Atlanta Clan na nGael 4-6 Milwaukee Hurling Club 1-2
Atlanta played Milwaukee in the semi-final of the National Championships on Saturday 31st August. Continuing the trend shown in the tournament so far, Atlanta got off to a fast start by showing great intensity against Milwaukee who were playing their first game of the weekend. Atlanta again scored a goal in the first few minutes of the match as the sliotar broke in the box and was blasted to the net by Rachel Dominy. Shortly thereafter Jen Beato made a great catch and pass to Ashley Harmon who struck a beautiful point on the run. A free from Ashley Harmon which dropped short was was batted down in the box by the Milwaukee defence; Zoe Beato, showing excellent ground hurling skills, hit to the breaking ball to the bottom of the net to leave Atlanta seven points up after 10 minutes of play.
Atlanta absorbed a lot of pressure for the next 10 minutes of the half as Milwaukee tried to get back into this game. Outstanding blocking and batted clearances from the Atlanta defence, in particular from Jordan Ciciliano, repelled most of the incoming attacks as Milwaukee did not score in the first half with the exception of a pointed 21 yard free.
After making a great solo run, Jolene Glenn then had the vision to pick out Fiona O’Donoghue who pointed from 20 yards out on the left wing. It was noticeable throughout this game that once Atlanta lost the sliotar in the opposition’s half each of the forwards played like defenders to win the ball back. This paid off when pressure on the Milwaukee defence forced a poor clearance which went straight to Ashley Harmon who in turn pointed from 20 yards out in front of the goal. Atlanta led at the break by a score of 2-3 to 0-1.
As the second half started, Sarah Spiller won the throw in and hand passed to Ashley Harmon who in turn played the ball into the box. Getting free of her marker, Rachel Dominy kicked the ball ahead of herself, raced onto it and then kicked the ball on the ground into the top corner of the net. Shortly thereafter Ashley Harmon won possession and picked out Fiona O’Donoghue in the corner who pointed from a narrow angle on the left wing. A breaking ball in the box was finished to the net by Rachel Dominy as Atlanta continued to win the ground ball in this game. Ashley Harmon hit a nice pass to Fiona O’Donoghue who showed great skill to flick the sliotar into her hands on the run and then hit the ball over the bar from 30 yards out for her third point from play. Atlanta rounded off their scoring with a spectacular point from play from Sarah Spiller from 40 yards out.
Atlanta dominated the middle third of the field throughout this game as exceptional commitment and work rate from midfielders Amanda DuShane and Sarah Spiller paid dividends. A diving catch on the goal line by Cathi Dugger robbed Milwaukee of the chance to shift the momentum of this game midway through the second half. In spite of a late goal and point from Milwaukee, Atlanta succeeded in soaking up pressure throughout the second half as Joy Quinn, Kirsten Bendik and Kristin Cardell showed great hustle to put their bodies on the line to clear the sliotar from the danger zone.
Bregeen Campbell came on in the closing stages to add fresh legs to the Atlanta forward line and was unlucky not to score as a shot for a point went narrowly wide.
On the other side of the draw, St. Louis beat Denver Gaels while Indianapolis defeated Twin Cities to advance to the other semi-final. A comprehensive 11-8 to 1-2 victory by Indianapolis over St Louis has set up a great match-up for the final on Sunday.
Team: Cathi Dugger, Kristin Cardell, Joy Quinn, Kirsten Bendik, Jen Beato, Jordan Ciciliano, Amanda DuShane, Sarah Spiller 0-1, Zoe Beato 1-0, Ashley Harmon 0-2, Jolene Glenn, Rachel Dominy 3-0, Fiona O’Donoghue 0-3. Subs: Bregeen Campbell for Ashley Harmon. Unused subs: Amy Sparks, Patricia Tanguay, Rosa Manning, Christa Hixon, Ann Scheunemann
For more photos from today, please see the gallery here.