| PG won the kick-off, but the Cougars quickly stole the ball and were at the PG in the first minute with a shot from Jackie. Pouncing on the goal kick, the Cougars were immediately in charge, this time with Daniela getting a shot off. Again it was Daniela in the 5th minute, then Kate in the 7th with a freekick, then Daniela with another in the 10th. Total Cougar domination in the PG half, but time and space was severely limited with PG aggressively defending any Cougar with the ball, and their goalie making some key saves. The tackles were pretty strong, but the ref was letting it all go, and the Cougars were beginning to get frustrated. The PG fans were ecstatic every time the ball moved into the Cougar half, but solid defensive work from Isabelle and Laura in the center was destroying their attacks. Kate and Daniela both had chances in the 18th and 25th minutes respectively, before PG broke through to drive a powerful shot at the Cougar goal. A solid save from Gen and the Cougars were back on the prowl around the PG 18. Kate had a chance in the 33rd minute. Then the Cougars put the hammer down and pounded the PG goal, the ball desperately cleared of the line in the 37th minute, then shots from Sarah and Isabelle in the 38th and 39th minutes. Despite the domination, the halftime score was 0 – 0, the Cougars shaking their heads in disbelief that they were not ahead. The Cougars opened the second half strongly and were at the PG goal within minutes – Sarah had another go at 42 minutes, Blair at the 45th and then Daniela at the 47th. PG countered quickly from this shot, and with the Cougars pushed high, PG was able to get through and get off their second shot of the game – again well taken by Gen! The Cougars counter-attacked, the ball played deep into the right corner with Daniela pulling her marks out, only to push a short ball into the corner for Jackie to cross to the far post. Kendra controlled it, shot, bounced it of a defender, won it back, cut inside to her right foot, slotted it past the goalie to make it 1 – 0! This relieved a lot of pressure on the Cougars, and despite unrelenting physical pressure from PG, they began to move the ball around with more confidence again. Shots from Isabelle and Jackie kept the pressure on PG until the 62nd minute when Daniela was finally able to spin and beat her mark to make it 2 – 0! Then it was Blair and Kate keeping the PG defense on their toes before solid 1 v 1 skills had Kate win the ball outside the 18 and drive in to make it 3 – 0 in the final minute. A tough physical match with all 11 players making a significant contribution towards a well deserved victory! GO COUGARS! |