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Mays gets chances; Blues get the goal
Real Colorado midfielder Taryn Hemmings heads toward the goal in the first half on Friday at Shea Stadium in Highlands Ranch. (photo by George Tanner/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
Despite a flurry of scoring chances by Becca Mays in the second half, the Pali Blues made a first-half goal stand up for a 1-0 victory on Friday night over the Real Colorado Cougars at Shea Stadium in Highlands Ranch.
How many chances did Mays have to score? Let me count the ways. …
— In the 52nd minute, she nearly headed in a goal off of a free kick. Brittney Macdonald lined up for the restart about 40 yards from goal and hit the crossbar. Mays was there for the rebound, but her header sailed high.
— A minute later, Mays had another shot.
— In the 57th minute, Pali defender Melissa Hayes tried to knock the ball away from Cougars midfielder Beth West, but she inadvertently sent a perfect through-ball to Mays. Her shot was stopped by goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris.
— In the 59th minute, with the Cougars on a quick transition, Harris cut down the angle, and Mays sent a big shot into the side netting from the right wing.
— Second-half substitute Marissa McBride worked the ball up the right wing in the 61st minute while closely watched by a defender. McBride managed to beat her mark and cross the ball in front of the goal, just over the head of Mays.
— Mays headed the ball over the crossbar on a corner kick in the 64th minute.
— Harris stopped Mays again in a collision in the penalty area in the 67th minute.
With all those opportunities, Mays said it was the first one, the rebound off the crossbar, that had the best chance of scoring.
“That header, I totally thought that header was going in, but I just misjudged it,” Mays said. “I thought that one was going to fall.”
Mays’ best scoring chances all came in the second half. It was a stunning change from the first half.
The Blues scored in the ninth minute of play and spent much of the opening 45 in Real Colorado’s end of the field. Kristy Yallop booted in the winning goal after a corner kick by midfielder Iris Mora. Yallop knocked in a loose ball in front of goal with the outside of her right foot after the Cougars failed to clear the ball.
“We gave them their chance on a set play that we didn’t clear,” Cougars coach Brian Haynes said. “And we had our chances and didn’t put it away. Credit to them for taking their chance. … We have to realize that any little chance we get we have to put away. We put our chances away, we win the game.”
The Cougars made some changes at the intermission to change the complexion of the game. They manufactured their second-half scoring opportunities after deciding to put more pressure on the Blues’ defenders, something they weren’t doing in the first half. The move eliminated the Pali defenders’ comfort zone, cut off the Blues’ passing lanes and provided more possession for Real Colorado.
“The first half (our coaches) told us to sit back and just kind of defend,” Mays said. “Then, when we went in at halftime, they were like, “Just go at ‘em.’ Once we were attacking, they couldn’t stay with us.”
True, but the Cougar attack eventually slowed, and none of the Real Colorado players could get the ball past Harris. Not even Mays.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Harris. The Blues were playing without goalkeeper Kristin Olson, who was called to training camp with the U.S. U-23 team, but Harris was up to the task. Harris’ stops on Mays in the first 20 to 25 minutes of the second half were the key to the game.
COUGARS PLAYER OF THE GAME: Mays. “She has a knack,” Haynes said. “Am I going to get on her? Yes. Am I going to say she missed her chances? Yes. But she was the one who got in those positions; I can’t fault her there. She’s getting the chances. When one falls, with goal scorers, they’ll score one, they’ll score two, they’ll score three. That’s what I’m hoping for her, that she’ll break out of it.”
MOVE OF THE GAME: It all started in the 55th minute, when Jennifer Kmezich stole the ball from Pali. The Cougars worked the ball up to West, then she dropped a nasty little cutback on the Blues’ defense. This cutback caught one defender so off guard that she fell into one of her teammates, and they both went down in a heap. One move, two defenders piled on the turf. Nice.
SAVE OF THE GAME: Real Colorado’s Taylor Vancil made a leaping save to deflect a powerful shot by Yallop in the 32nd minute. The shot was headed just under the crossbar, and Vancil knocked it out of harm’s way. Vancil also made a sliding save on Whitney Engen, who was breaking in alone in the 40th minute. Most of Vancil’s best work came in the first half, when the Blues were more in control.
DELAY OF GAME: Nineteen minutes after kickoff, the match was delayed for about 30 minutes because of lightning. And just as the players headed to the locker room and the fans took shelter under the stadium, it began to rain hard. The field was damp before play started, but it was wet after play resumed.
SPECTACULAR VIEW: Shea Stadium offered a panoramic view of Friday’s evening rain clouds and the layered background of the foothills and mountains. Pacific Palisades, Calif., has some amazing views. But anyone who took a moment to absorb Friday’s setting would’ve found it difficult not to appreciate.
George Tanner is a former writer and editor for the Rocky Mountain News; the Greeley Tribune; The Daily Independent of Ridgecrest, Calif.; the Durango Herald; and the Boulder Daily Camera. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado and an associate professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver. E-mail him at ColoradoSoccerNow@gmail.com.
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