Real Madrid vs. Valencia
After three losses, Real Madrid put a punctuation mark on its resurgence by beating undefeated Valencia on Monday night.
The midfield trio of Zach Lobel, Louis Dannatt and Anna Rubinfein frustrated the high-powered Valencia offense before Real Madrid striker Jake Jiler exploded past superb Valencia goalie Noah Kahan for the game’s only score.
Matt Bialosky, Zach Tractenberg and Jack Freedman played well for Valencia in the 1 – 0 loss.
Real Madrid vs. Athletico
Real Madrid, the division’s hottest team over the past three weeks, ran into a brick wall Sunday in the form of the red jerseys of Athletico, but ultimately prevailed.
Led by brilliant goalkeeper William Carr and fierce defenders Lazlo Horvath and Taidgh Barron, Athletico kept the sparkling Madrid front line of Alex Klemer, Austin Sansone and Owen Colby in check
At the same time, Madrid goalie Alex Chang and defenders Max Ripps and Mei Meadow held off the relentless assault of Athletico’s Michael Banks and Dylan Pryor.
Finally, with only minutes remaining, Madrid’s Matt Weldon penetrated for two goals to seal the win, 2 – 0. “We were pushed to the limit,” said Madrid coach Geoff Arens. “Athletico is a tremendous team.”
Justin Wong and Sam Davis played strong for Athletico, while Jake Jiler, Roxanne Zerres and Theo Klein stood out for Real Madrid.
Sevilla vs. Barcelona
Center Alex Hall ripped a beauty off a long solo rush for the only tally as surprising division contender Sevilla took a win from Barcelona, 1 – 0.
Aidan Rogers, Eve Grassfield, Chloe Lombardi, Hunter Wolf, Nigel Epps, Anthony O’Donnell, Wilde Stokke and Jasmine Campise were outstanding for Barcelona in the loss.
Kai and Kojin Glick, Najee and Rhiannon Hall, and Keunwoo Pak shined for Sevilla.
Valencia vs. Villareal
Co-captains Taro Nakagawa, Zach Trachtenberg and Mathieu Bialosky all scored to lead first place Valencia to a convincing 3 – 0victory over Villareal.
Mikayla Toffler, Raquelle Sewell, Marcus and Meryl Chan starred for Villareal.
Mallorca vs. Espanyol
League high-scorer Dario Flores tallied two goals to carry Mallorca to a 2 – 0 victory over a very tough Espanyol team.
Elliot Loving, Alex Hirsch, Chun Schlesinger-Fried and Adam Moftah played well for Espanyol. Uriah Frederick, Otis Hatfield and Greta Keating also shined for Mallorca.
Livingston vs. Hibernian
Eager to repeat its Oct. 1 victory against Hibernian, the Livingston offense took the ball right down to the Hibernian goal and shot just after the whistle blew to start the game, even as the Livingston goalie Conrad Wurzburg was still pulling on his jersey on the sidelines.
Gabriel Colon made that save for Hibernian and again soon after, when he was challenged by Livingston striker Luke Carson. Daphne Tsapalas and Anthony Miguez helped Wurzburg out on defense, as Hibernian also put the offensive pressure on. Hibernian’s Jacob Roter made a shot on goal that went high and Matthew Levine had a great boot that went wide.
Luke Marable and Anna Miliakos played well for Livingston, and Carson continued dominating with his size, blocking balls with his chest and head, and making a nice cross pass to Deejai Riangkrul, whose shot was also wide.
Then James Carney took control of the ball for Hibernian, but his shot also came in wide. Lumia Nocita made a great follow-up shot on the Livingston goal, and the ball bounced from Wurzburg’s hands. Roter took advantage of the moment and blasted the ball past him, but the celebration was over for Hibernian when the referee determined that Wurzburg had possession of the ball. Even the Livingston coaches thought the goal was good, but the ref would not budge.
Hibernian kept at it offensively with a long, strong kick down the right side by Tyler Rohan, which was blocked by the chest of visiting player Truman Dunn. Jacob Turner also moved well offensively for Livingston, but due to strong defense by Hibernian and many turnovers, the score remained 0-0 to end the first half.
In the second half, Jacob Roter played in goal for Hibernian, trying to work through the cluster of Livingston players plus a defensive wall made up of Hibernian’s Nocita, Romy Macari and Margaret Matthews. Livingston’s Turner booted a high kick from just inside midfield that went sailing over everyone’s head for Livingston’s first goal.
Hibernian tried to even the score, but with the wind pushing the ball out of bounds, there was little continuity to their offensive plays. Athena Karavasilis, Laura Conner and Koko Drabla made some good blocks as well to help thwart Hibernian. Livingston’s Jarrod Dominguez tried to move the ball downfield but was blocked by Rohan.
Hibernian’s Colon, now on offense, did his best to bring the ball down, trying to connect with Nicky Leong. Livingston won, 1 – 0.
