SOUTH PHILADELPHIA – Last Wednesday, Archbishop Wood struggled to score in their first league match-up against Saint Hubert’s. Yesterday, the lady Vikings snapped back to their aggressive offensive style, defeating the Neumann-Goretti Saints in South Philly 10-1.
Coming into the game, Vikings head coach, Bill Cappo, told his team that in order to execute, they needed to focus on playing “Wood Soccer.”
“We just told them to play and work the ball and to take advantage of their opportunities,” said Vikings head coach Bill Cappo.
In the first half of the game Wood dominated on offense, scoring 7 unanswered goals.
Wood 1st half goal scorers: Maggie Cliggett (2), Elizabeth McCloud (1), Jenna Scarpella (1), Caitlyn Cliggett (1), Lexi MacArthur (1) and Kate Waddington (1).
At the beginning of the second half, Neumann-Goretti’s momentum shifted. Saints junior, Julia LaFiora added her teams’ single goal of the afternoon, while stumbling past a Wood defender. For Neumann-Goretti, effective communication played a key role in the second half of the game.
Neumann-Goretti vs. Archbishop Wood (38 Photos)
“We basically told them during halftime that they needed to step up on defense and do what we work on in practice and they went out there and did it,” said Saints head coach Renato Sifino. “They really had to communicate more and we finally got them talking and moving the ball back and forth.”
Although Neumann-Goretti started out strong, Wood kicked it in gear once again scoring three more goals to end the game with a final score of 10-1.
Wood second half goal scorers: Maggie Maley (1), Caitlyn Cliggett (1) and Elizabeth McCloud (1).
Maggie Cliggett scores for Wood
Julie LaFiora scores for Neumann-Goretti
Victoria D'Alessandro makes a save for NG
Going forward, Cappo and his team will be focusing on efficient ball movement in their preparation for Bonner-Prendie this Thursday.
“We need to work the ball and let the ball work for us and simply finish and score goals. We need to take control of the game, manage possession and take charge,” said Cappo. “We struggled in the beginning but we are starting to get things together and will continue to keep improving.”
In a game like this, being the goalie against a dominant Wood team takes determination, pride and courage. Although the score does not reflect her valiant effort, Saints goalie, junior Victoria D’Alessandro, fought to the end, making incalculable saves.
“How I kept my momentum up was by talking to my team. I kept telling them to stay strong even though we were losing by a little bit more,” said D’Alessandro.
Looking ahead, Neumann-Goretti will host Lansdale Catholic on Thursday at their home field on 7th and Bigler Streets. In preparing for the coming game, coach Sifino will be mirroring coach Cappo’s instruction in making sure his team becomes one with the ball.
“We’ll be working on predicting where the ball is going to go off of the goalie and throughout the game,” said Sifino. “Scoring one goal against Wood, for us, is great. So I have high hopes for the rest of the season and against Lansdale this week.”