Springfield handles Terriers, 7-0

For the second time in just under two weeks, the Cosmos girls soccer team handled Bellows Falls, this time at Brown Field under the lights.
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Springfield handles Terriers, 7-0 By CHRIS DOHERTY | Sep 23, 2015 Photo by: Chris Doherty Bellows Falls’ Arianna Morton and Springfield’s Lizzie Mackenzie battle for the ball during Tuesday’s game. q Springfield’s Samantha Metcalf boots the ball away from Bellows Falls’ Keri Ticino. (Photo by: Chris Doherty) Enlarge... SPRINGFIELD — For the second time in just under two weeks, the Cosmos girls soccer team handled Bellows Falls, this time at Brown Field under the lights. After holding just a 1-0 lead going into the second half, Springfield exploded for six in the final 40 minutes and left with a 7-0 victory. “I think they came out and played hard,” Springfield head coach Jade Costello said. “I think a 1-0 lead at halftime felt a little disappointing tonight... I was really impressed with the girls cranking it up and coming out hard in the second half and finally closing out a complete soccer game.” In the first half the play was pretty even. Each team created chances and had runs in the open field but it was the goalies making all the plays. Grace Morvan for Springfield and Alyssa DeJesus for Bellows Falls each made key plays keeping the game scoreless. “They (Bellows Falls) had some great individual moments in the first half where they could have scored 1,2,3 goals because they have that talent and she (Morvan) was just brave. She came out a little stronger than she has in other games, she came out deep, diving after balls, she sacrificed her body a couple of times and if she had not done that it could’ve been a 1-1 or 1-2 game,” Costello said of her sophomore keeper. Springfield broke through in the 17th minute on a corner kick by Jade Twombley that found Taylor Lyles who put it passed DeJesus to give the Cosmos a 1-0 lead. In the second half it seemed as though Springfield came out with a different level of intensity and began immediately pressuring the Terriers’ defense. “I think we just got pumped,” Springfield senior co-captain Calista Polidor said. Polidor, who had three shots on goal in the first half plus a few near misses, came out and extended the Cosmos’ lead to 2-0 just under three minutes into the second half. “It felt really relieving,” Polidor said of scoring that first goal. “It was really frustrating in the first half but when it finally came together it felt good.” It set something off for Polidor as she went on to score twice more in the half for her second hat trick against the Terriers this season. It wasn’t all about the offense for Springfield that won the game. Costello praised Morvan in net and also the back line she said is really starting to come together as a unit. In the second half Bellows Falls manufactured just three chances in the box and one clean shot on goal. “I think this was a growth game for them,” Costello said about her defense. “They’re really starting to understand the rotation and that’s important.” Senior center back Samantha Metcalf was one player that stood out. Any time a threatening ball came in her area, it was cleared and the chance was gone for the Terriers. “She had a great game,” said Costello of Metcalf. “She’s playing well in the air, she’s using her height, she’s using her size, she’s just become real determined as a center back.” Lizzie Mackenzie, who also scored a hat trick in the previous meeting against BF, notched two goals of her own on the night and an assist on Polidor’s hat trick goal. Leah Mirra capped the scoring in the 76th minute on a cross by Brooke Willey. “It definitely is rewarding to see everyone get involved,” Polidor said. In the end, Springfield had over 20 shots on goal in the game and DeJesus stopped 17 of them. “She should be all-state goalkeeper in our division,” BF head coach John Broadley said. “She’s kept us in a lot of games.” At 0-7 now, the confidence is still high for the Terriers. Next up is a home meeting with Black River (0-6) on Friday. “We will be strong and they know that,” Broadley said. “I think these kids believe enough that they’ll come back and work hard the rest of the week and on Friday we’ll be up for it.” Springfield now sits at 2-5 and faces a tough road test against Woodstock on Saturday at 11 a.m. Asked what needs to be worked on in preparation for that game, Costello said, “Passing. Tonight we could play in the air, we could play direct but against Woodstock we can’t play that way. We have to keep the ball on the ground and we’ve got to execute our chances.” Polidor agreed with her coach. When asked the same question she said, “I think we need to work on back passes, play small soccer and we can win.”