Washington Spirit Reserves News Release - www.washingtonspirit.com
Friday, June 21, 2013
WOODBRIDGE, VA – The Washington Spirit Reserves powered through a gritty Long Island performance to best the Rough Riders 2-0 Thursday evening at Howison Complex in Woodbridge, Virginia. Spirit Reserves forward Amber Stobbs scored early and defender Jenn Skogerboe added a goal in stoppage to edge the solid Rough Rider defense and extend the Washington win streak to five games.
The victory temporarily secures the Northeastern Conference top spot for the Spirit Reserves, currently two points ahead of the Virginia Beach Piranhas. Both teams play again on Saturday and Long Island has two games during the next three days, keeping the standings in a potential state of flux during the weekend.
With what now seems like a Spirit Reserves hallmark, Washington pressured quickly and got on the scoreboard early in the match. Midfielder Katie Yensen broke free down the left side of the Long Island defense and smacked a driven cross in front of the Rough Riders' net. A crashing Stobbs caught the cross in full volley, rocketing the ball past Long Island keeper Samantha Whitney untouched for the 1-0 lead.
Long Island’s defense was dealt a significant blow near the onset of the match when prominent veteran defender Sue Weber suffered a serious ankle injury and was forced to leave the match. Things became even more challenging for the Rough Riders as midfielder Kim DeCesare rolled her ankle in the 29th minute and also could not continue.
Washington continued its rapid attack throughout the match, sending a flurry of shots at the Long Island goal. Solid defending and some absolute heroics from keeper Whitney kept the match undecided throughout much of the night, however.
Spirit Reserve forward Tiffany Brown and midfielder Yensen both fired what seemed to be sure goals on separate occasions, only to see the acrobatic Whitney managed to tip the shots wide. In the second half, defender Meghan Cox blasted a header on frame from six yards out that the Long Island keeper somehow managed to deflect wide.
In took the full 90 minutes before Washington figured a way to break down the Long Island defense again. Forward Morgan Reuther fed a crisp through ball between two defenders to the foot of the streaking Skogerboe in the waning moments of the match. Skogerboe cracked a laser-line shot into the opposite side of the goal to secure the 2-0 final score.
“Great team performance at all levels tonight,” W-League Director Tim Schweitzer said. “As our offense fought all night to solve a very tough Long Island team, our defense afforded them the full time to accomplish the win through superb coordination and control of the match.
“Gutsy performance tonight from Long Island after some early bad luck,” Schweitzer continued. “Sue [Weber] is a stalwart legend in the USL and players like her are what the W-League is all about, we wish her and Kim [DeCesare] a speedy recovery.”
With just a single day's rest, the Spirit Reserves return to action Saturday afternoon on the road. Washington faces the North Jersey Valkyries at 4 p.m. in Wayne, New Jersey.