Pool game 5 NWAL vs. Vamdo IF

We knew going into this game that we had already won the bracket and the only thing on the line was for bragging rights.

Vamdo was going to finish third regardless of the out come but they came out and played well above their abilities and we came out flat. The game was very physical and the home town ref didnt give us a lot of calls. This was Vamdo's 2nd game of the day and all though we had a long lay over between our 2nd and the third we were tired.

Vamdo was big and physical combined with our fatigue we just did not match up well. Defensively we had difficulting getting a touch on the ball and handling the pressure which forced us to just clear balls instead of setting up our attacks. Our attackers were off as well. We were late on runs, out of position and just not firing on all cylnders.

We did squeeze out some runs and a few shots but nothing that was impactful. As the game kept going and we were not scoring it really energized the other team. 20 minutes into the half though we squeezed out a goal when Paige got around a defender and drilled it into the upper 90.

A few minutes later she followed on another but it was called back due to off sides. So we went into the half with 1-0 lead.

The second half was not much to exciting. We still struggled with creating a good attack. We kept possesion for the majority of the half and never really had any pressure put on us but we just could not put it together.
The score ended with a 1-0 win.

I am thinking after playing playing 12 games in 8 days we were due for a flat one. The other team really was fired up after the 1-0 loss. Knowing that we have beaten every other team by 6 goals or more a 1-0 loss was a big moral victory for them. They played with a lot of heart.

I'm not sure if we have become the tournament favorite or if everyone is coming out to cheer for a home town team to beat us. We had quite a crowd for all our games today from all age groups.

I've had parents from other teams in different age groups asking me tonight what time and where we play so they can come watch us.

The team we did some trading with yesterday presented us with a Swedish flag signed by all their players after our game. After each game we have been picking an MVP from the other team, presenting her with a Lightning jersey and then giving patches to the rest of the players. We then take pictures with each team. We tend to see those players wearing our jereys all over the place. We traded most of our practice jerseys that say Heart/Hustle/Discipline and I see them every where around here.

We play at 9 in the semis if we win we play at 1 in the finals and if we loose at 12 in a consolation game for third.

We plan on representing. So by 2 our time tomorrow or 7 am your time we should know.

I will let you know as early as I can.
Doug