The ladies took to the challenge in Richmond over the past weekend by facing some top level competition. This is a prestigious level event and the team was fortunate enough to play up in u19 Championship level.  

Game 1:  On Friday, on a water soaked field, the Lightning found themselves down a goal at half against Loudon (Virginia) 03/04 ECNL. Always resilient, they found the back of the net 3 times in the second half.  The first was an LD connection - a Kate Econ cross to Jamie Swartz head flicked onto Justyce Hollenbach who tapped it in to level the score. Next, Liza Suydam hit a rocket from outside the box to take a 2-1 lead.  Alex Murphy scored next after a beautiful first touch and finish after a cross from Liza. Louden scored with about 10 minutes left. But Kayla Proch has some great goal tending to preserve the win.

Game 2:  The rooster crowed to start this one at 8am with a chill and some wind in the air. Nationally known PDA Blue 03/04 (New Jersey), with the majority of the lineup committed to top level Division 1 programs out of the class of 2022, was the opponent.  Some tough luck in the first minute led to an “own goal” and had the team down one. PDA had a ferocious attack and took a  2-0 lead into the half. But don’t count these girls out. They controlled much of the game, including much of the final 20 minutes.  Alex Murphy beat the outside defender on the left side and hit an incredible shot (see video) to cut the lead in half. A number of opportunities later and the whistle blew just a bit too soon. The 2-1 loss ended a long undefeated streak for the ladies dating back to April 2021.

Game 3: Wrapping up the spring season warm up weekend, the 04 Lightning faced a strong side out of New York - WSC NIRVANA FC ILLUSION 03.  A very physical side  combined with some fatigue and injuries made for an even match through out. Both teams had chances - the Lightning had a few more but were unable to finish with WSC sneaking in a rebound with about 15 minutes left to take the game 1-0.


The weekend challenge ended as expected - a great way to get prepared for the upcoming spring season beginning April 9. 

 

For full event results click here.