Cadets upset #1 ranked Falcons on Taylor's 27-yard strike
Junior midfielder Carli T. scored off of a 27-yard strike late in the second half to lead St. John's to a 1-0 upset victory over league leader
Good Counsel in WCAC action on Friday, October 15th at Quinn Field (
Photos of the match are available here - password is "StJohn2010".)
In the 72nd minute, Carli received a ball on the right flank from fellow midfielder Maise M., who found the right midfielder alone with one defender to beat. With the match tied at nil, Carli had time to attack the endline as her defender was caught out of position. She looked up and saw space behind the Falcons' back four and struck a high arching cross that got caught in the wind and sailed over the outstretched arms of the Good Counsel 'keeper who was fooled by the blustery conditions.
"Carli is one of our best servers of the ball", said Head Coach Colin LENNON of Carli's second, game winning goal of the season. "We're a better team when we attack from the flanks and cause a bit of havoc in front of the goal."
Good Counsel peppered the Cadets' goal with 14 shots - all of which were saved by junior netminder
Kirsten G., who arguably played her best game in uniform for St. John's all season. Kirsten stopped WCAC leader Midge Purce on several close range attempts in the 38th and 52nd minutes that helped keep the scoreline empty.
"I'm delighted for Kirsten", Lennon said of his shot blocker. 'She's had her up's and down's this season but really came to play for the full 80 minutes, and was our Player of the Game with her reads and command of the box today."
St. John's played the fixture without junior standouts Aly G. and Najla M., both of whom are recovering from injury, but welcomed juniors Allison S. and Maise back to the starting XI. It was their first match since the Cadets' 1-0 loss at Holy Cross on September .
"Alison and Maise were dominant today", said Doug HOMER, Assistant Coach. "I thought they were positioned well to absorb Good Counsel's direct play and inspired other players to match their intensity and commitment, particularly in the second half."
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| Photography by Ken White |
Sophomore defenders Kat O. and Lis P. got stuck in on various tackles, both in the air and on the artificial turf, to deny Good Counsel's Purce and Imani Dorsey time and space to penetrate the Cadets' back four. Junior forwards Lizzy C. and Mary M. helped disrupt the Falcons' passing game while freshman midfielder Lexi L. earned valuable minutes alongside Maise and Shannon defending in the midfield against Good Counsel's senior midfield duo of Alexis Prada and Michelle Procaccini.
With the victory, St. John's improves to 3-4-3 in league play and 9-7-3 overall. The Cadets travel to Arlington, Va., on Monday, October 18th for a tough WCAC fixture against
Bishop O'Connell H.S. Varsity kicks off at 3:30 PM followed by the junior varsity game at 5PM.
