Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Ford Field, Allen, Texas

Playing on another frigidly cold night, the Lady Eagles hosted the Plano West Lady Wolves at Ford Field in Allen.  The mercury had dropped to 35 F at game time and the winds were gusting out of the north at 15 mph.  Playing into the wind made it more difficult for the Eagles to clear the ball out of their defensive end.  The Lady Wolves took advantage and quickly struck four minutes into the game on a rolling shot into the net from the top left corner of the goal box.  Balls kicked high by the Eagles were losing trajectory and it was a battle to move the ball into the attacking end.  In the 30^th minute of the first half, Plano West won a free-kick from just outside the top right of the penalty box.  The ball was headed off the free-kick by an opponent into the cross bar then it deflected down and, although it appeared to be covered in front of the goal line, the visitors were awarded their second goal.  With the temperature now at freezing and the wind biting, lesser teams might have folded. It soon became apparent though that Lady Eagles were determined not to let this happen on their home field.  They pieced together several attempts to score then, in 39^th minute, Marissa Allen sent a ball from behind the midfield stripe to 20 yards into the Plano West side.  As the ball hit the ground and bounced high, Kailey Anders smartly headed the ball to the feet of Janaye Woods as she was streaking past on her left.  Woods touched the ball ahead twice in full stride before making a sliding 10-yard kick past the oncoming keeper and into the left corner of the goal. 

Despite trailing 1-2 to start the second half, the Lady Eagles’ spirits were clearly buoyed and, with the wind at their backs, began to win the possession battle.  Six minutes in, Kelsey Wise was pushed to the ground while dribbling across the circle into the Plano West side.  Kelley Ricker lofted the free-kick 40 yards to drop it just inside the goal box.  As the keeper slid to cover the ball, it bounced off her and high into the air where Wise leapt to head it into the back of the net and tie the score at 2-2.  The Eagles barely missed on several additional scoring opportunities but a key defensive play was made in the 17^th minute of the second half.  Brittany Jagger made a diving save on a Plano West shot headed to the right upper 90 thwarting their effort to regain the lead.  With four minutes remaining in the match, Anders won a corner kick for the Eagles on the left side.  Ricker’s kick bounced across the front of the goal to the right side where Loreli Ramsey tapped a right-footer six yards into the goal for the game winner.  The final score was Allen 3, Plano West 2, and the Lady Eagles improved their season record to 11-0 (4-0 in District 9-5A).  They will be back on the road for their next district match Friday night, February 16, at Richardson.