A decisive win for the Zebras, 5-0 at Proctor

Big clouds and lots of sun in Andover NH. We had another exciting NH wildlife experience (see the Holderness recap) when manager Will Torriani discovered (to his horror) a long skinny six-legged bug crawling up his leg; we quickly gave it a scientific name – a stick bug, because, yes, it looked like a four-inch twig – and tried to return our attention to the play on the field. From the start, the girls played with confidence. They kept the ball in the Proctor end of the field for probably three-quarters of the game and made great passing connections with each other. It was one of those days when strong skills and good luck made the girls look as though they were in complete control of the game. The ball stayed on Groton sticks (the girls kept their sticks on the ground), calls went our way (the girls drew fouls and kept their own feet out of the way), and Groton was usually first to any loose ball. Two goals came in the first half, one by Christina Oelhafen on a rebound from a shot by Cassidy Thibodeau, the second from Cassidy, as she tipped in one of Freddie Tobeason’s long bombs. In the second half, Freddie scored goals three and four, both on corners when Christina handed off the ball to her. Halle Livermore scored the final goal from what looked like an impossible angle, but the ball snuck under the Proctor goalie to the far side. That Proctor goalie had seventeen saves; twenty-two shots on goal is the current high for the Groton girls.