Centennial HS Girls' Varsity played their opening match of the Catonsville Invitational under a glaring sun and against a spirited North County HS squad. Centennial managed a 7-nil win after leading 3-nil at halftime. Goals were scored by Carolina and Lauren Pellegrini(2), Callie LasCasus, Olivia Antonelli, Emily Hagen and Sarah Sopchick. Assists were doled out by Callie LasCasus(2), Carolina Pellegrini and Leah Alkire. Goalkeepers Ashley Bilger and Rebecca Bianchini shared the honours of a clean sheet. Centennial’s defense, led by GiGi Castle-Smith, Hannah Souba, Ava Rosenbach and Cicely Clark rarely looked troubled as they helped maintain the squad’s third clean sheet of the season. Selia Jackson’s smooth transition into centre midfield brought savvy and composure to the tireless running of Sarah Sopchick and Carolyn DeSena. The midfield began to show its first signs of fluency and control over midfield as they began to consistently combine to penetrate the flanks of their opponent. Carolina and Lauren Pellegrini’s technical excellence and vision combined w/ the high energy of Callie LasCasus and Olivia Antonelli cut through the gaps and channels in North County’s defense and all have now opened their accounts for the season.
Centennial's afternoon opponents were hosts Catonsville High. In a very physical and high intensity end to end affair, Centennial opened the scoring in the 23rd minute from a pin-point Lauren Pellegrini free kick. Sarah Sopchick's fine solo run down the right allowed her to slot home Centennial's second before two spectacular long-range efforts from the host saw Catonsville draw level in the second half and end Centennial’s run of clean sheets at three. In an exhausting and intense affair, Briana Fant combined w/ Lauren Pellegrini who slid a measured ball through to Carolina Pellegrini for Centennial's third goal of the match. The final fiftenn minutes saw Catonsville lay siege to Centennial's goal. The defense proved itself equal to the task. Their preserved the win w/the final score being 3-2 on the afternoon. Being the only team to win all of its matches we assume we won the tournament; we must assume because no silverware was awarded to anybody which is rather unusual for tournament play. Congratulations for a brilliant weekend Ladies!
Comments