Broadneck Girls Defeat Eagles, Improve To 5-1

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By Colin A.J. Murphy

Two goals apiece by senior midfielder Sammy Dean and sophomore striker Erin Rose and separate scores from sophomore midfielder Emily Barton and senior striker Bethany Pezza powered the Broadneck girls soccer team to a 6-0 steamrolling of visiting Northeast on September 26, pushing the Bruins’ record to 5-1 overall and 5-0 in MPSSAA league play. Broadneck’s overwhelming offensive performance against the Eagles was the third consecutive win for the Bruins following a narrow 1-0 defeat to Severn on September 17, and strong wins over close rivals Arundel and South River have given the Bruin girls a measure of momentum as they enter a difficult stretch of schedule that will see them face an athletic Chesapeake team and perennial powerhouse Severna Park. With the playoffs looming just over the horizon, the Broadneck girls are rounding into solid form as they look to position themselves for a deep run in the state tournament.

“We’re definitely getting better,” said Dean confidently after the victory over Northeast. “We have a pretty young team, but everybody is stepping it up and playing hard in practice and in games.”

Hard play and all-out effort characterized the match against Northeast from the opening whistle, as the Bruins used their superior speed and athleticism to aggressively pressure the Eagles’ back line throughout the contest. Barton scored to make it 1-0 just ten minutes into the contest, finishing a bang-bang play by punching her own rebound into the back off the net from one yard out after her first shot from about six yards hit the left post. Moments later a perfectly weighted through-ball down the right sideline by senior right back Nicole Blackwell set up a cross by senior striker Kacey McDowell, and McDowell found the foot of Dean, who put converted to put Broadneck up 2-0. A few minutes before halftime, Rose finished off a corner kick to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead at the break.

When asked of her team’s strengths, Rose spoke of the squad as a set of interlocking pieces. “Half of us are very athletic, and half of us are more technical, so we fit together well,” said Rose. She added that the efforts of her team this year are inspired by the memory of Olivia Constants, the Broadneck student who died in a sailing accident this past June. “We come out every game and play for our teammate, Olivia Constants. We think of her every game and play hard for her.”

Northeast, for their part, played hard until the final whistle, and Broadneck continued to push in the second half. Midway through the second half, a free kick by Blackwell from just outside the right edge of the box led to another goal by Dean, making the score 4-0. Breakaway finishes by Rose and Pezza in the game’s final 15 minutes rounded out the 6-0 victory for Broadneck, and afterwards Bruins Head Coach John Camm was immediately focused on getting his team to continue to improve.

“We’ve beaten some good teams like South River and Arundel, which are big wins for us. So they’re doing a nice job,” said Camm. “They work hard every day in training to improve. They get what we’re trying to do.”

Dean agreed, noting that everyone on the team motivates one another as they push to make the season as successful as possible.

“We’re coming together and everybody is working hard,” said Dean. “We’re definitely a family inside and outside of soccer. We look out for each other, and that’s what really defines our team.”

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