| On January 20th, 2011 the Scotts Valley Falcons traveled to Depot Field in Santa Cruz to play the Harbor Pirates. The weather was clear and the turf field conditions were good. Harbor entered the game with a season record of 6 wins and 1 loss while their SCCAL record was 4 wins and 1 loss. Harbor is a well coached team that has had a very deserving successful start to their 2010-11 season. The young Falcons entered the game with several injured players and a need to get back on a winning tract. The first half started with both teams trying to control the ball and tempo. The Falcons quickly mobilized an attack on the Pirate net. In the 7th minute senior captain Aly Bothman took a free kick from midfield and lofted it perfectly towards the goal. Junior captain Jordin Carlson settled the ball from approximately 15 yards out and fired the ball into the right side of the net by the leaping Pirate goalkeeper. The play went back and forth when junior Taylor Rohde was asked to kick a corner kick from the right corner of the field. In the 36th minute Jordin Carlson leaped up to a perfectly centered ball and headed it over the Pirate goalkeeper and into the back of the net for a score. The first half had the Falcons with 4 shots on goal while the Pirates had 0 shots on goal. The first half ended with the score being, Falcons 2 to Pirates 0. The second half was equally intense and physical by both teams. The second half had the Falcons with 1 shot on goal while several shots missed the goalie frame. The Pirates ended up with 3 shots on goal in the second half. The score ended, Falcons 2 to Pirates 0. The Falcon forwards had a good game with constant runs up the wings and shots towards the goal. The forwards were led by Jordin Carlson, junior captain Emily Payne, Taylor Rohde, sophomore Olivia Gonzalez, junior Jaemi Mansfield and freshman Ianthe Tozer. The Falcon midfielders played a fantastic game challenging the Pirates midfield players and forwards all game. The midfielders were led by sophomore Madison Black, freshman Lena Gustafsson, junior Ranae Maloney, junior Kathryn Balch and junior Jessica Romeo. The defense once again performed great while shutting down the Pirate attack most of the game. The Falcon defense settled the ball and started a counter attack consistently on the Pirate team. The defense was led by very good performances by Aly Bothman, sophomore Rachel DuBridge, junior Kalynn Morano, sophomore Kacey Lilly and freshman Megan Keating. The Falcon goalkeeping was once again solid and strong. Sophomore goalkeeper Emily Johnson recorded her 5th shutout (in 8.5 games) of the season while stopping 3 second half shots on goal. Emily kept the Pirates out of goal with her directing of the defense and aggressive play. Emily Johnson was also instrumental towards helping the Falcon counter attack with big kicks from goal. |