Cyclones Close Out The Spring Fighting To The Finish

It was another strong performance by the Cyclones as they fought until the final whistle playing the RVC Blasters to a 1-1 tie on Saturday afternoon. The 3rd place Blasters came into the game having won 3 in a row against the Cyclones including an evenly played 2-1 game in April. As they did in April it was the Cyclones grabbing an early lead on Dana's 5th goal of the season. Dana's goal was the result of both Rachel & Jenna fighting to keep the ball in and push it up the wing. Anchored by Kiera, Amanda & both Anna's the Cyclone defense was once again virtually impenetrable. Meanwhile the midfielders, Rachel, Jenna, Jordan, Lisa, Ravid, Marissa & Kathleen did an outstanding job keeping the ball deep in RVC territory feeding Alexa and Dana. The scored remained 1-0 at halftime, but as good teams do the Blasters came out strong in the 2nd half and kept the pressure on until getting the tying goal.
With their newly signed teammate observing from the players bench and determined to play for the win the Cyclones turned up the pressure and threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Blasters the rest of the game. There were many chances and many 50/50 battles won by the Cyclones as they gambled with 4 and sometimes 5 forwards pushing for the winning goal. At the same time the Blasters got several breakaways only to be snuffed out by a brilliant performance in goal by Diana. In only her 2nd appearance in net this season Diana was as sharp as she would have been playing all season. Definitely one of the most exciting games we've seen this season.
The final score 1-1.

For the Cyclones the final record of 3-3-3 was an indicator of so many positive things. The team played more aggressively and physical than we have ever seen. The camaraderie was once again as good as ever. The maturity and leadership of the girls showed up on the field and on the bench.
Here are the numbers...
- The 3 losses tie for the lowest in a season with our 1st season
- 12 goals allowed in 9 games a team record, congratulations to Deniz and the defense
- 4th place finish best ever in team history

Thanks to Lon & Vicki here are the pictures...
The 1st one is my favorite!