Dukes score first but fall short to Glenbrook South

By Darryl Mellema

It's very hard to top the positive start – or the good fortune with which York started Saturday's Pepsi Showdown contest with Glenbrook South.

The Dukes attacked with authority and earned themselves an early corner kick.

And everyone wearing Green shirts on the field had reason to celebrate when Abbey Wilkins' fifth-minute kick evaded everyone and found the back of the net.

Glenbrook South recovered from that point, however, and claimed a 2-1 come-from-behind victory that advanced the No. 2-seeded Titans into the tournament's quarterfinals.

"I thought the first half, we played a lot better than the second half," York coach Rachael Shepherd said. "That could be due to a lot of variables.

"I think maybe it was the wind or maybe it was being fatigued from playing against a good squad. I don't think cardiovascular fatigue was the reason."

Glenbrook South (3-1-2) slowly worked its way back into the match. The Titans tied the match three minutes after Wilkins' goal through Jessica Blair.

Then it scored the go-agead goal in the contest when Nina Kodros scored with a quarter-hour to play.

"There's a lot of things we can improve on," Shepherd said. "I felt we controlled the ball a little better in the first half than we did in the second half.

"I felt that, in the second half, we were playing defense the whole time and the offense we had was when we counter attacked."

Kodros and senior standout Jannelle Flaws caused no end of trouble to York's defense, especially after halftime, when they had the wind at their backs and they sought to pin the Dukes in their defensive half.

To counter that threat, the Dukes (6-2) switched to a flat back four defense in the second half.

"We wanted to adjust to their three forwards," Shepherd said. "You lose a little bit of attack when you do that, and that may have made a bit of difference.

"But we had to balance our team out and make sure we had everything covered."

Christina Ordonez had some of York's best chances to score after the team's goal. But even she saw her scoring opportunities fade as the match progressed.

"We kind of lost it a little in the second half, but we still need to play hard," Ordonez said.

"It definitely helped in the first half scoring early to get our intensity going."

Ordonez suffered a thigh injury midway through the second half. She was able to finish the match but was clearly hampered as she went to get an ice bag to place over the injured area after the match.

"I'm a little sore," Ordonez said. "I got a charley horse in the thigh."

York is still setting into the 2010 season, though its sterling record is an indication of how successful they have been to this point.

"We have some players playing in new positions doing different things and that's OK," Shepherd said. "That's why I like this tournament in the beginning of the season."