Minutemen girls blank Springfield

The Mill River girls soccer team is rounding into form, while the Springfield Cosmos are still finding their way.

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Minutemen girls blank Springfield By Chuck Clarino Correspondent Sep 22, 2018 0 NORTH CLARENDON — The Mill River girls soccer team is rounding into form, while the Springfield Cosmos are still finding their way. The Minutemen posted their second-straight win — both by shutout — kicking off homecoming weekend by defeating Springfield 3-0 Saturday in Marble Valley League soccer action. The Minutemen followed up a 4-0 victory over Hartford with another shutout and were equally impressive on offense and defense. “They’re jelling defensively; we’ve gone a couple games with zero goals — the goalie’s been doing an awesome job — and the defense is solidifying,” Mill River coach David Carr said. “They took advantage of their opportunities; the kids are learning when to take a shot and when not to. So, if you get an opportunity you kind of have to make it happen.” And the Minutemen did make it happen, although it took a while in the first half. After several good runs down the left wing and up through the middle of the formation, Mill River finally struck gold at 25:21. The play came from the backfield where Lyla Tarbell sent forward Hannah Anderson away with a sweet long pass. Anderson, a burner, had been regularly beating her mark. This time she took the ball into the corner and struck a hard-angle shot to the far post. The shot eluded goalie Mykahla Jasinski (five saves) and found the far corner of the net to put the Minutemen up 1-0. Emerson Pomeroy and Susan Petrossi were feeding some dangerous runs from Anderson. The fourth shot on goal proved to be the one that found the mark. Meanwhile, Springfield was working hard to get its offense untracked. Junior striker Jenna Veysey was set up many times and on several occasions, she was alone in front with freshman goalie Malori Carlson the only thing between her and the yawning net. But each time, Veysey shot the ball wide. Throughout the rest of the opening 40 minutes, Mill River kept making runs, while the Minuteman defense of Tarbell, Grace Gilman Jesse Roberts and Talia Hutt Vater cleared everything away from the Mill River goal. They were so successful that Carlson made only two saves through 40 minutes. The Cosmos had the advantage of a strong wind at their backs when the teams switched ends after the intermission and Springfield applied some pressure. Veysey was set up in front again and both Mycah White and Maizy White made nice runs but the shots were not on target. After adjusting to the wind, Mill River began to work its short passing game, playing to feet and generating chances. All the knocking on the door finally netted a pad goal when Petrossi set up Talia Hutt Vader, who was crashing in from her midfield post. Hutt Vader unleashed a strong volley that rose over the goalie and under the crossbar to make it 2-0 at 63:44. Three minutes later, the Minutemen put the game away as freshman striker Julia Deppert blasted a shot from 15 feet out to cap the scoring. Springfield was hard pressed to get anything going as the Mill River team smelled the victory and limited the Cosmos’ chances to a mere two shots on goal through the second half. Carlson recorded the shutout, having to make only three saves as her defense steered everything away. “We’re much more mature than we were in recent years but we’re struggling to find an identity right now,” Cosmos coach Kevin Hoisington said. “Today was a rough day for us. We have a lot more skill than we showed today. I just think that we are struggling to find the want and the will to make a difference on the field as a group.” The Cosmos drop to 3-3 and are at Windsor on Wednesday, while Mill River improved to 2-3 and are at Brattleboro the same day. chuckstarman @yahoo.com