10/16/08-AHS JV Girls Soccer vs Hammond High School...For some reason, a winning season always seems short. It was just a while ago that the team, parents and fans took that excursion into the Maryland countryside to play our first regular season game against Francis Scott Key High School. And here we are playing our final game of the season. And what a season it�s been for the AHS JV Girls Soccer team!! The AHS team played some incredible games, won many by huge goal differences and out-scored others that we simply had to beat. It all points to a team that developed great chemistry, skills, communication and a burning desire to win. All of those traits were on display in the final game against Hammond High where the team won by a score of 7 to 0. There was tremendous pressure on the opponent from the opening kick-off as all offensive positions on the AHS team moved forward and kept the ball in the opponent�s half. There were beautiful crosses from Tessa Scheckelhoff from the right field and shots on goal by Christina Downs from the left wing. Alex Fodel, Megan Johnson, Parisa Ayers and Ericka Rocke also took several shots from the top of the eighteen. Emily Pigott dribbled up from defense to threaten the goalie with a very powerful shot on goal that just skimmed the crossbar. Rebecca Leopold, realizing that the defensive position became very boring due to our total control of the midfield, beat several Hammond players up the middle and took a scorcher from the right of the eighteen that went just over the crossbar. The demolition of the Hammond team started ten minutes into the game when Katie Durso shook the back of the net from a cross by Christina Downs. The next two goals were delivered by Brianna Tinkle who was so relentless in her pursuit of goals; she scored both goals within four minutes. Her first goal was scored on a rebound pass from Sarah Renehan and her second, on a pass from Tessa. Rebecca Leopold was determined to shake off that boredom in defense by dribbling past three Hammond players and scoring the fourth goal, five minutes before the end of the first half. The second half started with the same extreme pressure in the opponent�s half as the first. In short order, Michele Hart made a beautiful short pass to Sara Renehan at the top of the six who immediately found the back of the net. The final goal was scored by Alex Fodel with a powerful right-footed shot from a pass by Ericka from left field. Our goalie Kimiya Memarzadeh had such an easy afternoon, she was subbed and allowed to play offense while Megan tended goal. Few penetrations into our half resulted in any threats on goal. The defense, which at times included Raven Rich, Allison Morton, Desiree Bodziony, Alex Fodel, Emily Pattillo, Rebecca Leopold and Emily Pigott did an awesome job containing the opponent�s attacks. Midfielders: Christina Downs, Megan Johnson, Michele Hart, Katie Durso and Ericka Rocke kept up the pressure by finding their targets with accurate passes. The entire team played an excellent game - a fitting end to a successful season. The team had 13 shots on goal, 5 serious threats, 3 free kicks and 5 corners. DID YOU KNOW? Second Sweeper The concept of having the goalkeeper push up to the edge of the Penalty Box (or even farther) when your team is pushed up on the attack so he can kick away long through balls (or long cleared balls) that the other team might kick into the open space behind the Full Backs. This can work very well in youth soccer on a larger field (e.g., U-10 or U-12) because the kids can only kick the ball 25-35 yards in the air; thus, the goalkeeper doesnt have to worry as much about getting kicked over as a high school goalkeeper would.