Xtreme Comes Up Short Against Vienna

In Xtreme's fourth league game in as many game days the girls showed signs of the wear and tear of a heavily front-loaded schedule. The girls took on the Vienna Comets, a team with which we've tangled in the past. The Xtreme roster is quite different today, but the outcome was not. Vienna dominated the first half, peppering Xtreme's keeper with shots and would go on to win the game 3-0.

However, our keeper, Amalia, should win the Xtreme Hard Hat of the game for her outstanding play. She faced more than 20 quality shots, turning the vast majority of them away in thrilling fashion as she threw herself from one side of the goal to the other and leaping up to punch shots over the crossbar (as in the photo at below).

Despite Amalia's fantastic performance, Vienna was able to find the back of the net 3 times in the first half while Xtreme mustered only one shot on goal – a free kick awarded to Reina, fouled as she led Xtreme's first attack of the game.

The second half was an entirely different game – Amalia remained in goal and continued to do cartwheels and stand on her head to blank Vienna in the half. Kendall, Caitlin, and Erin L tightened up our defense, severely limiting the number of shots Vienna was able to take in the half and keeping the ball out of our zone. But the Xtreme offense of Emma, Aiden, Teah, Audrey, and Madison was not able to jump start any meaningful attacks.

With a grueling open to the season and several players nursing injuries, Xtreme heads into the third week of the season with a much needed bye. A rejuvenated Xtreme will take the pitch Saturday, May 1 against old rivals, CYA Freedom 98 Purple, and a W is more than possible.

Xtreme Notches First Win of the Regular Season

They say revenge is a dish best served cold. How about served with a side of extreme wind? On Saturday, Xtreme 98 Red took a ride to the Prince William County home of the Junior Majestics, who only a week earlier had rudely scored a goal in the last minute of play to break a hard fought 2-2 tie. Xtreme was thinking about nailing down the W, and they had a fire lit under them.

Heavy winds, blowing hard towards the Xtreme goal for the first half, added some extra danger to Majestic corners (2) and crossing shots. It also meant our defense had to tighten down on the Majestic's fastest player - #22, who liked to linger near the center line, waiting to be sprung on a breakaway.

It was just such a combination of Majestic speed, wind at their backs and an unfortunate bounce that had Xtreme knock in an own goal at the four minute mark. More damaging than the goal was that the play resulted in Erin G. "The Hammer" limping off the field with a hyper-extended knee. She would not return and would miss Xtreme's next match on Sunday.

But Xtreme – scrappy fighters that they are – don't mind clawing their way back into a game. And ten minutes later they answered the Majestics with a goal: Laura put a foot skills show on and sent a blistering cross to Emma at the far post. Emma tapped the ball home and it rolled across the line at an agonizingly slow pace.

Xtreme controlled the pace of the game, effectively moving the ball around the field to test the Majestic defense and keeper from all sides. Emma and Aiden both sent 4 shots at the goal, Madison and Audrey would each add a shot, but the player with the keeper's number was absolutely Laura. Not only did she distribute the ball nicely to her fellow forwards, she took 8 shots herself before the game was done.

Amalia played well in goal, turning away 4 quality Majestic shots and the half ended tied 1-1.

Kendall, who with partners Caitlin and Erin L "The Taxman", had built a wall in front of our goal, took the keeper's jersey for the second half. Caitlin and The Taxman were joined on defense by Elizabeth and Amalia who effectively shut down the Majestics fast-paced offense. The home team only mustered 2 shots in the second half, both of which were turned away by Kendall.

At the 46 minute mark, Xtreme put together another long passing sequence, playing keep-away from the Majestics. The sequence ended when The Taxman sent Aiden racing down the flank – she beat her players and sent a well-timed ball to Laura who was waiting in the box to blast the go-ahead goal home.

Despite great pressure from the Majestics during the final 10 minutes of the game, Xtreme was able to protect their lead, blocking shots, and pressing for a third goal themselves.

The entire squad had an impressive game, everyone contributing and playing their game. Which goes to show what the girls can do when they put their mind to it. But would they be able to keep up the intensity for a game against old WAGS rival, VYS Comets on Sunday? We shall see.

Xtreme and Freedom Draw in Interclub Match

The Red took on one of their sister teams from ABGC, Freedom 98, on Sunday in the second match of the season. Many of the players know each other well, having played rec soccer together or on basketball teams together. The teams also shared players last season and occasionally during the last several winter indoor season. As a result, or perhaps because of the game the day before and the severe heat on Sunday, this match moved at a slower pace.

The teams felt each other out, alternating games of keep-away. Erin L. started in goal and successfully turned away four shots, including one that had her sprawling across the goal mouth to pounce on a rebound. Both teams quickly realized that with solid goal keeping at both ends, this was going to be a game that would be won in the trenches – a war of attrition to see who would make the first mistake. The level of physical play intensified in both directions, with our defense, led by Erin G., Kendall, and Caitlin collapsing in on Freedom attackers to limit their chances, but with Freedom pushing right back – and hard.

The game was plagued by inconsistent officiating that focused more on throw ins than the increasing physicality of the game, something that would come back to take a toll on both teams later in the game.

Emma, Aiden, and visiting Teah combined for five quality shots on the Freedom keeper – all were saved. Madison would add a shot as well, but saw limited playing time due to her sore knee and allergies that were bothering her. The first half ended as it had started, 0-0.

There was more of the same deliberate play in the second half, until the 45 minute mark when Caitlin, once again, reclaimed the ball deep in her end, and charged past Freedom attackers and mid-fielders only to be fouled in the Freedom half. The referee called a direct kick, and Caitlin, as we all knew she could, bent the ball around the Freedom wall slamming it into the back of the net from 30 yards out.

The failure of the referee to warn the girls effectively on physical play finally resulted in injuries to players on both sides. "The Hammer" and the very aggressive Freedom player she had been battling all day, collided hard and both players went down. True to form, "The Hammer" popped up first, but both players took a breather. Megan went in at defense, and despite nursing an injured angle, was able to hold her gorund admirably, helping Erin L and Caitlin protect our one goal lead. Kendall turned away five Freedom shots, including a rising shot that she was just able to get her fingers on to send over the crossbar.

At the 52 minute mark Freedom tallied the tying goal from what seemed to be an impossible angle to our keepers' left, and the teams would fight hard in the final 8 minutes for a winning goal. So hard, in fact, that we saw, for what may have been the first time in team history, a yellow card come out for an opponent.

Audrey "Space Ghost" had the best opportunity to break the tie when our defense sent her ahead with a beautiful ball. The Freedom keeper misread the pass and found herself woefully out of position. "Space Ghost" took two touches and fired right on net, but the bumpy field said "no," and a large divot slowed the ball down and redirected it just enough for the keeper to turn it aside. It was Audrey's third quality shot of the game.

The game would end in a 1-1 draw, and although a win was certainly possible, it was nice to face an opponent against whom the team is more evenly matched. Next up, a rematch against the Junior Majestics and the Vienna Comets.

Xtreme Opens the Season with Solid Play; Loses Home Opener in 60th Minute

The Red girls took the field in the season opener determined to keep up the momentum from the Liberty Cup. The first opponent was the Jr. Majestics 98 Blue squad – a club and program steeped in discipline and success. Xtreme had fallen to sister Majestic teams in years past – but this is a new Red squad.

True to form, Red came out and immediately took control of the game with accurate passing and heads up play. At about the five minute mark Erin The Hammer sent Emma Sunshine surging ahead down the left side. She crossed a nice pass to Belle, who powered past two defenders to blast the ball into the back of the net.

And then the defense took over. Caitlin, Kendall, and The Hammer built a wall near the midline and rarely let any Majestics through. But one of their players was itching for a breakaway – and with her impressive speed, she did manage to get some, shooting wide a few times, and then right on target several times, turned away by Erin The Taxman who made 6 tremendous saves in the half – each worthy of a highlight reel. But the Majestic's #22 could only be thwarted so many times, eventually she found the back of the net to tie the score as the first half wound down.

The Majestics made some adjustments for the 2^nd half and they applied more pressure, actually adding a goal to take the lead. But Xtreme rallied, and with The Taxman on defense, and largely glued to #22, the Red squad punished the Majestics with our physical game that makes the opposing team sacrifice their body to get through.

Caitlin challenged a Majestic attacker and took the ball from her in the near corner, then controlled the ball the length of the field, piercing the Majestics zone defense to fire from the right corner. The shot was blocked, but Caitlin grabbed her own rebound and crossed it brilliantly to Aiden – our own Menacing #22 – who buried the ball into the net to tie the game.

Newcomer, Megan, nursing an injured ankle, saw limited game time, but enough to record her first Shot on Goal. Audrey and Ally took turns rattling the Majestic keeper with 5 combined shots on goal, and Madison also got comfortable in the penalty box and put one hard on goal that the keeper got a hand on.

The teams then battled back and forth for the remainder of the game – both teams completing nice passing sequences. The game looked to be ending in a tie when, in the 60^th minute, the Majestics caught Xtreme slightly flat-footed with a quick throw-in from the far corner. The ball bounced its way into the box and ricocheted around off players from both teams, finally taking an unlucky high bounce and beating the Xtreme keeper.

The referee afforded Xtreme one final opportunity to tie the score, the kick off as time expired led to a shot that went wide and the game ended. Majestics 3, Xtreme 2.

However, Xtreme played a great game, notching 156 quality passes that translated to a Slurpee courtesy of Coach Lance. Players are circling their calendars – Xtreme will play the Majestics again on April 17, this time at the Majestics home field.

Xtreme 98 Red Dominates at Liberty Cup

The Xtreme 98 Red squad took the field four times the weekend of March 27-28 and demonstrated consistently that they were ready to pick up the Spring season exactly where they left off in the Fall season.

Xtreme let their opponents score first in three of the four games, but rather than get knocked back on their heels, it fired the squad up.

First up was a team from rival club, FASA. (Recall a FASA squad beat Xtreme Red in the Championship game of the VIP Tournament in Fall 2009.) This was a different FASA team, but the black uniform still made our girls see red. They controlled the ball and punished the FASA keepers, punding in 6 unanswered goals to win the game 6-1. (Goals from Reina and Belle were pulled back across the goal line by the FASA keeper, but the referee was too far away to see them, so she called no-goals.)

Next up was one of the host teams, FPYC Flying Monkeys. A team we faced off against indoors this winter. The first half was a back and forth affair with the teams trading goals and swapping the lead, but with hat tricks from Belle and Emma, the game was placed out of reach for the Monkeys and the final recorded score was 7-3.

Sunday morning saw what was correctly predicted as Xtreme's toughest game. The girls faced off against a Vienna team we've seen in both the regular season and off season winter program. Like in the two previous games, Xtreme controlled the flow of this game with good passing and poise. The girls showed patience, testing the Vienna defense from all sides, breaking through several times and peppering the goal keeper with shots. The teams were well-matched and traded socring chances and goals, until finally Belle put Xtreme up 2-1, where it remained for much of the game. But the Vienna team rallied late in the second half and were able to put together a three goal run late in the game to take the lead. Xtreme pressured until the very end, sending 4 or 5 shots on net in the final minute of the game, but it would not be enough, and it would be Xtreme's only loss of the tournament.

The final game of the tournament pitted Xtreme against old frenemies, Team America United. Xtreme bounced back from the earlier defeat and came out owning the field. The controlled the ball and put on a passing clinic for all in attendance - breaking the tradition of the tournament and scoring first. But then TA scored two lucky goals to go into half time leading 2-1. As one official remarked during the break, "Why is Xtreme controlling the ball for 80% of the game but down 2-1?" Xtreme would answer with their feet, scoring two quick goals to take the lead back. But Team America wasn't done yet. They would tie the game mid-way through the second half.
But finally, Xtreme took final control of the game, going ahead 4-3 and staying there. They would add an insurance goal that was disallowed on a questionable offsides call and bear the physical abuse of a frustrated TA team, but in the end, Xtreme prevailed, winning 4-3.

Xtreme's excellent record of 3 wins, 1 loss, and no ties put the club in a three-way tie for second place, but with the most explosive offense of the tournament by far, we assumed we were guaranteed at least second place and a trophy, with a shot at first place if Team America Freedom could knock off VYS Vienna.

First of all, TA Freedom could not knock off Vienna. Vienna won 2-1 to go undefeated in the tournament. Secondly, we learned later that ties in the standings would not be broken by straight goal differential. The first tie-breaker would be Goals Allowed. The next tie-breaker would be Goal For. So, Xtreme with 19 goals for but 11 against, was pushed from the podium by host team FPYC Jaguars that had an idential record and 10 goals for, but only 2 goals against (3 shut outs).

Despite not receiving a physical trophy from the Liberty Cup, the girls have much to be proud of. They truly controlled all their games, showed great passing skills, and were able to practically execute the things Coach Lance has been teaching them for the last year. Every single player contributed, from Kendall running down countless breakaways; to the tic-tac-toe passing in the box from Laura, Reina, Aiden, and Hannah; from the giant boot of Caitlin keeping the offense attacking, to the smart, heads-up play of Anna and Erin G.; and from Amalia controbuting at both ends -making saves and scoring goals, to newcomer Megan cutting her teeth in travel admirably and fitting seemlessly into the line-up, these girls worked their hearts out. They had fun, they demonstrated that they are learning and growing, and that they can run with any opponent as long as they play their game.

Xtreme heads into the Spring 2010 season warmed up and hopefully hungry - the schedule is out and we'll be sending it around shortly. Good work, Xtreme! Shoot it!

Winter Practice Program Announced

Xtreme 98 Red's Coach, Lance Sherry has released the winter training program for the remainder of the off-season. Coach Sherry has designed a "Fast Feet/Fast Decisions Clinic."

Featuring speed and flexibility drills, ball skills, and then 2v3 and 5v5 futsal games, the 6-week program will be both physically challenging and mentally demanding.

Coach K and some of his players from another team have been invited to particpate, and the sessions will be open to new prospective Xtreme players.

The clinics will run for 6 Saturdays beginning on January 30 from 4:30 to 5:30 pm at the JCC facility in Fairfax. For more information, contact Michael Klein or Lance Sherry at xtreme98red@gmail.com.

Xtreme Falls to LMVSA, 6-5

Indoor Xtreme 98 headed into Sunday's game with former outdoor rival LMVSA Patriots 98 with high hopes, and although both teams delivered exciting soccer, it was LMVSA that emerged victorious.

Once again Xtreme let their opponents strike first, but the girls answered quickly with a tying tally. But the Patriots seemed to be hungrier, breaking the tie and pulling ahead - a lead they would never relinquish.

Xtreme delivered another thrilling game - applying great pressure on the Patriot keeper who made a dozen great saves in the final minutes of the game. Xtreme scored twice in the final 50 seconds to pull within one, but ran out of time before they could mount a final attack, hoping to pull out a tie.

Three games remain on the schedule. Next up, Alexandria Revolution on December 13 at 3pm.