S! --
Thank you for the kind words about the WA parents. I did my best to soil our spotless reputation but obviously failed on this occasion. I will try again.
It was an interesting game played very differently in each of the two halves by teams which have, over the years, played a number of hard fought games to OT and PKs. West Ashley, like most protagonists from great classic litterature, is a team of both strengths and flaws, and as such gives its coach a varied palette from which to paint. Coach McNeely chose the defensive 2-5-3 line-up with Danielle Jordan in back and Purvis, Bolt, Lee (among others) in mid for the 40 minutes with a resultant 0 - 0 score at the half and the expected bulk of offensive play in their half of the field. The second half was played with freshman Purvis as stopper, Jordan and Brothers up top and Bolt in center mid and produced a number of scoring opportunities for the Lady Wildcats and several hard drives at the WA goal by Wando. I thought the pk with about two minutes left in the game was the result of a Wando foul in the box rather than a handball in the box, but will defer to my Wando friend here, S!, who was seated 20 yards further away from the play itself but has had Lasik surgery performed east of the Cooper while I wear bifocals. Clearly it was a missed opportunity for WA. WA maintained a slight advantage throughout the second half while playing its "offensive" lineup, and as a WA parent, the second half was a lot more fun to watch. WA's passing was not at its best while Wando missed a bit in speed and a good striker. Again, Wando prevailed in pks, though this time it went to the 6th shooter. Morgan, the Wando keeper, played a great game as did Brothers from WA.
JI, at this point in time, is in the driver's seat in terms of controling its Region 7 status, having beaten Wando resoundingly in the first match and driven WA to pks. If they play to their potential they can win the region outright and force their rivals to go on the road and face each other again before before an eventual Region 7 showdown in playoffs. Then, for the last team standing in the lower state, on to certain death against Fort Mill...
lpaf
