Man, did we move the ball. The field, although bouncy, played quick and true once the ball was brought to ground, and the Red & White took full advantage. Player Of The Game Natalia Chenier was that Maestro In The Middle, winning in the midfield and distributing perfectly weighted passes – she can make it look so easy – but she was not alone on this day, as her vision and execution seemed to rub off on her teammates. Everybody was in the right spot, making the right play. Triangles were everywhere. In fact, I would bet my favourite cap right now that there were at least 20 one-touch give-n-go’s during this game, which is the most I’ve seen from a Stanstead team, maybe ever.

 

Man, did we move the ball.

 

All this possession resulted in some pretty plays. Natalia opened the scoring with a cruise missile from the top left corner of the 18 after a Camryn/Emilie foray up the left side – great to have you back, Emilie! Then, only 4 minutes later, another left side tic-tac-attack earned us a corner, which Camryn looped perfectly into the box and Lana headed directly in for the first headed-in goal of the season! (It was so nice, even her dad complimented her on it… kinda).

 

And it didn’t stop there. With SC continuing to own the ball and apply pressure, Jadin jumped on an Emilie rebound and buried it for her first goal(!) of the season. And then, just before half, in the Play Of The Game, Avah corralled a cleared ball at centre back, sent it out wide to Valerie at left back, who found Camryn out wide, who took a touch and fed Nat in the middle, who carried for two touches then sent Emilie in for a clean (saved) shot on goal. Just to recap, the ball went from our centre back to our striker via four passes, without Richmond coming close to the ball, and without Richmond making a mistake. So beautiful when soccer is played like that.

 

So frustrating, too, for our opponents. Chasing the ball that much is never fun – trust me, we’ve been on the other end of it – and the second half saw the Raiders lose some intensity. We only scored one more goal – Jana with her first of the year(!) after yet another give-n-go with Nat – but we dominated the ball just as much, with every player, and I mean EVERY girl in a red jersey, playing unselfishly, with purpose and looking to make plays.

 

What a game! Final score 4-0. Five wins vs zero losses in the ETIAC. Undefeated until we ain’t.

 

But we interrupt this Banner-chasing program for a brief interlude, i.e. the best trip of the year. Next up – CAIS.

 

Coaches VD & K