South to face New Jersey in National Women Championship Finale: Hockey Recap
In the last group match of the National Women Championship, New Jersey edged past California by a single goal being played at the American University in Washington, DC, on May 26, 2011.
It was the final day of the group clashes, and New Jersey was the only squad that achieved victory. The remaining two matches played between Mid Atlantic and New England and South versus Pennsylvania concluded in a draw.
Though, the players from New Jersey were playing very fast and furious game, they failed to light the lamp in the opening minutes. It was California that drew the first blood in the 9th minute of the game to put California ahead on the score-board.
Katelin Peterson converted a short corner brilliantly through a powerful drag flick.
With the passage of every minute, the speed of the game continued to increase. In a counter-strike, Rachel Neufeld managed a rebound and directed it into the Californian goal-post in the 17th minute of the match, making the score tie at 1-1.
After levelling the score, the players from New Jersey gathered courage and started more offensive style of play. In the last minute of the first half, Kathleen Sharkey managed to get the ball at the top of the circle and struck a powerful shot at the goal,
giving a single goal lead to New Jersey. In the later time, Katie Evans chipped in a goal through a sweeping shot in the 41st minute and expanded the lead of up to two goals.
Until the second last minute of the game, the New Jersey team continued to dominate the field by a two-goal advantage, 3-1. However, Caroline Nichols reduced the lead down to a single goal through a penalty stroke in the 69th minute. With the
final whistle, the New Jersey team won the game and earned a spot in the finals of the championship.
Earlier, the match between South and Pennsylvania was concluded with a one-all draw. The custodian from the two teams showed wonderful performances and denied several attacks from the either side. Though the first half was filled with lot off attacks and
counter-attacks, no team could get past Amy Tran-Swenson and Jackie Kintzer.
After fifteen minutes of empty period in the second half of play, Jesse Gey scored a goal and put South ahead onto the scoreboard in the in the 50th minute. However, the lead changed hands in the last minutes of the match. Shannon Taylor converted
a short corner in the 68th minute of the match and had it all even. The match concluded with a one-all draw and the South team moved into the finals of the National Women Champions against New Jersey.
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