Sevilla vs. Valencia
On a breezy but sunny day last weekend, Sevilla (2-4-2) stormed the field, anxious to challenge undefeated Valencia (8-0) for the second time this season.
Sevilla dominated the first half, with several shots on Valencia keeper Niall Gallagher. Luke Marable took the first shot, visions of a dozen donuts dancing in his head (for scoring a goal in practice Friday). Valencia’s Liam Fuerst, true to form, showed exquisite ball-handling up the side, but was stopped cold by Sevilla’s Matt Levine in his best play of the season.
Elias Griffin took control and started a flurry of offensive moves, including a shot on goal which was saved by Gallagher. Daphne Tsapalas got the rebound and passed it back to teammate Griffin, whose breakaway shot was wide. A twenty-yard boot by Tyler Rohan to Griffin resulted in another breakaway, which was stopped this time by Valencia’s Yani Porter. Nicky Leong’s try was scooped up by Gallagher, whose great throw to Cameron Lamser was passed nicely to Fuerst.
James Carney, in goal for Sevilla, finally saw some action halfway through, with a nice dribble and shot by Brody Sharoff, but Carney made the save. Leong passed to Marable, who passed to Tyler Adams, but Graham Moore beat them out with his quickness. His pass to Lamser resulted in a shot that went wide of the goal. Sevilla’s Lumia Nocito made a nice clear. Nelson defended well, but Sevilla kept control until Karyna Lambert intercepted the ball and took it up the side. She couldn’t get past Sevilla’s diamond defense, however, and Romy Macari, who had a great game, going to the ball on a lot of plays, passed it to midfielder Rohan. Gallagher moved to the left side of the goal as Rohan came toward him, but he passed the ball to Griffin on the right side of the goal. Fuerst was there to make the block, however, and he and Sharoff took the ball back.
Eva Vignola took the ball through two Sevilla defenders, but Sweeper Jacob Roter cleared it right before the whistle blew to end the scoreless first half.
Carney took the ball for Sevilla in the second half, but his pass was trapped by Rachael Farah. She served it to Moore, whose 20-yard punt from the side was plucked from the air by Leong. Valencia’s last attempt was Gallagher’s blistering shot in front of the goal, which missed Sharoff’s foot and careened out of bounds. And the game soon ended in Valencia’s first scoreless game of the season, and their first tie of the season, as well as Sevilla’s third shut-out of the season.
Sevilla vs. Athletico
In a highly-anticipated match between coaches Bob Potter and John Griffin, Nov. 2 both teams gave as good as they got. Athletico started the action early, but James Carney, in goal for Sevilla, sent the ball back downfield with an awesome punt. Teammate Tyler Rohan took an early shot on goal but Judah Lang made a great save. Balthazar Merrin did not disappoint, keeping up his streak of excellent ball-handling and offensive domination, but his first breakaway was cleared by Sevilla’s Lumia Nocita.
Alexander Monticciolo stepped in and sent the ball the other way. His teammate Gavin Zinzell was also an offensive threat for Athletico, taking control of the ball but unable to get past Sevilla’s diamond defense. Merrin was tripped and took a penalty kick, but his punt went over the Sevilla defenders and an off-sides call prevented the goal from scoring. Nocito continued to play tough defense, blocking Athletico’s Graham Nelson in a crucial play. His subsequent attempt was swept by Anthony Miguez. Merrin’s next shot on goal was blocked by a quartet of Sevilla legs, lent by Nicky Leong and Carney in goal. Carney kicked the ball to midfield, but Athletico’s Anna Van Patten tried to turn it back around for her team. Miguez stepped in again and cleared the ball to Leong, and Romy Macari came alive with two great clears as well, feeding the ball to Leong, who started to break away, flanked by Rohan and Luke Marable. But the ball went out of bounds off Athletico near Sevilla’s goal. Rohan’s corner kick was a beauty, beating the keeper and landing near Leong’s feet, but his shot was wide. Rohan made another fast break, but Athletico’s Conrad Wurzburg kicked it out of bounds as the whistle blew on the scoreless first half.
The second half started with an enthusiastic cheer on the sidelines by the trio of blonde ponytails on Athletico (Meret Baumann, Van Patten and Potter). The action on the field was an immediate tripping foul against Sevilla. Wyatt Accardi’s kick was a perfectly placed boot to Merrin, who passed to Zinzell. His thunder was stolen by Sevilla’s Jacob Roter, shining in his new role of sweeper and sending the ball back towards the Sevilla goal. Nelson’s pass to Merrin was stopped by Sevilla’s Elias Griffin, and in turn, Mia Potter blocked a pass by Rohan. Kyra Russo and Julia Udell also made some great clears for Athletico and Sevilla’s Daphne Tsapalas and Matt Levine got into the action with strong kicks.
Athletico’s next possession culminated in a mad scramble in front of their goal, with Will Pangburn passing to Zinzell, who neatly sent it Merrin’s way. His shot on goal, however, was saved by Leong. Tyler Adams, nursing a bruised thumb, still managed to keep the momentum going for Sevilla with a fine kick to Griffin, which was blocked by Lang. Griffin’s next attempt was an exciting breakaway which was halted by Accardi’s massive body block. Meret Baumann sent it up field, and Nelson tried again to score but Leong smothered the shot. Lev Gordon also put offensive pressure on Sevilla’s defense, passing to Merrin, whose breakaway was stopped by Miguez. In Athletico’s last scoring attempt, Zinzell’s sliding kick was also saved by Leong, and the game ended in the first scoreless tie of the Major 10 season.
