Friday, July 4, 2014 - WEST CARROLLTON, OH The Dayton Dutch Lions FC Women’s team (3-6-0) played the Gulf Coast Texans (4-1-2) at home at DOC Stadium for their final game of the season. Dayton was hoping to end their up and down season on a positive note, but Gulf Coast was in pursuit of points and despite a valiant effort by the Lady Lions, the Texans would eventually break through and win the game.
The Dayton Dutch Lions FC Women came out with quick passing and a good pace. The beginning of the half saw the majority of play in the Texans end as the Lions continued to pass and push forward with possession. When under pressure the Lady Lions would pass back and then outside to their wings creating space for them to move toward their opponents goal. This helped to create four chances in the first twenty minutes for the Lions, but none were good enough for a goal. The Dayton defense and midfield would stand the test as they closed down fast and applied immediate pressure on any possession the Gulf Coast Texans tried to maintain. The Texans would get a chance in the twenty fifth minute when Happy Amadu would find Maria Jose Rosas just right of the Lions goal. Dayton’s keeper Ayanna Parker would come out for the save to keep the game scoreless. Gulf Coast’s Jose Rojas would get a breakaway in the thirty first minute but the shot would go directly to Dayton’s keeper Parker. The Texan’s Jose Rojas would not miss however in the thirty sixth minute as she would beat all of the Dayton defenders but one. Having someone on her right she would loft the ball over the Lion’s keeper for the goal. The Texans would turn up the heat on the Lions and would create turmoil in front of Dayton’s goal over the next few minutes. Giving it all in this last game, the Lions would save shot upon shot and survive the pressure until the forty second minute when the Lions believed that their opponents were standing offside and Kaitlyn Culotta would get the ball with no defenders around her and would score. Going into the half the scoreboard would read Dayton Dutch Lions FC 0 and the Gulf Coast Texans 2.
The second half saw the Dayton Dutch Lions come out with a good pace and good possession. The forty eighth minute would have the Lion’s Gemma Craine run down the right and push a ball through to Shan Jones who continued the run and beat her defender around the corner. The Texans keeper, Carrie Crook would be there to keep the ball out of the Gulf Coast net. Another chance by Dayton’s Jones in the fifty first minute would see Gulf Coast’s Nina Rasbatt-Smith along with keeper Crook save the Texan’s lead. This would not be the case however a few minutes later when in the fifty third minute Shan Jones would fire a ball from the right side into the back of the Texans net to put the Lady Lions on the board. Almost immediately though Dayton would be pushed back and would battle continuously to shut down the Texans. Dayton was able to hold until the Texans Jose-Rojas would take the ball and dribble through several orange jerseys in the seventy first minute and would send off another looping shot down the middle over the head of Parker for her second goal of the afternoon and the Texan’s third goal of the day. Play began to go from end to end as both teams pressed and looked for additional goals. Dayton’s keeper would make several saves to keep the Lions in the game. Unfortunately it was not enough and the Dayton Dutch Lions FC Women would lose their last game of the season to the Gulf Coast Texans by a score of 1-3.
“Very hard game today as we knew it would be.” commented Dayton Dutch Lions Women’s Coach Gavin MacLeod. “ Gulf Coast are a very good attacking team. All the credit in the world goes to our girls for the effort and commitment and dedication getting to the defensive side of the ball today. The small errors that we have been making all season have been ruthlessly punished by the other teams in this conference as was the case today. Unfortunately that has led us to the last game of the season and we are not in the playoffs. As with any experience, you are always going to get positives and negatives. I think many of our players have shown that as a whole this is the level they should be playing at and many of them have done themselves proud this season. ”
The Dayton Dutch Lions FC Women thank you for your support in 2014 and look forward to seeing you in the stands in 2015. For season and individual game tickets, visit the Dutch Lions website.
//
Stefan Beerens, Media Relations s.beerens@daytondutchlionsfc.com
Photo Credit: Jeremi Blurton
Dayton Dutch Lions Women-Gulf Coast Texans
36’ Jose Rojas 0-1
42’ Kaitlyn Culotta 0-2
53’ Shan Jones 1-2
71’ Jose Rojas 1-3
Dayton Dutch Lions FC Women: Parker, Brownlee, Warren, Keller, Nooij, DeLong, Blank, Pearson (Jones), Charles (Elliott), Craine (McConnell), Felix (Brunner)
Gulf Coast Texans: Crook, Cruz, Cram, Rasbatt-Smith, Hurd, Waters, Amadu (Pickersgill), Mann (Arlitt), Jose Rojas (Henley), Culotta (Braumhower), Gomez-Junco