Cardinals strive for win

GIRLS SOCCER

By: Mike Molaro
   At 0-6-2, it would easy for the Lawrence High School girl’s soccer squad to go through the motions and play out the remainder of the season.
   But these Lady Cardinals are far from finished. Despite the rough start, these gutsy girls refuse to hang their heads and continue to battle from the opening whistle until the scoreboard clock show zero.
   "We are not giving up," head coach Dave Boggs said following Tuesday’s 4-0 home loss against Nottingham. "We play hard and give it all we have. I can’t fault the girls for not trying. There are games when we are outmatched, but we always put out a 100 percent effort."
   The Cardinal work ethic begins with the upperclassmen leadership that trickles down to the entire team.
   "Our senior captains (Colleen Kelly, Aubrey Smith, Sarah Pearson, and Cara Brobst) have been playing their hearts out. They have set the perfect example of leadership and the other girls feed off that."
   Against the Northstars, Lawrence trailed 1-0 at halftime before Nottingham took control.
   "We came out firing on all cylinders," added Boggs. "We had the first three shots of the game and they were all good opportunities. It was probably the best half we played all year. The girls knew it and their spirits were up. Nottingham’s second goal was a quality goal and there was nothing (freshman goalie) Nikki Eversberg could do."
   The Cardinals and Northstars each had 12 shots, but in the end it was Nottingham’s depth and talent that proved to be the difference.
   "We had our chances and we played physical and aggressively," Boggs said. "We did a lot of things that we worked on in practice. The final score is not indicative of the game. The effort was definitely there. They finished their plays."
   Although Lawrence held a huge advantage in shots on Sept. 28, Trenton scored the game’s only goal on a second-half breakaway for a 1-0 win. Eversberg had four saves on the road but the Tornadoes made that goal stand up.
   "We didn’t finish our plays," added Boggs. "We created a lot of chances. We spend a lot of the game in their end but they had that breakaway and that was it. It was an unlucky game for us."
   Through the setbacks and roadblocks, Lawrence perseveres. Perhaps the character of this Cardinal team is best exemplified by junior Miki Reed, who suffered a serious knee injury early in the season but has returned to the lineup better than ever.
   "We didn’t know if Miki was going to be back at all," Boggs said. "She came back sooner than anyone thought. She has been awesome. She hasn’t missed a step. Miki could’ve sat out the rest of the ear but she wanted to come back and be part of the team and contribute any way she could. That’s the type of attitude all of these girls have. The wins aren’t there, but these girls refuse to quit."
   NOTES: The Cardinals face Allentown tonight at 7:30 at Mercer County Community College and host Hamilton at 6 p.m. tomorrow at Zimmer Field.