Despite not advancing to the second round the lady warriors held their own against nationally ranked teams in San Diego.
Right out of the box Sodium faced Sereno 96 Girls White, a team we caught a glance of at Regionals. The scouting reports held true as they were a very technical team. Although field conditions were a struggle on both sides, we have to credit the defense for shutting down their extremely talented duo of forwards. These girls are ear-marked for greatness on a national level but Sodium shut them down to 3 goals. Sodium forwards and mids battled to the end with flurries of shots. Taylor Moscoe rocketed one off the far post with Emmy and Payten both there to slam shots off the Sereno keeper.
The night game proved to be the toughest test yet for Sodium as they faced the So Cal Blues - Bobak team [currently ranked 7th in the Nation]. The first half was exciting as Sodium attacked with a vengeance and had the So Cal team on their heels. Up 1-0 after the break the Blues changed their tune and displayed their 'prevent' defense. After a sloppy corner kick and an obvious jersey violation, So Cal had Sodium signing the 'Blues' with a 3-0 victory. The girls really played hard and showed what they were made of against a very worthy opponent.
On Sunday Sodium played a 7:30 night cap against the San Francisco based South Bay Force Black. After going down 1-0 in the first half you could sense the determination in the Sodium girls eyes, they would not let this game get away. Midway through the second half the Sodium forwards were relentless in their attack. MAC Kearney, double teamed on the break, was mugged in the box as she drilled the back of the net for the tie! But...it was called back because the ref said it was MAC who was the aggressor. Apparently, you aren't supposed to play that hard in Cali. The stands went nuts as the Sodium faithful voiced their displeasure. This fired the lady warriors up as they turned up the heat on the unsuspecting South Bay team Sodium Style. With just minutes left Laura Camp had a free kick from 25 yards out. She placed the ball just outside the far post where a battling Marisa Reid was there to drop a one-touch to Emmy Owens for the score! This one counted and the game was tied!! [officially!]
Sodium pounded the box again and again as time ran out and the score was deadlocked 1-1.
Summation
Sodium needs to realize a few critical points;
1) Not any team can come and play in this tournament, but you can. Do you think FC, LOSC, OR Rush or Keizer played in any tournaments this weekend? And if they did, do you think they saw near the competition? Doubtful.
2) It's about RESPECT. You can't tell me you didn't earn the respect of each of those teams. You KNOW they woke up Monday morning feeling like they had been through a war this weekend. And even though they are used to playing a technical game, blowing other teams away and scoring 6, 7 or 10 goals, we held them to 3 or less.
3) What you take away from a tournament like this you can use to elevate your play far beyond any competition you'll see locally.
4) Keep your heads up Sodium, be proud. You took a risk, you rose up and went to war against devastating odds, and held your own. You accomplished great things and now you can take what you learned and use it against opponents who are no where near the level at which you played.
Special Thanks
I would like to thank the following guest players for riding with the lady warriors into battle this weekend. Not only have you earned our respect, but our friendship as well.
Sahalie - Eugene Magic
Delaney - OR Rush
Crystal - LOSC Extreme
Cailin - THUSC Mercury
You will play with and against each other for many years to come ladies. This is what it's all about, friendship, building memories and looking at how far you've come. So live long, laugh hard and kick butt!
Thanks.
GO SODIUM!
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