Beats Connellsville, 10-1
Norwin ‘offensive’ in rout CONNELLSVILLE – There’s an old saying that the best defense is a good offense, and Norwin’s girls soccer team is a prime example. The Lady Knights kept the ball in Connellsville territory for most of Monday’s Section 1-AAA game on the way to a 10-1 win. Coach Jeff Palm said Norwin’s philosophy is, “keep possession of the ball. If we have possession, the other team doesn’t. Some of our girls have scored a lot of goals and a lot of our girls have scored goals.”
On Monday, seven different players scored for Norwin (10-0, 12-2) while three of the Lady Knights had two goals apiece. Lauren Clossen, Maria Lanyi, and Lindsay Eckersburg each scored twice, while Elizabeth Debo, Alex Kalup, Rachel DelleFemine, and Alyssa Liebdzinski also found the net.
But while Norwin’s offense was rendering three different goalkeepers virtually anonymous, Connellsville goalkeeper Ashlyn Fratto was having a busy night and making some outstanding saves, the final score notwithstanding.
Fratto, Jessica Dolde, Leah Lilley, Courtney Fox, Ashley McCutcheon, and Sydney Soberdash did their best to offset a Norwin onslaught that prevailed for most of the night.
Fratto’s best effort wasn’t even an official save as she came out from the goal mouth to force Eckersberg wide and unable to get a solid shot on net with 27:41 left in the first half and the game still in the balance.
In the second half, Fratto made consecutive saves on a shot and rebound, while Soberdash headed another Norwin shot away from the net.
Connellsville (3-7-1, 4-10-1) had only two shots on goal, but Allyson Panzella made the second one count, breaking behind the defense and planting the ball inside the right post with 2:23 left in the game.
Connellsville coach Jeff Puskar lauded Fratto’s effort in goal.
“She’s a senior and one of our leaders. She’s another coach on the field, sees what’s coming at her, and lets the other girls know. She had a lot of good saves.”
Puskar added, “Norwin is a high quality team. They have skill and are fast. I wish them the best in the playoffs. I’m proud of our girls. They didn’t quit and battled hard in the second half.”