Your Pomeroys hosted the Bulldogs of Adrian College September 22nd at 4:00. The Bulldogs arrived sporting a 5-1-2 record, one of the best in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. It was a match which would see the Pomeroys play some of the most beautiful and intelligent soccer ever played by a Pomeroy team pitted against one of the better opponents ever played by a Pomeroy team. The result was brilliant, exciting soccer from one end of the match to the other. Even Indiana Soccer Hall of Fame official Ken Mather, playing veteran of Reading, England, praised the level of play in the contest.
The first fifteen minutes saw probing possessions by both teams, the Pomeroys sometimes holding the ball for buildups of 6 or more passes. Both teams battled at midfield for consistent possession and put impressive skill into carving out passing combinations in tight space. Possessions in the attacking third remained even through the first ten trips for each team. The Pomeroys at times showed great composure finding each other in the attack, but, further along in the period near the 20th minute, the Bulldogs put together something of a flurry, holding the ball for three consecutive unanswered possessions into Pomeroy territory. While no goals came from those possessions, one came soon after, as Sam Barker of the Bulldogs was able to pounce on a blocked shot near the Pomeroy goal and find the net past April Baranowski for a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs seemed to gain a measure of confidence from that goal and slowly gained a small advantage in possession, making dangerous attacks that got the ball wide on the Pomeroy end lines and back across the box for oncoming shooters. The Bulldogs’ second goal came on just such an attack, as Anika Johnson got deep into the right side and served a ball in the air back in front of goal. Sam Barker jumped and won the header under pressure, driving the ball into the top right of the net. The Bulldogs carried that 2-0 lead into halftime.
The second half favored the visitors more clearly in terms of possession. The Pomeroys, often scrambling, showed very solid ability to track runners and recover in defending. The one exception in that half was a goal in the 50th minute from Jordan Wolf who had a clear look at goal from the weak side, receiving a pass across the defense from Sam Barker and burying it. None of the scores were ones that goalkeepers could really affect, and April Baranowski was equal to all the chances that required great saves. Near the 75th minute, the Pomeroys put together a nice attacking combination, ending in a pass from Sam Morrison to Erin Pugh, who broke into the clear, beat the onrushing goalkeeper with a touch past her to her right, but couldn’t quite catch up to the speeding ball to get a shot angle, striking the ball into the side netting. As time ran out, the Bulldogs remained on top, 3-0. A number of Pomeroys had played their best games of the season, and 21 had played and contributed. Jessica Black was an undeniable force in the center of midfield.
This evens the Pomeroys’ record at 3-3 nearing the midway point in the schedule, with Kaskaskia College arriving for homecoming on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.