Xtreme Cracks the Goose Egg

There are five teams in the WAGS U12 yet to score a point in the standings (3 points for a win, one for a tie). Xtreme 98 Red is not among them. Xtreme, robbed of points last week in Maryland, played host this weekend to CYA Cesena determined to right that wrong and crack that Points Goose Egg.

With Coach Lance out of town, the team called up two CITs (Coaches-in-training), Manager Mike and STAR Heather. Coach Lance told them they wouldn't have too much to do, that the girls are self-starters, know what they need to do and know how to make adjustments themselves. He was right. Mike and Heather did little more than watch the clock to help manage substitutions. (Despite this, Mike was seen leaving the field with more grey hair than when he arrived.)

The girls opened the game with a quick attack and several tic-tac-toe passing plays that demonstrated rising mastery. Those skills intimidated Cesena, and the team, much to their coaches' chagrin, gave every Xtreme player a wide berth.

Xtreme, not known for fast breaks, mounted several during this game. In every case, it was a result of teamwork, precision passing, and anticipation. In one instance, The Professor won the ball from a Cesena attacker and sent it across to The Hammer who has sliding into position to help. She booted the ball with a nice lead to Big Foot, which enabled her to step into the ball and blast it ahead to open field. Happy Feet saw the play developing and exploded through the defense, settled the ball with two touches, and ripped a shot right on target. Unfortunately, the Cesena keeper was on her game and made the stop.

Space Ghost also added two fast breaks; the Red defense won the ball from Cesena and sent it to the Taxman in the middle, who led the streaking Space Ghost perfectly both times. Again, the Cesena keeper would earn her stripes.

Fans may have thought they had to have their ears and eyes checked – First Aid was out of town and not playing – yet Xtreme players and coaches were still yelling to an Aidan wearing the RED. Those fans heard correctly. Aidan2 and her family recently moved to the area from California and agreed to join us for this game, and hopefully the remainder of the season. Aidan2 made her presence felt immediately, dominating the left side and making it onto our stat leader board after just one game. Aidan2 took three shots in the game – and they were all on target, giving her a 100% accuracy rating. (Maybe there's something about that uniform?)

Xtreme took less shots in this game than they have been recently, but the shots and shots on goal were well distributed. The Hammer shot on target from distance three times, and Big Foot shot from distance twice – both times on target. The Taxman took four shots, three on target, and seemed determined to earn another assist as she set her charging teammates up nicely several times. The Sledgehammer and Space Ghost also added SOGs, but the leader for the day was Happy Feat with five shots – all on target.

Xtreme keeper Sharkey turned nine shots away in the first half and then returned to goal at the end of the game to face one more shot. The Taxman took a turn in goal in the second half for the ailing Happy Feet. Taxman turned away four shots, remaining perfect in goal this season.

Red very badly wanted to break the tie late in the game, and the Xtreme forwards and midfielders, Sunshine, Taxman, The Professor, Happy Feet, and Aidan2 were circling the penalty area like hungry sharks – but in the end, the Cesena keeper was able to shut them down.

The game ended a 0-0 draw, which was enough to earn Red their first point of the season. The two remaining games of the season are rematches – and with Xtreme hitting their stride, the front office feels good about picking up more points as the season comes to a close.

Xtreme Unable to Finish Off Attack

Xtreme and their families braved the John Hanson Highway and Renaissance enthusiasts to take on ASA Attack in the team's farthest road game to date in Crownsville, Maryland. The Attack showed impressive skills during warm-ups, however, these skills did not translate to the game and Red very much had their way with Attack during the game's opening minutes. As practiced and planned, the Red offense and mid-fielders kept the home team predicable and back on their heels, driving them into the far corners of their own zone. Red came away with some quality scoring chances early, but it would be Attack who would score first at 11 minutes on a broken Xtreme play.

Just five minutes later, the Attack would suffer their own broken play when a poorly driven goal kick would be plucked out of the air by a hungry and waiting First Aid. She pulled the ball out of the air, settled it with two touches and then blasted a shot over the keeper to the far post and the back of the net.

The teams then traded scoring chances, with Xtreme relying on finesse and precision passing, whereas Attack seized opportunities from broken Red plays and errant passes. GK Sharkey kept Red in the game making seven quality saves, until finally, at 25 minutes, Attack broke the tie. An intercepted Xtreme pass set up an Attack attacker inside the penalty area. She blasted a shot that rocked the crossbar and, luckily for her, landed at her feet. She finished it the second time and we'd head into the half with Attack up 2-1.

Just seven minutes into the second half Attack would add to their lead when a loose ball in the box got behind all of Xtreme and a waiting Attack player nudged it across the goal line.

But Xtreme is no stranger to playing from behind, and the girls absolutely screwed on their game faces, determined to come back. Happy Feet settled all further questions in the goal, turning away six good chances, and Red kept the pressure on, whereas Attack began to tire and foul. With time running down, Red through everything they had at the Attack defense, and they were rewarded.

At 68 minutes, Sharkey, chasing down a loose ball was fouled, setting up an indirect kick. Big Foot sent the ball into the penalty area where it bounced around the three Red attackers until it found itself on the Taxman's foot. She didn't hesitate, slamming it past the sprawling Attack keeper.

As always, Xtreme played right up to the final whistle, but in the end, there would not be enough clock in this game. The match ended two minutes later, 3-2. Had there been an additional five minutes in the game, there's no doubt Xtreme would have tied the game or won, but that's why there's a clock.

Xtreme players turned in an impressive, never-say-die performance, which the referee commented on to Coach Lance after the game. "Your girls played a very nice game out there," the veteran official said. "I liked their offensive play – very nice."

Xtreme looks forward to hosting CYA Cesna next week at Sprague, and they hope to come away with the first regular season win of the season.

“Sometimes the Best Team Doesn’t Win”

Coach Sherry summed it up nicely in his post game meeting with players and parents. Sometimes one team outplays another, but for a few unlucky bounces they don't win. And that was the story from the VIP Tournament's Semi-final match up today between Xtreme 98 Red and Team America 98 United.

Red and Team America are familiar with each other, have tangled several times before, in indoor winter play and in previous tournaments, and even trading players back and forth in the winter leagues. Red leads Team America in their series 3-0, but today, Team America wanted revenge and a shot at the Championship Game. They would get both.

Red came out strong, determined to return to that final game and dominating Team America. Xtreme sent shot after shot whistling towards the TA goalkeeper, who stayed strong, facing down shots and effectively tracking shots going wide.

Finally, at 19 minutes the Taxman and "Laces" Liv combined for two dangerous scoring opportunities, and then sent the ball back out of the box to Big Foot who was streaking in from defense. She lobbed a shot over everyone's head, including the leaping Team America keeper to find the back of the net and send Xtreme up 1-0.

Red tried desperately to add to their lead before the end of the half, but were stymied, despite spending the vast majority of the half in the offensive zone. Goal keeper Happy Feet only faced three TA shots, all of which she handled with ease.

But the second half was a different game entirely. Red, perhaps frustrated by their inability to score again, had difficulty containing a Team America team that adjusted to the precision passing, possession game Xtreme was playing.

At 36 minutes the referee made a somewhat questionable call against Xtreme that resulted in the Team America equalizer – on what appeared to be a TA handball that left goalkeeper Happy Feet in agony.

And it continued to unravel from there.

Sensing Xtreme back on their heels, Team America struck again one minute later, adding a go-ahead goal against an injured
Red keeper who lacked full mobility and a defense trying to regroup.

Xtreme had no choice but to pull the injured Happy Feet from goal and replace her with the Taxman, whose 4 shots and 5 shots on goal showed how hungry she was for her third goal of the tournament.

On the very next play, head defender Big Foot went down and had to leave the game.

TA played a smart game, taking four more shots on goal and making sure Xtreme had to cover the full distance of the field on every attack – of which their were several.

Jessie, The Hammer, and Space Ghost settled the defense down and kept the offense on the attack for much of the final eight minutes of the game; The Professor, First Aid, and Laces would combine for 16 shots on goal – half of which came in the final five minutes.

But it would not be enough. Team America was able to hold on to the lead and outlast Xtreme, 2-1.

They took on Great Falls in the Championship game, losing 4-0.

Though the final outcome of the tournament was not what Xtreme had hoped for, the front office and coaching staff are very pleased with the performance of every player – and every player contributed.

Across three games, nine players took 78 shots - 51 on goal (65%). Six players scored eight goals and Xtreme keepers faced 25 shots, ceding only 4 goals (84%). Xtreme also posted a higher time of ball possession than their opponents across all three games.

The front office and coaching staff want to thank all the players for giving it their all this weekend, all the parents for getting the girls to those early games on time, and a special thank you to our two guest players, Liv and Jessie and their families – they're welcome back anytime!

VIP Tournament 2011 is October 8-9, 2011. Mark your calendars!

Xtreme’s Footwork Carries Them Into VIP Playoffs

Xtreme 98 Red returned to the VIP Tournament with a definite goal in mind: return to the Championship Game and win it. Fans will recall last year's impressive Xtreme performance when the squad went 2-1-0 to reach the Championship game - a game they ultimately lost to a fast-breaking FASA team.

With FASA unwilling or unable to defend their title, Xtreme entered the tournament as the heir apparent, and the girls got to work early.

Taking on the high-scoring Alexandria Revolution Red, Xtreme started moving the ball well, pressuring the Revolution keeper early and often. Revolution would break the stalemate at 7 minutes with a breakaway goal on just their second shot on goal of the game.

But Xtreme is comfortable playing catch-up – and catch-up they did. At 11 minutes The Professor stood a Revolution attacker up on the left side, came away with the ball and carried it past another attacker, sending a perfect pass ahead to Space Ghost waiting at mid-field. Space Ghost carried the ball through the mid-field and sent Sunshine on a run to goal that ended with the first Red goal of the tournament.

And the floodgates opened.

On the ensuing kick-off, the guesting Jessie would rock the post with a shot that threatened to lift the goal off it's moorings. One minute later, at 13 minutes, Jessie would steal the ball from Revolution and drive a laser into the back of the net for the go-ahead goal.

The remainder of the first half was all Xtreme. Happy Feat faced no more shots, while the Taxman would add two more unassisted goals, at 15 minutes and 18 minutes.

In the second half, Xtreme picked up where they had left off – First Aid would lend an assist to the guesting Liv 2 minutes into the half to make it 5-1. One minute later, First Aid would steal the ball from the Revolution, dribble through most of the team, and call her own number, putting the ball away for the sixth and final goal of the game.

All told, Xtreme put 28 shots on net and sent 10 more wide or high. Xtreme keepers faced only three shots – one turned away by Happy Feet, and one turned away by Taxman who spent the closing minutes of the game in goal. Effective defense from Big Foot, The Hammer, and the Sledgehammer kept Red's offense buzzing around the Revolution net, and accurate passing and creative decision making would send Xtreme away with a decisive victory.

Game 2, against the hosting Great Falls Spirit, would not be such a high scoring affair, but would be a well-played chess match.

Xtreme would put only 6 shots on goal all game, but one of them, at the 8 minute mark, would find the back of the net when Big Foot fed First Aid for the go-ahead goal.

Meanwhile Happy Feet was kept busy in the Red goal, turning away 5 quality shots in the first half.

The game was evenly matched and well-played, with First Aid running a footwork clinic that frustrated and stymied the Great Falls defense; and a solid Xtreme defense led by Jessie, Big Foot, and The Hammer. Solid performances were turned in by all the players, including Happy Feet in goal who came up with 5 more big saves. Finally, however, Great Falls would grab the equalizer in the 47^th minute.

The game would end in a draw – enough for Xtreme to at least take second place in the Division and secure a play-off spot. Xtreme's play-off schedule would depend on the outcome of the Great Falls/Alexandria game – a game the hosts would win 9-0. With Great Falls and Xtreme with identical records and a tie in head-to-head competition it was goal differential that would push GF ahead of Xtreme. Xtreme would take on old rival Team America United in the semi-final game on Sunday morning.

If Wasn’t For Bad Luck, Xtreme Wouldn’t Have Any At All

Xtreme took the field against Potomac Red on Sunday, and on paper the teams were well-matched. They were also well matched on the bench – finally the substitution-light Xtreme would not be going up against constantly fresh legs – both teams entered the game with 10 players.

The game opened slowly with both teams testing each other and the turf field that provided many odd bounces. The first half seemed to mostly be played between the two 18s, with neither team mounting much offense. The Xtreme keeper was only asked to make two saves in the half, and the Xtreme offense generated a season low 5 shots on goal all game.

Finally the stalemate was broken in the 42^nd minute when a Potomac breakaway led to a goal. Two minutes later, Potomac would add another one with a weirdly spinning ball. But it was the Potomac goals that somehow sparked Xtreme to life, as suddenly the squad began pressuring the Potomac defense.

With time winding down, Xtreme finally found the back of the net in the 64^th minute, when the Taxman pounced on a blocked shot, took two steps to space, and hammered the ball past the Potomac keeper.

With the Xtreme offense energized, Potomac switched to an effective lead-protecting, run-out-the-clock game plan. Potomac substituted the farthest player from the bench at every break in the action during the final 6 minutes. Xtreme provided an exciting finish with Big Foot and the Hammer sending a surging Happy Feet ahead on two breakaways in the final minutes, but it would be an all too familiar case of "too-little too-late."

Xtreme had hoped to head into the Columbus Day Tournament break with a win, instead they logged a somewhat frustrating 2-1 loss to a team they outplayed most of the game. The squad looks ahead to the VIP Tournament where they were finalists last year.