Barcelona vs. Valencia
In a rematch of long-standing Downtown Soccer League rivals, Valencia gained the upper hand Sunday morning, defeating Barcelona 2-1 in Major 10 action.
Matthieu Bialosky and Taro Nakagawa were outstanding for Valencia, with several shots on goal and a tally apiece. Barcelona’s Aidan Rogers answered back with a nifty goal, but it was not enough as Valencia’s defense was strong.
Valencia’s Roberta Samuel wowed the crowd with her footwork and controlled the ball well through the midfield. Barcelona’s Chloe Lombardi, Anthony O’Donnell and Mazzie Hendrix also pushed the ball well, but were ultimately frustrated by Valencia’s Zach Trachtenberg and Halle Darling-Menking. Taylor White, Jasmine Campise and Hunter Wolf turned in another strong game on defense for Barcelona.
Aberdeen vs. Hibernian
The weather cleared beautifully for a late-afternoon match. Aberdeen’s Ryan Porcaro started off the action immediately, taking the ball downfield for a shot on goal. Hibernian goalie Nicky Leong was no match for him, however, and sent the ball in the other direction, and within 20 seconds James Carney had scored the first goal for Hibernian, putting one past Johnluke Quintero. Porcaro continued the pressure and Noah Brodsky and Felix Parker were tough on offense for Aberdeen, but defensive moves by Margaret Matthews, Anthony Miguez and Romy Macari, and good hustle by Tyler Rohan, along with two more saves by Leong, kept the score 1-0.
In the second half, Hibernian’s Lumia Nocito and Gabriel Colon continued their consistent play, keeping the action near Porcaro, now in Aberdeen’s goal. For Aberdeen, Hannah Weinstein, Alston Biggs and Sophia Stoch played well defensively, Fischer Bodwell made several impressive heads-up plays, and Julian Chow’s speed and fancy feet were fun to watch. Hibernian’s Matthew Levine, David Olivo and Colon formed a solid wall of defense, and Matthews proved a formidable striker. Carney tried again but Porcaro came out of the goal to aggressively block his hard shot. Brodsky got close to Rohan in the Hibernian goal, but his shot on goal was thwarted. Brodsky passed to Bodwell for another shot that was also saved by Rohan.
Suddenly, in an un-orthodox move by Aberdeen’s coach, Porcaro appeared on the field (the substitute was still pulling on the goalie gloves as the ball was in play). Leong, now in midfield for Hibernian, made a nice block on the next play, but Porcaro’s bob and weave resulted in an unassisted goal for Aberdeen. Soon after, Quintero saved yet another shot on goal by Carney, and Bodwell came up with another great defensive block in the next play. Brodsky tried to follow up with a shot, but it was blocked by Rohan, then picked up by Porcaro. He shot again, but Rohan made the nail-biting save. Sam Liberman passed the ball behind his back for another exciting offensive move, but Nocita cleared it and passed it to Carney, whose shot on goal, seconds before the whistle blew, was wide. The final score was Hibernian 1, Aberdeen 1.
