Riverdale Sectional: Mansfield St Peter 3 Upper Sandusky 2

I enjoy arriving early to matches and watching the teams warm up. Every once in awhile I will observe a new twist on warming up a team that I will try with my own when next the opportunity presents itself. Warm ups can sometimes be an indicator of how a match will go and as I knew absolutely nothing about either team in today's match I was particlarly interested today's arm ups.  This is a time to pick out specific players  to watch, identify who is primarily left footed, who has a powerful shot, the range of a GK on clearances and any number of other things that might help me observe and enjoy the game to its fullest. Today provided a mixed bag of observations.  Neither team overly impressed me and it was difficult to pinpoint an exceptional player during warm ups.  So, my expectations were not real high for the action, let alone the drama, this game could provide.

Sometimes pregame observations can be extremely misleading.

Based solely on pregame observations I had pegged Mansfield St. Peter's as the favorite.  During the first few minutes of action it did seem as if the Spartans were beginning to establish themselves more so than the Rams were. Spartan senior Della Hall seemed intent to impose her will on the game from an attacking midfielder position and quickly became a player I wanted to keep an eye on.  Hall possesses a nice blend of size, strength and game intelligence all of which were on display early.

The Upper Sandusky center midfield duo of senior Sarah Rall and junior Allison Moser accepted the challenge Hall presented and began to take control of the game for the Rams.  Once they did, Upper's game plan came clearly into focus - Get the ball to freshman forward Grace Miller.

In the games 7th minute Miller won a loose ball at the bottom of the center circle, turned on the jets and went straight to goal. In what was to become a recurring theme St Peter's freshman goalkeeper Reagan Roley stepped to meet the threat and made the initial save of Miller's shot attempt. The ball deflected to Miller's left where she chased it down and finished what she had started giving the Rams an early 1 - 0 lead.

The Spartans threatened in the games 16th minute with Hall getting in behind the Rams defenders.  From a distance of 16 yards Hall's shot was strong but just off target as the ball went wide of the near post.  Hall was a constant presence in front of the Rams defense, during the first half  just lurking and looking for an opportunity to score.

For the Rams, Miller would have two more breakaway opportunities in the first half but was unable to capitalize on either as Roley made a save on one and the other went wide of goal. In the games 27th minute Upper Sandusky freshman midfielder Kayci Snow played junior forward Jamie Calvin down the Ram's left flank.  Calvin was able to get off a cross to Miller charging hard at the back post, but the Spartan's Roley was there once again to make the save.  Upper Sandusky were clearly generating both more and a better quality of opportunity, but were leaving to many unfinished goals on the field. Not finishing can often come back to haunt a team.

In the games 28th minute St. Peter's Kirstie Schneider was able to get off a cross from the Spartan's left flank. Upper Sandusky goalkeeper made a solid collapse dive attempt at fielding the ball but could not control it.  The seemingly ever present Hall was there to pounce on the deflection and tap the ball into an open net evening the score at 1 - 1.  The Spartan's had to feel somewhat relieved having survived a Upper Sandusky / Grace Miller onslaught and find themselves even as half time approached.

Ten minutes.  That is how long a half time is in high school soccer. Players have 10 minutes to rest, hydrate and receive instructions for the second half. Coaches need to have a plan before the first half ends for the adjustments they want to make at half time. In my opinion, this 10 minute rest period is where matches can be won or lost.

From the start of the second half this was a different match. Mansfield St Peter's withdrew Hall into a more defensive position and the Spartan's McKenna Hall would play a larger role in the defense. While neither was matched up directly with the Rams Grace Miller it seems likely both moves were made to counter Upper's direct play. Much of the earlysecond half action took place in the middle portion of the pitch until in the matches 58th minute it looked as the Spartans had broken through and would take the lead as a long ball bounced in front of Ram goalkeeper Keely Stover and over her head. Senior defender Justeen Searfoss raced in behind Stover to prevent the goal by playing it out the back.  Great team defense.

Less than a minute later Upper's Grace Miller was in on the Spartans Roley once again only to again be denied the go ahead goal. By my count Miller would have 7 unsuccessful break-away attempts through the course of the game.  Her team looked for her constantly using Calvin as a target player to turn and play diagonals behind the defense or Snow to play through balls in the outside channel. It was an effective strategy for generating scoring opportunities.  For a freshman, Miller is an exceptional talent.  Once she learns to slow her pace as she nears goal to allow herself to make a move or fake a shot to get the goalkeeper off balance or out of position so she can more easily finish she will be a devastating attacking force.

As it was, Miler would be played in behind the Spartan defense by Sarah Roll during the games 73rd minute. On this occasion Miller would be successful in her attempt beating Roley at the near post from a distance of 11 yards. This time Miller caught Roley before she could get set to put the Rams up 2-1 late in the match.

Up until that point it appeared St Peter's were wearing down the Rams.  Upper Sandusky had substituted on a very limited basis on a day when the sun was warming temperatures to an unseasonably warm upper 70's. St. Peters had subbed a little more liberally and it had looked as though this strategy would pay off for the Spartans eventually. They now found themselves down a goal late in the match. If they were indeed fresher, they needed to demonstrate it now.

Less than two minutes after the match restarted St. Peter's Kirstie Schneider won a loose ball to the right of the Rams goal and immediately took a shot. Rams goalkeeper Stover was positioned well to make the play but Schneider's shot was well played high and over Stover's outstretched hands  into the goal from a distance of 30 yards out.  Tie score of 2 - 2 with just over 5 minutes remaining and that is how regulation time would end.

There must be a winner in high school tournament play so unlike in the regular season the match would continue with a 15 overtime period. It was all Mansfield St Peter in the overtime period with the winning goal being scored in the matches 85 minute when sophomore McKenna Crutchfield won a loose ball in the left wedge and fired a shot on goal.  Upper's Stover got her hands to the high played ball but could not get enough of it to deflect it away from goal.  3-2 Mansfield St. Peters.

This was a thoroughly entertaining match and a much more enjoyable one than I had anticipated after watching the teams warm up.  We often here the cliche' "it's a shame someone had to lose" and that is a fitting description for today's match. It was a cleanly played hard fought and well officiated contest between two evenly matched teams. Both teams appear to be extremely young so the future remains bright for both programs.  Well played Ladies!