Force Invitational Game 1

Ties, many say, are like kissing your sister. But that is not entirely true. Some ties -- like the 0-0
Force U12 Purple opener in The Force Invitational against Farmington Fusion 99 -- feel pretty good.

Playing up in the 13y division, and on an indoor 11 v. 11 field (that is, one exactly measured to regulation length and width), the girls found themselves with their backs against their own net for most of the first half. Force clearing passes got jammed up at midfield and, at some point, ten minutes or so in, they just started clearing rather than passing, and they could not get themselves into the Fusion half of the field. Fortunately, the Fusion weren't able to put together much offense in or around the 18. Emmi courageously stepped in front of one hard shot. And Kate, who controlled the field brilliantly during all this pressure, dove on a rolling ball that could have been popped in.

There were some other bright spots. Jill played tough at midfield. Zoe sent some balls deep and was fouled herself just outside the box toward the end of the half. Annabelle's wicked strike almost found the back of the net.

The Force managed to turn things around a bit in the second half. Christina and Sawyer played hard up front and Sophia and Emmi made big plays consistently on the backline. The ball gradually shifted into the Fusion half of the field. The momentum shifted enough so that in the last few minutes the Force changed formations to go for the win (skip the sister), putting two forwards up front. There were several spirited runs -- runs that led to one dangerous counterattack in front of Kate -- but no goals.

Game two is tomorrow nite outside at West Hills.