vs. Cy Ridge High School Rams – Tuesday, February 7th

Your Stratford Girls Varsity Soccer Team was back under the lights of Tully Stadium this past Tuesday night to face off in their fifth District game of the season vs. the Lady Rams of Cy Ridge High School. The game got underway in very cool weather with a decent chance of rain and the hope of a downpour of goals. The Spartans got that going just 9 minutes into play, when Senior Lauren Ahearn dribbled to the left side of the Cy Ridge box and centered it to Sophomore Allison Goodwin, who made a quick touch pass to Sophomore Mary Paul, who squeezed one inside the right post to put SHS up 1-0. About 15 minutes later at the 24 minute mark, we got to see an encore performance of goal #1, as Ahearn centered the ball directly in front of the Cy Ridge goal, where Paul was waiting to fire another in the back of the net to take the Spartans to 2-0. While both goals showed off the skills of the SHS offense, the highlight of the game so far was that Stratford didn’t allow the Lady Rams onto the Spartan side of the field for 39 out of 40 minutes in the first half.

As the second half was getting underway, the temperature continued to drop, but the Lady Spartans were just starting to heat up. About 15 minutes in, SHS had a throw-in from the right side of the field which made its way near the Cy Ridge goal but was cleared out to the left where Sophomore Hannah Ryan was waiting to hammer a 25-yard shot hard enough back at the goalie to go right through her hands and extend the Spartan lead to 3-0. At the 64 minute mark of the match, Paul centered a lofted shot near the goal, where Junior Lizzie Emerson was waiting to put a picture-perfect header on the ball, which left the goalie motionless and added another on the board to extend the score to 4-0. That goal would not be the last of the night though, not even one minute later Senior Kristin Geczik crushed one last (left foot) shot from distance to close out the match 5-0. Another important stat to note: through five District games, the goalie duo of Senior Allison Zilafro and Senior Erica Eastman have given up ZERO goals – way to go girls!

vs. Memorial High School Mustangs – Friday, February 10th

The game last Friday night was the one District game circled on everyone’s calendars, as it’s the Spartans biggest rival and a game where club teammates become enemies (at least for two hours). With that said, the Lady Spartans traveled 5 miles down the road to meet the Lady Mustangs on their home turf. The stands were full, and the girls were ready for a battle. The first 20 minutes of the match was fairly even, but the Spartans begin to hit their stride as Sophomore Mary Paul banged a shot off the crossbar at the 22 minute mark, and then at the 24 minute mark Senior Lauren Ahearn had a shot punched into the crossbar by the Memorial goalie to keep the game scoreless. As the minutes ticked away, Stratford earned several corner kicks on the Memorial end, but couldn't convert on any of them. The aggressiveness would eventually pay off though. In the 32 minute, Freshman Sydney Valentine made a pass from the right side to a charging Ahearn, who pulled two defenders to the left of the goal and still somehow fired a shot to the far right post, where the goalie could do nothing except watch it hit the back of the net. A roar came up from the crowd as the scorekeeper updated the score: Memorial-0, Visitor-1, which is where it would stand at halftime.

The second half would get underway and at the 52 minute mark, Sophomore Ryann Weber would hit a draw shot from her right to left that just missed the far left corner of the Mustangs' goal. But just a minute later, Paul would make a great pass upfield to Sophomore Allison Goodwin, who outran two defenders and fired left side just out of reach of the diving Memorial goalie to give the Spartans a little bit of breathing room at 2-0. At the 55 minute mark, the ball would get cleared from the Spartan end of the field and picked up by a sprinting Weber, who beat the center back so badly that the Memorial defender pulled her down as she was taking a shot on a charging goalie to go up 3-0. The Spartans continued to keep the pressure and aggressiveness on and at the 67 minute mark, Junior Lizzie Emerson was fouled in the Memorial box and earned a penalty kick that she would take herself. With a slight stutter step, she was able to freeze the Mustang goalie and fire low at the right post to put SHS up 4-0. In an otherwise perfect game for the Spartans, Memorial was awarded a penalty kick in the last five minutes on a very questionable call. The Mustangs were able to convert and that is where the score would stand at the final whistle – Spartans-4 and Mustangs-1. What a great win! Make sure to congratulate the girls when you see them this week!