Clippers show resiliency
Young Cumberland squad scores late to down Prout
CUMBERLAND — Cumberland firstyear girls soccer coach John Hoxsie has spent the previous three weeks working with his young squad on nearly every aspect of the game.
One thing he couldn’t prepare his team for happened just 70 minutes into the season Friday night against Prout.
The Clippers cruised through the first half and held a two-goal lead with just 21 minutes left in the Division I contest thanks to a pair of perfect corner kicks by junior All-State midfielder Emma Tziachris.
And then, for an 10-minute stretch, the Crusaders played the Clippers off the field and tied the contest. Cumberland managed to regain its composure and, in the 71st minute, sophomore Olivia Sarmento cracked a shot from the top of the box off of the post and into the net for the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory.
“We thought we looked very good in the first half and we felt we controlled play and dominated possession,” Hoxsie said. “Prout came right back in the second half and they
put us under pressure and we couldn’t get out of our 18-(yard box). That resiliency is what we want to see from our girls.
“We want to see what happens when we fall behind or we give up a two-goal lead. What are we going to do? Are we going to put our heads down and give up? Are we going to score the next goal? Those are all mental tests that we want to see how the girls react.”
Cumberland (1-0 Division I) won the regular season title last season and appeared in its third straight Division I semifinal, but 80 percent of the goals the team scored last season belonged to Northeastern starter Julianne Ross, UMass-Lowell freshman Abby Drezek and Jaylynne Thomas.
Friday, three girls who didn’t have a varsity goal to their name scored a goal. Sophomore midfielder Abby Free and sophomore forward Caitlyn Boisell scored first-half goals to put Cumberland ahead before Sarmento won the contest.
Tziachris, who has been an integral part of the program since she stepped on campus in 2015, believes the expectations for the team should remain high even though the squad is relying on a number of untested freshmen and sophomores.
“We’re not afraid of anyone,” Tziachris said. “We’re not afraid of a fast forward or to get in tackles or to get into someone’s face. There shouldn’t be different expectations just because we lose good players. We have good players come up. We don’t want to be known as the team that was good when we had those players and not that we’re gone we’re a different team. We want to be back in it all.”
Hoxsie said it will take a few games for his young forwards to find their way in Division I, so scoring dead-ball goals will be key for the squad. Tziachris picked up her first assist in the 25th minute when Free headed a corner past Crusader keeper Allison Perry.
Just three minutes later, Cumberland doubled its lead when Tziachris whipped in another corner to the far post, where Boissel was on hand to tap the ball into the net.
“Obviously we still have a lot of stuff to work on, but we don’t want to emphasize one player,” Tziachris said. “I loved it last year having Julianne and Abby up top, but the young girls are working hard. The young girls are doing a great job and there is more pressure on me, but we’re working hard.”
“I think we can be very dangerous on corners this year,” Hoxsie said. “We told the girls at halftime to get us a corner up front because we scored two goals that way. We’re very happy with that.”
Cumberland controlled the rest of the half and the first 15 minutes of the second half, but the Crusaders slowly found their rhythm and used a free kick to cut the deficit in half. Emma Slade curled a 30-yard free kick to the far post where Kseniya Farrell found a way past Sophie Goddard.
The advantage was erased 10 minutes later on a Caroline Hagerty goal, but two minutes later Free found Sarmento at the top of the box. Sarmento turned and curled a shot off of the post and into the net to win the contest.
“We have a lot of stuff to work on, but we’re really building a good team chemistry,” Tziachris said.