Tars Take Down Chieftains on Messy Pitch

Imagine trying to play soccer in a bog.

The and girls soccer teams did just that Wednesday night in a Macomb Area Conference white division match at Anchor Bay, and the Tars did it better, defeating Utica 3-0.

Possession and finishing were the keys to the game on the rain-soaked, puddled natural grass pitch that featured first-half, cross-field winds at 15-20 mph.

"I think the field held us down a little bit but we possessed and moved the ball around better than Utica did," Anchor Bay coach Kevin Grammens said.  "With high winds across the field it was our goal to keep it on the pitch, move it around and use our outside mids."

And, Anchor Bay finished.

The opening goal came with 13:35 remaining in the first half on a pass from junior Daniella Bruce to sophomore Michelle Dear. Dear collected the pass and made a bee-line for the goal. With one quick and composed move, Dear beat the keeper and buried the ball.

Goal number two was scored with two minutes left in the first half on a play started on the right wing from junior Tayler DeGrande. DeGrande popped the ball across to the left post and freshman Danielle Brazil was able to bring the ball down.  Ever-ready Jenna Taylor jumped on the ball and with a quick turn, beat the keeper low to make the game 2-0 at halftime.

Utica had chances in the first half but were unable to capitalize on their opportunities. Three shots in the first 10 minutes were over the top or wide from Rachel Chaney, Jessica Ollila and Kimberly Henige.

"First half I thought we played well," said Utica coach Dave Moran. "We knew it wasn't going to be the cleanest game, so we played it direct. If Rachel Chaney scores early and we convert one of our corner kicks, we'd go into the half at 2-2 and it's anybody's game. We didn't back each other up, we let a few balls through and that's what put us down at half. Our transition has been poor all season and we're working on that."

"They had some chances early on and we had to make a few adjustments," said Grammens. "Our goalie made an early save within the first five minutes and that held us in there."

Grammens praised the play of defenders Raquel Rekar, Amanda Shovan and Hunter Dolan in particular.

Playing left back, Shovan was on the receiving end of the wind in the first half and played a strong and steady defense, not thinking twice about the weather or field conditions.

"I think our team played really well today," said Shovan. "We're all very close so it's easy to work together. We've been playing together for years and we know each well. The weather really didn't affect our game. Our coach always tells us to ignore it and not let it be a factor, so that's what we tried to do."

The third game was scored by DeGrande at 24:39 in the second half from an assist by Jenna Taylor. 

Anchor Bay's record in the MAC white improves to 2-1 (4-2 overall); Utica falls to 1-3 (2-5 overall).