The Marblehead Lightning u-12 indoor soccer team
opened up the 2008-2009 indoor season with a
hard fought 4-4 tie against the Ipswich
Leopards. The contest was played at Soccer Etc.
in Beverly. With Ally Hin goal for the first
half and Emily P the second half, the Lightning
received outstanding goal play throughout the
game. Both girls showed good lateral movement
and sent several nice balls down field to start
up the offense. On one occasion, Ally leaped up
to her fullest to deflect a25' laser shot that
was destined for the goal.
Less then 2 minutes into the game the
Leopards tallied the first goal at the 23:01
mark and again at the 17;16 mark on a 20' laser
to take a quick 2-0 lead. For the first ten
minutes the locals seemed a bit tight and did
not play with much emotion. After the second
Leopard goal the Lightning came alive. Julia B.
and Maddy D. had several shots on goal. Jackie
B. and Emily P. stepped up the pressure on
defense. Finally, with 10:45 remaining in the
half, Sarah Cullen, banged home a rebound from
10', to make the score 2-1. The lightning
continued to press the action spearheaded by
Olivia M., Rachael K., Heather P. and Alexa S..
Heather P. playing a marvelous all-around game
tied the contest with 5:49 remaining Heather P.
connected on a 15' shot from a tough rt. side
angle. Sarah R. displayed some nice moves in
bringing the ball up the field and making some
nice passes near the end of the half.
Only 30 seconds into the second half Ipswich
scored on a short kick in front of the
goal to take a 3-2 lead. Heather P. continued
her fine game by dominating on defense as she
constantly sent long hard boots up the field.
The Lightning were passing the ball well and
talking to their teammates. Rachael F. was a
spark on defense, taking the ball away and
clearing it up field. Rachael and Heather also
worked nicely on offense constantly forcing the
action and looking for their teammates. At the
21:45 mark, Sara C. tallied her second goal on a
10" shot in front of the goal to tie up the
match. With 11:51 remaining, Ipswich connected
on a 15" rocket from the rt. side, to go up once
again. 4-3. Marblehead had many chance to score
but the Leopard keeper was up to the task.
Finally, with only 1;46 left, Alexa S. dug the
ball out of the left corner and found Jade L. in
front of the goal. Jade wasted no time in
delivering a hard 10' shot that found pay dirt
for the equalizer. Jade, along with
Heather P., stood out in the game as they both
excelled on both sides of the ball.
LIGHTNING -
vs. Beverly White... L
7-2 (story
on team page)
On Friday Nov. 14 the u-12
Lightning saw their record drop to 0-1-1 with a
10-2 loss to the Beverly Breakers. If not for
the outstanding goalie play of Aly H the score
surely would have more than 4-1. For the locals,
Heather P Rachael F, and Rachel K excelled on
defense, breaking up many balls and sending long
kicks down field. Julia B and Purchase had
several nice passes and exhibited good field
leadership in trying to muster up an offense.
Julia tallied the lone goal of the half with
6:40 remaining. Burke struck home a hard 10'
shot from the rt. side off of an assist from
Katz.
The majority of the action to begin the second
half was in the Lightning side of the field as
the Breakers' scored the first five goals to
take a commanding 9-1 lead. Finally, with 3:56
remaining in the contest, Sarah Rizzo scored an
unassisted goal off of a rebound to close the
margin to 9-2. The final goal was scored with
just 1:07 left for the final of 10-2. Srah
R and Heather P were two bright lights for the
Lightning as they never let up their constant
pressure and were always looking for their
teammates. Olivia M showed outstanding pressure
on the ball as well as nice energy she injected
into the game. Looking to garner their first win
of the season the Lightning tangle with Rockport
on 11-21.
LIGHTNING - vs. Rockport... W
5-1
The Marblehead Lightning completely dominated
Rockport on 11-12 in securing their first win of
the season. The 5-1 victory evened their record
at 1-1-1. The goaltending tandem of Aly H and
Jackie B. was sensational. Both keepers made
several good saves and several nice passes up
the field to ignite the offense. With 5 minutes
gone in the second half, Jackie B. extended
herself as far as she could and deflected a hard
shot that was destined for the goal. Every girl
who took the field for Marblehead gave it their
all for the entire 50 minutes. Everyone was
playing their positions ,passing the ball
,talking and pressuring the ball on defense.
Early on, Rachael F. and Julia B. had some nice
passes up field in igniting the offense. Olivia
M. showed excellent hustle in pursuing the ball
and Rachael K exhibited some nice moves in bring
the ball up the field. Emily P and Heather
Purchase were very tenacious on defense. With
13:02 remaining in the first half Alexa S, feed
Julia B in the middle for a 1-0 lead. With 5:15
remaining Alexa S again passed to Burke in the
rt, corner to extend the lead to 2-0. The final
tally was scored with 4:35 left in the half.
Sarah R. banged home a hard shot from the rt.
side side on yet another assist from Shapiro,
her third of the half for to account for the 3-0
half-time advantage.
The scoring started early in the second half, as
the lightning struck at the 21:10 mark. Sarah O.
cashed in on a long 20" shot from a tough rt.
side angle for a 4-0 lead. The action was
predominantly in the Lightning end of the field
in the second half. Marika V. and Emily P were
very aggressive on defense. With 9:29 left,
Rachael F. scored an unassisted goal with her
left foot straight in from 20', to account for
the fifth and final goal. Emily P. had three
outstanding passes in front of the goal in
setting up her teammates, but to no avail. The
final tally of the contest was scored with 7:51
remaining as Rockport capitalized off a corner
kick from a tough angle that broke up the
shutout bid. With the final of 5-1 all of the
girls and the coaching staff, led by Kevin C.
were very proud of a game well played. The
Lightning look for their second win of the
season on 11-20 vs. Manchester.
LIGHTNING vs.
Manchester... Fri... L
On 11-28 the Marblehead Lightning were stung
by the Manchester Lady Hornets 8-0. With the
loss the Lightning drop to 1-2-1 on the season.
If not for some outstanding goaltending of Aly
H. and Jade L. in the second half, the score
would have been ever more in favor of the Lady
Hornets. Heather P. and Jade, had some fine
moves advancing the ball up field in the first
five minuets of the contest. The first
Manchester goal was scored at the 19:55 mark on
a long 35' laser. The second tally came at the
11:05 mark on a 10" unassisted shot that just
eluded Hopkins. The third goal was off of a free
kick from 30' and the final score with 2:49
remaining in the half was one just just dribbled
in from 15'. Rachael K. and Alexa S. broke up
many advances by the Manchester, as most of the
play was in the Manchester end. Rachael F. had
some nice moves on offense and Heather P. had
several shots on goal that were unable to find
their mark.
The second half started in similar fashion as
the first ended. Manchester got on the board
just 2:48 into the half as a deflected shot
found the goal for a 5-0 lead. Marblehead was
now applying a great deal of pressure on the
Lady Hornet keeper. Jade L. in goal exhibited
several nice throws up field in getting the
offense in the flow. Sarah C. playing perhaps
her finest game to date on defense was always
around the ball for Marblehead. Rachael F. also
sent some nice boots up field in trying to stem
the tide. Marika V. and Sarah O. both had some
good moves in trying to rally the Lightning.
With 13:24 left Manchester struck again on a
soft shot for a 6-0 lead. With just :56 left and
finally with only :22 Manchester cashed in on a
pair of 15' shots for the final two goals of the
game. The Lightning look to even their record
with a contest against their cross-town rivals
Swampscott on 12-7.