Sleepy Xtreme Falls to SAC Celtic’s Long Ball Game

It was a beautiful day for soccer up in Columbia, Maryland on Mother's Day Sunday; the sun was shining, a light breeze was blowing, and the moms in attendance looked resplendent. Both clubs looked sharp in bright red and bright blue kits as they observed a moment of silence for Mavis Derflinger, one of the pioneers of girls' soccer in our region and the nation.

But the fans would not only be mourning the passing of a soccer legend this day – they would also mourn the Xtreme precision passing game which failed to make the trek to Maryland.

Celtic got started early, peppering the Xtreme keeper with shots – she would make 13 saves in the first half. At nine minutes, a Celtic cross into the box found two well-defended Celtic players, but an alert Celtic midfielder charged forward and found herself all alone at the far post where she was able to knock the ball across the line when it squirted free to her.

Xtreme logged only 33 passes in the first half – a season low. Perhaps the referee mistakenly signaling the half at the 30 minute mark was a blessing in disguise – it would give Red a chance to regroup. (The referee indicated he would add time in the second half to make up for his error.)

And regroup they did. Red came out down 1-0, and immediately got into the game - forcing corner kicks, logging 50 passes, and generating several exciting scoring chances. But the blue keeper used the slow field and soft ball to her advantage and made many exciting saves.

The Red keeper also made many thrilling saves, punching shots out left and right and over the bar much to the chagrin of the home team fans. She made 14 saves in the half, but would not escape unscathed. In the 38^th minute Celtic took a corner, the Red keeper made the initial save, but could not control the rebound. A pile-up in front of the goal ensued, and Celtic got the lucky bounce after our keeper made another save, a defender blocked a shot, and our keeper took a boot to the ribs – they were up 2-0.

Red continued to pressure, but the Celtic keeper and defense did an effective job of keeping their team on offense. A long ball played up at 54 minutes would find a streaking Celtic keeper who may have had a step on the kick. She scored. The referee looked over at his STAR, but no offsides was signaled so the goal stood and that was how the game ended, 3-0.

Xtreme will regroup from this and hopefully find their game in time for next week's home match up against cross-county rival McLean.