Decatur FC thrilled its largest ever crowd in a dominant 8-1 win over Union 10 FC for their home opener Friday, May 23.
The team set a new all-time attendance record, with 2,550 fans watching at Decatur High School. (The previous record was set last year.)
“We have such great fans here, and the city has been so supportive of us and the school system. And I mean, we honestly couldn’t be happier,” Decatur FC General Manager Joel Gould said. “And we all feel like we did so much work pre-season to try to engage with the fans, engage with our community, and so I think tonight is just a lot of that hard work paying off for so many people.”
The fans were enthusiastic and supportive, wearing Decatur FC merchandise, starting chants throughout the game, and waiting in line for autographs from the players after the win.
Dominant from the start
From the start, Decatur FC played aggressively, pressing Union 10 FC. This pressure, along with good ball control and quick passing, allowed Decatur FC to create opportunities for themselves.
Allie Planeaux dribbled quickly down the left sideline of the field, getting past multiple defenders. Planeaux made a gorgeous cross to Becky Contreras in the middle of the box. Contreras drove the ball into the bottom left corner of the net, scoring Decatur FC’s first goal of the season, about six minutes into the game.
Decatur continued to capitalize on their momentum. Six minutes later, Maysoon El-Shami shot the ball right past the goalie into the bottom right corner of the net. This goal, which was also assisted by Planeaux, gave Decatur FC a 2-0 lead.
Immediately after Decatur FC made multiple substitutions, Contreras was able to fire a shot past the goalie. This was Contreras’ and the team’s third goal of the night.
Continuing to pass the well, the team created another opportunity to score. El-Shami sent the ball to Aniyah Collier, who scored Decatur FC’s fourth goal of the evening.
Second Half
Union 10 FC came into the second half, immediately playing more aggressively than they did in the first half. Their efforts were not enough to stop Ngulefac from carrying the ball down the field. Ngulefac passed all of the defenders and placed the ball in the lower left corner of the net, scoring her second goal of the night. This goal brought Decatur up 5-0 over Union 10 FC.
Planeaux sped past the defenders on the sideline again and played a perfect cross into the box. The cross was perfectly smashed into the goal by Maggie Wadsworth. This was Planeaux’s third assist of the night, but the action continued for her.
Just three minutes later, Wadsworth took a shot that was deflected by the goalie and then perfectly tapped in behind the goalie, bringing the score to 7-0.
With 25 minutes left in the game, Union 10 FC scored their first goal of the night from a shot that bounced in from the inside of the backboard, to make the score 7-1.
In the last minute of the game, Sydnie Thibodaux sent a beautiful corner kick into the box that was headed into the back of the net by Contreras. Contreras ended her first game of the season with a hat trick, and Decatur FC ended their first home game with an 8-1 win.
Entire team gets exposure
The comfortable lead throughout the game allowed Coach Campbell Chapman to play everyone and ensure that they all got good minutes throughout the game
“We didn’t see our defense having to work too hard. Also, in any situation when you create chances, you’d like to score goals, but in this situation tonight, it was a little bit easier than it may be in future games, so we need to be a little more clinical in front of the goal,” Chapman said. “But, we scored eight goals, so I can’t be too critical. But I think the opposition probably won’t allow us so many clear-cut opportunities in the next few games.”
Next Match
Decatur FC plays its next home game on May 30 vs UFA.
