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The Angels persevered through the high temperatures as they played three games this past weekend. In the first game, they traveled to play Lincolnway Blue, who proved to be a very formidable opponent. The Angels played a very solid game on a sloppy field that contained a lot of standing water and very long grass. Defensive play was the story of the day, with Macie McCallum, Abby Glasgow, Brianna Wunderlich, and Hannah Gerdes leading the way. Offensively, the Angels created several chances, but had a very difficult time getting any quality shots on goal. Most chances were highly contested, or simply shot wide. Finally, midway through the second half, Kasey Campos grabbed a nice pass, beat a defender on the left side, and pushed a great shot by the keeper. This turned out to be the only goal of the game, giving the Angels a hard fought 1-0 victory. Goaltending was outstanding, where Rylee Kibbey and Ashley Colaizzi both played great games in contributing to the shutout.
In the second game of the day, the Angels hosted an old foe, the Plainfield Legends. The Angels played a brilliant game, dominating from the beginning. Great offensive ball control was exhibited by the midfield, led by Abby Grzetic, Megan DeMart, Megan Dorsey, Mikela Gerdes, Taylor Cassian. The scoring opened with Cassian firing a rocket into the net just a few minutes into the game. Shortly thereafter, Safia Hannin notched her first goal of the season. Before the first half ended, McCallum drilled a free kick from outside the Legends' penalty area into the upper corner of the net. The second half found the Angels really concentrating on playing keep away from the Legends, displaying great ball control. Kibbey and Colaizzi once again pitched a shutout, giving the Angels a 3-0 victory.
In the final game, the Angels hosted the Fox Valley Strikers. The game started with a frantic pace, with the Strikers firing shot after shot, hitting the goalposts countless times. Finally, the Angels got an offensive chance where Hannin raced to the goal, fired a shot that was deflected by the keeper back to Hannin, who slipped it by her for a goal. The Strikers tied it minutes later though. Later in the half, the Angels scored on a very pretty play where Grzetic passed the ball out to Cassian on the wing, who took it to the corner and then fired a cross into Hannin, who easily beat the keeper on a great volley for her second goal. In the second half, the Strikers had the wind at their backs, and really applied strong pressure on the Angels. McCallum, Campos, Dorsey, and Glasgow played a four person defensive line that thwarted most of the chances. In the closing minutes though, the Strikers again found the equalizer, leaving the Angels to have to settle for a 2-2 tie. Unfortunately for the Angels, they had three goals called back by being guilty of offside. The Angels are now 5-0-1, heading into their Memorial Day weekend tournament they host in Oswego.
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