Spartans invade Royals’ pitch, claim 4-2 victory
Coming into the March 25 match, the 2-0 Delmarva Christian girls’ soccer team was on a roll, outscoring opponents 11-1 before a showdown with Lake Forest (1-1).
Lake Forest made sure both teams left the Georgetown pitch 2-1, as they conquered the Royals 4-2.
“We struggled at the beginning of the game to find our rhythm,” coach Curtis Jones said.
Spartans sophomore Hanna Wood kicked off the scoring with a little help from the wind on a shot that caught senior goalie Journey Handy out of position. Wood scored after the Royals were unable to effectively clear a prior Spartans offensive surge.
“Lake Forest brings a solid passing game and took advantage of some early mistakes we had in controlling the ball,” Jones said.
The lead would not last long, as the sophomore duo of Alyse Potter and Eva Elliott hooked up in the box four minutes later to even the score. Potter drew the attention of the entire defense as Elliott timed her run perfectly to put herself on the doorstep for a goal.
“Even though we had a few starters injured or making a comeback from injury, we had ladies that stepped up to fill the holes,” Jones said.
Lake Forest reclaimed the lead on another outside shot, this time from senior Kadija Bundu. The Spartans expanded the advantage five minutes into the second half when junior Lacey Hutson’s efforts in the box led to a goal.
“We have to work on converging our marks after the ball changes possession. We're simply allowing too much open space for passing lanes,” Jones said.
Down 3-1, the Royals refused to pack it in and continued to generate quality chances in the Lake Forest box.
“There were solid contributions from seniors Alexandra Munro, Josephine Peranteau and junior Lucy Magee,” Jones said.
Magee gave Delmarva Christian a chance after a loose ball in the box was won by the junior and found the back of the Spartans’ net. A tense back-and-forth over the next 12 minutes had the Royals faithful thinking the girls would equalize, but a handball in the box in the 64th minute led to Lake Forest senior Lillian Wood converting on a penalty kick to give the Spartans the 4-2 lead they would keep until the final whistle.
