Third time is a charm
By Jason Mackey
The third time truly was a charm for sophomore Morgan Duffy and the rest of South County's girls soccer team.
After coming away empty-handed during two previous scoring attempts, Duffy tucked a pass from junior Paige Ritari inside the left post for the only goal that the Stallions would need during Friday night's Patriot District showdown with Lake Braddock.
South County, who had lost to Lake Braddock once during each of the past two seasons, can now brag a bit about its 6-0 district mark after a 1-0 win at home.
“I lost the track of the ball to begin with, but it just kinda went in,” said Duffy, whose tally in the game's 44th minute was her fifth of the season. “The first two shots I didn't [convert], so I didn't keep my head down and I kept going.”
South County remained on the offensive for most of the match, firing shot after shot on Lake Braddock goaltender Caitlin Landsman, who was one of the lone bright spots for the Bruins.
On more than a few occasions, South County found itself with an open cage; however, too often a pass was two feet too long or a clear shot sailed over the net. The strategy for correcting that?
“More players,” joked South County coach Maureen Saale, whose team is now 9-0-2 overall this season.
Still, given the alarming amount of shots that still found the goal, Landsman did all she could to keep Lake Braddock in the game. With little more than 31 minutes to play, South County's Megan Rea blasted a curling shot from 25 yards out. A tough save to make, Landsman cut off the angle with ease, making the save to give her team a chance to mount a comeback.
“There are some saves that she made that we count on her to make, and there were some things that she could've cleaned up,” said Lake Braddock coach Adam Soos, whose team is now 6-4 overall, 5-1 in the Patriot District. “We had a lack of players who believed that we could step on the field and win, but that's something you expect out of a young team.”
South County is very much a young team itself, starting one freshman, four sophomores, four juniors and a senior. Sophomore Alex Reed leads the Stallions with nine goals and four assists, while Duffy's fifth ties her for second.
And with Lake Braddock owning the recent series over South County, it's possible that a tide has turned in the Patriot District.
“It's a bigger rivalry just because they are state champions,” said Ritari, who leads the team in assists with six. “We just wanted to knock them down. For the past two years, everyone has been like, 'Lake Braddock, Lake Braddock,' and now we're like, 'We beat you.'”