The KUA girls were greeted with a warm mid-autumn sun and cold, biting wind as they strode onto Grenier Field to begin their final game of the season against the New Hampton Huskies.  They wore their game jerseys over long sleeved black shirts and their faces were dashed with blue paint complimented with sparkles.  In better physical shape than at any other point of the season, these 11 girls got themselves ready with rondos, stretches, and strength drills.  Let's just call this a prequel to 300.  These excited girls came out swinging with no subs at all.  To make matters even more interesting, the Huskies were out to even the score after a 1-3 loss against the Wildcats earlier in the season.  It was hard not to see this as a David vs. Goliath moment considering the difference in number of players between the teams.  As the game got going, the first half had numerous scoring attempts and a strong defensive effort from both teams.  The game remained scoreless until  striker Aiyonna Gay drove to the Husky goal from the left side and buried the ball from 6 yards out with less than 15 minutes to the half.  The lead didn't last as the Huskies came right back with a fast breakaway by forward No. 4 that saw her outrun the KUA defenders to make a hard strike to the right side on goalie West Lee-Ogilbee.  The game remained tied at 1-1 until Aiyonna Gay struck again late in the second half for her 9th goal of the season.   It was a spectacular break away that displayed Aiyonna's ability to explode past defenders and find herself in the open field facing only the New Hampton goalie.  She shot straight on from about 10 yards out, finding the upper right part of the net.  It was a goal that became an exclamation point on the fantastic effort these girls put in all season.  The Huskies fought back with everything they had, but the KUA defenders valiantly pushed them away just yards from the goal with mere minutes remaining on the clock.  After batting down corner kicks and clearing balls again and again, the game finally ended when the referee blew his whistle three times.  After shaking hands, the girls circled around their coaches and celebrated their lone senior, Lindi Finn, who had one of her finest games as a left defender.   They also honored Aiyonna Gay's incredible game that found her everywhere on the field and making drives that showcased her ability to jump over her opponents and pivot on her feet at high speeds while still retaining the ball.  The Wildcats left everything on the field.  In particular, the work of the KUA defenders, Lindi, Miko, Chloe, and Angela and midfielders Olivia, JC, Taylor and Nikita made it very difficult for the opponent to gain the upper edge on shooting. While the season ended with a 5-7-1 record for the Wildcats, they were either tied or led at half time in all but two of their matchups.  It was a successful season capped off by a great final home game against a tough foe.  The loud ring of the victory bell signaled the joy of victory and that this KUA Wildcat JV Girls' team will soon return.

This blustery and cold Saturday afternoon didn't quite end up the way the girls wanted it to in their third matchup against Proctor Academy, but they went down fighting to the very end, even scoring the final point with less than 5 minutes to go. It was a nice pass inside the box from Nikita Giguere to Shoshi Parodneck, who chipped the ball over the Proctor goalie's head to score her first goal of the season.  The other goal was scored by Aiyonna Gay who shot it from her favorite spot, 10 yards from the right side of the goal, a hard shot that the Proctor goalie couldn't hang onto.  On their end of the field, the Wildcat girls had trouble containing the much bigger and deeper Proctor players, yielding four scores, including two in the first half.  With just 11 players available, the girls still chose to play 35 minutes halves.  Any type of fatigue due to the lack of subs didn't seem to show on these Wildcats because they played with the same intensity throughout the game.  By the conclusion, some of the girls lay on the turf nursing their sore ankles.  The fighting spirit of this group of Wildcat girls will not subside as they prepare for the final matchup of the season against New Hampton next Saturday.

If there was ever a game to demonstrate the Wildcat girls' toughness, it was on the cold and soaking wet turf at Holderness this Wednesday.  From the offset, the Wildcats were everywhere on the field, chasing down the ball, forming nearly impenetrable lines of defense in their goal box, and driving the ball hard into opponent territory.  Holderness had 25 players to just 11 KUA girls.  Once again, the Wildcats lacked subs, but this was in no way slowing them down.  They stopped more than 15 corner kicks and just as many scoring drives.  All four defenders managed to block several shots of their own inside the box.  Forwards and midfielders Aiyonna Gay, JC Bernard, Shoshi Parodneck and Olivia Root had their own highlights as they drove the ball into Holderness territory and managed to get several shots off, including a fantastic cross by Aiyonna that found Shoshi wide open.  Taylor Swett was the sweeper who seemed to be everywhere on the field, making it difficult for Holderness to get a clear shot.  Perhaps the biggest hero of the game was goalie West Lee-Ogilbee who made several miraculous saves, including one where she deflected the ball numerous times in a crowded box that included 4 Holderness players and at least as many Wildcats.  It was chaos.  The ball bounced around West for nearly a minute before it was finally cleared.  There was just 4 minutes left in the game.  It could've gone either way, but both teams fought hard to defend their goal.  This super close game ended in a 0-0 tie.  Not quite the result the KUA girls were looking for, but the coaches were proud of them putting up such stalwart effort against a much bigger team on their home turf.  The Wildcat girls look forward to their own home game against Proctor this Saturday.