Girls' Soccer: Sophomore Connection Leads Wood to PCL Semifinals
WARMINSTER, PA – With just three seniors on its roster, a young Archbishop Wood team went through some growing pains this season. But the Lady Vikings came together at just the right time, and used their youth to their advantage to advance to the PCL semifinals.
Wood beat visiting Archbishop Carroll, 2-0, behind a pair of goals by sophomore forward Lauren Ruth. Both were set up my fellow sophomore midfielder Liz McCloud.
“It feels great,” Ruth said. “I had beautiful crosses from my friend, Liz McCloud; sees me running and puts me right through the middle and put them in, left and right corners.”
Wood sophomore forward Lauren Ruth (center)
The second goal didn’t come until the final minute of play, ending the suspense. McCloud was happy to let her teammate have the spotlight.
“The goalie was coming at me,” said McCloud. “I could have did a move around her, but I saw Lauren open in the middle so I just passed it to her and hoping for the best she would score.”
Wood sophomores Liz McCloud and Lauren Ruth
Wood had the better of the play in the first half, but missed several chances to take the lead. Senior Sophia Filippo had position on her defender twice, but chipped one ball over the net and shot wide on the other. Ruth finally broke the scoreless tie with four minutes remaining in the half.
“We had the opportunities, we just got to finish them,” said Wood head coach Bill Cappo. “But we created the opportunities. The more opportunities you create the better our chances you’re going to see some goals.”
The gap between the two teams widened as the second half got underway. Wood rarely let Carroll push the ball past midfield, and when they did, quality scoring chances were few and far between.
“They were the better team today,” said Carroll head coach Frank Olszewski. “They did a nice job and their speed up front bottled up our defenders. Our defenders couldn’t get forward to help sustain the attack.”
Archbishop Wood vs. Archbishop Carroll
Carroll tried to make a push about 12 minutes into the second half. The Patriots earned a corner kick, and nearly sprung Bella Sorrentino on a potentially game-tying breakaway. But the play was whistled offsides. Sorrentino created several opportunities with strong one-on-one play throughout the game.
“My hat’s off to her,” Olszewski said. “She gave everything she had. She got knocked down she kept getting up, kept getting up. That’s the mark of a champion. She’ll do well at Temple next year.”
Up next for the third-seeded Lady Vikings is a rematch with second-seeded St. Hubert’s. The Bambies beat the Lady Vikings, 1-0, the first time they faced each other. But now Wood is riding a five game unbeaten streak. Coach Cappo hopes his squad can build on the momentum.
“Beginning of the year we played a tough non-league schedule and we lost a couple games just trying to get the right people together, and we had some injuries and we’re peaking at the right time.”