Rivers Swamps GJVS, 5-2

The Girls’ JV Soccer team suffered a tough 5-2 loss to a strong Rivers squad at home on Saturday afternoon. Groton started the game off strongly, pressuring Rivers’s defense and generating several scoring chances, but it was Rivers who struck first, connecting on a goalmouth scramble following a corner kick. They made it 2-0 on a free kick from the left, but Groton cut the lead to 2-1 before halftime when Riya Varkey finished off a pass up the middle from Alesandra Powell.
 
Alesandra tied the score 2-2 three minutes into the second half with a high shot from the right side of the penalty area, and then Maya Varkey (just over the crossbar) and Riya Varkey (goalie leaped to make a save) each nearly put us ahead 3-2. But it was Rivers who got the go-ahead goal, and as the clock wound down they scored two more to put the game away.
 
Despite the unfortunate result, we can take some positives out of this game. Emily Pollis, Elena Junkala, Sabrina Blanton-Rich and Calen Cagney all created some scoring opportunities with nice passing on the right side, and Maya Varkey and Julia Trowbridge were equally effective on the left. On defense, Isabel Brown, Lidia Spada and Leah Canellakis faced extra pressure as Emma Beard and Harriet Winterer were out (Emma) or slowed (Harriet) by injuries.
 
Players of the Game were Alesandra Powell, Isabel Brown, and Addison Hyde. Alesandra had a hand in both of our goals, Isabel was solid all afternoon, and Addison did a terrific job filling in for Harriet on the back line. Addison has developed into a solid defender, using her hustle and her good sense of positioning to neutralize some very good opponents.
 
Thank you to all the family members in attendance today, and especially to Mr. and Mrs. Spada for the postgame treats.
 
The team will be busy next week with three games: a thirds game at Lawrence Academy on Monday, and JV games at Nobles on Wednesday and home against Middlesex on Friday.
 
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