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Lady Dalers defense shuts out MacArthur
Farmingdale's Samantha Brescia scored in the 14th minutes as the Lady Dalers defeated MacArthur, 1-0.
Photo by Jeff Noreman
The Farmingdale Lady Dalers are currently number six on MSG Varsity’s Girls Soccer power rankings, tonight they showed why.
Behind a stifling display from their defense and the lone goal of the game by junior midfielder Samantha Brescia, Farmingdale (3-0-1) knocked off the defending Class AA state champion MacArthur Generals, 1-0, in Conference I play.
“It’s just so rewarding for us. The girls work hard, they come out here, they know it’s going to be a tough game,” says Head Coach Dave Otto. “Every game in Conference I is a tough game, and they came out and stepped up.”
Merely 14 minutes into the game the Lady Dalers would get their goal.
Brescia used a hesitation move to get past her defenders and as she neared the goal, it became a one-on-one between the junior and MacArthur’s senior goalkeeper Jena Cozza. Brescia would win the battle, as she was able to slip her shot by for his first goal of the season.
“I was looking to cross it, but my foot got stuck back, and it landed by my left foot. The goalie came out so I just kicked it in,” says Brescia. “It happened fast, I didn’t know what happened.”
Despite the quick offense for Farmingdale, the defense was most impressive.
Goalkeeper Lauren Hill and her squad allowed the Lady Generals (2-2) to only muster a few good offensive opportunities.
“Our defense plays really hard and we play very tight. So it’s very tough for our opponents to get past us. We play very in sync together,” Brescia says. Coach Otto confirms his junior’s opinion, “We have Alexis Panariello back there, Sara Tolson, Natalie Marrone, Kat Tuechler, and Lauren our goalie, they work so well together…you’ll watch the game and see that they are stepping up, intercepting passes, stopping through balls, and just doing a great job back there.”
Hill improved her season record to 1-0-1 and recorded her second shutout while posting 8 saves.
The best opportunity for MacArthur (No. 9 in MSG Varsity’s Girls Soccer power rankings) came with 2:54 remaining in the second half when Christina Cottone ripped a shot from about 20 yards out that banged off the goal post. However, after the shot went begging, Farmingdale was able to clear the trouble away.
“We go back a couple of years now and I think every game has been decided by no more than a goal or two,” Coach Otto continues, “so you know that could be it, the goal or the one mistake you made, it could make the difference in the game.”
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