On a fall-like night in Moorestown, divisional foes met for the first time this season, as Cinnaminson played their first match within the division in 2016.
Both teams came in unbeaten, with Cinnaminson at 1-0-1 and Moorestown at 3-0, with the latter winning their division opener, 5-2, against Burlington Township.
The Cinnaminson girls came into the game winless against Moorestown since 2011, losing all but one game that ended in a draw.
However, tonight’s game ended that streak and sent the Pirates home with a big win early on in the season. After the game, I asked Coach Matt Digney what he told his team coming into such an important match.
“You know, this is a divisional game. Every little bit counts, so we just want to keep it positive and keep it going forward and no set-backs. We were able to do that tonight, so I’m pleased overall.”
The match started out with quick pressure from Moorestown on the offensive end, with their attacker sending a ball over the crossbar early.
However, things became much more even five minutes into the game, and that lasted through the rest of the first half. The Pirates and Quakers each had their opportunities to push the ball forward, but Cinnaminson was the first to put one into the net.
Fifteen minutes into the first half, Grace Kenville scored on a rocket from outside the top of the box. Following Pirate pressure, Grace found the ball at her feet and put it in the upper corner of the net for her first career varsity goal, making it 1-0 Cinnaminson.
“It was really good as our first [divisional] game to get things rolling,” Grace said following the game. “My favorite part was afterwards, when everybody runs to you and gives you a big hug.”
The rest of the first half continued back and forth following Kenville’s goal, and halftime came with Cinnaminson still up 1-0.
The second half picked up where the first left off and more, as each team seemed to ramp up their play and spread the field.
Cinnaminson and Moorestown traded scoring opportunities through the first ten minutes until Cinnaminson’s Miranda Sackner put home a shot from well beyond the corner of the box, roughly 30 yards out. This brought the Pirate lead to 2-0 and ultimately would be the game-winning goal.
The second half is also where the Pirate goalkeeper, Maddie Ogden, shined as she faced increasing pressure from the Moorestown attack.
Ogden came up with save after save and clearance after clearance, which ultimately ended any chance of a Quaker comeback.
Ogden’s effort was backed up on the offensive side by Hailey Gutkowski, who put the game out of reach with just under nine minutes left in the match, scoring her second goal of the season.
Despite a late goal from Moorestown, which was the first against Cinnaminson this year, the Pirates came out of the match with an impressive 3-1 victory in the opener of division play.
Coach Digney was certainly happy with a win over Moorestown, but he still found room for improvement early on in the season that he hopes to work on in the coming days and weeks.
“I think we played hard. We played very, very hard. I felt like our soccer could’ve been cleaner. We certainly need to hash out some of those finer details, make sure we’re a little cleaner on the field.”
Cinnaminson is now 2-0-1 on the young season and 1-0 in the division. The Pirates will next face another division rival in Rancocas Valley on September 20th at home.
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