the chance to chase. The ball took one bounce before the D’Feeter keeper tried to make a play on it. She got to the ball just as Erica did. The ball bounced past the keeper and Erica was able to tap it in to tie the score at 1-1. Both teams battled to the final whistle but neither could find a way into the net, ending in a tie which gave the D’Feeters first place in the bracket with 2 wins and 1 tie while the Stars finished 2nd with 1 win and 2 ties. This was a very good showing by the Stars as they continue to improve as a team.
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Massapequa Stars
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