Milwaukee defeats Jillaroos in their Debut

The Columbus Jillaroos traveled to hot and steamy Milwaukee to play their first match of women's football. The women were treated to a 3 game curtain raiser between the men's clubs from Milwaukee, Columbus, and Ohio Valley.

The clouds were rolling in when the feature match started. Columbus sent an initial scare to the home town squad by winning the opening bounce and immediately moving the ball to the goal square. The Milwaukee defense took possession just in front of the goal and spoiled the new comers first salvo.

Milwaukee steadied and controlled the ball like you would expect from the depending USAFL champions. These weren't exactly the same Bombers from last year and only had 4 players on the field from last years undefeated squad. The new recruits played well and 6 of the 9 players will be representing the US Freedom in Canada on July 31 & August 1.

After the first quarter, the rain came pouring, the temperature dropped by about 20 degrees to the mid 60's, and the players were treated to a gentle hail storm. There was not a single word from either team about calling the game. The Jillaroos were going to gain experience in every aspect of women's football and improved tremendously throughout the game.

In the final quarter, their perseverance and tenacity resulted in points on the score board. A kick to the forward pocket was stopped by Milwaukee but smart play pressured Milwaukee into kicking across the goal which errantly split the uprights and gave a point to the Jillaroos! The crowd cheered for the Jillaroos first point. Now that they had the taste of scoring, they wanted to get a goal. A few moments later, a couple of nice marks of the slippery ball, put Jamie Harvey in position to score and she slotted the shot like an old pro.

Not satisfied with one goal a few minutes later they kicked a squibbly ball along the ground that was occupied only by the Milwaukee defender. She bobbled the ball and whiffed on a rush behind leaving the ball for Kristi Baldwin to soccer in for the Jillaroos second goal.

Jillaroos coach Chet Ridenour was proud of his players efforts "They never gave up, through the score, and the tsunami, and the injuries, they pushed and played on. They went in relentless into tackles, fighting for the ball, leaving every last bit of energy on that pitch."

The Columbus players were blown away from the welcoming nature and comraderie displayed by their more experienced opponents. Ridenour added "Before and after the game, the Columbus players were warmly welcomed into this close-knit circle that is womens footy in North America. Ladies bonded almost immediately - everyone excited to be joining together with newfriends"

"The Home Team brought beverage offerings as well as plenty of encouraging words to their new comrades. The ladies stuck around for the social afterwards as well, putting in that extra effort to play host to the Jills of Columbus."

Final Score
Milwaukee 23.25.163
Columbus 2.1.13

Goals
Milwaukee: Jenny Sarbacker, Judith Stein, Kathryn Hogg, Emily Riehl, Becky Kraft, Vanessa Kahn, Nicole Martiny
Columbus: Jamie Harvey, Kristi Baldwin

Best
Columbus: Kate Queen, Kristi Baldwin, Jamie Harvey
Milwaukee: Emily Riehl, Vanessa Kahn, Judith Stein