October 22, 2007
STATE CHAMPIONS
You guys made it your goal to get to the Championship. You put it on your "10-20" t-shirt. Then you went out and did it, as a TEAM.
Good work! I'm proud of all of you girls!
You guys made it your goal to get to the Championship. You put it on your "10-20" t-shirt. Then you went out and did it, as a TEAM.
Good work! I'm proud of all of you girls!
When Senior Co-Captains Corinne Davies and Alex May were freshman on the 2004 Bulldog team that played in the State Championship match with Park City, they got a taste of the thrill that comes with playing on State Finals weekend. In a few days Davies and May will taste it again. And this time they planning on winning it all.
Davies, May and their fellow seniors led a composed Judge squad to a 2-0 win against the Falcons of Canyon View Saturday afternoon in Cedar City. It was the second road win and shutout in the tournament for the Bulldogs. Davies was in a familiar spot midway thru the first half when - after putting together a nice combination play with fellow senior Laura Becker - she found herself with the ball on her right foot 22 yards from goal and the chance to get off a clean shot. Like many times before Corinne didn’t disappoint.
At that point the Falcons were lucky they weren’t down a few goals as the Bulldogs had been filling up the stat sheet with shots ever since the first minute of play. With a tactical adjustment by the Judge coaching staff which opened up space in the attacking lanes (and the insertion of Becker in at the left-midfield spot) things got even more fluid for the Bulldog offense - leading to that first goal. The defense was doing their part by denying the Falcons quality opportunities led primarily by the tough play of May. The first half ended with Judge dominating possession and shots yet still only up a goal.
The second half saw even more attacking play by Judge aided by a steady wind at the Bulldog’s backs. More chances came with nearly everyone getting into the act. Carly Bartel and Kelsey Lockwood continued their strong midfield play. Kelly Frappier sent a pretty cross in from the right flank, and then minutes later almost notched a score when her shot from in tight skidded past the right post. Becker and Kathryn Martinez kept up the pressure from the outside-mid slots. Kiersten Berg and Maddy Cartwright also had strong games up top…with a questionable offside call taking away a Cartwright goal.
But the real story was how the Bulldog defense wouldn’t allow the Falcons to get anything going. In the second half Davies slid back to the stopper position as she’d done the game before. Her intelligent, poised play kept the ball safely out of harm’s way. Fine defensive performances were also turned in by Sadie Young, senior Susie Bonn and freshman Ellen Sliwinski. And on the few occasions when the ball got to the Judge box, Natalie Warner was there to scoop things up as the freshman keeper recorded her second playoff shutout.
One more freshman got on the books as Gabbie Matinkhah smartly placed one in the back of the net on a ball sent across the box by Alexis Martinez in the 59th minute. Judge’s confident play gave Coach Jim Ngo a chance to find some well-deserved playing time for several younger Bulldogs, who one expects will get a few more chances in the future to appear in these October playoffs.
In the meantime, Corinne Davies, Alex May and their fellow seniors get their second shot at a State Championship game if they get past top-seeded Wasatch in the semi-finals 5:00pm Friday in Woods Cross.
Survival guides tell you the key to staying alive against a mean, scary grizzly is to act timid and play dead. But on a perfect October afternoon, in a picturesque setting in the shadows of the Wasatch Mountains, the Judge Memorial Lady Bulldogs were the ones on the attack, surviving the first round of the playoffs with a stunning upset of the nasty Grizzlies of Logan High 1-0.
The Judge girls knew the road to Championship weekend would not be an easy one. After falling to fourth with a Region 10 loss to Park City, JM was facing road games starting with this one. But if there was a silver lining, it’s that Logan plays on an artificial turf much like the Bulldogs’ home.
In the early minutes of this match the Bulldogs didn’t look at all comfortable with the turf, showing signs of nervousness and anxiety with occasional sloppy play. But Logan couldn’t capitalize on JM’s early jitters, and as the minutes wore on the Bulldogs began building confidence and stretched the game in their favor with poised midfield play. Juniors Carly Bartel and Kelsey Lockwood led the way, while defender Alex May frustrated Logan’s tall and skillful forward, the high-scoring Cami Jensen. Jensen and her teammates had a few excellent chances in the first half, but were turned away by keeper Natalie Warner.
By the time ten minutes had passed in half two, the play was getting rougher and the temperature on the pitch feverish. The Grizzlies began living up to their nasty billing, with Bartel and forward Tess Burick getting the worse of it. But the Lady Bulldogs were not backing down, and seemed to get stronger, faster and bolder with every passing minute. The final 30 minutes had Judge getting several attempts off corners, including a sweet header from Alex May – sailing over the crossbar. Kiersten Berg with a textbook cutback move, drilled a left-footed drive off the keeper, leading to another corner. Maddy Cartwright continued her aggressive play mostly from the left side, wreaking havoc on the weakening Logan defense. On the other end, the Bulldogs were using exceptional team defense to keep the opponent at bay, with different players filling different needs, chief among them seniors May, Olive, Bonn, Martinez, Becker, Davies, with lots of help from Sadie Young and Ellen Sliwinski. But the game came down to impressive individual efforts in the final five minutes which sent the Bulldogs on to the next round.
With the Grizzlies on the counterattack a swift Logan play into space to a streaking Jensen looked like the deadly set-up the Bulldogs feared. But freshman keeper Warner didn't hesitate for a second and charged hard to the ball from the north, while Jensen closed at top speed from the south. What looked like a sure one-on-one breakaway was suddenly a footrace - and if lost by Warner meant an open dance to the goal. Both players met the ball simultaneously with Warner getting all of her strong right foot behind it. As she tumbled head over heels, scrambling to get back in the box...the ball sailed near midfield ending the Grizzlies best chance to grab the lead.
Not a minute later the game turned. Warner, following another save, punted the ball to midfield where it was poorly played by two Logan defenders. Kiersten Berg was off at full speed as the ball floated to second forward Burick who perfectly headed the ball past three defenders. This footrace between striker and goalie went Judge's way again. Berg poked home the game winner with a defender on her back and the goalie in her face. The large Judge fan contingent rose to their feet and stayed there for the remaining four minutes, applauding the Bulldog's first playoff victory in two years.
The win means the Lady Bulldogs travel again for Saturday's game against Region 9's second place team Canyon View...a 3-0 winner against North Sanpete.
Great game, ladies! We will practice at Sugarhouse Park, on the lower field near the pond, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM on Thursday. See you there!
No practice Saturday, Oct. 6. See everyone Sunday at 3:30 PM for the Red & Gold Intrasquad Scrimmage followed by the barbecue.
The Uintah Utes came rolling into McCarthey Stadium hoping to sweep their season series against the Lady Bulldogs, but the Judge Memorial senior contingent had other ideas. Playing with great heart from the first touch, the Lady Bulldogs got a festive win 2-0 on an emotional night when nine senior players made major contributions.
Though she couldn't actually be on the field (due to a season-ending collarbone break in game 1) senior forward Jenna Sliwinski handed her #10 jersey to younger sister Ellen, as a symbol of the unity the team feels with this senior class. Jenna/Ellen were joined in the starting line-up by seniors Simone Olive, Laura Becker, Alex May, Kelly Frappier, Kathryn Martinez, Susie Bonn and keeper Natalie Przybus. Senior captain Corinne Davies was delayed until second half action.
Judge took the lead in the first half as Sadie Young notched a goal off a Maddy Cartwright corner kick. The Bulldogs got their second tally after intermission. In the spirit of the sisterhood - this one is credited to injured sophomore Emma Burick (who's twin sister Tess had something to do with the result). On this night, however, it was mostly defense that shined, with Przybus leading the way in goal, as her classmates shut down the Utes.
A heart-warming ceremony honoring the senior class followed the win, with family in attendance...featuring flowers, photos, hugs and a few tears. But no matter the final outcome for the Lady Bulldogs in their coming playoff run, the Class of 2007 sisterhood has already left it's lasting mark on Judge Soccer's legacy.
This victory moves Judge into sole possession of 2nd place in Region 10. The Lady Bulldogs look to continue their winning ways Thursday at Park City.
SISTERS GET SHUTOUT AS JV GETS TENTH VICTORY
In a game where both teams slugged it out with only a handful of quality chances, the Judge JV prevailed. After working her way back from a devestating ACL injury 9 months ago, sophomore Malori McGill made her first field appearance with a solid 45 minute performance at stopper. Teammate Sadie Young got the only goal of the game with a powerful 40+ yard blast. Sisters, of course, Kasi Stults and Jackie Stults combined for the shutout.
Junior Varsity runs it's record to 10 wins, 2 losses and 3 ties.