Rangers edge Marauders
Toolbox
By Anna Grearson TIMES ARGUS STAFF - Published: October 29, 2009
NORTHFIELD – The Northfield boys and girls soccer teams have the same basic philosophy: It takes an all-around team effort to win and an all-around team effort to lose.
The two Marauder teams also bowed out of their respective Division III tournaments in the same fashion: 1-0 on a lone second-half penalty kick at home. The boys ended their season on Tuesday and the seventh-seeded girls followed on Wednesday in a playdown against No. 10 Lake Region.
"They got that penalty kick, and that's the difference on a day like today," Northfield coach John Diebold said. "I thought our midfield played solid, our defense played solid, and it was an all-around team effort. We just didn't get the bounces."
The penalty kick, a result of a foul inside the 18 in the 69th minute, allowed Lake Region's Danika Gallup to send a low shot past Northfield goalie Kristi Luce for the 1-0 final.
Northfield controlled possession early and kept the ball in its offensive third for the first eight minutes of play. The Marauders also took three consecutive corner kicks in the 4th and 5th minutes but did not manage a shot on the first two and hit the side of the net on the third.
"We were playing our short game," Diebold said. "We weren't kicking and running. They were playing a 5-3-2 and we were trying to force it wide. I thought we carried the play most of the game. They had their runs, but I think we were carrying the play in their defensive end for most of the game."
Marauder Melissa Kelsey cut off a Ranger bid in the 16th minute with a strong clear, and three minutes later, a clear by Luce skipped nearly the length of the field but none of her teammates were able to run on to it and capitalize. A long shot by Mary DeFelice nearly put Northfield on the board in the final minute of the first half, but Ranger goalie Stephanie Merchant was able to collect the effort.
"They have a solid keeper," Diebold said of Merchant. "She was doing a nice job. I don't know how many times the ball danced across the top of the goal in that last 10 minutes, but it was two or three times at least that it was in that area. She made a couple of nice saves. They had a solid midfield and got the bounces. We didn't get the bounces unfortunately."
Northfield appeared to carry the momentum over into the first 15 minutes of the second half. Erin Connor's shot skimmed the top of the net in the 48th minute and a shot by Kelsey Langley was swallowed by Merchant in the 55th minute.
"They're a long-ball team, but I think we were handling it well," Diebold said. "We were playing a little aggressive up top, and they were playing two up top, and I slid one of my backs in as a stopper, and that kept the pressure on. We had that part of the field. Mary is outstanding; she can catch almost anybody on the field."
The Rangers responded with a pair of opportunities over the next six minutes including an attempt by Carly Perron, who nearly made good on a corner kick by Gallup.
Two direct kicks in two minutes by DeFelice seemed to swing the momentum back in the Marauders' favor, only to have it squashed by Gallup's penalty kick.
A cross by Meghan McMullen in the 72nd minute narrowly missed crossing the goal line, and five Northfield corner kicks over the final eight minutes created several nervous moments for Merchant and the Ranger defense.
"We had a couple slide across at the end there, one of their backs cleared the ball and one of our outside attacks was right there but was just half a step slow getting it in and she made a nice clear and got the ball out of there," Diebold said. "Kelsey Langley had a solid game. Mary DeFelice, Melissa Kelsey, they're generally solid. Taylor Marcotte had a sound game today. It was an all-around team effort in winning and a team effort in losing, and we've got to take it as a team."
Merchant preserved the shut out in the 79th minute, collapsing on the ball at the near post.
Luce finished with four saves and Merchant had five. Both teams were 6-5-3 coming into Wednesday's match. Northfield ends its season at 6-6-3 while the 7-5-3 Rangers move on to Saturday's quarterfinal where they will face the winner of No. 2 BFA-Fairfax and No. 15 Windsor.
"Once I saw their record and saw who we were playing, I knew it was going to be an even game. With the weather, I knew the team that got the bounce would get it," Diebold said. "We were playing aggressive to score, we kept trying to get that bounce, and they got it today."
Lake Region 1, Northfield 0
Goals: L – Danika Gallup (penalty kick, 69th minute). Starters: L – Stephanie Merchant, Paige Wells, Kamala Birch, Miranda Beaudry, Kylie Atwood, Desirae Colorado, Natalie Pion, Danika Gallup, Nichole Blanchard, Caitlin Bernier, Carly Perron. N – Kristi Luce, Erin Connor, Elana Van Arnam, Kelly McLellan, Taylor Marcotte, Morgan Lamorey, Kelsey Langley, Mary DeFelice, Lindsey Hunt, Meghan McMullen, Melissa Kelsey. Shots (on goal): L – 4 (3). N – 9 (4). Corner kicks: L – 2. N – 9. Penalties: L – 11. N – 12. Yellow card: N – Morgan Lamorey.
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