Albania 1-1 France

Un match godibile e combattuto, giocato a viso aperto da tutte e due le formazioni alla ricerca del gol, solo sfiorato nel primo tempo da Sara P., quando - lanciata a rete - ha tirato a botta sicura prendendo però la traversa. Il secondo tempo è volato via, sulla fisicità di Aurora, Lavinia, Erin e la sorprendete Valerie, a contendersi il pallone a centrocampo, senza tuttavia trovare la zampata decisiva. Freydis e Jiayi in porta hanno mostrato attenzione e nervi saldi. Il terzo tempo è stato decisivo per lo spetttacolo: quando una punizione di Aurora ha portato in vantaggio l'Albania, la Francia si è gettata in avanti alla ricerca del pareggio. Prima un tiro debole di Sara, poi una punizione di Lavinia, finita di poco alta, poi la sospirata rete del pari, su rimessa laterale della stessa Lavinia, sfiorata da un difensore e finita alle spalle del portiere.

Un pari giusto, che scontenta qualcuno, ma che accende il dibattito della vigilia: chi sarà la squadra campione di questo primo intramural? Con questo risultato infatti, Francia e Albania si qualificano per la finalissima!

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Lavinia 3, Aurora 3, Erin 2, Livia 2, Valerie 2, Anna Laura 1, Sara P 1, Angela 1, Caterina 1, Zoe 1, Jiayi 1, Carla 1, Sophie 1, Sara W 1.

PSV 2-2 Napoli

 Napoli's recent run of form continued today and they came away with another valuable point. They started quickly and Diego A put them ahead after 5'. Vittorio came closest for PSV in this first period with a clever back heel that almost went in, but Diego I added a second for Napoli before the break, with a trademark thunderbolt from outside the area. 

PSV woke up in period 2. Ashton set up Lucas for an unmissable shot at the far post... but Lucas missed! Rocco stepped up soon after and his determination had his team level at the end of period 2, a doppietta from RR. No change to the scoreline in period 3. Rocco had the ball in the back of the net but th3 whistle had already blown for a Vittorio push on Luca.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Rocco 6, Diego A 3, Ashton 3, Diego I 2, Josh 2, Giovanni M 2, Luca 1, Vittorio 1, Steve 1

Dortmund 2-0 Atletico

 No goals in period 1. Lorenzo I tested Martti and Daniele tested Sam but both goalkeepers saved well. In period 2, Antonio C put his team ahead with a penalty awarded for a push and Federico made the three points safe with an accurate strike from 15m out.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Daniele 5, Antonio C 3, Federico 3, Lorenzo I 2, Carlo 1, Sam 1, Martti 1, Martino 1, Adriano 1, Kevin 1, Max 1, Madison 1

Croatia 0-0 Albania

 Ancora un match a reti inviolate tra le ragazze, a sottolineare ancora una volta la difficoltà di fare gol in questa stagione... La partita è stata godibile, tuttavia, per il coinvolgimento e l'agonismo mostrato in campo da tutte le giocatrici, con una sfida nella sfida tra le due Aurora - una attaccante e l'altra portiere - che hanno animato il ritmo di gioco: due conclusioni pericolose, due belle parate.

Per il resto c'è stata molta grinta a centrocampo, difese attente e tanta voglia di giocare.

Oltre alle "solite" Aurora ed Erica, da sottolineare le buone prestazioni di Thea in difesa, di Marta in centrocampo e di Carla, molto dinamica in attacco.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Aurora R. 4, Aurora A. 3, Erica 3, Thea 2, Carla 2, Marta 1, Una 1, Costanza 1, Sara W 1, Anna 1, Zoe 1, Clotilde 1, Gracie 1, Livia 1.

Napoli 3-1 Man City

 Il Napoli vive!! After a run of defeats, Nicholas's team rediscovered some form today and, to the delight of a packed Ambrit Stadium, ran out 3-1 winners over City with a fine team display. Aron was solid in goal and started early, saving well from James. Napoli took the lead when Matteo's well-struck corner was met by Luca, who headed it confidently into the back of the net. Diego A almost doubled the lead shortly afterwards; he shot from an incredibly tight angle and was unlucky to see the ball come back off the inside of the post. At the other end, Jacopo made space for a shot but Simon made a great intervention to block the ball. Napoli came out quickly for the second period and Diego A sent in Steve for an early shot. City nearly equalised when Aron was content to let Jacopo's shot hit the post but, 2' later, Steve crowned an excellent performance with an excellent goal, flicking the ball nonchalently past the goalkeeper. As the third period began, the crowd was waiting for City's reaction and it came when they were awarded a penalty. Gabriele converted and now City attacked with even more intent. But Aron was equal to everything and it was Napoli who scored again, Matteo N's free kick found Leopoldo in space and he shot calmly into the bottom corner.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Steve 4, Diego A 4, Luca 4, Aron 2, Gabriele F 2, Simon 1, Matteo N 1, Jacopo 1, Leopoldo 1, Lorenzo L 1, Matteo N 1 

8S 1-1 TEACHERS

 Any match involving the teachers is usually an exciting game of football... but today's match is the exception that proves the rule. With 8S resorting almost exclusively to route one when in possession and doing everything possible to (quite literally) knock the teachers out of their stride when defending, this match was not one of the most memorable. The teachers were less cohesive than usual - probably due to a very active summer in the transfer market - and this is a side that needs more time together to gel. 8S began better. Antonio F was close but his shot dribbled wide. Kevin, playing at full throttle all through the game, then put his team ahead. He was played in by Giovanni Z and his shot had enough pace and spin to get past Mr Martin. 

The teachers woke up in the second half. Mr Piccolo's glancing header was close, but was, well, too glanced. Mr Alessandro did equalise though. Despite the strong attentions of Giovanni Z, he found enough space to shoot and the ball flew in! The match was not without its controversy: the teachers claimed two penalties - one for a handball and one for a ball kicked high over the south fence - but referee Corcoran denied both and was backed up by VAR.

Ambrit Girls al terzo posto RISA

 Nella bella giornata di sabato le ragazze non sono riuscite a replicare la vittoria di un mese fa e devono accontentarsi di un ottimo terzo posto nel secondo torneo RISA 23-24.

Le ragioni di questo risultato sono molteplici: l'assenza all'ultimo minuto del portiere e dell'attaccante titolare, il campo a 5 su cui non siamo abituate a giocare, la scelta dei mister di dividere le forze in due squadre, perdendo una parte del potenziale,  e - ancora una volta - l'atavica difficoltà a FARE GOL!

Tuttavia la squadra ha mostrato grande carattere e una crescita costante, perdendo di un soffio l'accesso alla finale, a causa una colossale ingenuità che ha permesso alle avversarie della New School di vincere proprio grazie al nostro "regalo".

Ottimo lo spirito in campo e la grinta delle nostre ragazze, con menzione speciale per Erin - Player of the tournament.

Ambrit-St.Francis 1-1 (Erica)

Ambrit-Acorn 1-0 (Alessandra)

Ambrit-Castelli 1-3 (Erin)

Semifinal: Ambrit-New School 0-1

3rd Place Final: Ambrit-AOSR 2-0 (Erica, Lavinia)

RISA Soccer - u12 BOYS: AMBRIT capture the u12 title too!

 It was smiles all around for the Ambrit coaching staff as they watched the u12s put on an assured display that promises well for the future! An opening game got off to the best possible start when early Ambrit pressure forced a handball in the area and Diego stepped up confidently to score low down to his left. Buoyed by the early breakthrough, Ambrit kept AOSR pinned down for most of the game and Giovanni, Lorenzo G (2), Antonio, Diego (2 more) and Mostafa all added their names to the scoresheet.

The final versus Marymount was another story entirely. This time it was Ambrit who went down to the early goal and, now unsettled, they let Marymount in for a second - nobody taking charge at the back. Now losing 2-0, Lorenzo G decided something needed to be done - and he did it. His first goal was a triumph of determination, his second a triumph of elegance - a well-timed flick of his heel on the volley! Lorenzo completed his hat-trick to put Ambrit ahead with just 8 minutes left on the clock. But then Marymount scored a fantastic equaliser! Breaking on the left, their number 7 looked up, spotted Maarti off his line and launched a 'Di Marco'-style shot over Maarti and into the back of the net. Five tense minutes followed, with each team looking for the winner and, with just 30'' on the clock, Antonio (who was excellent today) played the ball to Diego at the edge of the area. One touch to steady himself was all Diego needed and his next touch rolled the ball past the despairing goalkeeper to nestle just inside the left-hand post!

TEAM: Martti, Simon, Matteo, Junio, Giovanni, Antonio, Lorenzo L, Lorenzo G, Diego, Mostafa, Edoardo

RISA Soccer - u14 BOYS : Eight teams, ONE Winner - AMBRIT!

 Ambrit's u14 boys grew into this tournament, improving with every game. A 2-0 win in their opener versus New School (Gabriele F, Giovanni Z) sent them into game 2 versus St Francis in a confident mood. SFIS shook them though with an early goal but Ambrit responded magnificently. Francesco scored straight from a corner and Rocco made it 2-1. Antonio headed in a third and then Rocco struck again. Daniele scored the fifth. The last group game was against Marymount,who had been winning too. But Ambrit were now unstoppable. Kevin, Daniele, Rocco and Gabriele (2) scored for an easy 5-0. 

And so on to the SF versus Acorn. After a tense start, there was Rocco again - always pressuring the defenders, always looking for an opening. He got it and converted and Ambrit settled down. Daniele scored a beauty from a free kick and Rocco chipped in a third to send Ambrit into the final. Here they came up against AOSR, who had beaten our boys 1-0 at the Ambrit tournament last month. But today Ambrit had one team and one idea: WIN! And they did!! This time it was Gabriele who scored the opener, turning in Rocco's corner. Dani then played the assist for Rocco to make it 2-0 and Giovanni set up Rocco soon after for a third.

All in all, a great team performance with some outstanding individual contributions. A special mention to Giovanni Z who dominated in midfield, never put a foot wrong in defence and was happy to let others score the goals up front.

TEAM: Adrian, Aron, Adriano, Vittorio, Giovanni Z, Francesco, Daniele, Kevin, Rocco, Gabriele, Erik, Antonio, Dmitri

Galatasaray 5-3 PSV

 Una partita dai due volti, condotta magistralmente dal Galatasaray nel primo tempo - terminato sul punteggio di 4-0 - e una ripresa in cui il PSV ha cercato la clamorosa rimonta, fallita di un soffio: sul punteggio di 4-3, infatti, Giovanni ha infranto i sogni degli Olandesi e allo scadere ha firmato il definitivo 5-3.

La partita si era aperta con lo show dei Turchi, in gol con Antonio, poi con una doppietta dello scatenato Claudio, e con il sigillo del capitano Giovanni. 

Il secondo tempo, tuttavia, si è aperto con il gol di Rocco e - quasi immediatamente - un altro gol di Vittorio. Il Galatasaray ha vacillato, e Rocco è riuscito di nuovo ad approfittarne, portando i suoi sul 4-3. A una manciata di secondi dalla fine la partita era ancora aperta, ma il colpo di scena non c'è stato e Giovanni ha confermato i tre punti con la rete finale.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Giovanni Z 4, Antonio 4, Rocco 4, Claudio 3,  Vittorio 1, Ashton 1, Giovanni V 1, Rex 1,

France 1-0 Holland

 Tre punti meritati per una super Francia, guidata da una Erin scatenata, anche se il gol partita è frutto di uno sfortunato episodio: una punizione di Angela dalla tre-quarti - abbastanza inoffensiva - è stata deviata in rete da un colpo di testa del capitano Olivia...

L'Olanda, dopo aver subito il gol, non ha saputo reagire, anzi ha più volte dato l'impressione di soffrire il gioco avversario, le folate offensive di Erin e di Sara, senza riuscire a guadagnare terreno ad eccezione di Naila, forse, che è stata l'ultima a mollare. La Francia ha preso coraggio e non si è scomposta, mostrando una difesa attenta, con Vittoria da una parte e Sophie dall'altra, e con Chloe a combattere nel mezzo.

L'Olanda ha presto finito l'ossigeno, nonostante la buona volontà di Alessandra e Margherita, nonostante il prezioso contributo di Maeve e Megan; nei fatti Freydis non è mai stata impensierita tra i pali...

La lotta per un posto in finale si fa ora dura per l'Olanda, che - dopo la vittoria d'esordio - incassa oggi la seconda fatale sconfitta.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Erin 5, Sara 3, Vittoria G 2, Chloe 2, Naila 2, Alessandra 1, Margherita 1, Maeve 1, Megan 1, Sophie 1.

ACLI Friendly: OMC 2-3 Ambrit

 Ambrit came through their first test of the season today with flying colours! After a slow start that saw them 1-0 down after just three minutes, the team pulled itself together and Dylan slammed home a free-kick from 15m out to make it 1-1. Dylan struck again to put Ambrit ahead but the home team equalised to set up a grandstand finish. Kevin scored the decider and Ambrit can now look forward with optimism to the beginning of the competitive season.

TEAM: Gabriele; Vittorio, Adriano, Luca, Martino; Francesco, Kevin, Giovanni, Nicholas; Dylan, Antonio, Daniele.

Galatasaray 4-1 Man City

 On paper, this was an exciting fixture and, in reality, it lived up to the hype. Galatasaray started with energy and menace and, before long, they were 1-0 up. In a move that started with Zain and then flowed through Claudio and Lorenzo G, Giovanni Z was on hand to smash home an unstoppable shot. Minutes later, Claudio took advantage of Matteo's unfortunate slip to steal the ball and crash home a second. City were down... but not out! A long ball from Gabriele F was headed on by Jacopo and Antoine did very well to control the ball and shoot past Gabriele T: 2-1! Lorenzo G almost made it 3-1 just before the break but Gabriele F made an excellent save.

In the second period, Lorenzo G tested Gabriele F twice more: first from a free kick and then from the rebound. Gabriele saved both and then looked on gratefully as Edoardo fired the ball over the bar. Claudio shot well too but, again, Gabriele F saved.

Gabriele F came out for period 3 and almost scored immediately but his shot was just too high. Claudio supplied the assist for the Turks' killer third goal, finished off by an in-form Lorenzo G. Jacopo was unlucky not to narrow the gap with a great header that was well-saved by Rex, and Claudio finished off proceedings with a fourth goal, struck from way out on the wing but with enough force to cross the line without needing a touch from Gabriele T! 

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Claudio 3, Lorenzo G 3, Giovanni Z 3, Gabriele F 3, Jacopo 2, Antoine 2, Antonio F 1, Giovanni V 1, Gabriele T 1, Zain 1, Rex 1

France 0-0 Croazia

 A cracking game today between two well-organised teams who played at a high tempo throughout but couldn't produce a goal between them. And indeed, a defeat would have been cruel for either team. France probably shaded the first half, with Erin making some breath-taking dribbles past one player after another without, however, producing the killer shot that was needed at the end. Croazia came much more into the game in the second half. With Captain Costanza talking constantly to her players - to organise, to encourage and to direct - chances followed. Una worked hard in midfield; Clotilde too. Erica's lob was just too high... only just! Erica's shot when gifted the ball by Freydis was just wide... just! But Lavinia was an exemplary vice-captain too, and she was unlucky to see her own shot drift just wide. Erin continued to threaten though and, when it wasn't her, Angela stepped in. But both goalkeepers were in form and both kept a clean sheet.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Erin 4, Costanza 3, Erica 3, Lavinia 2, Aurora A 2, Clotilde 2, Angela 1, Freydis 1, Una 1, Caterina 1, Giulia 1, 

Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Napoli

 This Napoli is a pale shadow of the Napoli that won the Serie A title last season, ample demonstration that the Intramural is a much tougher competition to win. Dortmund were dominant throughout today and Captain Dani provided the assist for goal number 1, finished off from a tight angle by Maverick - a player who is looking more and more dangerous with each passing game. Daniele himself added a second with a well-judged lob from midfield and Maverick turned up to force home a third goal in a goalmouth scramble following a corner. In all this, Napoli were not inactive. Steve and Diego battled gamely but shots on goal were rare. Diego was unlucky with a header from a corner - just over - and Steve tested the goalkeeper twice but both shots were too central. Leopoldo went into goal for the last period and saved well from Daniele but he could do nothing about Dortmund's last goal. Carlo's pass to Antonio was probably the best pass of the game and Antonio buried it convincingly in the back of the net.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Daniele 4, Diego I 3, Maverick 3, Erik 2, Antonio C 2, Steve 2, Diego A 2, Dylan 1, Matteo N 1, Sam 1, Carlo 1