Game one of the spring 2002 season on March 17th featured the Hot Shots going up against last fall's flight champ runner-ups the CJ Stars. This talented select team has much the world of youth soccer has to offer: speed, quickness, and excellent ball skills. From the outset the 'Shots were playing catch-up as the Stars struck first off a chip over Shannon's outstretched fingertips. That's right Shannon, who was in for Kirsten who was sporting a temperature of 104 but who nonetheless stood on the sidelines wrapped in layers to cheer on her teammates. As the half ended our girls were down by one. But as any and all Hot Shots fans know "down by one" seems to be their credo. The second half began and in no time Carly scored from the left halfback spot to knot the score. Minutes later Melissa scored the game winner. Great start girls!
The score remained unchanged until twelve minutes left as Melissa In the second half the with the wind at their backs the Hot Shots were able to increase the offensive pressure. Carly crossed to the corner of the six to Melissa who charged to the net but the play was broken up nicely by the Kixx goaltender. Seven minutes into the half Parkwood was awarded a corner kick and if not for a dynamite leaping save by Kirsten we would be on the short end of this one. Despite ending in a scoreless tie the girls played one of their best games to date.
Kourtney raced out in the second half with a hard shot from the penalty arc just wide and later Caitlin had some tough luck on a header that just cleared the crossbar. With just seven minutes left in the game Shannon chipped a perfect cross to the six to Melissa who scored the goal to go up 1-0! But the Pumas are a team that seem to "never say die". They came back hard and drove down in two minutes to tie off a loose ball in front of Kirsten and minutes later the game winner off a similar play. Despite the final score the Hot Shots walked off the field with their heads held high because of their top performance against their toughest opponent to this day. Their parents stood on the sidelines and as if hearing a crack of thunder they all at once realized this team just "clicked". Thanks Hot Shots for yet another great weekend of high-octane, nail-biting, on-the-edge-of-your-seat girls soccer.
With the game scoreless the Hot Shots took to the field with their mission at hand: to break the streak of ties that stretched back to last season and put this game away. They did just that with an early corner kick from Casey to Caitlin who tapped it in behind the spun goalie. One-zip. The girls held on to win and improve their rcord to three-and-oh in regular season play.
The second game of this young season pitted our girls against the stellar defense of the Somerset Hills Lightning. This team is famous for its use of the ominous (and at times formiddable) "offside trap". This technique can and has frustrated many teams in the past and for good reason: they perform it superbly. Eleven minutes into the match however Shannon scored on a pretty well-timed cross from Allison to go ahead 1-0. This game saw the return of Kirsten in goal (much to the happiness of Shannon's mom) who performed as steady as always. Brittney on the other hand was sidelined with an ankle injury she suffered playing basketball and was missed greatly.
scored from the 18 off a "sweet" cross from Christine to give the 'Shots some breathing room. Minutes later the girls earned a corner kick and Casey was able to place this one right at the corner of the six where Caitlin plowed through the goaltender to score the third goal. Satisfied, the parents and coaches were ready to run out the clock but they forgot to tell Michelle who scored with some fancy footwork on a late breakaway to end the scoring at 4-0. Next week the girls are going to participate in the CP United Easter Tournament against top teams like the CP Puma's, Parkwood Lady Kixx, and the Jaguars of North Hunterdon. See you there.
WOW! This small word sums up the Hot Shots' performance at the CP United Tournament. Meeting the nationally ranked Parkwood Lady Kixx for the first game our girls knew they needed to play their "A" game and that's what they did. The opening minutes saw the Hot Shots attacking early with Melissa and Michelle as forwards and Carly, Shannon, Erika, and Casey behind as halfbacks putting pressure on the Kixx defense. On our end of the field Parkwood had a throw in that resembled a corner kick that neared the middle of the goal mouth and bounced through but was broken up nicely by Kirsten in net. Minutes later she made an alert save on a rocketed grounder that was aimed for the corner. Defensively the Hot Shots were gaining a stingy reputation with Lina and Swiss as fullbacks, Brittney and Smitty as stoppers with Caitlin as sweeper and Kirsten in goal, giving up very few goals as of late. The half ended with the score tied at zero.
Game two against the Jaguars of North Hunterdon looked amazingly similar to the first game against Parkwood in that the end result was the same: no score after regulation. However the Hot Shot offense put more pressure on the defense than the previous game. Michelle and Allison as forwards and Carly, Shannon, Erika, Brittney, Kourtney, and Casey behind as halfbacks seemed to be a great combination. Both Shannon and Carly seem able to pinpoint their laser-guided crosses wherever they want from either side of the field. The defense notched yet another shutout with Lina stepping it up in the left fullback spot (she played her best game ever) and superb goaltending by Kirsten . Another great game by the entire 'Shot squad.
Game three was the "creme de la creme" of the day with the Hot Shots going up against the unusually big Pumas from CP who would advance to the trophy table with either a win or a tie. Our girls need at least a win to bring home a trophy themselves and they played their hearts out. In the opening minute the Pumas pressured deep in the 'Shots' zone only to be broken up by Smitty as stopper to Swiss as full back and on up to Carly as outside halfback who sprinted upfield to cross the ball to Casey. In the first fifteen minutes neither team owned the bragging rites to this one and each battled tenaciously for the ball. Christine and Kourtney in at the halfback spots and Carolina up to forward to try and give the Pumas a different look.
The half ended just like the prvious two games knotted at zero.
If this was a headline it would read: "EXTRA! EXTRA! Hot Shots Shed Monkey and Dominate Hopewell Valley at Home!" In other words the girls had answers to all of Hopewell Valley's attacks throughout game three of the regular season and then some. Fourteen corner kicks for us to their three says something in itself. The first quarter of play could have gone either way with both the Hot Shots and Typhoons getting equal chances with the ball. But the 'Shots were down two key players with Carly suffering a leg injury in the third minute and Christine doing the same in the sixth minute with a pulled hamstring. But the tide began turning towards the end of the quarter as Allison and Melissa pressured the HV defense to the point of breaking as a flurry of shots blitzed the 'Phoon goaltender. Spectators to this day wonder how the ball escaped going in the net. As the ball traveled to our end a Typhoon corner kick ensued and was booted directly to the head of a Hopewell forward but Kirsten was able to make the save look easy. As the quarter ended Carolina, Kourtney, Brittney, Michelle, and Rachael took the field with "fresh" legs much to the dismay of the HV squad. In minutes the Hot Shots were setting up for another corner and as Casey placed the ball perfectly in front of the net Kourtney flew in to head the ball just inches over the crossbar. As the whistle sounded ending the half we could see fire in our girls' eyes as they trotted to the sidelines to prepare for the second.
