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By: Willard M
The soccer teams from AISG and The Concordia International School of Shanghai (CISS) kicked off the first games of the 2024 season today, when both boys’ and girls’ teams gave an impressive performance to supporters on our home field in a friendly match.
After a close 1:0 win for the AISG boys, the girls game wasted no time and started right after at 3:45. The girls got right into it. Both teams were being vocal in no time. Flowing with jitters and excitement from both sides, the competition of the game is on.
In the first 10 minutes, the girls’ team was on fire, keeping the ball mainly out of their half of the field with many attacking chances led by Ginger (16) and Euna (22). They demonstrated great offensive flows of the game.
It wasn’t until the 20-minute mark of the first half that Concordia made their first dangerous attack. After multiple deflections of the ball in Concordia’s box, Concordia striker (2) had a clear counterattack and sprinted all the way past half court, into the AISG box, and shot powerfully.
For a split second everyone’s heart dropped, thinking that it would be a goal; however, with excellent anticipation, the ball was deflected off Angela (8) and Melody (25) cleared the ball out into the sideline.
As the game progressed, Ginger passed a sneaky ground ball to Euna in the Concordia box who finished the ball into the top right corner to score their first points of the season. Everyone lost it, including the people cheering on the sidelines.
Playing with great confidence, the girls’ team then had a triangular formation in mid court with Ginger dropping a world class dime near to the Concordia box filled with players. Ricocheted off a Concordia’s defender, Euna took the chance for the open shot and did not disappoint to score the ball in the bottom corner, securing a 2-0 lead.
Five minutes later, Concordia surprised everyone with a long pass down the line and Concordia had a 4 on 3 advantage. Just as everyone thought Concordia would score, our goalie Simaza (0) stood up and snatched the ball like it was her favorite snack with her bare hands.
The girls ended the first half with a promising 3-0 lead after Ginger who easily pushed the ball in the net.
Entering the second half, the girls continued to show dominance over the court. Substitutions were made from both sides.
Minutes after, AISG won a free kick. Dana (11) kicked the ball with top-class precision and power at the bottom left corner of the goal but slipped out of the goal post by an inch. The Concordia bench was in big relief, knowing that would be a once in a lifetime goal if that went in.
After playing for 50 minutes in blizzarding, cold weather, Concordia defender (22) got injured on a play for the ball. She rolled on the ground, “Clutching her leg in agony. Two Concordia teammates helped her up and escorted her off the court. AISG showed sincere respect to the Concordia striker.
In the final minutes of the game, everyone thought the score would be locked at 3:0. Suddenly, the ball was kicked from mid court and landed on Ginger’s foot. She crossed the first defender and dribbled past the second defender. Using her speed, she chased the ball up and scored in the bottom right corner of the Concordia’s goal to further expand the score.
Although AISG remained victorious after a triumphant 4:0 win, the Concordia girls showed respect and dedication throughout the whole game. Congrats to the AISG girls for securing their first win of the season.
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