Evergreen women run riot over George Fox Bruins
The Evergreen Women held nothing back as they fired 4 past the George Fox Bruins in the last preseason fixture and now have won two matches on the trot. It was a match that was impressive, nerv-wracking and exciting to watch.
The first of the four was a breathtaking goal. A move that originated in the midfield and saw the Evergreen Women linking 12 consecutive passes before Rayna Murphy (Longview, Wa./ Mark Morris H.S.) crossed to an unmarked Teresa Lopez (Yakima, Wa./ Yakima Valley C.C) at the far post who headed past the motionless Bruins goalkeeper.
Evergreen's second goal came in the 26th minute when Anastasia Daniels (Olympia, Wa./ South Puget Sound C.C.) was able to chip George Fox’s Becka Doyle from outside the box.
In less than 15 minutes, Evergreen had rattled the cages of the Bruins and were in position to turn this into a rout. The Geoducks created a few more chances, but could not find the finishing touches to get a third past the Bruins goalkeeper.
The impressive Geoduck performance that was on display was short lived when the Bruins won a free kick 30 yards from goal. Evergreen committed a soft foul and the Bruins took full advantage by scoring from a free kick and decreased the deficit to just one goal in the 32nd minute.
Still holding onto a one-goal lead seemed to make Evergreen switch from playing impressive soccer to nervy soccer. Three minutes later it showed. The Bruins' Shannon Olson rushed onto a through ball and beat Evergreen’s goalkeeper Lauren Davidson who came out to make the save but to no avail, the Bruins leveled the score.
The rest of the first half saw both sides fail to gain an upper hand and the score line remained the same going into the break. It was difficult to believe that Evergreen had scored twice and then conceded twice in the less than five minutes.
When play resumed it was clear to see who was the better side. Evergreen dominated the field of play. At their best, they played the ball effortlessly around the pitch and the Bruins were left to chase. The tired Bruins created openings in their defense and it was only a matter of time before Evergreen would capitalize.
Evergreen exploited these openings when Brianna Speed (Seattle, Wa./ Lake Washington H.S.) was able to beat her marker and create a one-on-one situation with the Bruins' keeper. She calmly fired the ball past the Bruins' keeper to give Evergreen a 3-2 advantage (time).
Evergreen’s fourth came 8 minutes later. Evergreen’s Deirdre Dornay (Mercer Island, Wa./ Bellevue College) was able to fire towards the goal, only to see it saved. Ever so quickly Daniels was on hand to fire a rebound back into the Bruins' net to claim her second goal of the afternoon.
The fourth goal sealed it. For the remaining 21 minutes, Evergreen showed their class by retaining possession, which in turn killed off any belief the Bruins thought they could come back form two goals down a second time.