St. John's traveled north on I-45 Tuesday afternoon to play the Woodlands.  A bus ride, a short warm-up, a new field...all challenges to the young team.   Once the first whistle blew, the team had other adjustments to make:  a swarming midfield trap, a talented Highlander goalie, fast and physical play.   All of these elements set the stage for a very rewarding win.  The Mavs had to work hard for the entire 50 minutes of play, as nothing came easily.   Once again, the scoring shows the unselfish depth of the squad:  8 different scorers on 10 goals, with 5 assisted goals.  So far this season, we've had no fewer than seven different scorers in each game, which is a very promising sign. 

The Maverick defense continued to show improvement.  Starting the second half up 6-3, the Mavs held their opponents scoreless for all but the final three minutes of play.  Brooke, Kelsey, Krissy, Mary, Meredith, Paige and Lindsey all contributed to a solid defensive effort - with improved communication, better sliding, and cleaner play.  On numerous occasions, the defense would stop an attack by the Woodlands and start moving the ball upfield with care and precision, resulting in some lovely transition goals. 

Our midfielders had their work cut out for them against a fast and fiesty team, but by the second half, not only were we wearing our opponents down with the speed off our bench, but we were also settling down and seeing / finding the open player in transition with more clarity.  Also, as a unit we outhustled our opponents on groundballs, scooping up 28 to their 8.  Olive, Hannah, AB, Sarah, Gibson, Frankles and Jess - great job!

On attack, Kaitlin, Joan, Lacey, Grace and MA all had their hand in scoring.   Improvement was seen in both spacing, timing of cuts and redefending.  As for goals, Jess led the way with  2 G/1A;  Joan with 2G;  Olivia 1G, 1 A; Kaitlin, Frankles, Grace, Meredith and Alex (AB) with 1G; and Lacey, MA, and Caroline with 1A.

Good effort, Mavs!  Next up is Westchester, at home 6:00 PM on Thursday!