Hotspur News Blast
Posted: March 4, 2013 Filed under: Game Recap | Tags: CSL, Hotspur, Los Angeles, Soccer, Spurs, Win, women's soccer 1 Comment »
back row, left to right: Sarah Halpenny, Erin Foye, Catherine Davila, Mary Ronau, Lindsey Moss, Kelly Buck. front row: Gretchen Miller. not pictured: Natalie Levis
The Spurs remain unbeaten in league play since the start of the new year, with a 2013 league record of three wins and one tie.
Over the past few weekends, Hotspur has notched wins over AC Brea and FC Impact and tied Norwalk WSL.
The Spurs overall CSL record for the 2012/2013 season is 7-2-4.
Hotspur and Norwalk met for the first time on Saturday, February 9th. After conceding two quick goals to Norwalk, the Spurs battled back to tie the match 2-2 by way of goals from Gretchen Miller (Catherine Davila assist) and Becca Bullard (Gretchen Miller assist). At the start of the second half, Norwalk once again found the back of the net, and Hotspur was forced to play catch up for the rest of the match. With minutes left in the game, Oriana Nierojewski scored the tying goal on an assist from Brittney Watson. Brittany Parker tended net for the Spurs.
Two weeks later, Hotspur returned to the pitch to take on FC Impact. Once again the Spurs conceded early counter-attack goals but quickly regained control of the match and found the back of the net four times to secure the win. The Spurs first goal came by way of Nicoline Jorgensen, with assists from Sarah Halpenny and Davila. The play started with a throw-in to Mary Ronau, who flicked the ball over the defensive line and down the right touchline to Davila. Davila sent a long cross to the far post, which Halpenny tracked down on the left wing. Halpenny one-timed the ball back to Jorgensen, setting the striker up perfectly for the easy tap-in. Ronau scored the second goal on an assist from Bullard, and the pair later reversed roles for the third goal of the match, when Bullard found the net off a pass from Ronau. The final goal of the match was again by way of Ronau, who received the set-up from Davila. Parker and Jorgensen split time in net on the match.
On March 3rd, the Spurs beat AC Brea in a 3-0 win. The first goal was set up by Alli Griffin, who played the ball to Ronau. Ronau turned with the ball, cut to her left foot and nailed a driven ball to the far post. The Spurs’ second goal was generated by Gretchen Miller, who played a long ball past the defense to Ronau, who dribbled the ball past the keeper and put it away for the score. The third and final goal was scored by Davila, who chased down a long ball played by Nierojewski from the center back position. Dee Vela tended the net for the Spurs, protecting the shutout.
In addition to league play, Hotspur brought two teams to the Toque Futsal tournament at the Cal South Expo held on February 16th and 17th. Both teams had successful stints, and Hotspur Yellow came home the victors from the tourney, winning the finals in a 3-2 battle over Long Beach Futsal, a team who had beaten the Spurs in the first round of play. Hotspur Yellow was comprised of Lindsey Moss, Erin Foye, Natalie Levis, Halpenny, Miller, Ronau and Davila.
A Bright New Year For The Spurs
Posted: January 11, 2013 Filed under: Game Recap | Tags: Alli Griffin, Ana Carinena, Becca Bullard, Brittany Parker, catherine davila, coast soccer league, Dee Vela, Game Recap, gretchen miller, Hillary Tribbs, Hotspur, kelly buck, Lauren Johnson, Mary Ronau, Oriana Nierojewski, rachelle house, Shannon Wahl, Soccer, Win, women's soccer 1 Comment »
Catherine Davila scored the first goal of the match when she out-sprinted the defensive line and capitalized on a keeper error, knocking the ball in the back of the net from outside the 18 to exploit the keeper’s poor positioning.
Hotspur FC kicked off the new year with a decisive 10-0 win over FC Impact.
The Spurs scored six goals in the first half and four in the second, and kept a clean sheet with the efforts of keepers Brittany Parker and Ana Carinena, who shard duty between the pipes.
Half of the team’s goals came by way of Becca Bullard, who showed off her striker’s touch by slipping 5 goals past the hapless Impact keeper. But Bullard was not content just to score, and contributed two assists to the scoring frenzy for a total of 12 points in the match. The point lifted Bullard’s career point total to 100, with a total of 40 goals and 20 assists during her 2 1/2 year tenure as a Hotspur.
Also contributing to the scoring were Catherine Davila and Rachelle House who both added two goals and Mary Ronau who put one ball in the back of the net. The assists were spread across the squad, with eight different players setting up their teammates to score.
The complete scoring was as follows:
Davila (Bullard)
Bullard (Shannon Wahl)
Davila
Bullard (Lauren Johnson)
Bullard (Dee Vela)
House (Bullard)
Bullard (Kelly Buck)
House
Ronau (Tribbs) (Carinena)
Bullard (Gretchen Miller)
Hotspur, who hardly could have made a more promising start to the new year, ended its first season in the newly formed CSL with a winning record of 5-1-4.
Though the schedule has yet to be released, the side will resume play in the CSL in a few short weeks.
Hotspur Game Recap
Posted: December 21, 2012 Filed under: Game Recap | Tags: Alli Griffin, ashleigh garmon, Becca Bullard, Brittany Gonzales, Brittany Parker, brittney watson, catherine davila, coast soccer league, Dee Vela, Game Recap, gretchen miller, Hillary Tribbs, Hotspur, kelly buck, Lauren Johnson, lindsey moss, Mary Ronau, Molly Casanova, nicole mcguire, Oriana Nierojewski, rachelle house, Shannon Wahl, Soccer, Stef Chan, Win, women's soccer Leave a comment »
The ladies of LA Hotspur have been hard at work this past month, most recently pulling a win in last weekend’s matchup against AC Brea Women. In the match, Hotspur initially fell behind its opponent by a margin of two goals, which Brea Women were able to notch against the run of play. Hotspur responded with two more goals in the first half and a third in the second half to end the game as victors, 3-2.
In the game Gretchen Miller, Nicoline Jorgensen and Ashleigh Garmon all put the ball in the back of the net to contribute to the team’s eventual win. Miller converted the first goal off a corner kick taken by Garmon that sailed to the far post. Miller jumped up and over a defender and slammed the ball into the back of the net with her head.
The next goal came courtesy of Jorgensen, her second goal scored on a breakaway this season. Outside back Mary Ronau stepped forward to win a ball, first timing a pass to Garmon on the front line. Garmon sent a quick through ball to Jorgensen, who streaked past the opposing defense, and, when faced with a one on one against the Brea Women keeper, Jorgensen pounded the ball into the back of the net.
With the score tied 2-2, Hotspur pressed for the duration of the second half, but Brea Women did well to hold off the hungry Spurs. Hotspur took numerous shots on net that were stopped by Brea’s fiesty keeper and the Brea defense tucked back to add numbers to its defensive half of the field. But Brea’s cautious defending was to no avail, and when Garmon powered a long-distance strike from outside the penalty area, the Spurs proved they could not be stopped. The play started when Jorgensen, now in goal, punted a long ball into the second half of the pitch. Ronau ran down the ball on the left side of the field, and cut the ball back from the arms of Brea’s last defender. She slotted a back pass to Miller who had sprinted up in support. Miller slipped the ball to Garmon, in goal scoring position on the right side of the field. Garmon took a long shot that sailed over the keeper and tucked nicely into the far post netting.
The win raised the Spurs record to 4-1-4 on the season. The Spurs had prefaced last weekend’s win with losses in the two weekends prior: first to So Cal Blues by a score of 2-0 and later to Freedom Elite by a 4-1 margin. In the Freedom Elite match, Becca Bullard had the lone goal of the match, and scored when Jorgensen raced down a ball in the center of the pitch. Jorgensen sent the ball to Rachelle House, who took a shot from the right side of the field. The keeper got her hands on the ball but was unable to pull it down, and Bullard capitalized on the far post to put the ball into the back of the net.
The Spurs have just one game left in the season, and are set to match up against FC Impact on January 6th. The Impact are currently winless on the season, and when last slated to play Hotspur, FC Impact were forced to forfeit due to lack of players.
Hotspur Bring Home the Win!
Posted: November 11, 2012 Filed under: Game Recap | Tags: Becca Bullard, Brittany Parker, brittney watson, catherine davila, coast soccer league, Dee Vela, Game Recap, Hotspur, kelly buck, Lauren Johnson, Mary Ronau, Molly Casanova, Oriana Nierojewski, rachelle house, Shannon Wahl, SoCal Select, Soccer, Tani Toprakci, Win, women's soccer 1 Comment »
Midfielder Dee Vela leaps up to head the ball out of the air.
LA Hotspur FC (3-1-2) resurged with vengeance from last week’s loss as the side defeated So Cal Select (2-1-3) in a 4-2 victory on Sunday. The Spurs were led in scoring by forward Becca Bullard, who put the ball in the back of the net thrice, scoring a hattrick on the day.
Keeper Brittany Parker kept So Cal Select frustrated as she came up with several big saves for the Spurs, plugging up multiple breakaways with brave, diving saves.
The Spurs defense and midfield fought hard to contain the opposition’s offensive threat, and worked to feed balls to the front line.
Bullard scored her first goal of the match early on, when defender Lauren Johnson sent the ball down the left side of the field. Bullard ran onto the ball, and dribbled toward endline, cutting past a defender to open up space. Bullard then nailed a left-footed shot on net that ripped past the So Cal keeper and hit the far post netting.
So Cal Select later returned the favor, knocking a ball into the back of the net off a corner kick attempt that landed far post. A So Cal Select attacker headed the ball back on face, and the ball was buried into the back of the net despite a defensive scramble to get the ball out.
The Spurs’ second goal of the game came when forward Nicoline Jorgensen found midfielder Mary Ronau making a run on the left side of the field. Jorgensen split two defenders with her pass, feeding Ronau through. Ronau sprinted on the ball and first-timed a left-footed cross, driving the ball across the face of the net. Bullard, making a run in front of the net, one-timed a hard strike into the back of the net to once again give the Spurs the lead.
In the second half, So Cal Select found the back of the net once again, when, midway through the half, an attacker capitalized off a defensive breakdown with a quick shot that found the back of the net.
But the Spurs refused to be held down!
Hotspur quickly matched the goal with a goal of it’s own, when Ronau tapped a ball past the defensive line on a half volley. Bullard found the end of it, sprinting onto the ball and connecting just before the keeper to loft a ball into the back of the net from the 20 yard line.
The Spurs put away a security goal with ten minutes left in the match, when Catherine Davila received the ball on the right side of the pitch. She played the ball into Ronau, who quickly distributed the ball to Jorgensen who was sprinting up the right side of the field. Jorgensen dribbled the ball down the line and centered the ball to Ronau, who was sprinting towards net. Ronau one-timed the ball with a right footed shot, a ball that lifted up over the keeper and found its final resting place in the back corner of the far post.
With the win, the Spurs bounce back into third place in league charts. The Spurs face off next week against AC Brea Women (1-0-5) at 12 noon.
Spurs Have the Blues
Posted: November 6, 2012 Filed under: Game Recap | Tags: Alli Griffin, Becca Bullard, Brittany Gonzales, Brittany Parker, brittney watson, catherine davila, coast soccer league, Game Recap, gretchen miller, Hotspur, kelly buck, Lauren Johnson, loss, Mary Ronau, Oriana Nierojewski, Sarah Halpenny, So Cal Blues, Soccer, women's soccer Leave a comment »
Midfielder Brittney Watson carries the ball up the field.
While midfielder Brittney Watson celebrated her birthday, LA Hotspur (2-1-2) took on league front runners So Cal Blues (5-0-0). Despite a hard fought battle, the Blues eventually emerged the victors by way of a late second-half game-winning goal.
The Blues were also the first to put a point on the board, when they managed to knock a ball into the back of the net with just fifteen minutes remaining in the first half. Hotspur had its share of opportunities, but the side was unable to convert for a goal. In the first half, both sides traded off momentum, sharing possession of the ball.
In the second half, Hotspur got on the board immediately when forward Becca Bullard played the ball through to forward Nicoline Jorgensen. Jorgensen blasted the ball into the back of the net, tying the game and notching her first ever point while wearing a Hotspur jersey. Bullard’s assist was her 80th career point while wearing the Hotspur green and gold.
After the goal, the Blues regained momentum and had the Spurs on their heels for the remainder of the game. Despite tough team defending led by Ashley Parker, Catherine Davila, Lauren Johnson, Kelly Buck, Brittany Gonzales and Sarah Halpenney, the Spurs were unable to regain momentum.
So Cal Blues put away its second goal of the game with under ten minutes remaining. A Blues attacker turned quickly to beat to Spurs defenders and fired a shot on a half-chance that found the left side netting.
The Spurs’ best opportunity of the second half came on a breakaway by Bullard, who beat the last defender and nearly put the ball away on a breakaway. The ball popped out wide to the left, and midfielder Mary Ronau collected the ball. Davila made a run down the right flank and Ronau sent a cross field ball that landed at the scrappy defender’s feet. Davila dropped the ball back to Watson, who was sprinting in from the midfield. Watson connected with a solid strike but the ball sailed just over the crossbar.
Jorgensen tended net in the first half for the Spurs while Brittany Parker stepped between the pipes in the second half. Both keepers did well to protect the net, making crucial saves to keep Hotspur in the game.
Hotspur finish the first half of the season with a .500 record.
With three games remaining in the season, the Spurs look forward to battling towards a higher win-percentage.
Champions!
Posted: October 31, 2012 Filed under: Game Recap | Tags: Alli Griffin, Becca Bullard, catherine davila, Flora Guilbaut, Game Recap, Hotspur, kelly buck, LA Municipal League, lindsey moss, Mary Ronau, Molly Casanova, rachelle house, Soccer, Win, women's soccer Leave a comment »
Hotspur #2 snag the LA Municipal 7-aside championship trophy for the third consecutive season
Hotspur #2 ended the Fall 2012 7-aside season with a 3-2 win over Brasil on Monday, thanks to a late game-winning goal by Rachelle House.
House was also the first to put points on the board with an early goal in the first half. The goal came when Mary Ronau played the ball to Molly Casanova, who sent a through ball to House. The midfielder struck a low ball into the far post corner to give the Spurs a one goal lead.
Later, Becca Bullard added another to the Spurs’ tally after Ronau won a tackle from the defensive position. The ball sprayed to the left, and House picked it up, sending a quick through ball to Bullard who was streaking down the left side of the field. Bullard nailed the ball into the back of the net with a powerful left-footed strike.
Brasil was able to convert for a point when the side gained advantage on a long, lofted ball that made its way to the net. Keeper Kelly Buck got a hand on it, but was unable to control the high struck ball. Taking advantage of the opportunity, a Brasil attacker rushed in and placed the ball into the back of the net.
In the second half, Hotspur and Brasil traded off possession, with the majority of play located in the center of the pitch. With ten minutes left in the match, Brasil tied the game when an attacker blasted the ball past keeper Flora Guilbaut from point-blank.
But the Spurs quickly combined for another goal, with House receiving a pass from Bullard by way of Ronau. House beat a defender and buried the ball into the back of the net, securing the game and silencing Brasil for the remaining minutes.
Hotspur finished the Fall 2012 season with an overall record of 9-0-1. The Dubs had a total of 27 points, 49 goals for and just 13 goals conceded. This is the sides third consecutive LA Municipal 7aside championship. In the previous season (Spring 2012), Hotspur had a perfect 10-0-0 record, and a total of 30 points, scoring 51 goals on the season while only relenting 5 times. In the Fall 2011 season, the team’s first in the league, the Dubs won the championship with a record of 9-0-1 with 79 goals for and 19 against.
The league existed for one year prior to Hotspur joining. In that year, Brasil were the victors with a record of 9-2-1.
Top row, left to right: Flora Guilbaut, Kelly Buck, Rachelle House, Lindsey Moss, Alli Griffin. Bottom row, left to right: Becca Bullard, Catherine Davila, Molly Casanova, Mary Ronau
Hotspur Fall to Freedom Elite
Posted: October 28, 2012 Filed under: Game Recap | Tags: Brittany Gonzales, brittney watson, catherine davila, Dee Vela, Game Recap, gretchen miller, Hillary Tribbs, Hotspur, kelly buck, Lauren Johnson, loss, Mary Ronau, nicole mcguire, Oriana Nierojewski, rachelle house, Shannon Wahl, Soccer, Stef Chan, women's soccer Leave a comment »
Defender Stefanie Chan squares up to shut down the opposing attack.
LA Hotspur FC (2-1-1) fell to CSL opponents Freedom Elite Saturday night by a margin of 1-nil. The Spurs, who were lacking in players for the Halloween match, managed to keep their opponents at bay by only allowing one goal. Offensively, the squad were unable to combine for a goal, but not for lack of chances.
With goalkeepers Brittany Parker and Nicoline Jorgensen unavailable for the match, Brittany Gonzales stepped up to tend net for the Spurs. In the match, Gonzales came up with a couple big saves, including collecting a well placed ball that was struck high and on frame in the second half.
Hotspur’s defensive team also had an impeccable game, banding together to shut down Elite’s wing play, and holding strong in the center to clear away crosses.
Freedom Elite put the ball in the back of the net in the first half, after a player on the Elite side handled a ball down to her feet. The player then sent a through pass to her teammate, who was able to blast the ball on net from point blank range. The Spurs soon had an opportunity to tie the match, when Rachelle House intercepted a misplayed ball from the Freedom Elite keeper. House played the ball through to Mary Ronau, who attempted to convert on a quick long shot, as the keeper was out of position. But a quick conversion was not in the cards for the Spurs.
Hotspur had another attempt in the first half when Gretchen Miller played Nicole McGuire through, breaking the opponent’s defensive line. McGuire dribbled forward before blasting the ball on frame, but the keeper was able to scoop up the ball.
With minutes dwindling in the second half, Hotspur pressed hard to tie the game, with the best opportunity coming when Brittney Watson played a through ball to Ronau. The ball deflected off a Freedom Elite defender, putting Ronau in on the keeper. But the Freedom Elite keeper charged out and collected Ronau’s shot.
Defensively, the Spurs limited Freedom Elite’s shots in the second half. Oriana Nierojewski, Hillary Tribbs, Kelly Buck and Watson controlled the center of the field, winning balls and distributing the ball forward. Catherine Davila, Stefanie Chan and House all contributed to both the defensive and attacking efforts by shutting down Freedom Elite on the wings and helping to kickstart the attack.
The Spurs fall to third in league rankings and face off next against So Cal Blues, who are currently undefeated in the league.
