The Force U12 girls got back into game action tonite (10PM!!) after what seemed to be a long break (it was, in fact, only two weeks but such is the bizarre, continual cadence of travel soccer that a two week interruption seems "long").
The girls played well -- even without strong defender Emmi and playmaker Rhea -- but the results were all too familiar. The girls fell into last place with a 2-1 loss to the Michigan Impact.
This was a particularly tough loss as the girls put together nice combinations all night. Lauren, Grace and Annabelle made superb passes and Kyra outhustled Impact defenders. Surprisingly, though, with all this good ball movement, the first goal was something of a fluke: Christina scored from a wacky angle to put the Force ahead about ten minutes in. The Impact got one back on yet another misguided backpass.
The Force controlled play. Jill was simply brilliant, moving the ball from her left defender spot into an attacking position. Zoe played a terrific game on defense while taking a number of tough hits from an outsized forward. Sophie played well, too.
Soccer officiating remains something of a mystery to me. I simply don't understand how a single player can foul on every contact with the ball and continue with the game. But...
So it was tough when the Impact got the go ahead goal on a single defensive breakdown when the Force got caught outnumbered.
We do have July to look forward to.
