Game 1

Samantha played her first game with her new soccer club, the Michigan Impact, in the St. Clair Shores Waterfront Invitational on August 15th. The girls have barely had any practices together, and the whole point of the tournament was to get a feel for how the girls play together before their regular season gets underway. Things were looking good throughout the first half, as the girls on the Impact team controlled the ball for a majority of the time and managed to net the only goal of the first half. The second half was a little more back and forth, but neither team could manage to do much with the ball. When they managed to get a shot on goal, the keeper for each team was in position to make a play on the ball. When the final whistle blew, the Impact team had held on for their first win together, with the 1-0 win over the Windsor Croatia Cosmos.

St. Clair Shores Waterfront Invitational Game 1 - vs. Windsor Croatia Cosmos
	Samantha started tonight's game in her usual midfield position.
	Sam battling for a ball high in the air.
	Sam controlling the ball using her body.
	Sam driving the ball around a defender.
	Sam moving into a defensive position along the sideline.
	Sam looking to make a pass with a defender closing in on her.
	Sam transferring the ball between her feet.
	Sam battling for the ball along the sideline.
	Sam chasing after the ball as the defense collapses around her.
	Sam calling for the ball during a throw-in.
	Sam running down the field.
	Sam heading down the field.
	Samantha passing the ball across the field.
	Sam lining up a kick...
	...and making contact with the ball...
	...and sending it down the field to her teammates.
	Sam dribbling the ball.
	Sam moving down the field with the ball.

On our way home from Samantha's game we had a little incident with a deer. We almost made it all the way home, when we saw a deer race in front of us when we were approximately 4 miles from home. I had the cruise control set at 52mph (in a 50mph zone), and I slammed on the breaks to slow down as much as possible. Although we didn't manage to evade the deer, the damage to the car was minimized and relegated to a smashed in grill and a small wrinkle in the hood. I'm sure the plastic front piece will probably end up needing to be replaced as well, as there was a small deer hair eyebrow just before the hood. The police arrived at the scene at wrote up a report, for which I would need when I turned the car in to work. He also made quick duty of the deer, as it didn't move from the spot when it ended up after making contact with the front of the car. He was moving, however, so one quick shot ended any movement. Scared the crap out of the girls, but it the end it was probably the humane thing to do...

Post-Game Accident
	The front of the Camaro as seen from the side, complete with deer hair eyelash.
	Another look at the front of the smashed Camaro.

St. Clair Shores Waterfront Invitational Game 1 - vs. Windsor Croatia Cosmos

Samantha started tonight's game in her usual midfield position.

Sam battling for a ball high in the air.

Sam controlling the ball using her body.

Sam driving the ball around a defender.

Sam moving into a defensive position along the sideline.

Sam looking to make a pass with a defender closing in on her.

Sam transferring the ball between her feet.

Sam battling for the ball along the sideline.

Sam chasing after the ball as the defense collapses around her.

Sam calling for the ball during a throw-in.

Sam running down the field.

Sam heading down the field.

Samantha passing the ball across the field.

Sam lining up a kick...

...and making contact with the ball...

...and sending it down the field to her teammates.

Sam dribbling the ball.

Sam moving down the field with the ball.

Post-Game Accident

The front of the Camaro as seen from the side, complete with deer hair eyelash.

Another look at the front of the smashed Camaro.