After a strong 2-1 start, the Patriots had a rough couple of games in recent weeks. The girls had five games in a two-week stretch in which they finished with a 2-3 record, putting them at 4-4 for the season.
On Sept. 16, the team faced off at home against Walter Johnson. The game was a tight battle, and both teams were evenly matched. Despite the Patriots having the advantage for possession and having the ball in opponent territory for the most part, WJ was able to capitalize off of a Wootton error, and the score would stay 1-0 for the rest of the game.
The Patriots had a doubleheader on Sept. 17. In the Invitational that the team holds every year, the games featured two dominant out-of-county private schools- McDonogh and St. Stephens & St. Agnes. The girls had a rough outing, losing the two games by a combined 9-1.
Although the score against McDonogh ended in a 5-1 loss for the Patriots, the team looked good early on. From the start, the girls took a 1-0 lead with a goal from junior Grace Llewelyn. However, that would prove to be the only goal of the game for the girls as they let up five goals to the overly dominant McDonogh squad. The opposing squad made it 2-1 at halftime, before piling on three more goals in the second half against the Patriots.
The second of the two games against St. Stephens & St. Agnes went much like the first, losing by a total of four goals. The Patriots let up two goals in both halves and lost by a final score of 4-0. Although the girls lost both games against two well-rounded squads, the team didn’t leave with their heads down. After the three consecutive losses, the team came together and connected as a team in what was their best all-around game of the season. In a home game against Richard Montgomery on Sept 19, the girls finally were able to find the back of the net, and did so multiple times. It took well into the first half, but the goals finally started coming. The attack was led by senior Madeline Clark and junior Jordyn Taylor, who each chipped in with a goal in the team’s 4-0 victory. The defense had a stellar performance in the team’s victory and was led by junior goalie Amanda Jordan, who didn’t let in a single shot.
On Sept. 21, the girls kept their streak going with another dominant victory, this one over Einstein. The team’s defense put up another impressive shut out against the Einstein attack, and the offense kept rolling with what they did against RM. Clark led the team with two goals and was joined by senior Shannon Welty and junior Julia Stern, who each scored a goal of their own.
The Patriot’s next game was Sept 28 against rival Churchill but was too late to be covered in this issue.

Geoff Pisarra

News Editor