The girls’ soccer team took the field against Quince Orchard on Oct. 2, at Quince Orchard. The team looked to continue their winning ways.

The girls’ soccer team took the field against Quince Orchard on Oct. 2, at Quince Orchard. The team looked to continue their winning ways. They started out slow as they surrendered two goals on enemy turf. The score was 2-0 going into halftime. “We knew we needed to step it up heading into the second half. We felt like we could do it too,” senior captain Deanna Schaeffer said.

The team came out of the half firing but their efforts only yielded one goal from senior forward Alex Poltorak with an assist by senior Caroline Wang. The final score of the game was 3-1 in favor of Quince Orchard. The team totaled 15 shots on net while senior goalie Jill Geline had eight saves on 11 shots. “It’s frustrating to play pretty well the entire game and still lose. We controlled the ball about 90 percent of the time but we just couldn’t finish. That mixed with a couple of calls really hurt us this game,” senior midfielder Bella Lazzaro said.

One game prior to the matchup against Quince Orchard the team played Gaithersburg at home on the Sept. 27. This was a test for the team because traditionally Gaithersburg has a good team. This Gaithersburg team was no exception as they kept the game closely contested. The game was physical as both teams were playing aggressively.

The Patriots struck first when senior Jordana Socher played a through ball to senior Alex Poltorak, then Poltorak proceeded to beat a defender and bury a shot to the far right post. This put the team up 1-0 at the end of the first half. Apart from the through balls, another area that was clicking for the team was their passes up and through the middle of the field. The team shut down Gaithersburg for a second consecutive half, winning the game 1-0. “I think we played one of our better games of the season. We executed our passes really well. Also our defense and goalie played phenomenal, which certainly helped us out big time,” senior center midfielder Ashley Pitt said.

The game before that was on Sept. 20 at Richard Montgomery. This was another physical and tough game for the team, but once again the team played good defense all around and neutralized the Rocket offense. The team had slight problems finishing possessions but they capitalized in the second half when senior Caroline Reynolds darted a ball across to senior Sarah Dellapa who made sure to finish it in close. The final score of this game was 1-0 Patriots. “Overall our team defense this week was really great. We were right on top of them as soon as they got the ball. We didn’t really give them any scoring opportunities,” Lazzaro said.

The team’s next game is at Walter Johnson on Oct.12.

Sam Greene

Senior Sports Editor