Lawrence girls work on finishing off shots

Girls SoccerWhile the Lawrence High School girls soccer team may be competitive in each game now, head coach Dave Boggs knows if his girls learn to finish their scoring opprotunities, they can be downright dominant.

By: Steve Feitl
   The Cardinals were involved in three close games this past week, all of which were decided by three goals or less.
   Lawrence fell to Princeton on Sept. 12, 3-0, but rebounded to defeat Trenton two days later in overtime, 3-2.
   Most recently, the girls dropped a 2-0 decision to Hopewell Valley on Monday.
   Despite the loss, Boggs was pleased with the effort.
   "We played really well," he said. "We played very well defensively and we had some quality chances to score."
   Boggs pointed to a breakaway scenario while the Cardinals were down, 1-0, in the second half as the kind of play the team needs to convert if it is to be more successful.
   "If we weren’t getting chances, I’d be upset," Boggs said. "But we’re creating quality scoring chances. We’ve just been really unfortunate with our finishing."
   In the 3-2 win over Trenton on Sept. 14, the Cardinals got up 2-0, but let Trenton back in the game when they lost their marks on a corner and Trenton converted.
   By the time overtime rolled around, the girls knew what they had to do, according to Boggs.
   "The girls knew we were in a desperate situation," he said. "We knew we dominated most of the game, but we didn’t play 80 minutes. You’ve got to play consistently and we didn’t.
   "But we didn’t panic. We went back out there and got the penalty kick and Tiffany Robert scored off that."
   Trisha Musto and Christie Icenhower scored their first varsity goals to assist Lawrence in the win.
   Boggs said the team wasn’t itself for the Princeton game on Sept. 12. The Cardinals had a game canceled two days earlier due to lightning and a practice canceled the next day because of the terrorist attacks throughout the country.
   By the time the Princeton game came, the layoff had hurt the Cardinals, Boggs said.
   "Princeton is a good team," he said. "But I know we could have played better."