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.