Feb. 5th and 6th Round up
U12 Girls:
In a tremendously well played game the Cobra U12 Girls won a particularly hard fought game with a 3-2 victory over Everest. This was a remarkable result as the same team beat the U12’s 6-1 in our last meeting. The Cobra team was almost at full strength and immediately took the game to Everest. With Lauren Hradesky consolidating a controlling defensive unit for the Cobras, the midfielders and attackers were eventually able to penetrate the opposition’s defense. The game was well balanced with attacks flowing from end to end; however, the Cobra girls always looked as if they would eventually get the upper hand, and eventually they did. Congratulations to all the girls as they all contributed to a great victory. The Cobra goals came from Natalie Pray, Lexie Gephart, with Cayla Mercurio getting the eventual winner.
U14 Boys:
The U14 Boys were involved in another high scoring game in which they were never behind. Joey Bondra got the boys off to a fine start with two quick well taken goals and it seemed to set the stage for what might be a big victory. However, Whitecaps came back and were able to get back into the game. With the big pitch and the large goals down in Lodi there is always going to be a plethora of goals and this was indeed the case in a game ending up at 5-5. The Cobras took a 4-2 lead into the second half and although they did concede additional goals, they continued to play well with Kunal Dixit, along with the rest of the team playing some solid defense. Additional Cobra goals came from Michael Hradesky (also with two assists), Jordan Bonchek, and Kota Umeda bringing the Cobra tally to five goals.
High School Girls:
Cobras V’s Ambassadors
Young Guns do it Again!
The youngest Cobra team in the girls’ high school league won another close and most entertaining game at CSU. The team is basically made up with 8th graders with the addition of three different older players each week. The older girls bring the leadership and the experience the younger girls need to enable them to compete at the higher level, and it also enables the team to attain a higher level of play. Although the Cobras went 1-0 down early in the game, the girls soon got back into the game with an equalizer by Rachel Wolfe. Continued constructive build up play by the girls led to Rachel scoring her second goal; putting the Cobras into a lead which they would not lose. The team continued to play well with Kayla Kaz stimulating many attacks with clever constructive passes out of the back. Rachel Wolfe was certainly looking the most dangerous player on the pitch and she soon completed her hat-trick, with her third goal assisted by Jasmine Waugaman. The opposition scored again bringing the score to 3-2 and the game continued to swing from end to end. A nice throw by keeper Rachel Elson sent Wolfe on her way again and the run was to produce the goal of the game. The Ambassador’s defender, unable to cope with Wolfe’s skill, just hung on to her arm in an effort to pull her down. The ref was about to blow for the foul when Rachel’s superior strength simply enabled her to repel the opposing player to the ground, while at the same time striking the most beautiful of shots into the goal. Four goals for Rachel and a great 4-3 win for the girls!
Cobras V’s OP
Our second high school game was yet another close game, this time the Cobras were unfortunately unable to snag a favorable result. Although the Cobra girls were moving the ball well, OP took an early lead which fortunately they did not hold on to for very long. During the next Cobra rotation, and after a deliberate build up, Catherine Stepanek scored a truly well taken goal to tie the game up at 1-1. OP took the lead again only for the Cobras to strike right back. Attacker Gwen Thomas ran on to a well placed through ball and bravely beat the goalie in a one-v-one situation to snuggle the ball in the back of the OP net. Although goalie Amanda Copfter continued to make numerous tremendous saves we were unable to hang on to the draw.
Cobras V’s Spectrum:
In the third high school girls’ game of the weekend, the Cobras came out the winners in a most convincing manner. Although the Cobras were playing well, the girls seemed to struggle to find any conviction in front of goal. Patience and deliberation paid off and eventually Jordan Spiegle put the Cobras ahead to give the team a 1-0 half-time lead. The half-time discussion identified a lack of directness, and after switching the formation to a more attacking 2-2-2 formation, the girls totally took the game to the opposition during the second half. Within ten minutes of the kick-off Kori Chapic scored a quick brace of goals; with one shot touching on 100 MPH! The game was now simply turned upside down and the Cobras controlled every aspect of the play. Rachel Wolfe and Giuliani Pugliese each scored a goal each, with Kayla Kaz scoring a well taken brace. Jordan Spiegle rounded off a fine individual performance with two more goals giving her a most well deserved hat-trick and the team an 8-0 victory. Congratulations to Julie Scharfstein, a U15 goalie, who was given the opportunity to play with the older girls and who had a fabulous game keeping a clean sheet.
