Mostly crossposted from OregonLive. New content in italics

The term "derby" is used in soccer when two clubs from the same city battle in league play - Manchester United vs Manchester City, AC vs Inter, Real vs Atletico. For FC Phoenix, today was the first time two teams were entered into the same age classification in a statewide league and faced one another. It was a hard fought game - Kaos scored a beautiful set piece goal in the 1st half. Corner kick from the right driven to the far post, then headed back to the right, upper V. Valkyrie GK Melissa Henner (Hidden Valley) flew, but had no chance. Henner did keep it a close game, as Kaos had far greater time of possession in 1st half, creating maybe 4 threats to every 1 from Valkyrie.

2nd Half, Valkyrie shifted from 4-4-2 to 3-5-2, asserted midfield possession to a far greater degree than in 1st half. Posession overall levelled out and chances become more even.

Valkyrie equalized on a PK from Sylvia van Ausdal (Ashland), created when a counterattack give and go up the left flank put the Valkyrie left mid, Andi Bogden (Crater) - in a temporary role from her usually central defensive assignment - into space and heading toward goal... she was tripped about 16 yards from the goal line, getting the call.

The go-ahead goal came shortly after, as a diagonal ball to the right found Kendra Gressert (North Medford) with a moment of space. Her shot came off Kaos GK Katy Kunkle's (North Medford) chest and the ball trickled left as Alex Batzer (North Medford) ran on to finish. The AR1 briefly raised his flag for offsides (Batzer was goalside the last field player), but brought it down again (Batzer was still behind the ball), and deferred to the center who allowed the goal.

Valkyrie then hung on as Kaos ramped up to press for an equalizer. Henner was tested several times in the waning minutes, but came up with some key stops and some key defesive help, particularly from Tamara Heryford (Phoenix) and van Ausdal.

Valkyrie moves to 8-0-0 and Kaos drops to 7-1-1 in the u19 classic group.

Strong outing for both teams and exceptional play from individuals on both sides. While Kaos did create a good deal more chances, the very last tier of the Valkyrie defense withstood and kept it close enough down the strech to play for a win.