Monday, February 23, 2009

'97 Girls Win Icebreaker Tournament


The Infinity 97 Premier U12 Girls team attended the Ice Breaker Tournament President’s Day Weekend in St. George and brought home first place medals. They played hard and enjoyed the opportunity to be playing outside again. While it was not as warm as we had hoped, at least we didn’t have the snowy storms that hit home.
It took a little getting used to an outdoor field again. The girls had some challenges along the way and had to fight 2 tough battles against Avalanche to finally earn the title of champions.
Infinity had the first game Saturday morning and had to endure the fresh “red mud” from the night’s rain storm. They played Avalanche 98 and got off to a little bit of a slow start. Guest player Demi Lopez finally put in the first goal. Madie Siddoway followed with two of her own. At half Infinity was up 3. There were several attempts the second half, but only Anna Davidson put one in. The tough defense hardly let Avalanche take a shot, and any they did take, goalie Becca “Boo” Jensen stopped, leaving the score 4 to 0.
The second game was not as competitive of a match. Infinity poured on the teamwork and skills to rack up 10 goals. Rebecca Godfrey (3) , Hailey Oldham, Kanyan Ward, Madie Siddoway (3), Viridianna Gomez, and Demi Lopez all had goals. The other teammates helped with great assissts and superb defending. The final score was 10 to 0.
Infinity lucked out with the first game of the day Monday morning too. They played at 7:00 am and the sun was barely out. Competitor Avalanche 97 came ready to fight and wanted a win. There were a few unsuccessful attempts to score and defense really had to work hard. Avalanche scored just before halftime. The girls tried to kick things up a notch second half, but Avalanche put in two quick back to back goals. Madie Sidoway then got a PK and put it right in. This fired the girls up and prompted them to work harder. Madie later put in a second goal. Things were starting to look up for Infinity. There were other shots taken, but luck wouldn’t have them go in. Infinity faced a tough loss 2 to 3.
Game 4 was against Celtic Storm and actually felt a little warmer. With over a dozen shots on the goal, Infinity only managed to make 4 count, winning 4 to 0. Becca Godfrey, Madie Sidoway, Carly Richins and Kanyan Ward all scored.
Infinity’s record brought them to the championship game to have a rematch against Avalanche 97. Avalanche put in the first goal. Infinity didn’t let it get them down, because they were determined to go home champions. The defenders were tight and didn’t let too much through. Infinity dominated the field and took shot after shot, but couldn‘t manage to make them go in. Two successful shots didn’t count due to off sides and kicking it in the goalie’s hands calls by the refs. Finally, Hailey Oldham put one in just before half. There were lots of shots the second half as well. And when it looked like the game might go into overtime, Becca Godfrey put a goal in to clench the win, 2 to 0.
The girls were excited to win and concluded the tournament with their famous Ole’ Ole’ victory dance on the field before going to the awards presentation.

Check out the tournament website for more information, www.icebrekersoccer.com

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