This weekend delivered a double header for the Comets, as they played against the CN Cherry Bombers both at home and on the road. CN came into the weekend only one point ahead of the Comets in the standings, making way for a two-game battle between the 2nd and 3rd place teams.

Saturday afternoon’s game was played at home, and the first half was full of action from both teams. Despite repeated attempts by CN’s offense, strong defense from Hayley Brewer, Nicole Alvarez and Jazmine Newton, combined with solid goalkeeping by Kate Duncan, kept CN scoreless. Multiple attempts on goal by Megan Popple, Hannah Castillo and Alvarez were met by a fired-up CN defense, and the half ended in a 0-0 tie.

The second half was just as intense, as both teams came out determined to put numbers on the scoreboard. The Comets’ offense finally found success as Popple put the ball in the goal after some fine dribbling and put the Comets up 1-0. The defense of Morgan Loncala, Brewer and Alvarez, along with goalkeeper Audrey Mockenhaupt, worked hard to keep CN out of the net, but a shot finally got past them, tying the score at 1-1. Duncan, Castillo, Mia Lakstigala and Aubrey Anderson continued the Comets’ offensive pressure, but were unable to get past CN’s defense. The atmosphere intensified when Duncan was tripped coming down the field on a breakaway, resulting in a yellow card being thrown on a CN player and a direct kick for the Comets. Unfortunately, Brewer’s kick was rejected by CN’s defense, and the game ended in the 1-1 tie.

Sunday morning’s game in Naperville brought more of the same, with both teams in high gear from the start. Lakstigala and Castillo made repeated attempts at scoring, but were turned away.  CN applied some pressure of their own and traffic in the box led to CN lofting one out of reach over goalkeeper Duncan’s head, putting CN up 1-0, where the score remained at halftime.

The second half saw the Comet offense increase their pressure. The Comets seemingly scored the tying goal, but that was waived off on an off-sides call. The defense held strong as Brewer prevented a CN goal attempt off a breakaway.  The Comets had another good chance on a direct kick from Brewer after a push by CN on Lakstigala, but ultimately no one was able to put one in the net for the Comets. The game ended as a 1-0 loss, allowing CN to hold onto its 2nd place standing. The Comets, now 2-2-3, will next match up against the DDSC Dynamo U10 Red at home on Sunday, November 1.