|
In only their second year, the Tampa Bay Hellenic have clinched a playoff spot in the post season of the 2009 W-League.
Their final weekend of regular season play was definitely the most grueling of the season, with 3 games played in as many days. The team endured three games in less than 48 hours in the summer heat, with two of the games being played under the afternoon sun. The team left Tampa Friday morning for Virginia, where at 8pm, they met their first opponent in the Hampton Road Piranhas. The Piranhas were an incredibly tough opponent, and didn’t make anything easy on the Hellenic. In the 19th minute, Shameka Gordon received a pass from Jasmine Johnson and sent it to the middle of the field, where Stacy Bishop took a shot on the volley directly into the right netting for the only goal of the half. Five minutes into the second half, the Piranhas tied it up on a goal by Angela Salem. In the 74th minute, recent Hellenic addition Shana Hudson sent a ball into the box, and in the ensuing scramble, the ball went in the net for the Hellenic’s second goal of the night. The Hellenic were able to hold on for their first win of the weekend. The following morning, the Hellenic loaded up their vans and headed to Richmond for a 2PM game against the Richmond Kickers Destiny. The Virginia traffic was more than the Floridians had expected, and the 1 ½ hour trip took over 3 hours to complete, resulting in the team arriving to the game field about 30 minutes before kickoff. This, along with only 18 hours between games had the Hellenic off to a slow start, with both teams only registering 2 shots apiece in the first half. The second half proved to be a different story, with the Hellenic outshooting the Destiny by a 10 to 1 margin, and scoring enough to win their second game in as many days by a score of 4-0. Rachel Fell scored her first two goals of the season, with Stacy Bishop and Jasmine Johnson each registering a goal and an assist, and Shana Hudson adding two assists. This win clinched a playoff spot for the Hellenic, and Coach Fotopoulos was awarded an ice cold water cooler bath by his team to show their appreciation. Sunday morning, the team loaded up the vans again to head toward Manassas for their third and final game of the weekend, this time against the Northern Virginia Majestics. Having learned their lesson, plenty of time was allowed for traffic, but this time, there were no delays. The team was provided with a couple of motel rooms by their host, the Majestics, so they were able to rest a while before the 4PM kickoff of game three. During this rest time, the high scorer from Saturday, Rachel Fell said her goodbyes and left for the airport for her return to England. The third game of the weekend started a mere 44 hours after the first, and the team was definitely feeling tired. The Majestics home stadium is turf, and the additional 15 or 20 degrees turf brings to the field was a definite factor in the game for the weary Hellenic. As in the game before, only two shots apiece were recorded for each of the teams in the first half, with neither side finding the net. The second half was not much better, with the best scoring opportunities coming toward the end of the game as the Hellenic started to realize that there wasn’t much time left to pull the game out. A couple of chances were created, but the fatigue was apparent as runs were not made and simple passes were not completed. As the Hellenic picked up their pace in the final frantic moments of the game, so did the Majestics in their attempt to preserve their shutout. Two cards were earned by Majestic players in the last couple of minutes for fouls against Stacy Bishop , one was a caution and one was a straight red for a serious foul play, a foul that had the Hellenic coach holding his breath as he feared that his player had been seriously injured in a game whose end result changed little in the season’s standing. Fortunately the injury was not serious, and the game ended in a 0-0 tie, only the second time this season that the Hellenic had been shut-out. In a perfect world, the team would have been able to travel to Virginia a second time to allow the players proper time to prepare for each and every game of the season, but the economics of the team do not allow that. Two wins and a tie under the circumstances is a remarkable result and a testament to the players of the Tampa Bay Hellenic. The team now awaits the date, time and location of the regional playoffs.
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed