Now that’s how you respond to a loss.
After suffering its first-ever loss last weekend and without a win at home since the opening week of the season, Decatur FC was looking for a game that would light its loyal fans on fire and reward them for their support this season. And that’s exactly what the Black and Gold did, defeating Tormenta 7-2 in a game that proved they have the strength to rebound.
“It’s a great win,” Decatur FC assistant coach Jack Marchant said. “It’s great to put on a show for another big crowd. Having 1400 people [official count was 1,492] here again, especially after two not-so-positive results — it is really great to see.”
The game got off to a hot start. Early in the game, Decatur FC served a ball into the box from the left side of the field. On the right side of the goal, a Tormenta player out-jumped a Decatur FC player on a header, and put the ball in for an own goal, giving Decatur a 1-0 lead.
Merely seven minutes into the game, Emma Chapman fed the ball to Carley Borgelt who tapped it past the goalkeeper to bring the score to 2-0.
Tormenta responded, though. Two minutes after Decatur’s second goal, Tormenta launched a long ball just outside the 18-meter box. The shot landed in the top corner where goalkeeper Kaitlin Sinkler had no chance of reaching it. Just like that, Tormenta was back in the game.
“Disappointing to concede straight away after scoring two,” Marchant said, “but we bounced back again and we scored and it was a really dominant first half.”
The Black and Gold responded in kind. Only 14 minutes into the half, new roster addition Carmen Hardwick passed to Sarah Greiner who knocked it into the goal and Decatur’s lead was back to two goals. Then, with 15 minutes to go in the half, Carrie Consolino headed the ball in to widen the lead to three goals.
GET MORE LOCAL SPORTS NEWS: Subscribe to Sideline, a weekly newsletter about sports. Click here.
Tormenta wasn’t done yet. Two minutes into the second half, Tormenta took advantage of a slight defensive lapse by Decatur to score again, putting the ball past Sinkler who was unable to recover in time after making a save. Tormenta was within two.
But Decatur FC has learned how to respond when it goes down, and it showed Tormenta what it was made of. Chapman collected a corner and nailed it just past the goalkeeper’s fingertips merely two minutes later. Four minutes after that, the Black and Gold pressured Tormenta’s keeper into an error which Maysoon el-Shami easily chipped in. The seventh goal was scored by Aniyah Collier, who bent it on off what looked like a cross, and Decatur triumphed 7-2 over Tormenta.
“I think [our response] was great,” Marchant said. “Although we conceded two poor goals tonight, we continued to play the way that we’ve been wanting them to play and I think that’s the big thing where, if you look in the past couple of weeks when we’ve gone a goal down or we’ve not scored early, the frustration sets in and we’ve tried to maybe deviate from the game plan a little bit. They stuck to it tonight and they got their rewards by scoring seven goals.”
Madison’s Analysis
It was a great home win for a Decatur FC team that hasn’t done that recently and had yet to prove it could respond when down. Tormenta gave it ample opportunity to collapse on itself when challenged, but the team stuck with it, continued to find good passes and set plays and was rewarded with the most goals it’s scored in a game thus far. New players like Carmen Hardwick integrated smoothly into the lineup and Hardwick had an assist in the game as well, showing an immediate impact.
Decatur is primed for a road game against a weaker Chattanooga FC club on Sun., June 23 at 7 p.m. in Finley Stadium.