Cardinals receive firepower from Coyle

Girls SoccerJust when it seemed like the Lawrence High School girls soccer squad needed a lift, along came Lisa Coyle to provide the firepower.

By: Mike Molaro
   The senior forward banged home three goals and added three assists last week to lead the Cardinals (3-3) to a pair of road victories. Lawrence won, 6-3, over Hamilton on Tuesday and were victorious, 2-1, over West Windsor-Plainsboro North last Friday.
   Coyle scored the first two Cardinal goals against the Hornets and also contributed two assists, while junior forward Jackie Lewin scored the next three Lawrence goals for a hat trick. Sophomore midfielder Torey Edgecomb scored her first varsity goal in the game.
   Junior forward Victoria Johnson, junior midfielder Christine Rivera, junior defenseman April Spanicciati, and junior midfielder Kathleen Rivera each added an assist.
   Juniors Jessica Handelman and Lynda Zottman shared the goaltending duties as the Cardinals broke open a 2-2 halftime deadlock with a superb second half.
   "We started out flat," Cardinal head coach Dave Boggs said. "We let up a goal within the first 10 minutes of the game.
   "We played much better offensively and defensively in the second half. We were on fire in the second half. Hamilton scored late in the game. We didn’t give them much in the second half."
   Defeating Hamilton was a true team effort, according to Boggs.
   "Tiffany Robert (junior defenseman) and Jessica Smith (junior defenseman) are leading our defense and playing with confidence," added Boggs. "We had some pretty goals. One of Lisa’s goals was off a cross from Jackie and Lisa found the far side of the net.
   "Lisa had great back-to-back games. It’s nice to see that we are finishing our plays. We didn’t score in three of our six games, but hopefully all that is changing."
   Coyle had a goal and an assist against the Knights, while sophomore forward Christie Icenhower had a goal and Lewin contributed an assist.
   Handelman stopped seven shots in the Cardinal net.
   "We came out strong out of the gate right from the start," Boggs said. "We scored two goals in the first 12 minutes. We created a lot of scoring chances, especially in the second half. But that also caused us to play a little loosey-goosey defensively and we started giving them too many chances.
   "I’m pleased with the way we played overall. The positives definitely outweighed the negatives."
   The Lawrence defense again came up with the big plays when needed.
   "Jess (Smith) played a terrific game," added Boggs. "She was beating the girls to the ball and winning the headers. Tiffany (Robert) is cool under pressure back there. She solidifies our defense as our last line of defense as a sweeper."
   Now that they have evened their record at 3-3, the Cardinals seemed poised to start putting together the pieces of the puzzle. With Handelman providing outstanding goaltending, Robert and Smith anchoring a smothering defense, and a potent offense coming to life, Lawrence definitely is a team to be reckoned with.
   "We are really passing the ball well," Boggs said. "We are starting to read each other and the girls are communicating better. We are getting better each game."