Sag Harbor – In a team's inaugural season, it will takes its lumps. It's guaranteed. Yet, even with the understanding that growing pains will inevitably arise, it doesn't mean that those growing pains won't still hurt -- however, it does make those victories a whole lot sweeter.
That was the case for the first-year Pierson girls soccer team on Monday. Behind a hat trick from junior Katie Osiecki, the Lady Whalers powered their way to a 5-2 victory over McGann-Mercy at Mashashimuet Park. The victory was Pierson's first since toppling Stony Brook on Sept. 27, ending a five-game skid.
"Everyone worked really hard today and stepped up their game," sophomore midfielder Olivia Broich commented "It was a pleasure to win. It makes you feel like all your work is paying off."
The victory also avenged a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Lady Monarchs last month.
"It's nice to get another W," Lady Whaler coach Haley Case said. "When you're a first-year program, you're going to have ups and downs, but we're getting better, and that's all that counts."
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Lady Whalers sophomore Kathryn Heine chases down a loose ball
and fires it across to the middle. |
Pierson's edge was a single goal at the midway point of the second half, but Osiecki made sure her side would leave with what they came for – a victory. First, she hooked a shot off the left post in the 62nd minute to bump the lead to 4-2, and with about 10 minutes remaining, the team's leading goal-scorer added another to her tally, burying her third goal to ice the game. The hat trick was Osiecki's second of the season.
"She's always a key part of our offense," Case said. "She's always capitalizing on her opportunities."
The Catalyst
Osiecki played a role in each first-half score as well. In the seventh minute, she christened the scoring column by firing a shot from an awkward angle in the left corner just inside the right post. Twelve minutes later, her throw-in from the right touch line dropped right into the lap of Diana Rodriguez, who snuck the ball by Mercy goalkeeper Amy Boden (10 saves) for a 2-0 lead.
The second goal seemed to energize the Lady Monarchs (3-8-1), as their attack began finding open space in the Lady Whalers' end. Just before the first-half gun sounded, Pierson keeper Ally Manzo (10 saves) was at her best, making a sliding save to her left on a Bridget Straub rocket, and turning away a Caiti Derenze direct kick shortly thereafter. But Mercy's persistence finally paid off in the 35th minute. Derenze, who victimized Pierson for two goals in the teams' first meeting, struck once again and the lead was just one at the break.
But other than an own goal that made the score 3-2 early in the second, the Lady Whalers (2-8-1) kept the Mercy forces at bay in the second half, giving the hosts their second win of the season. They'll bring everybody back for the program's sophomore season, and those in place are excited for even better results, this season and beyond.
"We know that each game is a chance to start over," Broich said. "It feels really good to win because we're a young team and you see yourselves doing a good job against older teams, it's a really good accomplishment. I think that we've really progressed."
