Xtreme 98 Red hosted Stafford's Revolution White team in the first game of a home double-header on Saturday. Revolution's girls are tall and fast and they quickly set about to try to take control of the pace of the game. They tested Sharky in goal twice in the first minute, and raced around the field, taking throw-ins in a matter of seconds, and charging full speed at the Xtreme defense.
Xtreme began to take the bait, seemingly abandoning their slower paced, methodical passing game that frustrates opponents and lulls them to sleep. The teams traded more than a half a dozen shots in the first half with fast breaks going in both directions. At about the 14 minute mark, Red took better control of the game, slowed it down some, and thrilled the crowd with great precision passing sequences that ended in great saves from the visiting keeper. Both keepers kept the offenses honest, and we went into the half knotted at nil.
Red seemed energized by their newly-asserted control, and Revolution, perhaps with several Red near misses replaying in their minds, seemed slightly more tenuous. And finally, at 42 minutes, Red's patience paid off. A Red corner kick led to several close range shots from inside the box, including a blistering one from the Taxman that ricocheted off a Revolution defender and landed on First Aid's foot. She knew what to do, blasting a shot and beating the keeper to the far post.
Just three minutes later, Sharky would send a booming punt well over the half line. Big Foot would collect it and dance around two Revolution players, sending a precision pass to the waiting Sunshine. She'd take two hops into the box, and with two defenders closing in, and the keeper challenging, take a quality shot to the far post – Xtreme was up 2-0.
Solid play from the entire squad, including 5 blocked shots from four players and 15 saves from Sharky, gave Xtreme their first regular season shut out and vaulted the team into sole possession of third place with a winning record of 3 wins, 2 losses, and zero ties.
But it wouldn't last.
On Sunday, Red took on the first place, undefeated SYC Stampede. Stampede had beaten Xtreme last year in the first game of the season, then surrendered a draw to Xtreme later in the year. Both teams wanted a win.
The field was slick with muddy patches from an early morning shower, and a strong wind blew in ominous clouds from the west – and the players took the field.
Xtreme went to work immediately, moving the ball well. This style of play is not something Stampede has seen this year, and it seemed to puzzle and frustrate them for a bit. The Stampede game is a long ball game that feeds off the speed of a few players to create fast break situations and then use dangerous physical play to break free of covering opponents. But Xtreme has speed in the back as well, and nothing if not toughness.
Early in the first half, Stampede won a loose ball in their own end and sent one of their fast strikers streaking down the field. Our own Hollywood caught the girl from behind and matched her stride for stride going into our box. Sharky also came out to challenge, and with the Stampede window closing, the girl's legs got tangled up with Hollywood's. The Stampede girl took the shot and gave Hollywood a shove as they all went down, and Hollywood came up holding her hamstring, and in pain. She would have to leave the field.
Finally, at 11 minutes, Stampede would break the tie. Stampede's only corner kick of the game would have the ball bouncing around the box, with Red unable to clear it. On their fourth attempted shot, Stampede found the back of the net.
But then Red would take over. For the final 14 minutes of the first half, Red controlled the ball, moving it around the field, probing the Stampede defense for a weak spot and only allowing two brief Stampede offensive runs with only one shot on goal. However, it was during one of these fast breaks that an SYC player, closing in on our goal, was caught on the angle by The Hammer. The girls collided, and the Stampede player gave The Hammer an extra push as she was going down. No call was made, but The Hammer would leave the game with a possible broken wrist and not return.
Stampede's defense is one that aims to take away shots from opponents by collapsing several defenders onto the player with the ball. Although this tactic left Red players open, the team had difficulty completing that final important pass to the open player. We would end up surrendering the ball, but then our defense quickly reclaimed it, and sent Red back on attack. Red's best scoring chance of the first half came when Sunshine would manage to get behind the defense on an outlet pass from the Professor. Sunshine was called offsides, however, as she had the ball when she beat the last defender, the call was mind-boggling.
The smothering Stampede defense saw to it the half would end 1-0, despite Red's on field dominance. Xtreme completed 71 passes in the first half on their way to a 121 all time high passing game.
The second half began the way the first half ended, with Xtreme controlling the ball and playing soccer, while the Stampede played a combination of kickball and rollerball.
The Sledgehammer, Taxman, and First Aid would create a great scoring chance for Red that would have tied the game when First Aid broke free of her double coverage in the box and fired a cannon at the goal. The shot loudly clanged off the post, but it showed everyone that Red was still fighting.
Then the rains came. Field conditions worsened and the ball became slick and hard to control. And that would work to Stampede's advantage. The starting putting multiple shots on Sharky – who turned away 11 in the second half – but finally at 56 minutes, the Stampede onslaught became too much. Sharky made a fantastic save on a low angle shot from her left, but the wet ball spun out of her hands and a waiting Stampede player knocked it the final three inches over the line. Three minutes later they would add a third goal in much the same way, and at 62 minutes a questionable non-call on an offsides player would add a fourth.
The game would end 4-0 for Stampede, but Xtreme demonstrated more skill and class than the visitors. It's a refrain many may be tired of hearing, but at the end of the day a classy loss is better for the soul than an ugly win.
The loss would put Xtreme back to 3 wins and 3 losses – a respectable .500. But then, a few hours later, we would received word from the league that they were going to force a forfeit on us for out 4/17 win over LMVSA Patriots. It was an unfortunate outcome, but it was technically correct. We did, unknowingly, use players who were ineligible – but the alternative was to forfeit the game up front or play with only 7 players against a full Patriot roster. We chose to play a proper game and hoped that the Patriot coaching staff would accept the game as merely a U12 soccer game. They didn't see it that way.
So Xtreme finds itself with a new record of 2-4 heading into the last part of the season. But we see no reason we can't climb back above .500 again – we'll take it one game at a time, beginning this Sunday, Mother's Day, against Celtic.
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