Less than 24 hours after the boys’ team dismantled the Ross School 7-0, the girls defeated our east end opponent 7-1 yesterday to improve to 4-1 in League VIII. The day was quite gusty but our girls handled the unpredictability with ease.

1st Half

From the opening seconds of the game, the Brook was on the offensive. In the first minute, Gianna Scavo put a great shot on goal that the keeper handled, but just over a minute later Michelle Hennessy ripped a high shot that nicked the goalie’s fingers and ricocheted off of the crossbar before being volleyed in by Hennessy to cap off a great individual effort. Four minutes later, with 34:10 left in the half, Hennessy made a great run up the sideline, beat her defender on the goal line, and gave a deft pass to Kierran Petersen who one-timed the ball in for her second goal of the season. Hennessy got into the scoring again with 27:34 left, out-sprinting two Raven defenders on a fast break and neatly tucking the ball away to give the Bears a commanding three-goal lead.

Ross capitalized on their only real chance of the half with 9:22 remaning. Brianna Stiklickas was taken down by a Ross midfielder and, after the no-call, the east-enders were able to score on a nice cross and one-timed goal. The one lapse in our defense was erased by a supreme individual effort by Hennessy with 7:54 remaining. She beat her mark up the right sideline, made the turn on the goal line, and ripped a shot which the goalie was able to save but unable to control.

Hennessy regained possession and with her back to two Ross defenders, made the turn to her left and drilled a shot with her opposite foot for yet another hat trick in her illustrious career. The goal capped a strong opening frame for the girls. The ball rarely entered the Ross side of the pitch and, when it did, was promptly swept away by our strong defense of Brannon Burke, Madison Rylands, Christine Brathwaite, and Brianna Stiklickas. | 4-1

2nd Half

The onslaught continued in the second act when Petersen notched her second goal, punching in a score after a scrum for possession in front of the goal. Petersen completed the second hat trick of the day less than two minutes later when Burke took a shot from fifteen yards that the netminder mishandled right in front of Petersen, who took full advantage.

The scoring was complete with 12:57 remaining when Mikaela Stiklickas gave a great through-ball to Scavo who finished with a righty blast. Her reaction was one of sheer relief, joyfully bringing her hands to her face after coming close a number of times over the last two matches. Danielle Pappas, though untested in goal, was able to enjoy a rare stint at forward while Nicole Willoughby wrapped up the game. | 7-1

Michelle Hennessy and Kierran Peterson each recorded a hat trick to lead Stony Brook (4-1) in League VIII.

~ Newsday

Impressions

The Ravens never tested our girls yesterday. Our defense was nearly impossible to crack and Michelle Hennessy did whatever she wanted when the ball was on her foot. However, the match was not a useless effort as our girls proved they could go into a game as the favorite and simply take care of business. 8th-grader Emily Pius, though she did not get in on the scoring, was an instrumental cog in the offense and continued her fantastic play. The girls will face Pierson on Saturday @ 2:00pm on Fitch Field.

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