Saturday, April 23, 2005 Posted: 16:25PM PDT

Hollister United 2,  Central Valley Explosion 2

The skies were threatening for this early Saturday Morning game against the Central Valley Explosion.  The United girls were feeling nervous, knowing the Explosion have won their first three games of the season with substantial point differences.  The coaches knew that this game would entail pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

The parents were on the sidelines ready to root for their girls and hoping for the best.  Kiley G. and Allee were the team captains for the game.  Hollister with a good record of winning coin tosses continued their streak and chose the side of the field.   The girls set up in their positions ready to play.  The whistle blew and the Central Valley Explosion was hot from the start, they were playing with the confidence of a dominating team.  The United girls fought strongly, knowing that they had to defend their goal.  The ball was limited mostly to the Hollister side of the field with few opportunities going to the Explosion’s side.  The game remained scoreless for quite some time, but the Explosion were able to capitalize on a flurry of activity and a momentary confusion around the United’s goal to find the slightest of holes and squeaked the ball in for a goal near the end of the first half.  Undaunted, the Hollister girls kept fighting, never giving up.

As the second half began the United girls were fired up ready to taste the goal.  The girls came out strong and in this half holding the ball in the Explosion territory.  As they fought for control of the game, Deanna was able to kick a ball to make Hollister’s first score.  The sidelines lit up knowing the game was tied.  The girls were determined to keep playing strong.

As the half progressed the Explosion had a penalty kick and they were able to score their second goal.  Hollister could have given up, but the girls were determined to stay in the game.  The fighting for the ball continued and the game time was growing short.  With just a few minutes left in the game, the Explosion Goal keeper came out of her box and grabbed the ball.  The United girls had their opportunity to return the favor and attempt to score.  The Explosion built a wall and Alex took the kick, she plowed the Explosion, but the ball did not make it through their wall.  In the following mayhem the ball was moving all over the box; Alex getting the ball off a rebound was able to make the team’s second goal.  The game was once again all tied up.

With two minutes left in the game, both teams knew that scoring would make all the difference in the game.  The Explosion drove the ball into Hollister’s territory and the defensive players fought to get the ball away from the Hollister goal.  The ball was turned around and Hollister was fighting, getting the Ball in Explosion territory.   The final whistle blew and both teams had to settle for a tie.

The whole team did a great job and these ladies are becoming unstoppable as they gel more and more into a team.  I would like to call out every girl who played Defense today, they had an OUTSTANDING day!!!  The defense made all the difference in this game.  The Explosion did not have one break away though out the game, this game was defense all the way.

United will be on the road to play against the Mount Hamilton Dolphins next Saturday 4/30/05, the game scheduled for 11:15 at  Cadwallader Elementary School.  Let’s hope United can take the next step and pull out the big “W” against this 1-1-1 team.

Photos