They played 3-30 minute periods. Our starters only played the 1st, with a few exceptions for a few who saw some time in either of the other two. Thought we looked ok in the 1st. Probably controlled a bit more of the play. No score. Amirah Ali played at most half of the half. Positives that I saw were that two of our middies, Nicole Whitley & Taylor Almer looked quicker & faster, especially Nicole, who seems to have slimmed down quite a bit. Both are excellent soccer players & this is going to help both their games & the teams. Also liked the way Amanda Visco, one of our center D backs moved the ball. Instead of long balls that in the past were often lost she was making shorter, more accurate passes & moving the ball smartly. Appeared even more confident. Comes with experience. In addition, though our starting goalie Meghan McClelland faced no significant shots, I liked the way she moved. Also instead of booming goal kicks & other clears, which results in loss of possession much more often than not, she cleared to her backs & we moved the ball up. Our other two goalies, who each played one of the periods, cleared the same way. Don't believe that this is just coincidental or accidental. Casey Murphy almost always boomed the ball out. I leave you to figure out what may have gone on here.
Didn't think we looked particularly great in the 2nd two periods. However, thought Dana Goldstein's game looked much improved. Good to see. Game ended 0-0. Another consideration. Hofstra has a good program & they are not a bunch of duds. That's my take for what it's worth.
One further note. Learned that Chatelle Swaby, our other center D back, & an excellent one, will miss 6 games while being at the Jamaican National Team camp. She will, however, be back for the start of the Big. While I understand that this is now the norm, I don't like these players being taken away from their college teams for extended periods of time, sometimes for the full season.
