By Patrick Houston
Team Reporter
The girls and their coach, Russ Martin, are on the porch of a replica farm house that adorns the landscape of Rancho Capistrano (The Ranch), the site of the Irvine Spring Soccer Tournament where the girls G14 White took first place.
“Not in our house” seems like a fitting caption for this team. In three matches and the championship game they played a very selfish brand of soccer denying every team a goal in regulation. It was not all easy going. The championship match against Brea ended in a 0-0 tie at the end of regulation and had to be decided by penalty kicks (PKs).
When both teams were tied after PKs, the match had to be decided by a sudden death shootout. The first team to miss goes home without a medal. After Irvine made their first kick it was Brea’s turn. That is when Irvine’s goal keeper, Brigid Overton, employed a freeze tactic by asking the referee for some time to adjust her equipment. Brea’s kicker could only stand and watch as Brigid adjusted her shoes, knee pads and shoe laces. When the Brea Kicker finally took her shot, it went sailing over the top cross bar of the goal along with Brea’s hopes of winning the match. The Irvine players stormed the field celebrating and embracing each other in front of the goal. Their Coach, parents and fans watched and cheered as the Irvine players celebrated their first tournament win of 2010.
” We out played every team this weekend” coach Martin told his team after the tournament. Sometimes you do everything right, out play a team and come away without the win, that’s soccer. That’s why you have to make the shots when you have the opportunities”.
Opportunities they will have. As the State Cup is in a couple of weeks and the Spring Soccer league is full stride.