Athletics

Game Summaries

Varsity Soccer Season 2009

EW 3 – New Lebanon 0

There is nothing like starting out the season opposite your archrival. Game number one, and we were set to face New Lebanon. With nerves flying for Emma, New Lebanon immediately took control, driving down towards the Emma goal. After a few minutes of play in our half, we started to get a bit more confident. Playing balls with purpose and speed, we began to take it to them. For most of the first half Emma controlled the play with quite a few opportunities to score on the New Lebanon net minder. Crosses on the ground and in the air were getting from side to side, Ali to Cookie, coming through center midfield Sarah B. New additions to the squad provided a boost to the starting line-up with Sarah R backing up Sarah B, Rae S added depth to defense and helping Jenny P and Noelle O shut down the quick New Lebanon counters. Despite the dominance, the score remained 0-0 at half. In the second half, Emma was flying. Maintaining possession and moving down the field with every drive, the forwards and midfielders were penetrating through the defense and getting even more shot opportunities. After two shots off the post, a scramble off a cross in the box finally resulted in Cookie finding the back of the net. With a little change in the lineup, we were able to throw something new at New Lebanon and got awarded a direct kick on the left side outside the 18-yard box. Keegan stepped up and took a hit right over the wall. The shot ricocheted off the crossbar and off the goalkeeper’s fingertips behind her and into the back of the net, 2-0. After a few more opportunities and a few counters by New Lebanon—being shut down each time by the Emma defense—Lindsay P found the net after moving in from outside to center midfielder, and Emma was up 3-0. Hard play through the final 5 minutes completed the shut out for Liz W and the win for Emma.

EW 2 – Berlin 0

Despite the chilly and damp weather, Emma Willard knew this match with Berlin would be a hard fought one. In a slow start and with Berlin applying most of the pressure to Emma’s backline and keeper, it took the jumpstart of Jenny P back in the lineup to turn things around for the Jesters. Emma began to take advantage of counters, maintaining possession as the team moved collectively up the field. Most of our opportunities came from the flank work of Cookie and Allie E. A solid midfield of Sarah B, Emily B, and Lindsay P fought to maintain control of the midfield from the Mountaineers. In spite of Berlin’s skilled goalie, who thwarted most of Emma’s rushes and shots, Emma kept the pressure up and attempted to find a way to get the ball to the back of the net. After a few quick counters by Berlin, a shot that bounced off the crossbar was all that they could muster against a stingy Emma defense. Rae worked tirelessly to shut down Berlin’s strongest player. Noelle and Adeola alternated time on the other wing forward, who proved to be just as speedy and fast. With the game still tied 0-0 at half, Emma retook the field ready to score. After multiple attempts by the team, a cross by Cookie found its way through to Talia, who found the ball on the six yard line and knocked it in goal. Thrilled but composed, Emma kept the pressure on. Later in the second half it was Lindsay P who found the back of the net for her second goal of the season. With composure, she took the ball in from the eighteen and made a simple pass to the back of the net to put Emma up, 2-0. With only a few minutes left in the game Emma held off Berlin for their second victory in the young season.

EW 3 – Heatly 0

Emma came out strong on a beautiful sunny day, putting the pressure on Heatly immediately. The girls kept the ball in Heatly’s half with Allie, Sarah B, Cookie, and Keegan all getting shots off in the first ten minutes. It wasn’t too long before one of Keegan’s shots hit off the crossbar and dropped down into the goal behind the keeper and the goal line. Emma kept up the pressure the remainder of the half with Emily and Sarah R controlling the ball in the center and sending it back up the field to the forwards and midfielders. Up 1-0 at half, the entire team continued to work hard, especially midfielders  Emily, Lindsay, Julia and Talia working hard on possession and playing simple. Their effort to keep the ball at their feet and working back on defense to aid Jenny, Noelle, and Rae. Emma’s stingy defense kept Heatly at bay and swept away any scoring opportunities they had. The defense held Heatly to just three shots on goal. The team’s effort to play defense all over the field allowed for a great run and cross by Allie that snuck in between the goalie and the post to the back of the net. Up 2-0, Emma kept playing hard, keeping the pressure on creating the next opportunity to score. Lindsay worked through some defenders and played a ball through to Sarah B, who found the back of the net, beating the goalie to the far side. Emma continued to control the rest of the game until the final whistle.

EW 2 – New Lebanon 0

On cool night under the lights at New Lebanon, Emma knew that their opponent would be ready to avenge their first loss to the Jesters just a week before. The girls knew that if they could possess the ball their opportunities would come, and that’s just what they set out to do. Electing to take possession first, New Lebanon tried to take it down toward net right from the kick off, but they were met immediately by a stingy Emma midfield and defense led by Jenny, Sarah, and Sarah. Emma won the ball back from New Lebanon shortly after and took it right down the field for their first series of opportunities on net. Attempting the left side, Lindsay and Allie tried to work it up the sideline and then back across the center of the field. Next it was Cookie, working diligently on the right, slotting through balls along the bumpy ground inside the box that proved to be the most dangerous. One ball got past the New Lebanon defense and to Allie, who took the first shot right at the keeper. Not able to get a handle on it, the ball came back out to Sarah, who took a touch and quickly found the back of the net to put Emma up 1-0. Emma would keep the pressure on the remainder of the first half, creating more scoring chances and denying New Lebanon any solid opportunities to get a good shot on goal.
Maintaining possession in the midfield, Emily, Lindsay, Sarah and Sarah allowed Emma’s play to be much more focused and composed. Up 1-0 at the start of the second half the Jesters immediately put the pressure on New Lebanon, creating opportunities early and often in the opening minutes. It was again Cookie’s work on the outside to beat her defender that was the cause of the goal. This time a shot in towards the keeper by Cookie from the outside tipped off the keeper’s fingers and over the goal line to put Emma up 2-0. Emma tried to maintain possession again, but became a little more frantic after the second goal was scored with most of the play bouncing around between the teams in the middle of the field. Coming off the bench, Julia, Talia, and Caroline all provided bursts for Emma, but the score remained 2-0 until the end of the game. Keeper Liz was more than happy to face only three shots the entire game, extending the run to four consecutive games without being scored upon.

EW 4–Rensselaer 0

On this sunny afternoon Emma came out ready to play and ready to earn another win.  With the start of the game a little sluggish, Emma found a few bursts of momentum and power that resulted in some good opportunities. It was one such burst from Cookie down the right side that resulted in a cross that was tipped by the Rensselaer goalkeeper onto the feet of Allie. A few more good bursts, including a one-on-one with Sarah B and the goalie, put pressure on Rensselaer’s net, but nothing would result, although Emma was able to maintain possession and keep the ball in Rensselaer’s half. Only up 1-0 at half, collectively as a team the girls knew they had to play with more passion and poise.  Coming out stronger in the second half, and with Sarah S in goal, the ball worked its way up the field to Cookie’s feet. Instead of heading straight for the end line and looking for a cross, she took the ball to goal and sent am easy shot on the ground to the back of the net.  The combined passing out of the backfield and midfield from Natasha, Jenny, Adeola, Sarah R, Noelle, and Keegan led to the ball at Sarah B’s feet, where she was able to beat her defender and then take on the goalie one-on-one again, this time with a different end result when she put the ball past the keeper to put Emma up 3-0. Mixing up the lineup, Emma’s passing seemed to click even more, especially when the ball got sent up to Julia from the back line, and she calmly found Lindsay, who got her head up, took a touch around the defender and took a shot on net that would put Emma up 4-0. That score would hold through the end of the game.

EW 6–Doane Stuart 0

Emma came out strong despite a short, bumpy field. In the opening few minutes it was evident that the ball was not going to do what the girls expected it to do on this surface.  Emma started to get into a groove and find their passing game as the play was primarily in Doane Stuart’s defensive end. It was Allie who got the ball rolling for Emma; she took the ball down to the end line and put a ball across the mouth of the goal, which the keeper deflected out to the feet of Lindsay, who tapped it in for the first goal. Mixing up positions and players on the field hoping to get some consistent momentum, it was Sarah B who next found the net on a low ground shot. Providing jolts to the team in the first half were Caroline, Talia, Julia in the midfield. Up 2-0 at half, Emma was asked to better their first touches and their passing and movement and that’s just what they did in the second half. Cookie had a hand in three of Emma’s next four goals establishing her presence as a leading forward. Cookie assisted with a cross from the right side to Allie on the left, who stayed composed and placed it nicely in the back of the net. The next goal would come off a well struck corner by Cookie, to a running Lindsay who just got a foot on the ball to redirect it into the back of the net. The next goal came from the left side as Cookie cut in on goal and took a shot that slipped through the goalie’s fingers. The entire team continued to play poised and with control, aiming to maintain possession and look for the best opportunities to take it to net. The final goal came from Keegan from the top of the box on a shot that zipped right by the goalkeeper. 

EW 3 – Waterford 3

Both teams knew this game would be a showdown between the two CHVL powerhouses, both undefeated. With each Emma girl knowing they had to play their A game, they attempted to put it all out on the field against Waterford. Rae did an excellent job of shutting down what seemed to be Waterford’s main threat, #2, with Jenny, Noelle, and Sarah R backing her up on the backline. Emma put the pressure on Waterford’s defense as well, not readily being able to solve their dropped out sweeper or get solid shots on net. Both teams played to a tight scoreless 0-0 tie at the half, with Liz and the Emma defense facing more pressure than they had seen from any other team. At the same time, the Emma forwards created more solid opportunities on net than Waterford. Just into half, Emma let #12 take it all the way down the sideline and did not stop her shot from the outside. That shot arched perfectly over Liz’s head and into the back of the net. This was certainly a wake-up call—the first goal to be scored on Emma all season—but it still took some time to set in and Emma to rev up the gears. It was our midfield possession and Lindsay who got the offensive ball rolling with a ball into Sarah B, who quickly found the back of the net to tie it up 1-1.  After some more back and forth play and rushes up field by both teams, it was #7 who followed in a shot from #2 that Liz bobbled and from the goal line kicked it into the back of the net.  Down 2-1, Emma still fought hard, with solid play from Cookie, Allie, Emily B, Keegan, and Lindsay on the offensive end.  It was again Lindsay shredding the defense to find space and an open Keegan who took a long shot from the outside over the keeper, tied 2-2. It wasn’t long before Waterford was back on the offensive, #2 driving to goal hard. Emma’s defense paused for a brief second, not stepping to the ball, and the Waterford player had enough time to tee up a shot and shoot it to the left of Liz. With less than 10 minutes left in the game, Emma continued to press. Opportunity after opportunity was squashed by the Waterford sweeper or the goalie. It took a pass from Emily B to Sarah B, who took the final shot of regulation with 27 seconds left, to tie it up 3-3 and send it into overtime. Emma continued to outplay Waterford the majority of the two overtime periods, but neither team could generate a solid chance to score, and the game remained tied 3-3 at the end.

EW 2–Loudonville Christian 0

On a cold windy day, the Jesters met Loudonville Christian at their home field for what they knew would be a tough game. The ball bounced back and forth for a while, neither team really finding a rhythm. It was finally Keegan who knocked in the ball from outside the penalty box, on a pass from Noelle all the way from the defense. While Emma continued to pressure the entire first half, the Jesters never had many solid opportunities to score. The defense held solid with Emily M, Noelle, Jenny, Rae and Sarah R all playing well. Only up by 1 at the half, but out-shooting our opponent tremendously, the girls knew they had to step it up and put it in the net the second half. Sarah S went into net for the second half, giving Emma a little burst of energy from the backfield. It was Lindsay who played Sarah B a slotted ball through the middle. Sarah drove to net and passed the ball to the back of the net. The Jesters remained up 2-0 the rest of the game, even with Loudonville Christian having a few bursts up field.

EW 4–Berlin 3

Every game from Emma seems to be a fight, with every team gunning for the top team of the league. The Jesters knew this game would be no different, with Berlin surging since they had last met the Mountaineers at Berlin. Berlin came out flying, scoring on the Jesters just five minutes into the game. Emma would bounce back however and play hard until they finally broke down the Berlin defense. Cookie collected a ball at midfield on the half line, and sent a straight ball down the line to Sarah B. Sarah beat her defender and cut to goal to take a shot that flew past the Berlin keeper. Tied 1-1, Emma continued to press on the Berlin defense, and it wasn’t long before they forced a corner. Allie took the corner from the left side of the field, dropping it far post to Cookie running on, who collected the ball and put it in the net. Emma would continue to press and the defense and midfield of Jenny, Rae, Sarah R., Noelle, Emily B., Lindsay and Emily M shut down many of the rushes that the dangerous Berlin forwards had up field, anything else that got through was collected by Liz in goal.  Again it would be Sarah B. driving to net that forced a foul on Berlin. A bit outside the penalty box, Keegan lined up for the shot, and knocked the shot into the far opposite corner to put Emma up 3-1. That was the score the teams carried into half.

After halftime, Emma improved on their possession and continued to create opportunity after opportunity to score, but never finished any, as some went just wide, others hit the post, or the goalie just scooped it up before Emma could get a foot on it. Berlin would get the next rush on a weird bounce that deflected off an Emma defender and into the net. Emma fought back and played hard trying to tack on one more insurance goal, but it was Berlin who again found the back of the net on a ball that came through the middle to an unset Liz, who had slipped on the wet grass. Berlin tied it up 3-3 with about 15 minutes left in the game. The Jesters continued to pressure and throw everything they could at the Mountaineers, but could not resolve the keeper. Finally, on a breakaway, Cookie took a longer touch to out run her defender and then blasted a shot directly off the keeper. The shot was so hard it bounced back out to her feet, and this time she calmly collected it and passed it to the back of the net to put Emma up 4-3 with under 5 minutes left. Emma continued to fight hard and defend hard the remainder of the game and came away with a hard fought, solid win.

EW 2 – Heatly 1

Emma Willard seemed to come out of the gates with a little bit of fire, scoring off their very first shot on net. The ball bounced off a Heatly defender in the box, and Lindsay corralled it and took a shot that eluded the keeper and found the net. Play stalled in the middle of the pitch for a while, neither team maintaining control, until Emma had another few rushes up field. Allie took the ball up the far left sideline and slotted a strong cross through the box to Cookie on the opposite side. Missing all the defenders and landing right on Cookie’s feet, she calmly sent the ball back to the other side of the net with a strong finish, on only Emma’s third shot of the game. Play began to find its way into Emma Willard’s end and the intensity and passion of the game just completely depleted on the Emma Willard side.  Heatly continued to apply pressure to Emma’s backline and midfield until they finally found a way to break through. Heatly found themselves on the top of the box with an open shot and #7 put it in. Facing a 2-1 game at halftime, Emma knew they had to play better in the second half. Things did not change much, but the play did pick up a little bit. Heatly continued to force the ball into Emma’s end, but Emma countered a few times, too. The score remained 2-1 until the end. All in all, Emma knew it was not their best game, despite the win, being outshot and outplayed for the majority of the game.

EW 1–Waterford 0

It was a rematch that the Jester’s had been waiting for since the first 3-3 draw a few weeks earlier. Both teams knew that this game ultimately decided the winner of the Central Hudson Valley League. With both teams dressed in red, it was destined to be a very long and confusing game. Both teams came out strong, with pressure being applied to both Emma’s defense and conversely, Waterford’s defense by the Emma forwards and midfield. Neither team had the greater advantage nor better play on the field, as both teams had solid opportunities on net. Rae did an excellent job shutting down Waterford’s main weapon #2, while Noelle dealt with the speedy #8 and Sara R did not allow anything to materialize through her mark. It was Jenny and Liz behind the line that really shut the door on many quality opportunities that Waterford had. Still 0-0 at half, Coach Will’s halftime speech put a spark into the girls’ play, and you could see the positive changes in the game that were discussed at halftime. Sarah B began pinching into the hole above our midfield and receiving the ball to attack. That generated more opportunities for Cookie and Allie on the flanks to get balls in and across. Just as we knew it would be, it was hard to get through Waterford’s stingy sweeper #9, and the team attempted many different ways to thwart her and get a shot on net, but they were good at crowding the ball and shutting down the play. Keegan and Lindsay were asked to play a slightly different role on the outside midfield, with Lindsay switching to center, both stood up to the challenge. Lindsay provided the extra defense needed in the center to shut down the play-markers, and Keegan’s foot and vision on the outside was important for us. It was Emily who played outstanding on the outside midfield position, however, and really stood out. Both taking opportunities to drill at net and make the defenders commit or mark up creating excellent forward movement to goal. It was Emily B who played exceptional in the second half and overtime. She not only created forward movement, but defended with passion and ferocity. Once the game was sent into overtime, it was ultimately Emily B who exploited her defender, took her space, and then played the ball across the field to Cookie, who calmly placed her shot far post and into the back of the net, 3 minutes into overtime. While Waterford had a few rushes in the end of the first overtime and the beginning of the second overtime, the entire 11 girls on the field continued to fight hard and eventually were able to get the ball in their offensive third for the remainder of the second overtime period to hold on to the lead and rectify their one tie of the season.

EW 10–Doane Stuart 0

After and extra day’s rest from soccer and a hard Monday practice, Emma came out playing hard. While Doane Stuart had not been a difficult opponent in their first meeting, the Jesters went out early to set the tone. A quick goal by Cookie and we were already up 1-0. A total of five different Jesters went on to score in the game—Talia with 4 goals, completing her hat trick early in the second half, Cookie with 2 goals, Keegan with 2 goals, and Sarah B. and Lindsay with one each. Every Emma player saw significant playing time and improvement, with Sarah S making her first start and full game appearance in net. The defense held strong, even when the lineup was mixed up, finding Natasha and Adeola solid walls that Doane Stuart could not break through. In the midfield Julia had a tremendous game setting up plays along the left side of the field and shutting down Doane Stuart’s outside midfielder. Caroline also put forth tremendous effort and had some great play on the opposite midfield, but it was Talia who was consistently working hard and finding herself in the right place at the right time with her game sense that contributed most offensively with her four goals—the first hat trick for the Jesters this season.

EW 7–Rensselaer 1

Coming out a little sluggish, Rensselaer pressed the Emma defense first, but Jenny would have none of that on her 18th birthday. Finally getting in the swing of things after many attempts and opportunities, it was the hard work of Sarah B dribbling the ball from the outside to goal and placing it past the Rensselaer goalie, who had proved to be hard to solve in the first 20 minutes of the game. With excellent work from the midfield, as Emily B, Lindsay, Keegan, and Sarah B dropped low into the gap left open by Rensselaer above their flat defensive line, opportunities were created for through balls to Allie and Cookie, all resulting in solid scoring chances. A couple of missed breakaways, 1-v-1s and lots of shots that hit the posts characterized much of Emma’s offense in the first half.  With solid defending throughout the half by Jenny, Rae, Noelle, and Sara R, Sarah S saw little of the ball in the first half. Sarah B would score one more time before halftime to put the Jester’s up 2-0. After halftime, possession and composure by Emma began to get better. Sarah B found the back of the net one more time before Lindsay P erupted for 3 goals herself. Caroline at center forward had 2 assists, consistently creating chances for the Emma forward line with her speed. We were getting lifts and excellent play from all the other substitutes in the second half, Julia, Talia, Emily M, and Adeola. One miscue and a lack of communication led to a breakdown in the Emma defense, and Rensselaer got through. A static Liz in goal was not prepared for the shot that rolled in over the line to give Rensselaer their one goal. Cookie knocked in one more goal for Emma before the game was finished. The best passing and movement came at the end of the game when the entire team rallied around Jenny to set her up for the first goal of her varsity career on her 18th birthday. A natural defender, she put up 6 excellent shots in her attempt to find the net.

EW 3 – Salem 0 (Scrimmage, Parent Days)

Emma came out flying, just like the blustery wind that was whipping across the field.  Despite the confusion about the referees, the huge crowd on the hill put wind in the Jester’s sails, and they came to play. With guest referee Jeff Pilgrim from EW admissions and assistant coach Will Graham running a side, Emma withstood the physicality of the Salem team and played their technical game. Sarah B led the charge with all 3 goals, while Liz and Sarah S split each half 50/50 in the goal. Emily B continued to step up her game of late, along with Noelle, Jenny, and Sarah R in the back. Coming off the bench Caroline C, Adeloa, Julia, Talia, and Emily M all brought a lift to the level of play on the field. Everyone played well and fought hard. One more regular season game, and it’s on to sectionals for the Jesters!

EW 3–Loudonville Christian 0

Senior Day.  How fitting that on senior day, our two senior forwards would step up and find each other to have some great combination goals! It all started with a ball from Allie across the goalmouth to Cookie on the far side. She corralled it and knocked it in the back of the net to put the Jesters up 1-0. Next it was Allie who connected on a ball from Cookie, remaining poised and controlled to find the back of the net with ease. The Jesters were playing well, but the culmination of each play up field was capped by the play of the forwards, and ultimately Allie and Cookie, when Allie took the ball up the sideline and slotted a ball through to Cookie, who found the back of the net again! Splitting the time in goal were Sarah S and Liz, with Sarah making quite a few phenomenal saves by coming out and controlling the box, getting the ball back up field when LC tried to break through. The team played well, although you could tell it had been a while since our last game, but giving a great send-off to the 11 seniors on the team; Co-captains Cookie and Jenny, Allie, Emily B, Liz, Sarah, Noelle, Adeola, Natasha, Rose, Hannah. Thanks for the effort and play, senior; you will be missed next year. On to sectionals!

EW 3–Cobleskill-Richmondville 4 (2OT)

What a game! Cobleskill came out flying, pressuring every ball and playing physical all over the field. Again, we found ourselves in the situation that if they controlled a single player, they could keep a team off the scoreboard. Fighting hard and finally playing the possession game they have excelled at all season, we began to get our breaks the other way. Giving us time and space in the center midfield, Keegan took a long shot that had so much power it went right through the goalie’s hands and into the back of the net. The game remained intense the remainder of the second half with Emma clearing the ball off the goal line quite a few times. With about 20 seconds left Cobleskill got a corner and put the ball into play. Emma frantically tried to clear the ball away from the goal, but couldn’t get a solid handle on it. The ball poked free to a Cobleskill player, and she poked it into the back of the net with 5 seconds remaining in the game.  Emma fought hard through the two 10-minute overtimes, and then the two 5-minute sudden death overtimes, getting a few great opportunities off the play of Cookie. Ultimately, it came down to penalty kicks. Liz made two amazing saves on them, but it wasn’t our day, since all five kickers who had missed one shot or less in practice, only found the back of the net twice to Cobleskill’s three times.