By PAUL CIFONELLI
SPENCERPORT, N.Y. — Spencerport’s girls’ soccer team outscored its opponents 36-4 during the regular season. The Rangers’ (13-0-0) offense put constant pressure on teams, which was exactly how it went against Greece Athena (6-6-1) in the Section V Class A quarterfinals. Spencerport ended up winning 5-0 behind two goals from both Corynna Rotoli and Sabrina Trapani and advancing to the semi-finals.
While the goals eventually came, it took Spencerport 21 minutes to score despite having possession for most of that time. The Rangers also weren’t putting many of their shots on net. All the ball control was good, but Spencerport head coach Jamie Schneider was worried about his team’s inability to find the net early on.
“It always worries you [when your team isn’t scoring],” Schneider said. “Soccer is a tough game in terms of getting that end product of balls in the back of the net. You want to take advantage as soon as you can. We felt our rhythm wasn’t quite there for the first 20 minutes, but then we settled in, won the midfield and got a few chances. It took a little to get them, but they came.”
Once Aleena Solano finally broke through for Spencerport, the Rangers’ offense got back to normal. Solano took a cross from Alyssa Hackett and found the back of the net.
Aleena Solano gets @Rangers_GSOC on the board at the midway point of the first half. Spencerport has been dominating possession without putting many shots on goal, but finally got one in. 1-0. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/FH1oML8QSp
— Paul Cifonelli (@PCifonelli) November 14, 2020
Trapani and Rotoli took over after that, with the duo scoring the remaining four goals. Trapani was credited with the second tally of the first half, as the free kick she took hit the head of a defender from Greece Athena and bounced into the net. Trapani also closed out the scoring by converting a penalty kick in the 70th minute.
Sabrina Trapani’s second goal of the game comes on a PK with just under 10 minutes left. 5-0 @Rangers_GSOC. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/UiJHgzSi0H
— Paul Cifonelli (@PCifonelli) November 15, 2020
Rotoli’s two goals came in the second half. She struck first in the 43rd minute, then again near the midway point of the half. Rotoli’s two goals give her a team-high 15 in her final season at Spencerport.
Despite being under siege all night, Greece Athena goalkeeper Megan Stirrup made enough saves to keep her team competitive. Spencerport constantly had the ball near or inside the 18-yard box, but Stirrup held strong a majority of the time.
Megan Stirrup makes the save to keep @AthenaHigh within striking distance. 2-0 @Rangers_GSOC with under 4 minutes in the first half. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/9cmJwUqgUw
— Paul Cifonelli (@PCifonelli) November 14, 2020
With the win, Spencerport will take on No. 4 Brighton on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 6 PM. While they’ve been running through almost every opponent this season, Schneider thinks his team has a few things to work on so it can improve its form for a run at a fifth consecutive sectional championship.
“[We need to touch up on] our outside of the midfield a little bit,” Schneider said. “We need to make sure we stay wide and create our angles that we need to play off of. There was a few things. We’re obviously happy with the product of the scoreboard and the win, but with the process, there’s a few things we can work on.”
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