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March 16, 2002

The United Quest 88 Whites started this season scoring five unanswered goals. Their 3-0 victory against the GYSA Herricanes was impressive, and their dominating play that led to a 2-0 lead against a TYSA team that played last season in the "A" Athena division was even more impressive. The soccer gods can be a fickle bunch, however, and on this day they would throw a cruel wrinkle into the Quest girls' plans.

The United team started fast and didn't let up the entire first half. Once again, Quest's defensive presence was too much for their opponent's offense to overcome. TYSA came in with a good reputation for attacking soccer, but they found the road to the goal blocked time and time again by determined Quest defenders. Sweeper Carolyn Craddock and defensive backs Kim Shriver and Caroline "City" Poirier controlled the defensive third on the rare occasions that TYSA were able to get past the excellent stopper work of Ali Schultz. Keeper Ana Trujillo came out to scoop up several wayward passes and shots, and her excellent punting help Quest start their attacks well inside TYSA territory. The visitors simply could not get it going against the Quest team defense. In contrast, United's forwards and midfielders put pressure on the TYSA goal the entire first half. Midfielder Kylie Foley was raining corner kicks right into the TYSA Goalkeeper's box and her teammates were making contact on almost every play. Forward Amanda Masters latched onto one of the fine serves and punched the ball past the keeper to put United up 1-0. The pressure on the TYSA goal continued and United got good entry passes on attacks from Heather Dougherty, Jasmine Noel, and Meagan Dilbeck. Just after Amanda Masters scared the TYSA keeper with a hard blast that was tipped just over the bar, forward Alena Reich, who looked very good in a start up top, found the mark for an impressive goal that put Quest up 2-0. She also worked well with midfielder Madison Porter who made several nice overlapping runs. The TYSA defenders were getting tired and the Quest attack did not let up. Several more good serves by Kylie Foley found their way into a crowded penalty area, but the half ended before Quest could do any more damage.

The second half brought more of the same as the United girls dominated play and created some nice chances. Ali Schultz threatened with a long shot, Meagan Dilbeck turned nicely and fired on goal, and Amanda Masters nearly redirected another nice cross from Kylie Foley into the net. Alena Reich continued to be very active and caused the visitors much trouble. The United defense, which had controlled the TYSA offense all afternoon, continued to turn away every thrust on their goal. With the game seemingly in hand, Coach Anne Bristol felt comfortable enough to experiment with her field alignment in order to give players opportunities to play in other parts of the field. TYSA almost immediately sensed an opportunity to exploit the change. Failing to display the good passing that had been the rule of the day, United players found themselves in several "one-on-several" situations that led to losses of possession. Since the United attack had been so successful all game, the team found themselves very compressed forward on several occasions when the ball changed possession, which led to difficult transitions to get back on defense. TYSA's forwards who had been spectators most of the game suddenly found themselves the happy recipients of one-on-one situations against the Quest keeper. With less than ten minutes remaining in the match, TYSA managed to squeeze their first goal past an outstretched Ana Trujillo who had little help after a confusing defensive lapse in front of the goal. United took the ensuing kickoff and pushed into the TYSA half with blind determination to regain control of the match, but once again the ball was turned over and the TYSA midfielders placed the ball back at the feet of their re-energized forwards. With less than three minutes to play TYSA scored the tying goal on yet another breakaway type play. The United players, their coach, and their fans were stunned by the turn of events that left a superior effort unrewarded at the final whistle. TYSA had secured a draw and snatched a victory away from a better Quest team.

Still, the uncharacteristic collapse can't take away the fact that the Quest players seem to have found an offensive rhythm that might prove to be a building block to better things to come. With several key players returning to the lineup after missing this game, a defense that can usually stop any team, and an offense displaying a growing confidence, United's future looks promising.