Pleasanton Rage vs. San Francisco Glens – June 8, 2023
By: Reese Foster
June 11, 2023
Pleasanton RAGE fell to the San Francisco Glens 2-0 in their game last Thursday. The match was eventful and full of goal scoring opportunities. Both teams played with immense talent however the Glens were able to take the win.
Immediately after kickoff, the SF Glens played with extremely high energy, using pressing tactics to prevent RAGE from building out of the back resulting in several attacking chances within the first few minutes. The first came in the 5th minute when SF Glen midfielder Amy Sayer (#17) won the ball in the middle and played a through ball to her teammate Maia Beltran (#4) that was slightly too hard. RAGE keeper Sadie Brown (#1) was able to scoop up the ball before Beltran could reach it. In the next minute, Sayer used an impressive outside foot turn to beat two of her defenders and played a through ball past RAGE defenders to her teammate Nadia Gomez(#7) who shot low and found the back of the net. However, Tran’s run was early resulting in an offsides call, keeping the score at 0-0.
In the 11th minute, SF Glen’s Beltran received the ball and played a slip pass behind the RAGE defensive line to Sayer. Sayer then took a powerful shot that flew over the right top corner of the goal. A few moments later, RAGE created its first major attacking opportunity . Outside back Maviric Lek-Miro (#5) won the ball and carried it along the sideline and beat two SF Glen defenders. She then dribbled toward the endline and crossed the ball low and on the ground but SF Glen defenders were able to clear the ball before any RAGE attacker could take a shot.
Later, with 15 minutes left in the half, RAGE had another close goal scoring chance. Emily Johnson (#21) won the ball in the middle of the field and played a through ball to Kennedy Mayo (#11). Mayo was marked by two defenders but was able to cut the ball to separate from them and create space for herself. She then took a shot but the ball bounced off of the outside post and was cleared by SF Glen defenders.
The San Francisco Glens were able to score the first goal of the game with 10 minutes left in the first half. Gomes (#7) received the ball near the endline and crossed it into the middle of the box. Beltran (#4) was then trapped the ball right in front of the goal and finished with a low strike to the bottom left corner.
The SF Glens started the second half strong when 4 minutes in, they found the back of the net once again. After Sayer (#17) took a shot from outside of the box that hit off a RAGE defender and flew up into the air, Kaylee Kim (#11) was able to head the ball into the box towards Gomes (#7) who received the ball right in front of the RAGE goal and shot, scoring and making the game 2-0.
The SF Glens had yet another dangerous goal scoring chance in the 52nd minute when midfielder Jocelyn Travers beat two RAGE defenders right outside the box and shot a tad high, narrowly missing the goal.
In the 66th minute, RAGE gained a free kick off of a foul just outside the box. Haley Hong (#13) took the kick and shot it right over the crossbar, only narrowly missing the goal. RAGE created their final major scoring chance with 5 minutes left in the half. Mayo (#11) carried the ball down the sideline, cut around her defenders, drove toward the endline and managed to get her team a corner kick. The corner was a perfectly floated ball right into the box but SF Glen defenders deflected the ball out before any RAGE player could get to it.
Throughout the game both teams played with passion however the SF Glens prevailed after many scoring opportunities and high effort.