NPFC traveled away to Kiwanis Field, Bremerton for a 2:30pm kick-off to a 3-0 victory!
It was another exemplary weekend of soccer trailblazing on the Olympic Peninsula. Wiley Rowe, of the Bremerton Soccer Club, gathered together a team and prepped a field by painting the lines herself. Incredible! Fans from as far as Forks came to see Blaze play their 2nd game and have a chance at their first win. Lilli Anderson returned to ref the game.
After last weekend’s loss, Coach Juan Carlos was very quick to identify the problem areas and utilize our training sessions this week to build an effective offensive attack. It was a simple plan. We position ourselves in a W-pattern, communicate, and look to get the ball to our striker. As Kate Hall said this week at practice, “All we need to do is get the ball anywhere in the vicinity of Taryn’s feet. She can turn tighter than any player I have ever seen.” This was after some debate as to whether she likes through balls or balls over the top.
“All we need to do is get the ball anywhere in the vicinity of Taryn’s feet. She can turn tighter than any player I have ever seen.”
– NPFC Blaze player Kate Hall
Taryn Asmus’ first goal came from a set piece (corner kick) when she played quickly with Claire Foden who heeled it back to her then Taryn kicked it perfectly into back post. Second goal also came off a set piece (free kick) from the left side when Vieney Cadenas kicked it to the back post with Taryn timing it perfectly to tap it in. Then, with Bremerton pushing high, Taryn exploited space behind the back line and received a through ball, calmly slotting it to the left bottom corner, earning her hat trick and a 3-0 win for Blaze!
But it wasn’t without support. The midfield team was strong with a bunch of ballers that consistently won the 50-50 balls and maintained control of the ball under pressure. Kelsey Kuhn, Vianey Cadenas, Lisa Hansen, and Sammy Gonzalez were aces at moving the ball forward and improving our situation. With speed up the sidelines, a never give up attitude, and a quickness to laugh, Piper Williams was a fun one to watch. Up top, Lisa and Kelli Mishko played some great through balls, utilizing the center open spaces in our opponents 3-back defensive line.
I was a little worried when one of our centerbacks, Kate Hall, came out with a calf injury. But, Allison Roth didn’t hesitate to fill in and joined forces with veteran Jeni Banks to hold the line, flanked by Maria Frutos and Eugenia Elena. And our keeper, Kelsey Chapman, was and is just a beast in the box. The bare ground around the goal didn’t deter her from making several diving saves. She was fearless with challenging the attackers.
Coach Juan Carlos was happy with how players were able to adapt to playing different positions and make changes on the fly. He recounts, “There were many successes this game. We executed well when it mattered. We were clinical in our finishing, we created lots of chances, our build up was good, keeping posession annd not panicking especially on a difficult surface with the tall grass. We created a variety of good chances which was fun to watch. Defending was really good especially in second half. We did a good job in playing compact and making it difficult for the opposing team. When they did creates, everyone was contributing and we did well in neutralizing the opposing teams scoring opportunities.”
It didn’t look like this was the first time we played together. As one fan said, “You’re team is developing some chemistry.”
Blaze plays their first home game on May 18th, 6pm at Peninsula College vs the local High School girls, under the coaching of Peninsula College players. This will be a game you won’t want to miss.
