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Sarnia Spirit Vs. Chatham
June 5, 2008
Kiwanis Field, Chatham
This was the Spirit 3rd
match of the regular season and their 1st meeting
with Chatham. The Sarnia Spirit welcomed a new addition to
the team, #13 Naomi Parsons.
The Spirit opened the 1st
half strong with a goal in the 4th minute on a
well-placed throw-in from #17 Melissa Bennett, fired off the
inside of the left post and into the net by #15 Brittany
Sefton. Chatham immediately came back down field with a
chance of their own, where 1st half Goal-Keeper
#16 Emily Peckham came off her line to force the Chatham
striker to shoot wide of the target and then quickly ran to
recover the ball. Sarnia then pushed up-field, and in the
12th minute #5 Kadin Siopidou-D’Andrea curled a
beautiful shot from well outside the 18 that fooled the
Chatham Keeper and snuck into the right corner of the net.
Play continued to go back and forth, with Chatham getting
the next attempt on goal, as Sarnia Spirit defender #18
Kelsy Ann Prior forced Chatham to take a quick shot that was
easily handled by #16 Emily Peckham. The Spirit immediately
brought the ball back down to Chatham’s end where #5 Kadin
Siopidou-D’Andrea made a nice cross to #11 Laura Pugsley who
promptly fired the ball past the Goal-Keeper. The 1st
half showcased some very solid defensive play in the early
stages from Sarnia’s #6 Shannon Lapier, #18 Kelsy Ann
Prior, and #20 Christina Vani who continuously shut-down the
Chatham attack by forcing play outside and then taking the
ball down the line to safety. This solid play allowed
Sarnia to stay very focused on the attack and scored their 4th
goal of the match in the 30th minute, on a
play that started with a nice kick from #16 Emily Peckham to
#12 Maria Vani who put a nice ball through to #2 Brianne
Litt who blasted it into the left side of the goal. Chatham
responded late in the half with several attempts at getting
their offense started, but found Sarnia’s defenders too
strong, highlighted by some excellent play from #13 Naomi
Parsons who repeatedly turned away the attack on the right
side of the pitch. The first half ended with Sarnia leading
4-0.
Chatham came
out firing on all cylinders in the 2nd half
keeping Sarnia pinned down in their end for much of the
early going resulting in numerous attempts on net that were
just off target. However, 7 minutes into the half Chatham
found the goal with a good shot from the top of the box that
went just over the Keeper. Similar to play in the 1st
half, the Spirit started to see the play go end to end, with
Chatham getting the next good attempt on net from a
free-kick that was awarded just outside the 18, where 2nd
half Goal Keeper #1 Kayla Griffiths made a great stop on the
left post. Sarnia followed up with a goal in the 50th
minute of the match scored by #16 Emily Peckham who made a
nice play to pot the ball on a pass from #15 Brittany Sefton.
Because of the strong focus on offense, Sarnia’s defenders
were frequently left to deal with several attackers looking
to close the gap in Sarnia’s lead, but mid-fielder #7 Shae
Colman was Sarnia’s savour on numerous occasions by actually
coming back from mid-field to help the defense secure
possession and clear the ball. 2nd half defender
#21 Amy Bennett also played well for Sarnia consistently
moving the ball to the outside and away from danger. Both
sides seemed to be intent on a full attack which ended up
leading to Sarnia’s next goal in the 59th minute
on a ball through
from #8 Emily Sparham to #3 Teighan Chate who buried the
ball from just inside the 6. Chatham followed up with a
great attempt from the right side that forced #1 Kayla
Griffiths to make an amazing stop diving to her left.
Sarnia went back up-field as #17 Melissa Bennett made
another excellent throw to the middle of the box where #8
Emily Sparham passed the ball with her knee to #4 Lauren
Handy who fired the ball into the back of the net. Soon
after, Sarnia scored again from a free-kick taken by #17
Melissa Bennett that was brought down by #8 Emily Sparham
who maneuvered her way to the net to put it past the
keeper. In the final minute of the game #17 Melissa Bennett
sent in another free kick that was taken down by #7 Shae
Colman who made a good attempt on goal that was initially
saved by the Goal Keeper, but not to be denied, she
retrieved the rebound and scored the final goal of the
match.
Sarnia Spirit won the match by a
final total of 9-1. |
