Game 1: Pacifica Thunder 1-0, win
We knew our first game would be a tough one since their stats were not only impressive but they were the league champions from Copper North. Saturdays at 7AM are always tough for our girls since they are all such social butterflies and Friday nights are always eventful but this time our girls were on time and ready to warm up. The game was tight as anticipated but control and ball possession definitely went TGW’s way and at the end, the score was 1-0 thanks to an incredible passing exchange from Jessie to Shayda, and Shayda to Jordan for the score. Our D once again dominated and controlled the game which gave our offense plenty of opportunities to set up their attacks and our keeper plenty of time to compare and contrast waffles vs omelets for breakfast on game day.
Game 2: Brisbane Blaze 4-0, win
Our second Saturday game was very important since knew the top of the pack in our two sub-brackets would be racking up points against weaker teams so we had to do the same. Our goal was to score at least three but preferably five to not only maximize our point total but to make a statement about the strength of our offense. We came very close by scoring 4 and not giving up nada! Shayda had two wonderful assists, one to Eva and the other to Jordan . In addition to that, Eva and Megan both had one goal each. Obviously our defense was too much for the Blaze since nobody remembers any close calls where our keepers were even tested.
Game 3: OV Heat 2-0, win
Going into Sunday, we were the clear point leader by a substantial margin. We only needed a tie with the home team to advance to the championship game but our girls were not focused on any such target. We were out to win and win with an exclamation point! The storm started to rapidly move south right before we were ready to get on the field for warm-ups. Luckily, we started to get our blood pumping before the rains hit the field because when it finally came, it came down in buckets. As we huddled under the our much needed shelter, we watched the poor OV Heat girls getting absolutely drenched trying to warm-up under the eye of the storm… not sure what they were thinking but we certainly didn’t want to derail their warm-up regiments.
As you all know, our people are very well connected so we were able to get the rain to subside just before the whistle so that we can start the game. Our poor opponents not only started the game with bad hair (which our girls are very conscious of) but were all soaked from head to toes. Once the game started we were amped up and were definitely firing on all cylinders. The normally strong OV Heat team didn’t look very strong as our girls moved the ball around at will and used the wind to their advantage. Eva started things off with a nice shot which found the back of the net then Megan calmly followed it up with a well placed shot to the left post after a nice break-away to make it 2 to nil. Second half was scoreless since we were going against the wind but we still dominated both sides of the field. We had several beautiful plays that should have resulted in goals had it not been for the lake in front of the goal area that stopped the ball dead in its track. Had the playing conditions been less English-like, the score would have been 5 to zero but we accepted what we got and settled for the 2 goals and another shutout. The win gave Top Gun the highest point total in the bracket of six teams with 27 points and secured the number 1 seed for the championship game.
Game 4: Olympic America 3-0, win
Because of our win against the OV Heat, our rival Olympic America (OA) squeezed past the Heat with their Sunday morning tie to make it into the championship game. This would be our third meeting with OA so we definitely were familiar with this team and knew some of their weaknesses and strengths. We also knew that the game on turf would be advantageous to us since it would showcase our speed and control better than grass. The stage was set, the line was favoring TGW so all we had to do was double down and execute.
Once the game started we noticed that OA was missing their set-up midfielder and had a couple of guest players. One new player, #10 in particular probably got some lessons on bumping from our last foe, the Fresno Magic. As #10 pushed her weight around and tried to out muscle us, we did not get intimidated, instead were invigorated. Lauren even asked to go back into the game on D just prove that #10 could not beat her out in the wing! We did a great job overall matching their aggressiveness without getting caught, err… I mean by keeping it clean and legal.
The entire game was dominated by TGW as we mounted attacks after attack. Half way into the first half, Eva capitalized on OA’s key weakness, their keeper’s inability to hit a strong goal kick. All her goal kicks were about 18 yards long with a strong backspin so Eva positioned herself perfectly for the trap and the open lane to the net. The first goal kick play culminated with a kick wide of the post which resulted in another goal kick; luckily OA did not adjust properly and gave us the exact same serve to an awaiting Eva again. This time, Eva trapped softly and took it to goal and delivered a power shot for our first goal.
Later in the game, OA’s frustration began to affect their play which opened their defense even more. Megan seized the opportunity to create a lane with a speedy break-away and finished strong to force the keeper to embarrassingly fetch the ball out of her own net. The last goal was the result of OA getting desperate and confused and our players all in position and acutely focused. After countless crosses by our mid-fielders, one was inevitably going to find the back of the net by our awaiting strikers. Goal number 3 was a combo between Megan and Shayda who were both in the right place at the right time. After the cross, Megan in a crowd of OA defenders was able to dish it out to Shayda who saw a wide open lane for the tap-in. Three to nil with no chance for their aggressive forwards to penetrate our 3-Deep D made OA simply play with virtually no spark in the final minutes of the match. Once the whistle blew, we were elated but knew that this was the score we were capable of posting with our friends from Saratoga . We coaches were very proud to see that our girls learned and adjusted their game and bettered their score after each meeting with this formidable opponent.
Top Gun White truly showed what they were made of during this rainy weekend. Their focus and determination was evident during the entire tournament as they mowed through the matches in convincing fashion. Top Gun is a new team but played like they’ve been together for years posting one of the best records in the tournament with zero goals given up and ten goals to their credit! Individually, there were some stronger players out there but as a team, nobody even came close. Our girls did it again with another 1st place finish, their third championship in three tournaments! Thanks for everyone who came out to brave the weather and to support the Mighty Top Gun girls as they continue their quest to be recognized as the best Copper team in the league.
