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FALCONS UPSET 2-1 BY THE RED HOTS

Box Score

May. 14, 2012

Saturday, May 12 - Two weeks after spanking the LSSA Red Hots 5-2 on the road, the Freebird Falcons returned home for a rematch against the Lee's Summit squad.  Though they were missing Courtney, who scored two goals against the Red Hots in their first matchup, the Falcons were confident they would take care of business again.  Though they played well and controlled the game from start to finish, the Falcons found themselves on the wrong end of a 2-1 upset.

Throughout the game, the Red Hots packed in their defense and were able to hold off countless Falcon attacks.  Offensively, the strategy of the Red Hots seemingly was to kick the ball up the field as far as they could and let the speedy #13 run onto it.  Unfortunately for the Falcons, this strategy worked early on, as #13 took a long kick, broke away from the Falcons defender, and slipped it into the goal for a 1-0 halftime lead.

Early in the second half, a Falcons forward (and the defender on that side) failed to cover the back side, leaving a Red Hots forward wide open in the Falcons goal box.  The Red Hots forward converted, making it 2-0.  Despite outshooting the Red Hots by a large margin to that point, the Falcons found themselves in a world of trouble.  Fortunately, a tough-minded Falcon forward helped get them back on track.

Off a beautiful corner kick from Ellie, who played some good minutes at forward, Julia sent a gorgeous volley into the goal to cut the lead to 2-1.  Though she seemed to shrug it off as no big deal, what a shot of energy Julia sent to the team!  Suddenly, the Red Hots were back on their heels.

The last 10 minutes of the game were pretty much all spent on the Red Hots half of the field.  The Falcons had several opportunities to tie the score, but they just could not manage to finish.  With less than 5 minutes left, Coach Duke subbed in Kendall for goalkeeper Caroline as another attacker, and the Falcons continued the assault.  Kendall had a shot go wide, as did defender Kirsten.  A couple more corner kick chances were wasted.   Eventually, the final whistle blew on a disappointing 2-1 Falcons loss.

Afterwards, Coach Duke talked to the girls about letting a team like the Red Hots hang around.  The underdogs from Lee's Summit gained confidence as the game went along - heck, they were cheering at halftime with their 1-0 lead like the game was over!  But hopefully, it was a lesson learned for the Falcons, who still have a chance to win the division.  Their destiny lies in their own hands, as they prepare for a division-deciding battle against the Legacy Lady Fireballs.