JV Come Back to Tie Poolesville 2-2

by Bob Jones

Emotions, mixed as they may be, were running high before, during and after the Cougar Junior Varsity soccer game Wednesday evening at the Quince Orchard Soccer Field. Sitting in the stands before the game I realized the tension in the air was felt only by the parents. The lady Cougars were gleeful and were running from hug to hug renewing friendships and sharing their summer highlights with many of their friends from Poolesville. What a delight to see our young ladies enjoying themselves before the game with their competitors.

When the whistle blew to start the game the teams played cautiously and pretty much kept the ball in the middle of the field. As the game progressed the Cougars began to put pressure on the Poolesville goal with some wonderful give and goes, crosses, and breakaways. We came close many times during the first half but the ball just seemed to go wide or high and miss the goal. The good news was we were getting pressure on goal, but the bad news was we just were not getting it in the net.

Our defense was solid and really held the Poolesville ladies off until the middle of the first half when they had a corner kick opportunity. Allie from Poolesville took the corner kick and nailed a beautiful kick into the net that Beckham surely would have been proud of. Ten minutes later Poolesville struck again with Allie hitting a 25-yard hard shot just over the fingertips of our keeper to put our Cougars down 0-2.

The second half began and somehow you just new something good was going to happen. The Cougars unleashed a fierce attack on the Poolesville goal and really began to dominate play on the field. There were brilliant passes, heads up plays and the girl's proactive communications helped the team gel and increase their intensity of play. Yet we still could not find the net on our shots. Finally at about the 15 minute mark, Debra Jones was able to take a pass just outside the goal area and unleash a hard shot over the keepers head for the Cougars first goal. Oh my, the Cougar fans in the stands were beginning to believe that our young ladies could make a come back.

The Cougars did not disappoint the fan faithful as they continued their relentless attack on goal and 10 minutes later, Vickie Alvarado was able to capitalize on an intense push on goal and slam home a wicked shot that went in just beyond the outstretched hands of the Poolesville keeper.

For the rest of the game and after two 5 minute overtime periods, the Cougars continued their tenacious drive to score again. They came close a number of times, but were just off the mark. An inch here or a foot there and we could have seen some additional scores by our Cougars.

And how about that defense! The Cougars defense anchored by Morgan Dorset really limited the Poolesville attack. The defense was able to shut down breakaway opportunities and turn the ball back up field to renew the attack on the Poolesville end. The Cougar defense had a huge impact on the game and really helped to control the time of possession and initiate counter-attack opportunities. Well done defense!

When the final whistle sounded, the Cougars tied Poolesville 2-2 with a 25-3 shot on goal differential. More importantly, the QO and Poolesville ladies demonstrated that they are a class act with their outstanding sportsmanship on the field. They also shared with us all a very important life lesson…..you can be friends with the other team and have an absolutely wonderful time before, during and after the game with your friends.