Iate goals lift DMA by St. Basil
ft seemed as though the ball had something against dwynedd Mercy Academy in its game against St. Basil. aespite upwards of 10 shots Ln WKH fiUsW KDOI DnG nuPHUous other opportunities, the Monarchs could not score if they were hitting beach ball into the ocean.
mersistence pays off, however, and the relentless MonDUFKs’ DWWDFK finDOOy IRunG LWs way in the second half, scoring two goals and stealing a 2-1 win over the manthers.
7KH fiUsW KDOI wDs HnG WR end all the way through. qhe possession was even for the most part, perhaps slightly in Basil’s favor. dMA was getting chances, but those chances turned into transition runs for the manthers and it seemed only a matter of time before they capitalized.
“Our goal was to come in and hold dwynedd,” Basil coach brin Mcaonald said. “We wanted to get a few offensive corners and hold them. We never expected to hold them 45 minutes before WKHLU fiUsW JRDO, sR LW wDs D good game for us.”
With 18:57 left in the half, BDsLO finDOOy GLG. 0yUDnGD dormeley found the net after a wonderful build up. qhe passing was crisp and there was little dMA could do about it. qhe momentum was on Basil side, but that would not last long.
“f have to give a lot of credit to Basil, they gave us a real run for our money,” dMA coach Sue mersichetti said. “fn the beginning we had too much distance beWwHHn WKH PLGfiHOG DnG WKH defense. Once we went into KDOIWLPH DnG fiJuUHG WKDW RuW, we were able to stay on our end for the rest of the game.”
dMA faced two obstacles for the majority of the game: finLsKLnJ SUREOHPs DnG BDsLO goalkeeper Christine Mcfntyre. Although the Monarchs had plenty of shots and opportunities, the ball just didn’t want to go in the net for a long spell. masses flDsKHG DFURss WKH IDFH RI goal many times, but no one was there to smash it home.
“Finishing is our issue right now,” mersichetti said. “f can’t even think about all the shots that we had and
didn’t score.”
McIntyre was a bigger problem. She made 17 saves in the match and was just as solid when she wasn’t making saves, kicking crosses away and poking incoming passes from danger.
“My goalie was fabulous,” McDonald said. “She is coming off a serious injury and we didn’t even know if we were going to have her this season. She has come back two fold and she’s been great.”
Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, all the attempts at goal and offensive pressure paid off for GMA. Corrinne Persichetti knotted the game at 1-1 with a goal in a scramble in front of the net, receiving a solid feed from Nicole Catalino. The MonDUFKV finDOOy EURNH WKURuJK and the relief was visible.
“For me it was a relief especially,” Sue Persichetti said of the goal. “But the pressure was lifted after that DnG wH wHUH finH. :KDW yRu do is try to make adjustments at halftime and if the girls have the heart to do that, you end up with good results.”
After getting one, they would not fail to keep the momentum going. Five minutes later, Catalino blasted a shot from distance that beat Gormeley and gave GMA a deserved victory.
Even in the loss, McDonald was very happy with the way her side performed.
“It was a huge victory for us, we never anticipated doing this,” McDonald said. “My girls played great and were able to move the ball and get some offensive corners and that’s something we wanted to accomplish.”