The girl’s soccer team advanced to the sectional semis with a 4-0 shutout of Oakcrest on Friday afternoon, their 15th shutout of the season.
The #1 Pirates are now 18-2-1 and will host #5 Middle Township on Tuesday, November 8 at 2pm.
“In the pre-season there was one scrimmage where we didn’t do as well,” Christine Bescript said.
“After that we were determined to put it together. By the end of the pre-season I feel pretty good about the backline.”
It took until there were 13 minutes left in the first half for the Pirates to get on the board.
“We know a little bit about them coming in,” head coach Matt Digney said. “I thought we started well and played well, but it comes down to getting that goal.”
“Teams are going to be good as long as you let them be good. Once you get that first goal it starts the downward spiral for the other team.”
The goal came on a corner kick sent in by Hailey Gutowski. Her ball was left untouched in the box before Lauren Wahl corralled it and sent it into the net for a 1-0 lead.
“It was a really good cross by Hailey and I just put it in,” Wahl said. “I was in the right place at the right time and it worked out for me.”
“They had a lot of people tight on the goalie,” Digney said. “There was a good 10-12 yard gap that Lauren could get into. I told her to go for it. The ball was there and the finish was there.”
Cinnaminson would add two more goals over the next 10 minutes to take a 3-0 lead into the break.
Those goals were scored by Emma Karch and Alex Keck.
Karch took the ball and made a pretty move to beat two defenders and then the keeper.
Keck found a rebound when left undefended in the box and put it home for a 3-0 lead.
Hailey Gutowski capped the scoring for the Pirates on a heavy shot from just outside the box with just over 34 minutes to play in the match.
“I don’t think we realized how important the top seed was until this year,” Wahl said. “Last year we had almost all of our games away. It definitely was a lot harder. It’s harder coming off a long bus ride.”
Maddie Ogden made one save on the day, late in the game. It was the first shot she has faced in the tournament.
“She’s happy to get out of there with a less is more type as far as goalkeeping goes,” Digney said. “We get 60, 70, 80 shots on her during practice to keep her sharp.”
“She’s a well-trained keeper. She grew up playing the position her whole life and she’s had good coaches her whole life.”
Cinn City News will have coverage of the Pirates semi-final match with Middle Township on Tuesday at 2pm. Be sure to follow us on Twitter for live updates.
“I told the girl’s today it doesn’t matter who we play, as long as we show up to play,” Digney said.
“Middle Township, who we had success on last year, I’ll feel comfortable seeing them as well. We will let the cards fall as they may and just show up ready to play on Tuesday.”
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