Zone ply
ANJOU - THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLED
24 sept.

Neck and neck all season long, right down to the final championship whistle.

In the end, perhaps the only thing that separated FB Division powerhouses Zone and Queen of the World in Monday’s 2-1 showdown was some targeted defending, a few questionable calls and the dreaded fear of losing.

After opening up the scoring midway through the first half, it became clear that Zone, who got the better of Queen early in the summer, weren’t going to let opposing strikers Natacha Cognee and Sabrina Vlajic have their way. What few chances Queen did muster early on were squandered before ace midfielder Caroline Bois made it 2-0.

Despite trailing all game, it felt as though it was Zone that was playing with more urgency. Although Queen would finally make it 2-1 late in the second half following a handball in the crease that many felt should have been an automatic red as well a penalty shot, the regular season champs failed to lay out the full-press necessary to get the equalizer.

POTG: Queen of the World keeper Antonia Chilidis deserves special mention for repelling Zone’s incursions and keeping her squad in the game.

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