Game 2: Mo-Kan Round 1

28 March at STA vs. Sion (0-0 with Saints losing in PK's 3-2)

Well, it has been a long time since we slid into the loser's bracket of Mo-Kan, but there we rest after a tough loss in a match in which we held Sion scoreless.

We did find a very good back line during the match with the move of Caroline Romme and Hania Crow to centerback, and we also found out that Alex Moss can play that defensive center midfield spot. In fact, BWhite named Romme as the BWhite Player of the Match. She moved to the back, and she played well there.

But in the front half of the field, we really struggled.  By moving Romme to the back, we left our outside swing position unsettled.  And we have to get better play in the middle of the field both at regular center midfield and at the top of the diamond. We created only 3 corners for the game with only 8 shots for the match. We did not attack the width as we discussed in pre game. 

Sion was as hardworking as we expected them to be.  We also helped them generate some offense, creating 3 corner kicks for them. They did get a couple of other balls into the front third, one right in front of the goal with about 3 minutes left in the match. Thankfully the shot found sky. 

Probably the most disappointing part of the match was the shootout in that Sion only cashed 3 PK's.  We missed on our first 3 opportunities, yet the match still came down to the final kicker. And she blistered it, leaving no doubt. Hats off to Nicole McEnroe for a nice PK save to keep us alive in the shootout. And both Mallory and Kristina hit their PK's. 

With a similar result in the first game of the day, we now find ourselves playing #26 in the country, Lee's Summit North (another Top 50 Team), tomorrow in the loser's bracket. So we will get a chance to earn a quality win, and we will get a chance to show some growth in the front third of the field. We know this year will be a marathon, not a sprint as we are not even settled in a starting lineup yet. We know we must be a lot better on set pieces as well. It's our trademark. We will get this figured out. We have enough talent. 

STATS: 

First Half

Saints: Shots: 4 (3) (Klanke 3, Moss) Corners: 1 (Romme)

Sion: Shots: 2 (1) Corners: 1

Second Half: Shots: 4 (3) (Klanke, Galley, Linder, K. Heying) Corners: 3 (Klanke, Crow, K. Heying)

Sion: Shots: 1 (1) Corners: 2 

STA Shootout: Klanke, post, Denning saved, Sesti saved, M Heying, goal, Colling, goal. 

Sion Shootout: Goal, Goal, Saved, Wide left, Goal. 

The Shootout