Opening Night

Game 1: vs. Blue Valley, 22 March (2-0)

Well, we opened against one of the best teams on paper in the entire area in Blue Valley. They are loaded, bringing back virtually everyone from a team that lost only in playoffs to state champs, BV West.

So, this match is a great result for us. And as Coach Hammons points out, early matches have a lot to do with deadballs and defense. We scored twice, but only off two set pieces, and we kept the sheet clean giving up only one shot on goal for the night.

BWhite IDed both Mallory Heying and Maggie Ryan as his BWhite Players of the Match.  Maggie just has a knack for getting a foot or a head on everything that comes her way, and she did that twice tonight.  First, Alex Moss lifted a long deadball from 40 that Maggie got a foot on to drive in, and then off a Higgerson corner, Maggie headed the ball to Alex's foot for our second goal. Big time.

Now, we could have scored a few more as Bryson just had a great rip that rang the top of the bar, and Grace struck another one that glanced off the back post, and those don't even count a couple of great setups for Janky that she just missed.

More impressive was the defensive pressure that we applied all of the field. To hold such a team, to virtually nothing dangerous reechoed Coach Hammon's mantra that "everyone plays defense." But the reason that defense works so well is its defensive center midfielder, Mallory Heying (BWhite's Devonte Graham).

Mo-Kan starts in just two days, and we open with Park Hill who just finished whacking Lee's Summit, 3-0.  We will have to be ready for a very good match again.

Nice opener.

STATS:

First Half:

Saints: Shots: 4 (2)  Corners: 2 (Bryson, Chalabi)

11:45 Ryan (Moss lifts the long-dead ball to the big box)

Blue Valley: Shots: 0 Corners: 0

Second Half:

Saints:  Shots: 7 (6) Corners:  4 (Bryson 2, O'Keefe, Ramaekers)

27:12 Moss (Higgerson bends the right-footed corner in for Ryan's header to the ground)

Blue Valley: Shots: 2 (1)