Cards drop opener despite shot advantage

Girls SoccerThe stat sheet revealed that the Lawrence High School girls soccer squad held a 19-9 advantage in shots over Colonial Valley Conference rival Ewing in last Friday’s season opener.

By: Mike Molaro
   Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the only numbers that mattered were on the scoreboard and those showed a 2-0 triumph for the Blue Devils.
   "We played well and had tons of chances," said Lawrence head coach Dave Boggs. "Right off the opening tap we had a shot that went wide. I said to myself after that, ‘We’ll be okay.’
   "We need to finish our plays better. We held a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks. We did everything you can do but score."
   Ewing goalie Amy Mittelstaedt came up big when needed, recording 10 saves, while Cardinal netminder junior Jessica Handelmann turned aside five shots.
   Despite dominating play early, Lawrence couldn’t dent the Ewing goal.
   "Within the first 10 to 15 minutes of the game we had many chances to score," Boggs said. "We had two girls (senior forward Jackie Lewin and junior defenseman Jessica Smith) with four shots each, one girl (senior forward Lisa Coyle) had five shots, and two girls had three shots each. Jackie played a real strong game for us."
   Ewing took a 1-0 lead deep into the second half before adding an insurance goal with little time remaining on the clock.
   "Jessica (Handelmann) made a big save late in the game to keep us in it, but we couldn’t get that tying goal," Boggs said. "Then Ewing scored with very little time left."
   Despite the loss, these Cardinals aren’t about to look for sympathy. These gritty girls have never backed down from a challenge, and they’re not about to start now.
   "This is only one game," Boggs said. "We’re not going to panic. We’ll take what we did well and build on that. We just need to execute better. The effort was there from the girls and I can’t be upset with how they played. We were strong defensively and had our chances on offense.
   "We’re not going to hang our heads. We played well. I know that and the girls know that."