Game Summaries-

June 19-20. TKO '92 wrapped up their U12 year with a runner-up finish in the Kalamazoo Invitational Soccer Showcase. The girls played in a combined U12/U13 division.

In their first game Saturday, TKO defeated Fort Wayne SC Black 91 3-2. Megan Putnam, Taylore Peterson, and Erika Jansen scored the goals for TKO, with assists coming from Megan, Lauren Brown, and Natalie Hall.

Saturday afternoon, the girls didn't play particularly well, but defeated an overmatched Jr. Irish team 3-1. Megan, Lauren Brown, and Grace Labrecque tallied goals for TKO. Megan added two assists while Kayla Snyder assisted on Megan's goal.

Sunday, the U12 team faced the U13 TKO team for the championship. The "12s" controlled play through the first 15 minutes until a questionable foul call gave the "13s" a free kick just outside the penalty area on the right side. Anna Stinson put the ball into the upper left corner. The "13s" dominated play the rest of the game and came away with a convincing 6-0 victory. Anna had a hat trick, Jennifer Druin added two goals, and Miranda Graham scored the other goal.

Since August 2003 when the U12 team was formed, the girls played in four tournaments, State Cup, and two seasons of MSPSL. Their overall record for 38 games was 21-7-10. In the fall, they were undefeated, 8-0-2, in regular league play. This spring, their only losses were to Vardar III and Michigan Hawks in Premier 1. The girls advanced to quarterfinals in state cup play last fall and won the Blues City Blowout in Memphis, TN this spring. The leading scorers for the team were Megan Putnam (22 goals, 6 assists), Shelby Humphries (12G, 5A), Grace Labrecque (11G, 5A), Lauren Brown (6G, 7A), Jaclyn Sylvain (5G, 7A), Taylore Peterson (4G, 6A), Natalie Hall (3G, 6A), Nicole Bentz (5G, 1A), Taylor Callen (4G), and Erika Jansen (3G, 2A).

June 5-6. TKO ended the Spring 2004 Premier League season with two more ties, finishing with a 2-2-7 record.

The “TKO tiers” traveled to Holland for a game with GVP West on Saturday. West scored first, putting one past Grace Labrecque when the defense failed to clear the ball out front. A few minutes after the west goal, Carlee Pallett picked up a loose ball in near the halfway line and fed the ball wide right to forward Nicole Bentz. Nicole worked her way around the West defense and played a cross into the penalty area. Natalie Hall fought for the ball and tapped it to Jaclyn Sylvain. Jaclyn ripped a shot off the goalkeeper’s hands over her right shoulder and into the net. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, thanks in large part to some great second half saves from Nicole.

Sunday, Magic Black ’92 visited the Kalamazoo Soccer Complex for the season finale and the result was another 1-1 tie. Megan Putnam tallied her 14th goal in 21 MSPSP games off a pass from Rachael Burnham to put TKO up 1-0 at the half. Magic Black, playing without any substitutes on a warm day, tied the game late in the second half from out front when a TKO defender misplayed a header in front.

May 29-31. The weather played havoc with the Best of the Midwest Tournament Memorial Day weekend. Due to numerous thunderstorms and flooding rains, all semifinals and finals were cancelled as teams played only their preliminary games, if they were lucky.

The TKO girls dominated their opening game Saturday against Mequon Red, 3-0. The first goal was scored about twenty minutes into the first half. Megan Putnam fought through several defenders near the left corner and crossed the ball in front. Natalie Hall was able to get her head on the ball and settled it in front of forward Nicole Bentz, who put the ball in with a quick right. The second goal of the half was scored by central defender Taylor Callen. The Mequon goalkeeper had fallen beyond the goal area and Taylor lofted a 25 yard shot into the goal. Shelby Humphries scored the only goal of the second half. For the second time this spring, Shelby bent one in from the left corner on a corner kick. Grace Labrecque and Nicole tended the nets to combine for the shutout.

Sunday, TKO played the number one ranked team in Minnesota, the Woodbury Inferno, to a 2-2 tie. The game was called with 15 minutes left in the second half due to lightning. Woodbury grabbed an early lead, scoring on a corner kick. TKO tied the game a short time later. Defender Kayla Snyder played the ball toward the Woodbury goal and it was cleared weakly out front. Midfielder Lauren Brown ripped the ball into the upper left to tie the game. Early in the second half, Megan Putnam received a great one-touch pass from Taylore Peterson and scored past a frozen keeper. Woodbury tied the game on a long shot from the left touchline moments before the game was called.

The game Monday morning versus Team Chicago Cyclones was shortened to two twenty minutes halves and TKO lost 1-0. The game was scoreless through one half as Grace kept the Cyclones out of the net. The only goal of the game was scored past Shelby when a weak clearance gave a Cyclone player the ball out front. The Cyclone player shot the ball through traffic into the lower right corner.

May 22. TKO U12 girls held Vardar scoreless throughout the first half on Saturday, and for 30 minutes looked like they were going to play the best team in the state to an even match. But TKO couldn't sustain the effort and Vardar had a strong second half to hand the west-siders their second defeat of the spring.

May 15-16. The games the weekend of May 14-15 both had familiar storylines, and endings. TKO again dominated possession and scoring chances in games versus Bloomfield Force and the Michigan Gators, but came away with ties number four and five of the spring season.

On a slick, saturated field Saturday in Bloomfield Natalie Hall gave TKO the lead late in the first half after receiving a pass from Rachael Burnham. Natalie’s shot from the right side glanced off the keepers hands into the net. Force tied the game in the second half when they finished a play out front off a rebound from the crossbar.

Sunday, TKO and the Gators both played to their fifth tie of the spring. Both goals in the 1-1 game were scored in the second half on free kicks. The Gators put the first one in from the right side before Shelby Humphries scored her team leading fifth goal to tie the game.

May 8-9. Mother's Day weekend was good and bad for the girls. Saturday TKO seemed to be a step behind throughout a 6-0 loss to the Michigan Hawks. The Hawks tallied four goals in the first half and added two more in the second. TKO was limited to two shots on goal, both coming in the second half when TKO did play more aggressively than in the first.

Sunday, the girls stayed in the Detroit area for a battle with the Grosse Pointe Breakers, and won 2-1. Lauren Brown went far post from the right side off a feed from Megan Putnam for the only goal of the first half. TKO dominated play, including shots off the post and crossbar by Kayla Snyder, but only led 1-0 at halftime. TKO increased the lead to 2-0 early in the second half. Center fullback Taylor Callen sent one from the halfway line to the top of the penalty area. Jaclyn Sylvain poked it away from the GPSA keeper, and Shelby Humphries put it in. GPSA played a strong second half. Their goal was the result of a misplayed pass back to keeper Grace Labrecque. Grace did, however, thwart numerous other Breaker chances in the half, including a great save on a free kick 19 yards directly in front of her (with a rather loosely organized wall not providing much help).

May 1-2. TKO remained undefeated in premier league play on the first weekend of May with a win and a tie. Both games were played at the Kalamazoo Soccer Complex.

On Saturday, Rochester Lightning scored the lone goal of the first half as Lauren Morris finished a strong cross from the right wing past goalkeeper Shelby Humphries. Shelby avenged the goal with two of her own in the second half in the 2-1 victory. Her first goal came on a 30 yard free kick from the right wing. Shelby drilled the game winner off a terrific through ball from Jaclyn Sylvain. Grace Labrecque kept Lightning out of the net in the second half.

Sunday versus Grand Valley Premier-East, the girls had many scoring opportunities in the first half but couldn't put one in the net. GVPs Chelsea Peterson and Courtney McCoy scored a goal each in the half and GVP led 2-0 at halftime. TKO cut the lead to one as Shelby "bent one like Beckham" on a corner from the left flag early in the second half. The first of Megan Putnam's two goals tied the game 2-2. Lauren Brown played a great ball in from the right side, Shelby poked it away from the keeper, and Meg was there to finish. Grand Valley's Peterson scored her second goal of the game as she got behind the TKO defense and ripped it past an injured Grace to put GVP up once again. (Grace played the second half on an injured right ankle and punted the ball unbelievably well with her "off" foot throughout the half). The game tying goal was the result of another terrific through ball, this one from Natalie Hall, that Megan put in the net as she was being knocked to the turf.

April 23-24. The girls came away with two ties in their first weekend of Premier League Division One play. In the season opener Saturday at Patriot Field in Shelby Township, a 1-1 game, TKO had 14 shots on goal to just three for MSSC in the game. After a scoreless first half, Megan Putnam received a nice through ball from Erika Jansen on the left side of the penalty area and found the net with a strong left. The Patriots tied the game later on a great cross to the middle that left TKO goalkeeper Grace Lebrecque defenseless.

Sunday TKO traveled to Birmingham to face Blazers Premier 92 at Country Day Stadium. The Blazers controlled play in the first half and TKO dominated the second half, but neither team could score. Shelby Humphries earned the shutout for TKO.

March 20-21. TKO started the 2004 spring season with a tournament championship! The girls traveled 650 miles south to Memphis, Tennessee and won the “2004 Reebok Blues City Blowout” March 20-21.

In the opening game Saturday against Evansville Premier Erika Jansen and Natalie Hall each scored a goal in the first half, and Shelby Humphries added one in the second half as TKO won 3-1. Jaclyn Sylvain had two assists and Taylore Peterson one. Shelby and Grace Labrecque shared time in net for the victory.

The second game, versus Wolfpack out of St. Charles, MO, was stopped three times and play was halted a few minutes into the second half due to lightning. Taylore Peterson scored the only goal of the game off a pass from Megan Putnam shortly before the game was called.

TKO defeated last years Arkansas State Cup Champion, the STS Cougars from Little Rock, AR, in the semifinals Sunday morning, 1-0. The game’s only goal came from Nicole Bentz, playing on a sprained ankle, in the second half when she finished off Shelby’s shot from the 18 that glanced off the crossbar. Grace made a spectacular diving save on a breakaway in the second half to preserve the victory.

The girls beat the host Lobos 2-0 in the championship game. TKO had the wind advantage in the first half but couldn’t capitalize. After halftime, both goals came against a strong wind. Megan headed in a powerful cross from Shelby for the first goal, and then Erika gave Shelby a nice cross from the left flank to set-up the insurance goal.

 

Thanks to Tim Sylvain for authoring the game summaries for our enjoyment.