Girman scores four to lead ’Stars
Nottingham’s sophomore sensation scores four to give her 13 in five games
EWING » Gia Girman announced herself on the Colonial Valley Conference girls soccer scene with 14 goals as a freshman.
Turns out that was only a glimpse of what was to come.
What sophomore slump? More like sophomore sensation.
Girman scored four second-half goals to bring her season total to an incredible 13 in five games and Nottingham pulled away from Ewing, 5-0, on Monday afternoon.
“I think I’ve matured as a player,” said Girman, who has two hat tricks and is averaging 2.6 goals per game. “I don’t know, I like scoring goals.”
After an uninspired first half, Girman and the Northstars (4-1) showed how explosive they can be when she got them off the mark 3:33 into the second half.
Although the Blue Devils (0-7) competed hard in the opening 40 minutes to get to intermission at 0-0, the early goal opened the floodgates and Ivonne Vasquez doubled the lead in the 55th minute.
“When Gia and Ivonne turn it on, it definitely picks up our team,” Nottingham coach Christie Fink said. “Them connecting and putting those goals away helped us.”
Girman then took the game over, scoring three times in a 10-minute span, including a rocket from 20 yards out for her third goal and free kick from 22 yards away for her fourth.
Girman has scored 13 of her side’s 21 goals this season. “We came out slow, so in the huddle (at halftime), we were like we have to pick it up and get a goal in the first five minutes,” Girman said. “We knew they would keep coming.”
Nottingham’s only loss is against top-ranked Allentown, and even that 5-2 scoreline is somewhat deceiving since that was a 2-1 game at halftime and a contest for the full 80 minutes.
The Nortstars are off to this start with just 12 healthy varsity players.
“It’s tough to get them pumped up sometimes because you’re practicing with 12 girls, but it’s 12 great girls that we love being around,” Fink said. “They do what they have to do.”
Still, the Northstars’ key games are ahead of them with Valley Division rivals Lawrence, Hopewell Valley and Steinert all on tap.
“I feel like we’re the underdogs, so people look past us,” Girman said. “We just come out and do what we have to do.”
Nottingham (4-1) 0 5 - 5
Ewing (0-7) 0 0 - 0
Goals: Girman 4, Vasquez (N); Assists: Girman, Vasquez (N); Shots: 24 (N). 3 (E); Saves: Haas 3 (N). Kueny 7, Ordonez 0 (E).