The Connellsville girls soccer team did a lot of things right in a 4-0 Section 6-AAA win over visiting Laurel Highlands on Monday, but coach Jeff Puskar said the Fillies didn't make it easy.
"We possessed the ball," Puskar said. "We came out on fire; quick moves, quick plays that we like to see. But Laurel Highlands played a good defensive game. They packed a lot of girls back in their zone, and it was really hard to score goals from that."
Puskar said it was difficult for Connellsville to cash in in front of the net. Fortunately for the Lady Falcons (4-1, 2-0), they got a couple of good opportunities from a little farther away. About six-and-a-half minutes into the game, Jessica Dolde sent a hard shot sailing past Fillies starting goalkeeper Liz Reilly. Twenty-minutes later, Michaela Dolde took a drop pass from Samantha Brown and blasted the ball toward the net from the 15-yard line. Her kick went over the heads of a couple Laurel Highlands defenders and found its home in the net for a 2-0 Connellsville lead at the half.
The Lady Falcons were in control in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Fillies had their share of scoring opportunities. Jillian Swartz narrowly missed on a breakaway chance, and Amanda Parker couldn't finish on a nice pass from Claire Basescu. Parker, though, used her speed on defense to make things tough on Connellsville. She outpaced a few players to poke away the ball, but the Lady Falcons still managed to get a few shots.
Jenna Luczka missed on two hard kicks about nine minutes into the half before nearly scoring when Reilly bobbled Luczka's third attempt before scooping up the ball.
A few minutes later, Allyson Panzella handled a pass from Stephanie Bell, and finding herself all alone in front of the net, buried the ball for a three-goal Lady Falcons lead. Less than two minutes after her goal, Panzella set up Ashlyn Fratto with a beautiful pass to cap Connellsville's win.
Puskar said he was pleased with the Lady Falcons' efforts, particularly in regard to the defensive strategies on which the team has been working. But he added that Connellsville has a big test coming up in Wednesday's game against Belle Vernon.
"It's going to be a real tough challenge," he said. "The main thing is we want to be competitive against them."
