Park Girls Leading The County Pack

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By Colin A.J. Murphy

Having compiled a 6-2 overall record and a perfect 5-0 record in league play over the first five weeks of the season, the Severna Park girls soccer players are looking their usual strong selves these days. In wins over Arundel, Old Mill, Chesapeake, Northeast, and North County, the lady Falcons have outscored the opposition by a total of 17-3, thoroughly dominating each of those games for the majority of the contest. Senior Gabby Moreno leads the Falcons in scoring with seven goals, and Ryan Bathras, Kendall Kosman, Jennifer Nance, and Julie Kuhlman have each notched two scores through eight matches.

“I definitely think we hit the ground running, and we’re getting better as we go,” said Moreno about the season so far following the Falcons’ 6-0 defeat of Northeast on September 22. While pleased with the team’s development, Moreno was likewise cautious about becoming too confident with plenty of games and challenging teams left to face. “But it only goes uphill from here. We have to keep working together as a team.”

Severna Park registered two strong wins during the week of September 20, first by traveling to Chesapeake and beating an upstart Cougars team stacked with speed and athleticism by a score of 3-1, then returning home two days later to trounce visiting Northeast 6-0. In the Chesapeake contest, an aggressive Falcon defense led by Erika Spilker and Morgan Torggler was able to contain the Cougars’ All-Metro striker Tori Luc, who despite scoring Chesapeake’s lone goal in the game was frustrated by the consistent hounding provided by the Falcon backs. Falcon goalkeeper Lexi Cavey recorded seven saves, and goals by Moreno, Bathras, and Katie Gerrity sealed a 3-1 win for Severna Park.

“That was kind of the first game where we played so well as a team,” said Torggler of the win over Chesapeake. “I’m really proud of all of us. Everyone stepped it up that game.”

At home on September 22 against Northeast, Severna Park’s superior speed and passing ability powered a relentless assault on Northeast’s back line and goalkeeper. It took 15 minutes before the Falcons broke through for a score, but once they did, the floodgates were open. Moreno opened the scoring with an overpowering one-on-one drive and finish on a Northeast defender from the left corner, following up her feat moments later by converting on an assist from Torggler to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead. Late in the first half, super-sub Julie Kuhlman entered the game and proceeded to find the back of the net twice in less than three minutes of action, pushing the Falcon lead to 4-0 at halftime. Goals by Sarah Peterson and Kendall Kosman and three total assists by Gerrity rounded out the 6-0 victory.

“We’ve kept the momentum going,” said Kuhlman after the win over Northeast, referencing the convincing win over Chesapeake two days prior. “We’re going to continue to work on connecting our offense and penetrating more.”

Head Coach Todd Clark has been most pleased with the tactical comfort level he has seen evolve amongst his players. “We’re coming together very well. Our back line has really gotten solid and they’ve gotten comfortable playing with each other,” he said. “Midfield is the same way, they’re confident pushing forward knowing the backs are playing well together. We’re getting production out of all of our players, and it’s really becoming a true team effort. Even in goal-scoring, it’s pretty evenly distributed. We’re not one-dimensional. I’m really proud of how they’ve come together, and I look forward to them continuing that progress,” he concluded.

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