Action continues in adidas Women’s Blue Chip

by Melissa Maykut

April 13, 2013

OXFORD, Ohio – Besides competing against each other, the ladies playing in the adidas Women’s Blue Chip Showcase Saturday also had to battle the wind. Despite the blustery conditions bending the ball more than Megan Rapinoe, plenty of teams continued to dominate the tournament by finding the back of the net.

The U15 age group saw a tough match between the PSC Impact and Kentucky Fire Saturday afternoon. Solid defense on both ends kept the game scoreless through the first 40 minutes of play, but the Kentucky Fire struck first late in the second half when forward Ashley Ritchie scored off a fast break.

girls club soccer player adidas blue chip showcase

U16 Crew Juniors Gold vs.
Escalibur

A second goal from midfielder Keylie Borman a few minutes later sealed the win for the Kentucky Fire, making them 2-0 in showcase play.

The U16 age group saw a close game from Kings Hammer Academy (KHA) and Cleveland United SC.

KHA got on the scoreboard first off a corner kick early in the first half. Despite a sea of red and blue jerseys swarming the box, forward Kelly Polacek managed to get a foot on the ball and find the back of the goal.

KHA made it a 2-0 game when a high floater from midfielder Lauren Nemeroff hit the far corner of the net.

The wind was on Cleveland United’s side late in the second half when midfielder Natalie Niehaus’s penalty shot outside the box flew past the keeper’s grasp. Witout an equalizer, though, KHA walked away with a 2-1 victory.

Crew Juniors Gold also found success Saturday against Excalibur SC. After a scoreless first half, midfielder Natalie Flahive initiated an attack by flying up the wing and passing the ball to teammate Kelley Zebrowski. Zebrowski moved the ball further up the field, laying the ball in the center of the box for forward Madison Nixon to rip a shot past the keeper’s hands.

Dixon later increased the lead by two off a similar play, but Excalibur SC countered with a goal of its own when midfielder Emily Giel danced around defender Alexandra Heberle to make a quick pass to midfielder Peyton Davis who blasted it past the Crew Juniors keeper.

Crew Juniors Gold managed to hold on to its lead to win the contest 2-1 and increase its’ weekend record to 1-1.

“We’ve been focusing this week in practice on making the blind sided run, and I think we did an amazing job doing that,” Crew Juniors assistant coach Ashley Hedges said. “The wind, obviously, is a factor, but keeping the ball on the ground and making those through balls was our main focus of this game and our girls did really well doing that.”

In U17 play, the Swisa Crush came back from a heartbreaking 0-1 loss to Cleveland Kickers SC to dominate their match with Greater Toledo FC.

Defender Oliva Shafer found the back of the net first, heading the ball past the keeper off a corner kick from forward Ryley Hancock. Forward Kayla Murphy scored next off a rebound from a Toledo defender at the start of the second half, while Shafer put Swisa Crush up 3-0 with a second header from defender Maggie Ethridge’s corner kick.

With five minutes left in the game, midfielder Caroline Scales ripped a shot from five yards outside the box to clinch a 4-0 victory for Swisa Crush.

With warmer, sunnier weather predicted for Sunday, women’s soccer will enter its final day in the adidas Women’s Blue Chip Showcase.