Newberg, OR — Well that was one for the books! I was pretty nervous in the first half. I felt the girls being pretty submissive to the other teams offense. We really clumped up and were moving quite slowly all the way around. We had several missed shots on their goal, which was frustrating and encouraging all at the same time. It shows that we monopolized the ball, however we were setting it up to take the best shots every time. I saw some good passes in the first half and some really great defensive maneuvers, but the midfield and offense of line I felt were moving really slowly for the most part. For some reason, we also really struggled staying in our positions the first half, which was a lot of the reason why we saw so much clumping up. We regrouped at half time ! We got the girls fired up and talked about how important it is to move quickly and to play aggressively with your eyes up so you know where you're going ! We talked about using our skills at the appropriate time, to help us get away from defenders or to win the ball. When we are going to take shots on the goal, it's all about speed and striking the ball into the goal! The girls came out and played with their heart and sunk two more goals to bring us up to 3 to 1 For the win! They did a lot better with moving quickly and staying in their positions to receive passes from their teammates! They did better at staying wide and playing the field ! I think part of the issue today may have been several schools had fun runs and a couple of the girls mentioned their legs were already tired when the game started today. Sometimes I forget they're only 10-year-olds and not superhumans 😉❤️ Also, a couple of the girls were out sick this week with the stomach flu and I'm sure they were feeling a little bit weak coming back from that. I appreciate the effort on everyone's part today ! Immediately following the game, gracie stood outside my jeep for 30 minutes dry heaving and complaining of horrible nausea and cramps. I think she is finally succumbed to the illness being passed around the team 😩 So proud of how all Of the girls came together to finish that game strong! Lastly, as I'm sure many of you saw, the other teams goalie took a really bad hit to the throat from Gracie trying to score a goal. Gracie came in fast with forward momentum and Cortlyn, the goalie knelt down to grab the ball. Gracie had no way to stop, and her knee unfortunately hit Cortlyn right in the throat as Gracie tried to jump over to avoid hitting her 😢 Cortlyns parents have let me know she's in the ER right now and nothing is broken. She does have a lot of swelling in her throat and they are putting her in a CT scan to check for damage. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers ! This is a solid reminder that injuries can definitely happen on the field and to always play it as safe as possible, without intending to hurt anyone, we know that accidents can happen and Gracie certainly feels awful. Thanks for all the cheering on the sideline and the support of your daughters! Please tell them they did an awesome job and I could not be more proud see you all Tuesday !! Coach Hess