+By Tommy Fellner // The Acalanes Women’s Soccer team (6-0-2) improved their DFAL record to (4-0-2) as they beat crosstown rival Miramonte 3-1 this Friday night.
The last time these two teams played the Lady Matadors won in a penalty shootout to advance and later win the NCS championship. The memory was still fresh in the Lady Dons’ minds as they took the field a year later.
And this time, instead of relinquishing their lead, the Lady Dons got ahead early and never looked back.
The match was fairly even possession wise with neither team dominating the territory battle. It was the Lady Dons that were able to put away their opportunities while fending off Miramonte’s attacks.
Sasha Sadoff netted the first goal of the match assisted by Regan McQuain. The Lady Dons got the Lady Matadors on their heels on a counter attack and used excellent passing to throw off the defense’s balance. Sadoff attacked the open space and McQuain found her wide open for the goal.
Acalanes scored again, this time with McQuain connecting on a penalty kick. A Miramonte foul inside the box drew a penalty kick and McQuain threaded it past the goalie and into the back of the net to give Acalanes a buffer.
The score remained 2-0 in favor of the Lady Dons heading into halftime.
The two teams were locked in a scoreless stalemate until about halfway through the third when Miramonte launched an offensive attack and caught the Acalanes defense off guard. The Lady Mats converted the opportunity and brought themselves within striking distance of the lead.
But the defensive battle would ensue following the goal. It was not until the final two minutes of the game that Acalanes exposed another Miramonte defensive breakdown. This time Jackie Nichols found Emily Smith streaking past the Lady Matadors defense. Smith corralled the ball and fired it past the Miramonte goalie for another score and to put an exclamation point on the win.