Real Madrid vs. Villareal
Real Madrid kept their division hopes alive against a much-improved Villareal squad as first team all-star nominee Jake Jiler took the game in hand, scoring for the fourth game in a row. All-star nominees Bayley Arens and Austin Sansone also raised their pennants for Real Madrid with late-game tallies. Villareal’s own all-star nominee Alec Tullock increased his goal-scoring streak to three with a goal in the final minutes to avert the shutout. Alec’s near miss to end the first half might have changed the outcome, but it was not to be.
Real Madrid all-star nominees Matthew Weldon and Roxana Zerres proved again that this team is a powerhouse. Alexandra Chang was strong on the defensive side for the victors.
All-star nominees Meryl and Marcus Chan, as well as Lucero, starred for Villareal, while returning goalie Nathan Goldberg kept his team in it for the second straight week.Real Madrid won 3 –1.
Sevilla vs Valencia:
In a face-off of the two division leaders, no clear winner emerged as these two juggernauts battled to a draw. First team all star nominee Zach Trachtenberg scored early for Valencia off a brilliant, selfless set-up from all-star contender Taro Nakagawa. Sevilla’s all-star nominee Alex Hall got the equalizer off an assist from first team nominee Kai Glick. All-star goalie contender Kojin Glick came up huge in the second half, roaming far off the line to disarm the relentless Valencia attack and preserve the tie.
All-star nominees Mathieu Bialosky, Kate Nathan, Roberta Samuel and first team goalie nominee Noah Kahan shined for Valencia.
Sevilla midfielder Najee Hall kept his all-star dreams alive with an outstanding game, while fellow all-star nominee Blake Lackman and Rhiannon Hall were great on the defensive side.
Surging Espanyol ran into a defensive brick wall named Delia Costello and Hanah Sklover as Mallorca continued to turn their season around with a convincing 2-0 win. Mallorca’s all-star nominee midfielder Uriah Fredericks scored off a great pass from Griffin Levine as sweeper Theo Sinko covered virtually the whole field. This fleet-footed wonder has turned the head of the committee in recent weeks with first team all-star caliber play.
Mallorca’s first team nominee Dario Flores increased the lead with a quick shot after a long weaving run. Nicole Tekchandani and Iliana Memmo flashed their fine ball-handling skills in the midfield while most-improved nominee Otis Hatfield was a first-half monster in the goal, robbing all-star nominees Elliott Loving and Alex Hirsch on diving stops, then relentlessly chasing down loose balls as center-forward in the second stanza. All-star nominee Greta Keating turned in another terrific effort on the attack with Bridget Carey for the victors. Theo Fandrich and Chun Schlesinger-Fried kept their all-star hopes alive with a fine effort in the loss.
Barcelona vs Athletico
A much-improved Athletico gave slumping Barcelona all they could handle Sunday, but it was not enough as center-forward Hunter Wolf fought his way through the Atheltico defense on a nice feed into the crease from first team nominee captain Aidan Rogers. Wolf’s blast came dramatically in the final minutes for the game’s only score. Wolf, like Villareal’s Alec Tullock, has surged onto the all-star nomination board in recent weeks with his second game-winner. All-star nominees Michael Banks, Leah Anthony, Lazlo Horvath and Dylan Pryor fought hard for Athletico. All-star nominees Eve Grassfield, Michael Shorris, Chloe Lombardi and Bryan Gomez stood out for Barcelona. Striker Henry Lilien turned in his finest game with numerous steals and feeds, while Barcelona middie Anthony O’Donnell had another solid game for the Red and Blue. Striker Sammy Davis and middie Carly Ogilvie also shone for Athletico.
Aberdeen vs. Hibernian
The field conditions were much different for the second meeting of Aberdeen and Hibernian on Saturday, with temperatures in the 40s and huge mud puddles to avoid. Nicky Leong started things off for Hibernian, moving the ball toward their goal, but was stopped by Aberdeen’s Julian Chow with his fancy footwork and aggressive defense.
Gabriel Colon took a shot on Aberdeen’s goal, but was blocked by Fischer Bodwell. He kept at it, but his next shot went wide. The back-and-forth continued as Milo Bernfield-Millman took it from there for Aberdeen, but his ball was cleared by Hibernian’s Tyler Rohan.
Ryan Porcaro tried for an Aberdeen breakaway, but was thwarted by Hibernian’s Matthew Levine. Luke Dilworth took the ball and dribbled towards the Hibernian goal, making it a nail-biter for goalie James Carney, who booted it to midfield at the last second.
Daphne Tsapalas stepped in for Hibernian, bringing the ball from midfield and passing it to Colon. Sam Liberman threw the ball in on the next play, to Dilworth, whose shot was wide. Rohan booted the rebound way down field to Leong, but that also went out of bounds on a hip block by Chow.
Theo Kaufman brought the action back to the Hibernian goal, but was offsides, so his shot did not count as a goal. Leong had an amazing corner kick, which sailed in front of the Aberdeen goal, but was unable to connect with his teammates before the ball was recovered by goalie Clyde Huibregtse.
Both teams played well defensively, with brave moves by Anthony Miguez for Hibernian. Sophia Stoch and Felix Parker also had good moves for Aberdeen, and Rohan and Lumia Nocita combined for a great clear of a Noah Brodsky rocket, but the half ended with a scoreless tie.
In the second half, Hibernian won the toss and Carney came right into the face of Aberdeen’s new goalie, but twice he was unable to beat Bodwell to the ball and scoot it past him.
After the second try, Porcaro scooted the ball neatly up the side for a clean breakaway. The Hibernian defense was unable to catch him and Porcaro’s line drive went into the net to take a 1-0 lead.
Miguez passed to Colon, whose boot was blocked by Liberman and Alston Biggs on defense. A fancy pull-back by Tsapalas resulted in a breakaway by Colon, but his shot was just wide.
Aberdeen responded with yet another breakaway by Porcaro (who, unfortunately for Hibernian, didn’t need to be with his traveling team on this afternoon), who jammed the ball towards the goal (and only one defender), but it bounced off of Rohan. Before he had a chance to scoop it up, Parker stepped in and finished it off for Aberdeen.
Hibernian did their best with many great offensive plays, and more shots on goal by Romy Macari and Margaret Matthews, Aberdeen won 2-0.
