The MRYSL U17 Girls Destiny traveled approximately 150 miles to Grants Pass, Oregon for two Southern Oregon Classic League soccer games on Saturday, May 12th, 2007. The morning drizzle along the road gave way to partially cloudy skies and cool temperatures as the first game got underway at the beautiful Grants Pass High School Mel Ingram Field.The 1pm game against GP United and Destiny was very fast paced partially due to the quicker playing turf surface. The Destiny displayed accurate passing, fast footwork and speed as they battled the GP team. Destiny’s Keri Carter-Lorig contributed with her strong ability to settle the ball on the turf surface and make strategic passes. Coach Nick Parker commented that “Keri could certainly calm the play and follow up with accurate passing from the fullback position“. The excitement mounted as a Destiny shot hit United’s top bar 35 minutes into the game and the United retaliated with an almost identical shot that hit the Destiny’s top bar. The score remained 0-0 under the gray skies of Grants Pass as the Destiny set up many plays and had several shots on goal without scoring. The Destiny’s mid-fielders and defenders were kept busy with the United’s persistent attacks. Coach Parker commented that “Emi Monahan and Annika Satter both had stellar games in which they were able to control the centre mid field zone from start to finish.” Goalie Selina Bernard and sweeper Carlyn Girard were the final stand that kept the score at 0-0 at the end of the half. Parker stated that “Selina performed some very brave defensive moves and made lightning quick "sweeper-keeper" decisions in the first half”.
The fast paced action continued in the second half as two teams battled head to head. Sydney Gellner displayed her expertise with excellent trapping and ball control. Fifteen minutes into the 2nd half, the Destiny delivered a corner kick to the front of the United net, followed by a scramble and a near miss. Soon after, a Destiny fowl almost resulted in a GP United goal. But, the score remained at 0-0 until Darcy Gordon passed to Tara Boynton who dribbled the ball into the net to score the first goal of the game twenty minutes into the second half. “Darcy Gordon played a strong, fast, defensive game to "nip most GP attacks in the bud.” commented Destiny Coach Parker. “Sazi Bhakti continues to improve her percentages in making creative attacking decisions, in each game played.” stated Parker. The Destiny remained ahead for the next ten minutes until United scored to tie the game at 1-1. The two teams continued to battle and Destiny had a few excellent opportunities including another corner kick, but no more goals resulted for either team. The final score of the game between these two talented and closely matched teams was 1-1, as was the score the first time Destiny and United played earlier in the season. Neither team has been defeated during this season’s play. Coach Parker commented on the game overall “Some months ago, Destiny defeated the Santa Rosa Blue by using a "blanket defense plus counterattack" game plan. During this GP game, the shoe was on the other foot. Destiny “attacked” from start to finish, created some clear chances, and deserved more than the one goal, while GP played a 7-3 formation and relied on speed and some fast counterattacks on their home turf field.”
The second Destiny game was against the Ashland Grizettes at 4:00pm at Reinhart Park in Grants Pass. The grass was somewhat long, causing the field to be significantly slower than the earlier game. The wind was a factor and against the Destiny in the first half. The Destiny had already played another game. All of these factors made this game much slower paced than the first. Yet, both the Grizettes and the Destiny fought hard with excellent passing and several shots on goal. Coach Parker stated that “Cassie Kunes certainly made some well chosen passes from the center midfield that contributed to the strong defense.” He continued, “It was nice to see some players working on combinations especially down the left wing.” Although the Destiny had many opportunities to score, they were unable to cash in as the first half progressed. The Grizettes were the first to score and led the game 1-0 at the half. Early in the second half, the excitement mounted when a Penalty Kick delivered by Baily Davey hit the cross bar. But, the Grizette’s goalie came up with the ball. The first Destiny goal was delivered by Margaret O’Neil off of a well placed corner kick by Baily Davey. “This goal was special” commented Coach Parker “because it was Margaret’s first Division 1 goal of the season.” Tara Boynton made a long shot from the sideline to score the second Destiny goal. Sazi Bhakti scored the third Destiny goal assisted by Baily Davey. The final Destiny goal was dribbled into the net by Julia Middlemiss to end the game at 4-1 in favor of Destiny. This was the eighth Destiny game and it brought their record to 6 wins, 2 ties and 0 losses for the season. The SOCL standings are posted at: http://www.socl.info/frameset.php
Destiny travels to Klamath Falls and Grants Pass on 5/19 and 5/20 where they will play for the league title on the final weekend of the season. On Memorial Day weekend (5/26 to 5/28), Destiny will compete in the Rogue Valley Cup Tournament against some competitive teams. The Rogue Valley Tournament schedule and information is available on their website: http://www.rvcupsoccer.com/.
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