Certainly.
But to the Waza players Rhea must have seemed more like Cerberus, the 3 - headed dog who, in Greek mythology, guards the underworld by guarding the river Styx.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ4zgcRpUQ8
In the first five minutes Rhea took a nasty blow that cut her badly and stunned her. Fortunately, the players and Coach Cookie caught it and got the ref to blow the play dead (another note for Refs on player safety).
This was the first distinct image of Rhea's head that Waza might remember.
The second would be the image of her Tomas Muller like header -- the first of the year, I think, for the Force. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS2x4LeHn8EHaving re-entered the game in the second half after some oral surgery (free of charge, I think), Rhea took a beautiful, soft cross from MSH (herself still playing through pain) and jammed the ball down at the Waza keeper's feet.
This goal seemed to come very late. The Force did not dominate play, but they certainly had the edge. Grace and Stasia both made great plays, but ended up sending goals over the cross bar. Jazzy's deceptive skills created early opportunities. Sawyer sent a few just past the post. Until Rhea's header it seemed the Force might be heading for their second straight 0-0 tie.
Even after that the game did not seem completely in Force hands. The ref found his whistle in the last five minutes, awarding Waza a free kick 18 feet outside the box that Waza moved to 10 feet outside box.
Rhea, Cerberus like, stuck her head in for a third time and knocked away what could have been a difficult shot for Kate.
The Force played hard, but this was ragged. They won because they are better soccer players, not because of their control passing game. Rockstar and Rocksteady worked hard on the back line -- as usual -- but the game really didn't call for their superlative efforts. In brief, it looked like the last regular season game of a long, long season.
Rhea's bloody mouth created a full image. With Sophie on the sideline in a sling and even Cookie brandishing a finger cast the Force really looked a bit beat up. All World needed ice packs back. Great individual efforts came through pressure and pain. Zoe struggled with a sore leg to tie up midfield and send balls into the corner. But she labored to make the extra step she normally might. And while MSH had a season highlight assist, she is still rehabbing her injured foot, playing herself back into shape. Emmi took a two hander in the lower back that forced her off the field, having defended hard the whole game. And Sawyer gamely hung in there after getting knocked hard to the ground (in fairness to the official, she got that call). Soon after, fleet footed Kyra went flying. Sophia battled (literally and figuratively) wonderfully all afternoon with an athletic Waza forward who did some damage against the Force in their last meeting.
Lauren played seemingly possessed, gasping for breath as she moved from play to play at midfield. The first half was certainly her's.Kudos to her for coming up with this kind of intensity at this point in the season.
The only other thing that seemed fresh were Kate's new orange, goalie gloves that work the same as the old ones. They catch most everything.
Kate's Dad wasn't sure where they came from, but Father's Day is coming up.
Next week: the playoffs. The Force seem now in first place of the 2nd Division U13Y (the Pacesetters now out). The most likely scenario. They play the winner of a Novi Jags Green 01/Waza match up Saturday evening, June 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment