U12 Girls drop 2 but come back strong

Last weekend (Apr 21-22, 2007), Mad River United U12 Girls lost two games against two skilled and mature Oregon teams:

RVSC Tigers 3 -- MR United 2
Ashland Flame 6 -- MR United 2

Both games started off nearly identically with Oregon taking an early 2-0 lead with United answering with goals from Brooke Coelho and Mariah Smither to close the half 2-2. The larger and older Oregon teams played very good and consistent soccer that eventually wore down the young Mad River team.

Sunday’s game in Ashland was on a huge high school field. The thick ball-deadening grass and wide open range nullified Mad River’s dribblers and forced a passing style game that favored the more experienced Ashland team.

Having faced adversity for the first time, the U12 girls showed their mettle by showing up in force at practice this week with a will to work hard and improve. That’s a sign of a great team.

This weekend, Mad River faces Rouge Valley on Saturday April 28th at 1:00pm and Grants Pass on Sunday April 29th at 11:00am at Bloomfield School in Arcata.