Varsity Girls Victorious in Valiant Home Opener

With the leaves decked out in their best fall colours and a snap in the air, the Cougars came to play from the opening whistle in their first match at home. Down three regular players, including co-captain Avery and two forwards, Tata and Caroline B., the squad was buoyed by the additions of three 6th-graders who down to the field at the end of their classes to arrive right at the stroke of kickoff. 

The Storm had the balance of the play for large spells of the first 15 minutes of the match, as the athletic forwards tried to isolate the Cougar back line in one-v-one situations. But each time Clare, Caroline I. or Daisy found themselves one-on-one, a second defender was always in position to clean up in the rare case the attacker was able to get by the Cougar defender. Sloane gave the team critical width on the left, as the field seemed tilted to the NCCS defensive left, and her spacing allowed the Cougars to play out of tough situations. But just as the visitors began to believe that their pressure might produce a goal, the Cougars turned the match on its head in the blink of an eye. Ella found Nat streaking in from her right-midfield position in the Cougar midfield. Nat beat one player and measured a pass to Victoria at the base of the midfield circle. Her first touch set her up perfectly to measure a pass back to Nat that sent her straight through on goal. She was able to fight off the desperate shoulder challenge from the retreating center defender and laser a finish into the bottom right corner to give NCCS a surprising lead given the run of play. 

The goal invigorated the hosts, and play became much more even. Luna entered the fray at left midfield and partnered well with Lillian at left wing to put consistent pressure on the St. Luke’s right back and keep the ball in the attacking third for a long spell. Shortly before the halftime whistle, it was a half-clearance from the other side under pressure from Quinn, who worked tirelessly at right wing, that was intercepted by Nat. She beat one player, then drove a 20-yard diagonal pass into the feet of Victoria a few strides inside the penalty area on the left side. She dropped her shoulder to the left, took a touch onto her right foot and drilled her finish across the keeper into the right side-netting to double the lead.

The Cougars took the two-nil lead into the half, and while there was a lot of positivity in the halftime team discussion, it mostly focused on the fact that the job was only half done. The second half saw another bout of pressure come from the visitors as they poured players forward. The defense had thwarted almost every attack in the first half without need of intervention from their goalkeeper, but in the early going of the second half, Hannah needed to be alert on multiple occasions, coming out to snag long passes and making two smart, quick reaction saves. St. Luke’s was able to finally pull one goal back with 12 minutes to go, and the Cougars looked to be destined for a nervy finish. 

However, the NCCS reaction to the goal was fantastic, as the Cougars elevated their game and went on the attack. Keira, who played an excellent game at center forward, stretching and pressuring the visitors’ defense, made an outstanding run and was played clean in on goal with a defender right on her shoulder. She managed to take a perfect touch in the open field and fire a shot from the 12 yards out that the St. Luke’s keeper miraculously kept out. Shortly after, instead of rueing the missed chance, NCCS kept up the pressure and was rewarded for the persistence. Victoria took a throw-in from the attacking right side and to spring Nat in toward the goal. An excellent recovery run by the left back made her turn back and return the ball to Victoria on the sideline. She then drew both defenders and dinked a clever little chip pass back to Nat streaking back in from the corner of the box, and Nat lofted an absolutely exquisite finish from a tight angle well over the keeper and into the far upper left corner to restore the two-goal advantage. 

While a series of corners for the visitors in the closing minutes helped them pull a goal back to make it 3-2, the resolute defending of defensive center midfielder Ella and the aforementioned back three helped the Cougars capture their first win of the season. It was an excellent team effort and they look to take the momentum into their match on Tuesday after the long weekend.