The Steamrollers traveled south to Hollister on March 29th for two games and once again demonstrated strong defense by shutting out both opponents.
On a rare rainy weekend in Northern California, the San Jose Steamrollers fielded their full roster of six players to take on the Hollister Freewheelers in the first match of the day. The Steamrollers scored in the first five minutes of the game with a well executed corner kick from Ryan Connolly to Matthew Arensdorf who rocketed a shot just inside the far goal post. The second score of the game came a few minutes later on a direct kick from the sideline by Ryan Connolly that was shot into the slight gap between the goalie and second defender. The rest of the match was a defensive showcase by both teams, with the Steamrollers rolling away with the 2-0 victory.
The second and last match of the day for the Steamrollers put them on the floor against the improving Central Valley Ghostriderz. The Ghostriderz came prepared with two new Power Soccer Shop Strike Force wheelchairs and it quickly became evident that they had been practicing with this new equipment. While the Ghostriderz hit the ball hard and had some excellent passing runs, the strong defense and experienced team play of the Steamrollers proved too much for the Ghostriderz. Each of the Steamrollers contributed to the goals scored in the match, save the Steamrollers star goalie, Jenny Mitchell, who provided another shutout. Matthew Arensdorf had three goals, followed by Ryan Connolly and Sid Karnala with two goals a piece, and Chris Faria and Kenny Tran each with a goal. Plenty of assists were made by each of the players. The final score was Steamrollers 9, Ghostriderz 0.
The Steamrollers head further south this weekend, April 5th and 6th, to Glendale, CA for the Glendale Invitational Tournament to face off against teams from Arizona and Southern California. On Saturday, May 17th the Steamrollers will be back in San Jose at their home court in the Alviso Community Youth Center to take on the always tough BORP Crushers and the Hollister Freewheelers.
Congratulations to all the Steamrollers; Matthew Arensdorf, Ryan Connolly, Kenny Tran, Sid Karnala, Chris Faria, and Jenny Mitchell for demonstrating excellent team play.
Game Results:
Steamrollers 2 v Freewheelers 0
Steamrollers 9 v Ghostriderz 0